
			Literature - a Mirror of Society

         The literature of a country is affected and influenced by how 
 the people of that country live.  This paper will prove that The 
 French Revolution greatly influenced 19th Century French Romanticism. 
  First, the cultural values of the revolution will be identified.  
 Then, the different aspects of Romanticism will be presented.  The 
 cultural values of The French Revolution and Romanticism will then be 
 linked.  Finally, literary examples will be shown to support this 
 connection between the two movements.
        Before the Revolution, the citizens of France lived in a 
 strict, confined society with no freedom to express their feelings.  
 Government had imposed strong, unfair laws on the common people 
 (Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia "French Revolution").   They 
 wanted a voice in a stable government with a strong economy (Johnson 
 105) and a strong sense of individuality and independence within the 
 people. (Moss and Wilson 180)  
         Eighteenth- century literature was much like the society in 
 which it was produced, restrained.  Society was divided into 
 privileged and unprivileged classes,  (Leinward 452) with Eighteenth- 
 century writers focusing on the lives of the upper class.  (Thompson 
 857)  These writers followed "formal rules"(Thorlby 282), and based 
 their works on scientific observations and logic (Thompson 895). 
         The Revolution gave the common people and writers more freedom 
 to express feelings and stimulated them to use reason.  According to 
 Thompson, The Revolution "had a major impact on Nineteenth- Century 
 European Life."  (895)  It sent a strong wave of emotion and revival 
 throughout France (Peyre 59).  This lead to new laws and standards for 
 the citizens, including newer, less imposing literary standards.
         Romanticism marked a profound change in both literature and 
 thought.  Romanticism, according to Webster's Dictionary, is defined 
 as "a literary movement (as in early 19th century Europe) marked 
 especially by an emphasis on the imagination and emotions and by the 
 use of autobiographical material."  Although this may be true, there 
 is no single commonly accepted definition of Romanticism, but it has 
 some features upon which there is general agreement.  First, it 
 emphasized upon human reason, feeling, emotion, and expression  
 (Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia, "Romanticism") while emphasizing 
 the love of nature, beauty, and liberty. (Leinward 528-529)  Thompson 
 defines Romanticism as " a major literary and cultural movement" that 
 was inspired by the imaginations, inner feelings, and emotions of the 
 Romantics.  (895)
         If one term can be used to describe the forces that have 
 shaped the modern world, it is Romanticism.  (Peyre, 2)  Romanticism 
 has had such a profound effect on the world since the late 18th 
 century that one author has called it "the profoundest cultural 
 transformation in human history since the invention of the city."  
 (Compton's Encyclopedia, "Romanticism")  
         Harvey and Heseltine state that "The outstanding 
 characteristic of 18th-century French literature had been attached to 
 reason.... About the turn of the century.... literature became a 
 matter of senses and emotions."  (633)  They also say that the 
 movement of Romanticism "gave practical expression to the new 
 spirit..." because it recognized that the bounds on literature were 
 "too rigid".  (634)
         There are many direct relations how the French Revolution 
 influenced the French Romanticism that followed it in the Nineteenth- 
 century. 
         The French Revolution had a major impact on the timeline and 
 progression of Romanticism.  Vinaver states that "Neither a revolt or 
 a reaction, Romanticism was a revolutionary fulfillment... And this in 
 turn explains why the European event known as the French Revolution is 
 at once the climax [of Romanticism]...It's [French Revolution} date, 
 1789, conveniently divides the Pre- Romanticism [era] from the full 
 flowering of the new culture." (6)  Romanticism starts in about 1774, 
 but does not take off until the last decade of the 18th- century, the 
 same time as the Revolution.
         The French Revolution provided for many of the problems and 
 basis for many Romantic literary works.  First of all, the political 
 change brought by the Revolution, along with the intellectual 
 reverberations brought upon Romanticism.  (Harvey and Heseltine 634)  
 Also, Thompson states that " [Romanticism was] shaped by the ideals of 
 the French Revolution."  (895)  Finally, Vinaver declares that the 
 Revolution served as "a great source of the problems and tendencies of 
 Romantic proper."  (6)  
         The Revolution also inspired many writers to write 
 romantically.  Peyre points this out when he says that it is wrong to 
 call writers "revolutionaries" but when he writes about revolution- 
 inspired works, he states: "in almost all of them [revolution- 
 inspired romantic writers] could be detected a feeling of 
 revolt...inspired by passion and directed against morals which were 
 considered too constraining."  (59)  This shows how the writers stood 
 for and supported the revolution that had occurred forty years before. 
  Thompson makes a clear point along this line when he states that 
 "Romanticism was a major literary and cultural movement that emerged 
 out of the French Revolutionary spirit of the late 1700's..."  (895) 
         In France, the Romantic Poets, especially Victor Hugo and 
 Alfred de Vigney, gave their attention towards the problems arising 
 out of the French Revolution. (Peyre 59) Alfred de Musset wrote 
 philosophically moving lyrics. (Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia 
 "French Literature")  Alphonse de Lamartine "delicately analyzed his 
 own emotions". (Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia "French 
 Literature")  Joseph de Maistre, another major figure whose strong 
 political views made him totally oppose the war, still took the 
 Revolution in to consideration when writing.  (60)  Leinward supports 
 this idea when he says "Poets were moved by the great events of their 
 lives, including the French Revolution."  (528)
         Hugo, the greatest poet of the 19th century France, perhaps of 
 all French Literature, was the major figure of the Romantic Movement. 
  (Harvey and Halestine 350)  His Hernani helped win the revolt against 
 the classic rules of literature.  (Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia, 
 "French Literature")  His most famous work,  Les Miserables, was a 
 novel about the suffering of humanity during the Revolution.  
 (Leinward 529) 
         Vigney, a poet, dramatist, and novelist, played a large role 
 in the Romanticism of the 1820's.  His play, Chatterton, dramatized 
 the misfortune of the poet in a "materialist and pitiless" society.  
 (Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia "Vigny")
         Alfred de Musset's philosophical poetry played a major role in 
 the Romanticism of the 1820's. (Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia 
 "French Literature") Harvey and Heseltine say that "Musset is usually 
 classed with Hugo, Lamartine, and Vigny as one of the four great 
 figures of the Romantic Movement..." (Harvey and Heseltine 502)  His 
 lyrical poetry mixed suffering and passion such as in Le Souvenir. 
 (502)
         Lamartine, described by Harvey and Heseltine as "one of the 
 four great poets of the Romantic Movement" (390), expressed his 
 appreciation for nature as a "reflection of his own moods" in his 
 Meditations poetiques. (390)  This shows how Romantic poets could 
 display their love for nature and human qualities of thought at the 
 same time.
         Joseph de Maistre whose "inconsistent and impassioned ideas 
 [about the Revolution] influenced Vigny, was impressed by the divine 
 greatness of the Revolution...." (Peyne 59)  The Revolution and the 
 idea how it was "controlled by a mighty force" inspired him to write 
 and celebrate it as being divine in Te Deum.  (59)
         The research presented in this paper has shown that the French 
 Revolution of 1789 greatly influenced the Romantic literature of the 
 proceeding 19th century France.  The French cultural values before and 
 during the revolution have been presented.  The different aspects of 
 Romanticism have been reviewed in detail.  Then relations with 
 examples between the Revolution and Romanticism were presented.  In 
 closing, I have shown how the French Revolution has had a remarkable 
 effect on French Romantic literature in the 19th century.
 

