In literature, Romanticism often focused on the past, the importance of emotions, especially in women and children, the loneliness of artists or storytellers, and the value of nature. Some Romantic writers, like Edgar Allan Poe, Charles Maturin, and Nathaniel Hawthorne, wrote about supernatural or mysterious events and human feelings. Romanticism usually thought satire was not important enough to take seriously, a belief that still affects people today. The Romantic movement in literature came after the Restoration and Enlightenment periods and was followed by Realism.
Some people say the 16th-century poet Isabella di Morra was an early example of Romantic literature. Her poems, which described loneliness and sadness, reflected the difficult events in her life. These works are seen as an early example of Romanticism, different from the Petrarchist style of the time, which focused on love philosophy.
In English poetry, the beginnings of Romanticism date back to the middle of the 18th century. Joseph Warton, who was a teacher at Winchester College, and his brother Thomas Warton, a professor at Oxford University, were important early figures. Joseph believed that creativity and imagination were the most important qualities of a poet. The Scottish poet James Macpherson helped start the Romantic movement with his famous Ossian poems, published in 1762. These poems inspired writers like Goethe and the young Walter Scott. Thomas Chatterton is usually seen as the first Romantic poet in English. Both Chatterton and Macpherson had dishonest parts in their work because the old writings they claimed to have found were actually their own creations.
The Gothic novel, which began with Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto (1764), was an important early influence on Romanticism. These stories enjoyed scary and dangerous elements and exciting, unusual settings. Walpole also helped bring back the Gothic style in buildings. The novel Tristram Shandy, written by Laurence Sterne (1759–67), introduced a playful, emotional style that did not rely on strict logic.
Germany
An early German influence came from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, a famous writer. His 1774 novel, The Sorrows of Young Werther, inspired young men across Europe to imitate the main character, a sensitive young artist. At that time, Germany was made up of many small, separate states. Goethe’s works played an important role in helping people feel a shared sense of national identity. Another influence came from German idealism, a philosophy developed by Johann Gottlieb Fichte and Friedrich Schelling. Jena became a center for early German Romanticism because important thinkers like Fichte, Schelling, Hegel, Schiller, and the Schlegel brothers lived there. Important writers of this time included Ludwig Tieck, Novalis, Heinrich von Kleist, and Friedrich Hölderlin. Later, Heidelberg became a center of German Romanticism, where writers like Clemens Brentano, Achim von Arnim, and Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff met regularly to share their work.
Important themes in German Romanticism included traveling, nature, such as the German Forest, and Germanic myths. Later works, like E. T. A. Hoffmann’s The Sandman (1817) and Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff’s The Marble Statue (1819), used darker themes and included gothic elements. Romanticism placed great value on childhood innocence, the power of imagination, and ideas about race. These ideas led to a strong focus on folk literature, non-classical myths, and children’s stories, especially in Germany. Brentano and von Arnim were important writers who published Des Knaben Wunderhorn ("The Boy’s Magic Horn"), a collection of folk tales, between 1806 and 1808. The Brothers Grimm first published their collection of fairy tales in 1812. Unlike Hans Christian Andersen, who began writing his own invented stories in Danish in 1835, the Grimms based their work on collected folk tales. They kept the original style of storytelling in their early editions, though they later revised some parts. Jacob Grimm, one of the brothers, wrote Deutsche Mythologie in 1835, a long academic study about Germanic mythology. Another influence came from Friedrich Schiller’s emotional writing and his portrayal of physical violence in his 1781 play The Robbers.
Great Britain
In English literature, the main writers of the Romantic movement were a group of poets, including William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, John Keats, Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and the older poet William Blake. Later, John Clare also became part of this group. Other important writers were the novelist Walter Scott from Scotland and Mary Shelley, as well as essayists William Hazlitt and Charles Lamb. The Romantic movement is often said to have started in 1798 with the publication of Lyrical Ballads, a book that included many of Wordsworth and Coleridge’s best poems. Most of the poems in the book were written by Wordsworth, and they often described the lives of poor people in the Lake District or his love for nature, which he later explored in his long poem The Prelude, which he never published during his lifetime. The longest poem in the book was Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, which showed the dark and mysterious side of Romanticism and included settings from faraway places. At the time, the Lake Poets were seen as a small group of people with radical ideas, but they were supported by writers like William Hazlitt.
