Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Blog #8 Industrialization Week 1/3-/13/08

Discuss some of the ways in which Romantic artists, muscians, and writers responded to political and socioeconomic conditions in the period from 1800 to 1850. Document your response with specific examples from discussions of at least two of the three dsciplines: visual arts, music, and literature. (Remember to respond to the question in 6-8 sentences (yes it can be longer) and to respond to two of your classmates answers in 4-6 sentences. Do not just agree or disagree without defending or justifying your argument.) Think above and beyond the common answers that you may see. Be sure to challenge your classmates with controversial tactics, actions or selections. Good Luck!!!! Go Mustangs!!!

10 comments:

Hailey said...

I am first!
Thinking on that time period, a few authors come to mind, both of whom are in that document packet we got today: Mary Shelley ("Frankenstein") and the Brothers Grimm (who, for those of you that don't know, are the reason for "Hansel and Gretel", "Little Red Riding Hood", and other such fantasies). I read Frankenstein a few years ago, and in connection to the Industrial Revolution, it makes sense. Progress was seen as a good thing, and yet a lot of people were against it. I don't know if Ms. Shelley was making a statement or not, but Frankenstein was written in the right time period to be a warning about the dangers of knowledge, a response to the social conditions/changes of the time.
And then there's music. Now, I'm not really big on Beethoven. I play violin, and he wrote for violin, but his work has never been my favorite. I know that's kind of off topic, I just thought you'd appreciate it before I start talking about his connection with the Industrial Revolution. Beethoven, as any violinist whose done any research on the three great composers knows, has been generally marked as the end of Classicism and the beginning of music's Romanticism. His later work was written in the heart of the Industrial Revolution. Although I'm not a fan, as a music lover and pretty educated listener, his music is alive with passion, and is quite notably a difference form Classicism (well...for those of you who know classical music, it is ;) ). His inspiration? Think of the times. Freedom was a reachable goal now, progress was rolling on... times had changed from the times of Classicism. And he wrote for it.
So if any of that made sense, it should be obvious that of course the artists of the time were influenced by the Industrial Revolution...who wasn't?

jordan fudge said...

wow. no one huh? ok, here ii go.

Ok, Romanticism was a reaction to the rigidity of classicism, rationalism, and deism. The movement differed from country to country depending upon what was going on there. it was a more complex, view of the real world, whereas previous views were basically like a single philosophy to cover everything that could possibly happen in life.

OK, now for the prompt. I must admit i'm still really foggy on the topic, but im going to go ahead and guess that because things were good in the mid 19th century [no wars, industrial revolution] the artsy-fartsy people naturally became more able to work in their fields be it music, literature, or art. In general, england had the most notable romantics, from William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Robert Burns, George Gordon, Lord Bryon, etc...this is because the brits were far ahead of the curve and weren't dealing with the internal conflicts other countries were (cough cough, france).

ok to respond to my only fellow blogger, hailey, i agree with your idea that because freedom was attainable, people were more inspired and thus stimulating the movement.

well seeing as though no one even attempted the blog, i guess i'll stop here.

@_@

jordan fudge said...

in addition, hailey, i also agree that because the economy was doing well, that people had less pressure and depression. a recent example (well, not really recent) was the great depression. because the economy was basically dirt, artistic production was pretty much shot. then a few years later, WW2, so on. then we look at the 70s, 80s, where the music, art, film, was increasingly prosperous. so yes, in essence, when times are good, so are the artists.

anu said...

im baaaack!
well...seeing as i havent been here for this topic i'll try my best to answer. Apparently france had lot's of internal problems and Victor Hugo's Les Miserables reflected the social injustice going on. In the opera scene, things were falling into a combination of supernatural fear and melodramatic plot context-something Weber achieved in his Der Freischütz. Poets William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge (Britain) wrote Lyrical Ballads in simple, everyday language to stress the importance of the living voice the impoverished use to express themselves. Using this language also helped point out the collectiveness of man's emotions.

hailey- right, beethoven wrote for freedom since it was "a reachable goal now.."-his Fidelio is the epitome of rescue operas.

jordan- i dunno, france wasnt doing so good yet they still produced lots of progress in the visual arts and music department.

