Comparison & Contrast on Romanticism and Realism literary movements - Essay Example

Consequently, as industrial revolution progressed, these poor working conditions raised a lot of concerns and people started to advocate for changes. Artists and writers were amongst the people who were championing for the changes (Dahiya 4). They responded to these conditions in many different ways and as a result, romanticism and realism artistic movements emerged. Romanticism movement originated from Europe in the mid of the 18th century and was concerned with emotions and imagination (Morris, 169).

It opposed aristocratic social and political ideologies of the age of enlightenment and the scientific rationalization of nature (Mendelowitz 153). Romanticism was highly centered on visual arts, literature and music but had greater impacts education and natural history (Morris, 49). During the 18th century, romanticism was common and popular (Reynolds 81). However, in the second half of 19th century it lost its popularity and was overtaken by realism movement. Realism movement was based on real life and unlike their immediate predecessors (romantics), the practitioners of realism sought to portray real life, both good and bad.

They were far more interested in science and in civilization, and far less interested in nature and the occult. Realists, like Romantics, were very moral writers, but moral causes changed with the times as new conditions dictated new issues (Richardson 56). Both romanticism and realism gathered a lot of fame during the era of industrial revolution. However, it was realism that was more popular from mid 1800s on. Romanticism only dominated from mid 1700s to the mid 1800s (Dahiya 4). Romanticism artists and writers put passion and emotions in their work.

The works created by these writers and artists often dealt with themes that bring hope and inspiration or reflected nature’s beauty (Ferber 15). The works were always based on nationalism, spirituality and mankind. The works of the romantic artists gave the people an escape from the problems and challenges that they faced during the industrial revolution (Reynolds 111). The works of literature that are usually associated with this movement are the poems of William Wordsworth and William Blake.

Other works include Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, which was a story about a scientist who tried to create human but created a monster, Alexandre Dumas’s work, The Three Musketeers and Victor Hugo’s novel, The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Richardson 67). The works of realists were based on real life. The art and literature developed or made by realists exposed life as it was. They clearly pointed out the difficult living and working conditions that were eminent during the era of industrial revolution.

Most of the writers and artists of realism were activists who used their works to reveal the evils of society in the hope that they would be reformed. Realists had hopes that their works would bring inspiration to the politicians and other people in power thus enable them make lasting changes in living and working conditions (Herman 11). The realists were also referred to as social critics since they used to criticize the society. In US, the realists were referred to as muckrakers since they raked the muck that was in the society.

The criticism of the realist was always on specific cause such as child labor, living conditions and working conditions in industries. Realists’ literature writers created factious works but their plots were real. The most known realist author is Charles dickens who was a British