Lord Byron and Walter Scott became very famous across Europe for their stories that focused on exciting and dramatic events in faraway or historical places. The German writer Goethe called Byron “undoubtedly the greatest genius of our century.” Scott became famous with his long poem The Lay of the Last Minstrel in 1805 and later with Marmion in 1808. Both poems were set in Scotland’s past, a topic that had already appeared in earlier works like Ossian. Romanticism and Scotland had a long and successful partnership. Byron also became famous with his poem Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage in 1812 and later with four long poems called “Turkish tales,” such as The Giaour in 1813. These poems were inspired by Byron’s travels to parts of Europe and used themes from Gothic novels. They also introduced the idea of the “Byronic hero,” a character that was partly based on Byron’s own life. Meanwhile, Scott helped create the historical novel, starting with Waverley in 1814, which was set during a Scottish uprising. He wrote over 20 more Waverley Novels, many set in ancient times, and he did extensive research for these stories.
Unlike in Germany, Romanticism in England was not closely linked to nationalism. Many Romantics were suspected of supporting the ideas of the French Revolution, which later failed and led to the rise of Napoleon’s rule, a change that surprised many. Though Scott’s novels celebrated Scottish history, he was politically loyal to the British government but had some sympathy for the Jacobite cause. Some Romantics lived abroad, and a famous trip to Lake Geneva in 1816 with Byron and Shelley led to the creation of the famous novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and the novella The Vampyre by Byron’s doctor, John William Polidori. The songs of Robert Burns in Scotland and Thomas Moore in Ireland showed interest in folk traditions, but neither fully followed Romantic ideas in their work.
Today, some modern critics like György Lukács admire Scott’s novels, but his stories are more often performed as operas, such as Lucia di Lammermoor and I puritani. Byron is now best known for his short poems and his letters, as well as his unfinished poem Don Juan. His personal life, which was widely known, seemed to match the themes of his work, and his death in 1824 while helping the Greek independence movement was seen as a fitting end for a Romantic figure. Keats and Shelley both died in Italy in 1821 and 1822, respectively, Blake died in 1827, and Coleridge stopped writing in the 1820s. By 1820, Wordsworth was respected and held an official government position, but he wrote little. The Romantic period in English literature is often said to have ended around the 1820s.
During the peak of Romanticism, the most important novelist besides Scott was Jane Austen. Her stories focused on social rules and proper behavior, which was different from the ideas of her Romantic peers. However, some critics believe her works had hidden Romantic themes. Later in the 1800s, the Brontë family from Yorkshire wrote Romantic-style novels, such as Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, which included Gothic elements. These books were written after the Romantic period was said to have ended, but they were influenced by Romantic literature the authors had read as children.
Byron, Keats, and Shelley all wrote plays, but they were not successful in England. Shelley’s play The Cenci was considered his best work but was not performed in England until a century after his death. Byron’s plays and dramatized versions of his poems were more popular in Europe, especially in France, and many were turned into operas that are still performed today. While poets had little success on the stage, the time was famous for performances of Shakespeare’s plays, with efforts to return to his original texts. Edmund Kean, a famous actor, performed King Lear with its original tragic ending, and Coleridge said watching him was like reading Shakespeare in flashes of lightning.
After Scotland joined England in 1707, it gradually adopted English language and culture, but its literature developed its own identity and gained international recognition. Allan Ramsay helped revive interest in older Scottish poetry and created the Habbie stanza, a poetic form. James Macpherson claimed to have discovered ancient Scottish poetry by a bard named Ossian and published translations that became popular worldwide. His work Fingal, published in 1762, was translated into many languages and is credited with helping start the Romantic movement in Europe, especially in Germany. It also influenced French leaders like Napoleon. Later, it was discovered that Macpherson’s poems were not direct translations but creative adaptations.
Robert Burns and Walter Scott were influenced by the Ossian stories. Burns, a Scottish poet, is considered Scotland’s national poet and a major figure in the Romantic movement. His poem Auld Lang Syne is a well
France
Romanticism started later in French literature compared to visual arts. The 18th-century idea of the cult of sensibility, a precursor to Romanticism, became linked to the Ancien Régime. The French Revolution inspired writers outside France more than those who lived through it. The first major Romantic figure was François-René de Chateaubriand, an aristocrat who stayed loyal to the monarchy during the Revolution. He returned to France from exile in England and America under Napoleon, with whom he had a difficult relationship. His works included fiction like his famous novella René (1802), which had a lonely hero similar to Byron. He also wrote about history, politics, his travels, and defended religion and medieval traditions in Génie du christianisme (1802). Later, he wrote his long autobiography Mémoires d'Outre-Tombe ("Memoirs from Beyond the Grave") in the 1830s and 1840s.
