Response to "Token Self-Indulgent Post"

Much like Laura, I too have a “soft spot” for Romanticism. Her post, which contrasts the Enlightenment and Romanticism, inspired me to consider why Romanticism is such an attractive period. I think that much of the attraction to the Romantic period comes from its simplicity. While “simplistic” is not the correct word to describe the works created during this period, the foundation of Romanticism, to depend on human emotion, experience and nature, is not incredibly complex. Unlike the Enlightenment, Romanticism relied on themes that are personal and consequently tangible to a greater audience. To contrast, the Enlightenment, in an effort to assess reality and give logical reasoning to existence, birthed obscure concepts to which an audience could not necessarily relate or agree. The Romantic period provided an “explanation” of reality that was much more simple and understandable than the many interpretations of reality created during the Enlightenment, trying more to express reality than analyze it. During the Romantic period, reality was interpreted as nothing more than one’s experience and existence provided by nature. It is the simplistic nature of Romantic period, to draw on and interpret real experience and as no more than reality, which allows people to maintain a “soft spot” for Romanticism.