Pre-Romanticism | European history | Britannica Browse Search Quizzes Games On This Day Login Subscribe  Now Entertainment & Pop Culture Geography & Travel Health & Medicine Lifestyles & Social Issues Literature Philosophy & Religion Politics, Law & Government Science Sports & Recreation Technology Visual Arts World History Quizzes Games Podcasts On This Day Biographies Week In Review Topic Summaries Infographics Demystified Lists #WTFact Companions Image Galleries Spotlight Entertainment & Pop Culture Geography & Travel Health & Medicine Lifestyles & Social Issues Literature Philosophy & Religion Politics, Law & Government Science Sports & Recreation Technology Visual Arts World History Britannica Classics Check out these retro videos from Encyclopedia Britannica’s archives. Britannica Explains In these videos, Britannica explains a variety of topics and answers frequently asked questions. This Time in History In these videos, find out what happened this month (or any month!) in history. #WTFact Videos In #WTFact Britannica shares some of the most bizarre facts we can find. Demystified Videos In Demystified, Britannica has all the answers to your burning questions. Pre-Romanticism Article Additional Info Pre-Romanticism European history Print Cite verified Cite While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Select Citation Style MLA APA Chicago Manual of Style Copy Citation Share Share Share to social media Facebook Twitter URL https://www.britannica.com/event/Pre-Romanticism More Give Feedback Feedback Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Feedback Type Select a type (Required) Factual Correction Spelling/Grammar Correction Link Correction Additional Information Other Your Feedback Submit Feedback Thank you for your feedback Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Join Britannica's Publishing Partner Program and our community of experts to gain a global audience for your work! External Websites WRITTEN BY The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... See Article History Pre-Romanticism, cultural movement in Europe from about the 1740s onward that preceded and presaged the artistic movement known as Romanticism (q.v.). Chief among these trends was a shift in public taste away from the grandeur, austerity, nobility, idealization, and elevated sentiments of Neoclassicism or Classicism toward simpler, more sincere, and more natural forms of expression. This new emphasis partly reflected the tastes of the growing middle class, who found the refined and elegant art forms patronized by aristocratic society to be artificial and overly sophisticated; the bourgeoisie favoured more realistic artistic vehicles that were more emotionally accessible. A major intellectual precursor of Romanticism was the French philosopher and writer Jean-Jacques Rousseau. He emphasized the free expression of emotion rather than polite restraint in friendship and love, repudiated aristocratic elegance and recognized the virtues of middle-class domestic life, and helped open the public’s eyes to the beauties of nature. Rousseau introduced the cult of religious sentiment among people who had discarded religious dogma, and he inculcated the belief that moral development was fostered by experiencing powerful sympathies. He also introduced the idea that the free expression of the creative spirit is more important than strict adherence to formal rules and traditional procedures. The new emphasis on genuine emotion can be seen in a whole range of Pre-Romantic trends. These included the development of the “wild,” natural-appearing English garden in contrast to the geometric vistas of the French formal garden; the graveyard school of English poetry of the 1740s, with Edward Young’s and Thomas Gray’s melancholy evocations of sorrow, bereavement, death, and decay; Samuel Richardson’s Pamela (1740) and other sentimental novels that exploited the reader’s capacity for tenderness and compassion; the “novel of sensibility” of the 1760s, with its emphasis on emotional sensitivity and deeply felt personal responses to natural beauty and works of art; the Sturm und Drang movement in Germany (1770–80), in which J.W. von Goethe and Friedrich Schiller rejected in their plays the conventions of French Neoclassical tragedy and instead exalted nature, feeling, and human individualism; the English Gothic novel of terror, fantasy, and mystery, as practiced by Horace Walpole in The Castle of Otranto (1765) and by Ann Radcliffe and Matthew Gregory Lewis in several works; and, finally, the ambitious efforts to collect and preserve folktales and ballads of all types. By the 1790s Pre-Romanticism had been supplanted by Romanticism proper. Learn More in these related Britannica articles: Romanticism Romanticism, attitude or intellectual orientation that characterized many works of literature, painting, music, architecture, criticism, and historiography in Western civilization over a period from the late 18th to the mid-19th century. Romanticism can be seen as a rejection of the precepts of order, calm, harmony, balance, idealization, and rationality that… Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Swiss-born philosopher, writer, and political theorist whose treatises and novels inspired the leaders of the French Revolution and the Romantic generation.… Pamela Pamela, novel in epistolary style by Samuel Richardson, published in 1740 and based on a story about a servant and the man who, failing to seduce her, marries her.… History at your fingertips Sign up here to see what happened On This Day, every day in your inbox! Email address By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Notice. Thank you for subscribing! Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Pre-Romanticism Quick Facts date 1740 - 1790 location Europe context Romanticism related topics Romanticism Art Inspire your inbox – Sign up for daily fun facts about this day in history, updates, and special offers. Enter your email Subscribe By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. Click here to view our Privacy Notice. Easy unsubscribe links are provided in every email. Thank you for subscribing! Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. 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