After the Bourbon Restoration, French Romanticism grew in the busy Paris theater scene. Plays by Shakespeare, Schiller (a key Romantic author in France), and adaptations of Scott and Byron were performed alongside works by French writers, many of whom began writing in the late 1820s. Supporters and critics of Romanticism formed groups, and performances often included loud arguments between them. For example, one audience member shouted in 1822, "Shakespeare, c'est l'aide-de-camp de Wellington" ("Shakespeare is Wellington's aide-de-camp"). Alexandre Dumas began as a dramatist, with early successes like Henri III et sa cour (1829). He later wrote historical adventure novels, most famously The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo (both 1844). Victor Hugo first gained fame as a poet in the 1820s, then achieved success on stage with Hernani, a historical drama in a style similar to Shakespeare. His 1830 performance of the play caused famous riots. Hugo is best known for his novels, including The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (1831), a famous work that became a model for French Romanticism. The preface to his unperformed play Cromwell stated that "there are no rules or models." Prosper Mérimée, who is now best known for creating the story of Carmen in his 1845 novella, followed a similar path. Alfred de Vigny is best known for his plays, including Chatterton (1835), about the life of an English poet. George Sand was a central figure in Parisian literary life, known for her novels, criticism, and personal relationships with Chopin and others. She was also inspired by theater and wrote works to be performed at her private estate.
French Romantic poets from the 1830s to 1850s included Alfred de Musset, Gérard de Nerval, Alphonse de Lamartine, and the flamboyant Théophile Gautier, whose works continued until his death in 1872.
Stendhal is today considered one of the most respected French novelists of the period, though his relationship with Romanticism is complex. He is known for his deep psychological understanding of characters and his realistic style, qualities less common in Romantic fiction. As a survivor of the French retreat from Moscow in 1812, he had little interest in stories about heroism or adventure. Like Goya, he is often seen as a precursor to Realism. His most important works are Le Rouge et le Noir (The Red and the Black, 1830) and La Chartreuse de Parme (The Charterhouse of Parma, 1839).
Poland
Romanticism in Poland is often considered to have started with the publication of Adam Mickiewicz's first poems in 1822 and ended with the end of the January Uprising of 1863, which was a rebellion against Russian rule. This period was deeply influenced by Polish history. Polish Romanticism revived traditions from the past, such as those of the szlachta, or Polish nobility, known as "Sarmatism." These old customs were celebrated in the Polish messianic movement and in the works of famous poets like Adam Mickiewicz (Pan Tadeusz), Juliusz Słowacki, and Zygmunt Krasiński. The strong link between Polish Romanticism and Polish history became a key feature of the literature from this time, making it different from Romanticism in other countries. Unlike other nations, Poland had experienced the loss of its national statehood. Influenced by European Romanticism, Polish Romantic literature is unique because much of it developed outside Poland and focused strongly on Polish nationalism. Many members of the Polish intelligentsia and government left Poland in the 1830s during the "Great Emigration," settling in countries such as France, Germany, Great Britain, Turkey, and the United States.
The art of this period emphasized strong emotions, imagination, folklore, and ideas about freedom. In the later years, many Polish Romantics worked abroad, often forced to leave Poland by the occupying powers because of their political views. Their work increasingly focused on fighting for freedom and Poland's independence. Mystical themes became more common, and the idea of the "poeta wieszcz" (prophet poet) developed. The wieszcz, or bard, was seen as a spiritual leader for the nation struggling for independence. Adam Mickiewicz was the most well-known poet recognized as a wieszcz.
Zygmunt Krasiński also wrote to encourage hope in his countrymen. Unlike earlier writers, who called for victory in Poland's fight against Russia, Krasiński focused on Poland's spiritual role in its struggle for independence, promoting intellectual strength over military power. His works, such as Nieboska komedia (1835; The Undivine Comedy), Irydion (1836; Iridion), and Psalmy przyszłości (1845; Psalms of the Future), showed that Poland was chosen by God to suffer and eventually rise again, a belief central to the Messianic movement in Poland.
Russia
Early Russian Romanticism is connected to writers such as Konstantin Batyushkov (A Vision on the Shores of the Lethe, 1809), Vasily Zhukovsky (The Bard, 1811; Svetlana, 1813), and Nikolay Karamzin (Poor Liza, 1792; Julia, 1796; Martha the Mayoress, 1802; The Sensitive and the Cold, 1803). However, the most important writer of Romanticism in Russia was Alexander Pushkin (The Prisoner of the Caucasus, 1820–1821; The Robber Brothers, 1822; Ruslan and Ludmila, 1820; Eugene Onegin, 1825–1832). Pushkin’s work influenced many writers in the 19th century and helped him become known as Russia’s greatest poet. Other Romantic poets in Russia included Mikhail Lermontov (A Hero of Our Time, 1839), Fyodor Tyutchev (Silentium!, 1830), Yevgeny Baratynsky (Eda, 1826), Anton Delvig, and Wilhelm Küchelbecker.
