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Politically it was inspired by the revolutions in America and France and popular wars of independence in Poland, Spain, Greece, and elsewhere. Emotionally it expressed an extreme assertion of the self and the value of individual experience (the 'egotistical sublime'), together with the sense of the infinite and transcendental. Socially it championed progressive causes, though when these were frustrated it often produced a bitter, gloomy, and despairing outlook. The romantics paid great attention to the spiritual and emotional life of man. Personified nature plays an important role in the pages of their works. A. The Characteristics of Romanticism (1) Romanticism was a rebellion against the objectivity of rationalism. It was a movement of conscious rebellion against being too objective. The romantic spirit was one of subjectivity of inward feelings that one could trust one’s subjective responses. Romantics placed a high premium upon the creative function of imagination, and saw art as a formulation of intuitive and imaginative perceptions that tend to speak a nobler truth than that of fact. (2) For romantics, the feelings, intuitions and emotions were more important than reason and common sense. The controversy was one between head thinking and heart feeling. There was a much greater stress on emotions in the writing of the romantic period. Romantics held that one could find truth through one’s feelings. This is just the opposite of the rational theories that Benjamin Franklin followed. Rationalists would say that people could find truth through scientific investigation, but romantics were ready to trust their feelings as an avenue for finding truth and finding what was essential in life They believed that the irrational was important in human experience and that not everything could be explained by reason. (3) Romantics did not think of the world as a ticking watch made by God. They thought of the world as a living, breathing being. They stressed the close relationship between man and nature. They viewed nature as an example and source of vivid physical beauty and as a manifestation of spirit in the universe. With deep love for nature, they saw nature as a revelation of truth, the living garment of God. Therefore, nature was a suitable subject for true art. They believed that God was immanent in creation. In other words, when they would look at the finite objects in this world, they would find the presence of an infinite God. (4) Romantics emphasized individualism, placing the individual against the group, against authority. They saw the individual at the very center of life and art. They emphasized personal freedom and freedom from formalism, tradition, and conformity. They delighted in self-analysis, intricate examination and full exposure of the soul. They cherished no hero-worship, yet believed in the perfectibility of humanity. Romantics believed in the natural goodness of human beings. They held that humanity close to nature would behave well, and would not be hindered by civilization. (5) Romantics affirmed the inner life of the self, and wanted each person to be free to develop and express his own inner thoughts. They believed everybody’s inner self (subconscious) was meaningful, and everybody should have an opportunity to be creative and to express his own thoughts. (6) Romantics cherished strong interest in the past, especially the medieval. They were attracted by the primitive because the primitive often was innoc