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The Romantic Revolution (2010)

by Timothy C.W. Blanning(Favorite Author)

3.72 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

0297859005 (ISBN13: 9780297859000)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

George Weidenfeld & Nicholson

series

Modern Library Chronicles

review 1: This is short, 190 odd page introduction to the basic tenets of what Romanticism was, its beliefs, its proponents, its historical location in society and the era it developed within. Its a whirlwind study, and Tim Blanning condenses the books main focus with a prose that it not too bogged down academically, but rather quite straightforwardly written, by covering the main characters and artistic works whom are associated with this artistic and cultural movement. Romanticism essentially was a reaction (I dont know if reaction is quite a correct word to use) or an artistic response to the Enlightenment which led to the French Revolution and the victory of reason over prejudice (and faith to an extent). I suppose, and what Tim Blanning suggests, it was an art form that looked ... more'inward', or rather it heralded away from the dominance of encroaching secularism which was covering Europe at that time. Anyway, all the main Romantic authors, artists, poets and musicians are covered here as well as it being a Europe-wide study focusing I think maybe a little too much on the German Romantics, which I suppose could be described as being reactionary with the focus on their 'national historical identity', and we all know where that ended up. Regardless, the movement also had its political edge too, and there were many left wing Romantics (Shelley et al) too, so I find it hard to categorise it as a reactionary, backward looking cultural phenomenon, quite the contrary in some ways. However I found the study an interesting, quick, fact-filled book containing some good avenues of further reading as well as discovering some quite interesting artists of this time that I was unaware about.
review 2: For anyone interested in what romanticism truly means (and meant for the ones who embodied it -or fought it), and how it did change our culture and our ways of thinking, this is essential reading. The good thing is that it's also an extremely entertaining and enthralling read. Blanning's knowledge is quite astounding, but he writes in such a spirited, passionate, intelligent way that he vividly shares all that he knows with the reader, instead of just imposing it in an academic and boring way - as more than one professors of his caliber would probably be tempted to do. Politics, music, literature, philosophy: nothing escapes Blanning's radar. One of the most interesting aspects of this book was, for me, to realize how modern the Romantics really were, and how much of the current discontent felt in many artistic communities (the change imposed by new technologies, the sometimes degrading power of mass appeal, etc) was already felt long ago. It's a rather short book, considering the subject, so of course Blanning does make a selection, and does not try to be exhaustive. It works, because the people he chooses to write about, and their work, are exemplary and fascinating. My only issue was with the ending: I wish Blanning, in his conclusion (which moves to the XXth century) had shown how romanticism has often been transformed into pure sentimentalism in many medias, and how cinema created its own brand of romanticism, sometimes with startling and amazing results. less

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