Lermontov was influenced by Lord Byron and focused on themes of unhappiness with society and oneself. Tyutchev’s poems often described natural scenes or feelings of love. Tyutchev often used contrasts like night and day, north and south, dream and reality, and the quiet world of winter versus the lively world of spring. Baratynsky’s style was more classical, inspired by writers from earlier times.
Spain
Romanticism in Spanish literature created a famous body of work with many poets and playwrights. The most important Spanish poet during this time was José de Espronceda. Later, other poets such as Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, Mariano José de Larra, and playwrights like Ángel de Saavedra and José Zorrilla, who wrote the famous play Don Juan Tenorio, became important figures. Before them, early romantic writers like José Cadalso and Manuel José Quintana were influential. The plays of Antonio García Gutiérrez inspired the operas Il trovatore and Simon Boccanegra by Giuseppe Verdi. Spanish Romanticism also affected regional literatures. For example, in Catalonia and Galicia, writers in local languages, such as the Catalan Jacint Verdaguer and the Galician Rosalía de Castro, became key figures in the cultural movements called Renaixença and Rexurdimento.
Some scholars believe Spanish Romanticism is closely related to a later movement called Proto-Existentialism because Spanish writers often expressed deep sadness and questions about life and existence. For example, Foster et al. note that Spanish writers like Espronceda, Larra, and others in the 19th century showed a "metaphysical crisis," meaning they explored big questions about life. These scholars argue that Spanish writers were connected to the existentialist movement that began later. Richard Caldwell suggests that Spanish Romantic writers were actually early influences on the literary movement that started in the 1920s. This idea is debated, as some authors argue that Spanish Romanticism was one of the earliest in Europe, while others claim Spain did not have a clear Romantic period. This debate highlights how Spanish Romanticism was unique compared to similar movements in other European countries.
Portugal
Romanticism in Portugal began with the publication of the poem Camões in 1825 by Almeida Garrett. He was raised by his uncle, D. Alexandre, the bishop of Angra, who taught him the principles of Neoclassicism. These teachings can be seen in Garrett’s early works. In the preface of Camões, Garrett admitted he chose not to follow the rules of epic poetry set by Aristotle in Poetics or those outlined by Horace in Ars Poetica. Garrett had taken part in the 1820 Liberal Revolution, which led to his exile in England in 1823 and later in France after the Vila-Francada. While in England, he studied the Romantic movement and read works by authors such as Shakespeare, Scott, Ossian, Byron, Hugo, Lamartine, and de Staël. He also visited old castles and Gothic churches, which influenced his writing. In 1838, Garrett wrote Um Auto de Gil Vicente ("A Play by Gil Vicente") to create a new national theater free from Greco-Roman and foreign influences. His most famous work, Frei Luís de Sousa (1843), was called a "Romantic drama" and explored themes like national independence, faith, justice, and love. Garrett also collected traditional Portuguese ballads in Romanceiro (1843), which included stories of chivalry, saints, and courtly love. He wrote novels such as Viagens na Minha Terra, O Arco de Sant'Ana, and Helena.
Alexandre Herculano, along with Almeida Garrett, helped start Portuguese Romanticism. Like Garrett, Herculano was exiled to England and France because of his liberal beliefs. Unlike Garrett, all of Herculano’s works were entirely Romantic, avoiding Greco-Roman myths and history. He found inspiration in medieval Portuguese poems, chronicles, and the Bible. His writing covered many genres, including essays, poetry, novels, and plays. He brought back stories of Portuguese legends and history in works like Eurico, o Presbítero and Lendas e Narrativas. His work was influenced by writers such as Chateaubriand, Schiller, Klopstock, Walter Scott, and the Old Testament Psalms.
António Feliciano de Castilho supported Ultra-Romanticism. He published poems like A Noite no Castelo ("Night in the Castle") and Os Ciúmes do Bardo ("The Jealousy of the Bard") in 1836, as well as the drama Camões. He became a leading figure for later Ultra-Romantic writers until the Coimbra Question. He also translated Goethe’s Faust using French versions of the play, even though he did not know German. Other important Portuguese Romantic writers include novelists Camilo Castelo Branco, Júlio Dinis, and Soares de Passos, Bulhão Pato, and Pinheiro Chagas.
