Brian Ingebretsen
3/12/14
ENGL 1A
Natural Crossroads: The Division of Romantic Science
Nature,
in its entirety, can entice a beauty that cannot be fathomed by a lone, living
creature and is equally, in every way, mysterious. Nature provides some with a sense
of solace and escape while for others, a scientific playground where one can
learn about the Earth and enjoy its benefits in the process. This fundamental aspect of
nature is often viewed by scientific storytellers who strive to explore the
mystery of life while the beauty and elegance of nature is captured by storytellers who see it
for its tranquility, sanctuary, and wisdom. These authors and painters would soon help give rise to
what literary and art scholars call the Romantic Age of the 19th
Century. This was an era of simple enlightenment and natural freedom, an era
that showcased the majesty and simplicity of nature. Authors, artists, and scientists, ranging from the
past to the present, have all basked in the tranquility that was and
still is the natural world.
Though some perceptions are different, the overarching idea of mysterious serenity combines
writing, artistry and science and creates something so remarkable that its
natural bliss rivals even that of Mother Earth herself
The
perceptions of Romantic nature come in a plethora of different ideas and are drawn
from different experiences which are how this movement began. The Industrial
Revolution was in full swing as cities began to cultivate dirt, slime, and
unattractiveness that scared away many and gave the world a completely new and
disgusting image. The pioneers of Romanticism valued the beauty and simplicity
of nature over the dull and gray of industrialization and did everything to raise
awareness of the
travesty. Did they stop industrialization? No, they did not but it is not what
they failed to do, it is what they successfully accomplished and that was bringing on a new genre
of storytelling. During the era, the world was omnipresent with these
storytellers and came about in different shapes and forms: writers, artists and
philosophers, and with each story written or art piece perfected, a new idea
would find its way into the overarching Romantic world. The idea of majesty and
power made its way to artist Caspar David Friedrich and his famous painting entitled
Wanderer above the Sea of Fog as it
depicts the powerful scope that nature offers 
viewers.
The painting is of a wanderer who looks
out onto a sea of clouds which hide mountains and other natural mysteries with
the metaphor usually being that he is looking into the unknown of a future that
is not too far ahead. This
idea is delivered in regards to perspective of the figure to the environment
making it seem that he is far closer than he really is. Taking this into mind,
this piece provides the viewer with a sense of elevation as they are pulled
into fantasy and, like the wanderer, look into the face of their not so distant
but heavily clouded future. The painting is a marvel of Romantic design
and clearly conveys what the artist was trying to showcase, it shows power,
beauty, and the unknown which were frequent ideas used in the storytelling.
Though these ideas of power and beauty were commonly used, how they were used
were very seldom the same.
viewers.
The painting is of a wanderer who looks
out onto a sea of clouds which hide mountains and other natural mysteries with
the metaphor usually being that he is looking into the unknown of a future that
is not too far ahead. This
idea is delivered in regards to perspective of the figure to the environment
making it seem that he is far closer than he really is. Taking this into mind,
this piece provides the viewer with a sense of elevation as they are pulled
into fantasy and, like the wanderer, look into the face of their not so distant
but heavily clouded future. The painting is a marvel of Romantic design
and clearly conveys what the artist was trying to showcase, it shows power,
beauty, and the unknown which were frequent ideas used in the storytelling.
Though these ideas of power and beauty were commonly used, how they were used
were very seldom the same.
There
was a hazier
Romantic movement that had cast
a shadow over the known spiritual and serene idealism, a quixotism that focused
not on the simplicity and elegance of nature but on the complexity and darker
depths of human nature and emotion. These stories told tales with an abundance psychological
undertones and a strange, gloomy elegance that combined fear and beauty; these fictions
opened up an entire new realm of fantasy. Dark Romanticism delved deep
into the minds of the human and portrayed temptation, sin and self-destruction, shedding a metaphorical, but
sometimes real, light on the hardships and aggravation faced in everyday life;
Edgar Allen Poe is the quintessential example of a man who quite literally had
been through hell and back. Poe, who is one of the most famous of the Dark
Romantics, absolutely loved writing about psychological paradigms and
other dark subjects including death, mourning and decomposition. A story
written by Poe, which is entitled The Fall of the House of Usher,
ensnares this ideal of psychological darkness and uses it to convey a form of
mystifying, yet creepy, splendor. In contrast to the painting, the story
depicts nature as “…an unredeemed dreariness of thought which no goading of the
imagination could torture into aught of the sublime” as the story takes the
reader into the dreary and melancholic House of Usher (Poe). There is a certain
magnificence to his descriptions as he speaks phrases of vast imagery including
“the first glimpse of the building, a sense of insufferable gloom pervaded my
spirit” and “with an utter depression of soul which I can compare to no earthly
sensation more properly than to the after-dream of the reveler upon opium” with
each line containing glorious amounts of detail and description (Poe). There are some
grand and obvious contrasts between the painting and this story but one mustn’t
forget that there are comparisons too including the amount of detail in each of
them. They both incorporate the power of nature and the effect it has on the
real world; in one case it is seen as an empowerment to self-will and in the
other it is a force of strange and demonic powers, which one has no control
over. This contrast also
divides the readers, crating those who choose dark over light; those who are
intrigued and curious will walk into the shadows rather than reach for the
stars. Though Poe deals with tough subjects such as death and illness, the
audience is, in every way, mystified by the subtle calmness and eloquence of
the work; so much so that they may even find themselves exploring psychology to
test themselves to see how powerful emotions can really be and how severely
they affect their lives.