Megha Shah said...

English Romantic Writers such as William Wordsworth, Lord byron, Friedrich Schlegel wrote many famous literature that occurred during the time of economic prosperity. People did have less pressure and concern over the economy. Wordsworth for example wrote Lyrical Ballads with Coleridge. The new poetry rejected the rules of the eighteenth century criticism. Lord Byron wrote Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. He wrote with humor and expressed an admiration for urban life. The German romantic writer, Friederich Schlegel wrote Lucinde which attacked the unfairness against women. Also, art became a major part of the Romantic Era. John Constable painted Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows. He portrayed a stable world where there were no political conflicts or industrial developments that challenged the dominance of church. The Neo-Gothic type of art in architecture revived.

Responses:
Hailey: I agree with you when you talked about how the economy was good, so writers and artists bloomed during that time.

Jordan: I agree with you about the different English artists such as William Wordsworth, and Samuel Coleridge became more able to work in their fields.

Anonymous said...

Romanticism artist responded to political and socioeconomic conditions in their own way and style. Though France had less romantics because of the internal fairs, there were sum people that saw through these conflicts such as Antoine Jean Gros. He began began the transition from neoclassicism to romanticism by moving away from a sober style to a more colorful and emotional style. Also romantic literature was usually criticism of the past, emphasis on women and children, and respect for nature. A poet who influenced this greatly was James Macpherson with his Ossian cycle of poems. This also opened doors to Goethe and Walter Scott. As megah stated "The new poetry rejected the rules of the eighteenth century criticism".

Lets see i agree with jordan in the sense that Brittan was far ahead of everyone. They had less internal conflicts. So they were able to advance thier romantics to another level

I also like how megah gave different aspects of writers thought. Whether it was to make others laugh or attack the unfairness against women.

abbybaby said...

The artists mucisians and writers of the romantic period had a facination with the middle ages and they hoped to brign back christiaity. They took interest in the mucis and arts and literature instead of the sciences that were included in the enlightenment. artists and writers were infatuated with fairy tales and folk songs and things that reminded them of a world beyond their own. in my exoerience in playing piano the music from the classical times and the romantic times are very different. in classical the music seems a little more structured or stiff than that of the romantic period. the romatic music i have played seems more dramatic and energetic but that is my opinion. anyways
With most of europe becoming more secularized the romantic period seemed that it tried to bring back the christianity. Samuel taylor colerigde discussed the issue raised in the scientific revolution God versus the rules of nature in one of his gothic poems.

Responses:

i agree with hailey that the artists were influenced by te industrial revolution. it seemed to be a times with a lot less wars and more prosperous than before.

Anonymous said...

writter-Friedrich Schlegel, wrote a romantic novel "Lucinde" which responed to social conditions in the time period. He went against the contemporary morals by describing Lucinde as equal to a male hero. Which women were less then men and only for homes at this time, and Lucinde was a friend a companion and a lover to the hero.

artist-William Turner, illistrated the recently built rail way heading through a huge storm. This was set to show that it was part of the natural world, but could also dominate it. He choose to go against what other romantic artists would paint or say. This was shown as Politcal because of power and awe sensory. His art would challenge or surpass the fources of human nature itself(page 649)

responce:
Hayley:
I agree with the fact that she says that Shelly was warning people for the danger of knowledge, for social conditions or changes. I'm not on the same page with the music part, i mostly just dont understand what she is saying, but i think that he wasn't completely linked with the revolution. Yes he wrote for freedom, but i dont see that as being part of the revolution.

