HELP!!! HELP!!! Romanticism vs. The Age of Reason??? How are they similar/different?

Hey guys! I'm in a bind! I'm taking a Literature class at school and it's kicking my bum. I have a midterm tomorrow and I need MAJOR HELP on an essay question. Okay here it goes.





How is the Romanticism era and the Enlightment era (in literature) similar? How are they different? Finally, which aspects of each era are still relevant to the early 21st century??





THANKS SO MUCH %26lt;3

HELP!!! HELP!!! Romanticism vs. The Age of Reason??? How are they similar/different?
Hmm. Not so sure about similarities -- they seem pretty well opposed, and not many likenesses are coming to mind right now -- but here's the gist on both. The Age of Reason (or the Enlightenment, same thing) is all about scientific, or at least more rational, concrete ideas, focused on humanistic ideals and faith in human intelligence. Romanticism emerged more or less as a direct backlash to the perceived "coldness" and "emotionless" nature of Enlightenment era thought and arts (actual art, literature, music, etc). Romantics focused on raw emotion and intuition rather than reason and intellect.





The Enlightenment is still prevalent because, broadly speaking, we all seem to want hard, scientific evidence for just about everything before we'll believe it. However, the fact that religions and various spiritual leanings still exist means Romanticism is still very much alive. As far as literature is concerned, science fiction is a perfect example of Enlightened lit, whereas any melodramatic work you can think of owes much to the Romantics.





Hope that at least gives you a starting point!