Discussing the theoretical nature and
psychological nature had made the Romantic form quite popular but some
followers were seeking the bigger canvas; the connection between fantasy and
science. Science is a grand motivator of Romanticism because it acts as a
stimulant to the fantasy: it brings the poetry to life, aids the viewer in
locating the original inspiration for what they are observing, and calms them with
its omnipresence of natural spiritualism. The two complement
each other in such a way that if one factor is altered or removed then the
entire piece would be demolished; think of a bridge being supported by two
ends. The science of
Romantic storytelling teleports its audience into a paradise of solace and
solitary by freeing the mind to explore the image shown in depth, just as if
one were on a mountain looking out or in a dilapidated house feeling ill.
According to Algis Valiunas, who wrote the article entitled Scientists Fallen Among Poets, there are
many storytellers who provided a larger portal into the understanding of both
science and romance. These contributors include Mary Shelley and Humphrey Davy:
both who are on opposite sides of the Romantic bridge but share the same idea
in that science and romance simply go hand in hand with each other. Valiunas
continues his understanding by defining what science really is which, according
to him, is
“…driven by impulses of imperious
ferocity, indifferent to ordinary human needs and moral structures, defying
Heaven itself in the quest for knowledge, and enjoying ecstatic moments of
revelatory apprehension in which the great questions receive their answer”
(Valiunas).
Science
focuses on deciphering the secrets of the wild and untamed nature, delving into
the depths of what a naturally occurring substance really is. Romantic writing
takes this idea and exemplifies it to a degree of beautiful and heavenly art by providing context to the
audience about what specific part of nature is being discussed and then leaving
room for the story to take ahold of the imagination and investigate the broad
new world. This idealistic
bridge connects the audience to the beauty of nature and an aptitude for science
and everything in between leaving that gray area open to however much
imagination can be freed. There are two ways to view the scientific perspective
of the romantic art dividing the spectators into two groups: those whom are
fans of the theoretical and fantastical nature and those whom relish the idea
of internal emotion and spectacular darkness. These journeyers walk a fantastical
bridge and even though there may be two versions, the reader will always find
their way to the other side.
I too am on this bridge connecting
fantasy with science and I plan on making my journey across the Romantic bridge
as long and slow as I can because there is so much to grasp and if I go any
faster, it may just slip from in between my fingers.
All three of these
storytelling techniques speak out to me and I adore the direction they
are going and how they are written but in terms of whether I’d choose between Transcendentalism
and Dark Romanticism, I have to say that I prefer the Wanderer painting
over the Usher story. I chose the Wanderer painting because it speaks to me on
both an emotional level and a spiritual level because it symbolizes how I live
my life; in the clouds and ready to face the unknown wonders ahead of me. As
for the least effective, I would have to say that the Usher story and all of
its psychological undertones fits because there is a sort of claustrophobia that attributes to this
genre, the sense of inescapable darkness that just pulls you in and doesn’t let
go which may be troublesome for those who want to feel free and at the highest
point of their imagination. The tone of the painting is that of majesty, it feels
like you are really standing on that mountain and feeling the breeze while
looking out at your unknown destiny. This being said, all three of the stories
have different messages once encoded and they are all each made to hide that
certain enigma; for the painting it was a metaphor on destiny and for the Usher
house story, it was the decay of a world; for the article it was an informative
piece on the combination and virtue of both science and romance. Though these
stories are of the same subject, they are all quite different in a very obvious
manner which includes the lightness of the painting, the darkness of Usher, and
the science of the article. As stated before, there are many different styles
of Romanticism: the transcendentalist view, the dark view and the scientific
view which are each written and shown differently from one another.
The
transcendentalist view is more imagination oriented meaning that there is a lot
more descriptions of the tranquility of a subject while the darker side tackles
and forms a certain beauty around psychological aspects such as fear, regret
and melancholy. The science genre takes on a more academic route because it
describes the significance of the two together as a whole and how separating
them would destroy the concept meaning that the tone of said style would be
more informative rather than story oriented. This is the reason why the idealist movement was so
successful, with the combination academia and fantasy the reader is pulled into
a fantastical world of both the fundamental and artistic forms of nature.
Feelings like this implore the belief that reading can have a personal effect
on the reader or could even change the reader to some degree. Changing the
reader simply means altering their perspective on the world, reading something
with different ideas may open the readers mind to new thoughts that would never
have been thought without the push. Romantic storytelling does this by opening
the imagination to the possibility that beauty, mystery, and science are all
the same and coexist well with each other.
Romanticism conveys the image of the beauty of
the natural world and how a simple life can always be a better life. It brings
about peace and preaches the message of solitude and completeness and also
brings the mystery of science and mixes it with the power of storytelling. There
are types of Romanticism that follow different patterns, whether it is about
power, nature, or even fear they all combine into one overarching subject; the
human. Humans want to see the beauty in everything even if it deals with death;
humans convey emotions about many different things which are what the movement
was trying to show. Humans are individuals, not machines, they do what they
want and they follow their emotions wherever they take them. If one is to find
true beauty they need only look within themselves at their emotions and what
better way to let your emotions out than by looking at a painting or reading a
story and just let it take them away. Your mind is a meadow and you are allowed
to plant any seeds you want; so go ahead and plant the seeds of discovery,
scientific mystery, and the eloquence of life at its fullest.
Bibliography
Valiunas, Algis.
"Scientists Fallen Among Poets - The New Atlantis." The New Atlantis.
N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.
Poe, Edgar Allan.
"The Fall of the House of Usher." Poestories. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Mar.
2014.
Friedrich, Caspar
David. "Wanderer above the Sea of Fog." Artble: The Home of
Passionate Art Lovers. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Mar. 2014.
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