Megah:
On her responces she says that visual arts aren't as produced but i disagree. I think that they aren't fully produced, but they do have some art out there. There were many artists out there in this time period they do have progress to make like she says but i do believe that they have already made great progress.
<33 blondie (tyler)

hey Mr. Neal
i finally rememebered and did it! i think i did it pretty good, and i believe it is to a good portion of the best of my ablity...
:]]]]

Niha Kottapalli said...

Lord Byron, a rebel among the Romantic poets, was considered an embodiment of new person during what the French Revolution had created. In "Don Juan" he had acknowledged the cruelty as well as the beauty of nature.

Romanticism art had portrayed scenery from medieval time. It represented social stability, and religious reverence and was shown as if it was disappearing form their era.
-John Constable: he was politically conservative. In Salisbury Cathedral, from the Meadows, he showed the world as political turmoil nor industrial revolution challenged the dominance of the church. It showed nature and a "powerful sense of enduring order."

Friedrich Schlegel wrote "Lucinde" which showed that women were capable of being more than just lovers and domestics.

My Responses:
Jordan- I agree with his statement that Romanticism was more of a view of the real world rather than what it was like before during when people just tried to focus on everything whereas during the Romanticism time they focused on one certain thing.

Megha- I agree with her statement that art was very important in the Romantic era because they focused on showing a deeper meaning of the world.

daisycheong said...

Prompt: “Discuss some of the ways in which Romantic artist, musicians, and writers responded to political and socioeconomic conditions in the period from 1800 to 1850. Document your response with specific examples from discussions of at least two of the three disciplines: visual arts, music, and literature.”

My responses:
Okay…I think the prompt is asking us to give examples of Romantic pieces that responded to the political and socioeconomic conditions in the period from 1800 to 1850 (industrialization?), but I am not sure…
First of all, by definition, Romanticism was a reaction that was against much of the thought of the Enlightenment (643).
I found two Romantic art pieces in our history book that deal with the industrialization. The first one is “Salisbury Cathedral, from the Meadows” by John Constable that was completed in 1831 and the second one is “Rain, Steam and Speed – The Great Western Railway 1844” by Joseph Mallord William Turner that was completed in 1844. “Salisbury Cathedral, from the Meadows”(648) by John Constable portrayed a world with no political turmoil and no industrial development. In the picture, there’s a cathedral that was built in the Middles Ages and storm happening behind it. And in my opinion, I think the storm in the picture represented those who wanted changes in their life, tried to force the church to accept their demands. As it stated in the book, “religious institutions were barriers to political radicalism.” From the painting of John Constable, you can tell that he is opposing to the industrialization and new developments because he is promoting the rural landscape and society that had already disappeared. The second artwork was the “Rain, Steam and Speed – The Great Western Railway of 1844” by Joseph Mallord William Turner. His painting illustrated the feelings that the Europeans had between their natural environment and the new technology of the industrial age. From his painting, it illustrated the advance of industry that represented a new kind of human power. However, when I first saw this picture, I thought it was trying to say that the world became polluted because of the steam engines that were invented…………
Second of all, William Wordsworth’s poem, “Ode on Intimations of Immortality” that was completed in 1803 deals with the problem of industrialization. “There was a time when meadow, grove, and stream,/ The earth and every common sight,/ To me did seem/ Appareled in celestial light,/ The glory and the freshness of a dream./ It is not now as it hath been of yore --/ Turn whereso’er I may,/ By night or day,/ The things which I have seen I now can/ see no more,” is illustrating the fact that factories led to pollution of their world. He is saying that before industrialization, their environments were clean and beautiful, but during the industrialization, everything that he saw before the industrialization had disappeared, no longer existed.

My Comments:
Jordan: I agree with Jordan the fact that things were good during that time because there were no wars and more new industrial developments. People were also starting to gain more rights in their country which gave them more freedom to work with music, literature, and art.

Sri lankan: I also agree with Sri lankan’s comment to Jordan. England had more advanced romantic writers, artists, and musicians not only because they had less internal conflicts and wars, but also the English Bill of Rights which gave them more freedom and rights.