The Romantic style returned in the early 20th century through poets connected to the Portuguese Renaissance, such as Teixeira de Pascoais, Jaime Cortesão, and Mário Beirão, who are called Neo-Romantics. An early example of Romanticism in Portugal can be found in the works of Manuel Maria Barbosa du Bocage, especially his sonnets from the late 18th century, and Leonor de Almeida Portugal, Marquise of Alorna.
Italy
Romanticism in Italian literature was a small movement, though some important works were created. These works often focused on patriotic themes that wanted to unite the country. The movement officially began in 1816 when Germaine de Staël wrote an article in the journal Biblioteca italiana titled "On the manner and utility of translations." In this article, she encouraged Italians to stop following Neoclassicism and to study new writers from other countries. Before 1816, Ugo Foscolo had already written poems that included Romantic ideas. Similarly, Monti and Pindemonte, who followed the Classical style, also wrote works with Romantic themes. The most important Romantic writers were Ludovico di Breme, Pietro Borsieri, and Giovanni Berchet. Well-known authors like Alessandro Manzoni and Giacomo Leopardi were influenced by Enlightenment, Romanticism, and Classicism.
A minor Italian Romantic writer who created works in many genres, including short stories and novels (such as Ricciarda o i Nurra e i Cabras), was Giuseppe Botero (1815–1885). He was from Piedmont and focused much of his work on Sardinian literature.
South America
Spanish-speaking South American Romanticism was strongly influenced by Esteban Echeverría, who wrote during the 1830s and 1840s. His work was shaped by his dislike for the Argentine leader Juan Manuel de Rosas. His writings often included themes of blood and fear, using the image of a slaughterhouse to describe the violence of Rosas’ rule.
Brazilian Romanticism is divided into three periods. The first period focused on creating a sense of national identity, often using the image of a brave Native American. Examples include José de Alencar, who wrote Iracema and O Guarani, and Gonçalves Dias, known for his poem Canção do exílio (Song of the Exile). The second period, called Ultra-Romanticism, was strongly influenced by European ideas. It often included themes of sadness, longing, and unattainable love. Writers such as Goethe and Lord Byron were frequently referenced in these works. Notable authors of this time were Álvares de Azevedo, Casimiro de Abreu, Fagundes Varela, and Junqueira Freire. The third period focused on social issues, especially the movement to end slavery. Key writers from this time included Castro Alves, Tobias Barreto, and Pedro Luís Pereira de Sousa.
United States
In the United States, by 1818, Romantic poetry was being published. An early example was William Cullen Bryant's poem "To a Waterfowl." American Romantic Gothic literature began with Washington Irving's stories "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" (1820) and "Rip Van Winkle" (1819). Later, starting in 1823, James Fenimore Cooper wrote the Leatherstocking Tales, which focused on simple heroes and vivid descriptions of the American frontier. These stories often included characters like Uncas from The Last of the Mohicans, who reflected ideas similar to those of philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Washington Irving's essays and travel books also included detailed descriptions of local places and cultures. Edgar Allan Poe's dark stories and poetic works were more famous in France than in the United States. However, the Romantic American novel became fully developed with Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter (1850), which used strong emotions and dramatic scenes. Later writers like Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Walt Whitman continued to show Romantic influences. The poetry of Emily Dickinson and the novel Moby-Dick by Herman Melville are also considered key examples of American Romantic literature. By the 1880s, other styles like psychological realism and social realism began to compete with Romanticism in novels.
The European Romantic movement reached America in the early 1800s. American Romanticism was as varied and unique as it was in Europe. Like Europeans, American Romantics valued strong moral beliefs, individual freedom, and the idea that people should trust their feelings. They believed nature was good and that society often had problems.
Romanticism became popular in American politics, philosophy, and art. It connected with the spirit of American independence and with people who wanted to move away from strict religious traditions. Romantics opposed rational thinking and religious ideas that focused too much on rules. They disagreed with Calvinism, which taught that people's fates were already decided by God. Romanticism led to the rise of Transcendentalism in New England, a philosophy that saw a more personal and open relationship between people and God. Transcendentalism and Romanticism both valued feelings over reason and freedom over tradition. They encouraged people to enjoy nature and reject strict religious beliefs, promising a new growth in American culture.
American Romanticism focused on the individual and rejected the strict rules of earlier styles like neoclassicism and religious traditions. It created a new kind of literature that still influences writers today. Novels, short stories, and poems replaced older forms like sermons and manifestos. Romantic literature was personal, emotional, and showed more feelings than earlier works. American writers were inspired by the idea of freedom, which allowed them to express themselves without fear of criticism. They also paid more attention to the emotions and inner lives of their characters, who often had strong feelings or intense experiences.
The works of the Romantic Era also reached more people than earlier works, partly because books became cheaper and easier to buy during this time.