A revolution constitutes the complete transformation from one traditional method to another that is contemporary.

Among its varied contexts it is usually meant to depict an aggressive overthrow of a government structure or social construct or a massive sudden change in societal values.1 This rapid response is usually evoked by some sort of oppression that causes the masses to become frustrated and thrust for change. The movement of romanticism can be defined as a movement which idealized the individual and showed appreciation of ones self and talents, his exclusivity and diversity. Socialism is also another movement which more focuses on the theology of how society is economically and politically constructed and how it should be constructed to allow the benefits of all. Romanticism and socialism, each emerging in the 19th century, can be indeed classified as revolutionary movements since it qualifies for the definition, signifying change from one extent to another, whether it may be political, theoretical social or cultural changes. Romanticism demonstrated a change in the way that individuals in society perceived things, which is their intellectual conception of life. This change was evoked by the industrial revolution where there was a great importance on production, industrialism and an increase in urban population. Romanticism evolved as a means to escape the intensity of life with deep imagination and admiration for the natural. Instead of adhering to the ideas and theology of the previous enlightenment such as rationalism, progress and secularism, romanticists rejected these ideals and searched for the deeper meaning of man. Romanticists viewed the middle ages as an era of spiritual depth and exploration unlike their enlightened counterparts who viewed this period as dark and saw man during that age as ignorant and unknowledgeable. The romantic thinkers spend less time classifying and reproving and emphasized the unique abilities of individuals. They were considered to be relativists and believed that each society had its own inner genius2 with each one having the capability of altering the world. They accepted that there was no ultimate or true definition of good and bad but that each had its own level and meaning of morality. Famous for his view on mans ability was the works of Immanuel Kant and Friedrich Hegel. Kants critique of pure reason rejected John Lockes conception that man was a blank state upon which experience writes. he brought back knowledge and understanding to the concept of the human mind, liberating man from the tyranny of his education, allowing him scope, making him greater than the sum of his learning.3 Hegel on the other hand developed the dialectic that ideas were all good and could be classified as a hypothesis, antithesis and synthesis and knowledge could be gained through scientific experimentation. These changes in philosophy evoked even larger changes in European society. One important change that emerged during the Romantic Movement was nationalism which helped reshape the geography of Europe. This philosophical change was shown in works
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What is a Revolution, http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-revolution.html (October 2011) Spark Notes Editors. Sparknotes on Europe (1815-1848). Sparknotes LLC.nd..http://www.sparknotes.com/history/European/1848/ (October 18, 2011) 3 Romanticim: the romantic age, http:// www.indepthinfo.com/history/romanticism.htm. (October 23, 2011)

or art such as literature and poetry as well as in politics. Prior to the Romantic Movement a number of revolutions and changes occurred such as the French revolution and the growth of the Napoleonic Empire. There was a dominance of French culture and the Napoleonic nationalism and republicanism were inspirational movements in other nations. The self determination and a conscious unity were seen as the principal reasons of Frances success in battle. As napoleon grew more powerful he became not the inspiration but the objective of the fight. The spread of nationalism was demonstrated in European territories that rejected foreign rule by Napoleon. They saw that if they worked together and developed their own notions of culture, language and national unity they could be an independent nation from the Napoleonic Empire. This philosophical change was shown in works or art such as literature and poetry as well as in politics. There was a greater demand for self determination of nationalities. Philosophers, such as G.W.F. Hegel saw this national unity as what held the state together with common language and culture uniting the citizens of the state. These notions were the catalyst for the independence of small states such as Greece who gained independence from Turkish rule, Poland and Bulgaria, gaining independence from the Netherlands, Germany and Italy under Giuseppe Mazzini who used the political situation and economic crises as a cry for national unity. During the era of romanticism new musical and artistic appreciation emerged that was quite different from that of its past. Classical art focused on order, harmony, reason and figure, being more objective and striving for perfection. There was more emphasis on the art of ancient Rome and Greece depicting gods and focusing on their culture. Artists during this era changed their concept of art introducing more subjective pieces with more emotions and feelings with more ominous passions and nature. Friedichs Wanderer above the sea and fog, shows a solitary man looking over the sea, showing nature unrestrained as waves crashes against the barriers. Another common theme in art was the depiction of the social order and the growing concept of nationalism where artists focused on their own myths and folklore. Jacques Louis Davids painting of Napoleon crossing the Alps shows patriotism and determination, depicting napoleons determination to win his battle. Romantic music also changed from its previous years of the classical era. Classical music had short melodies with effortless phrases that was easy to listen to with repetitive themes that any listener would be able to know what piece of music was going to be played next. Romantic music on the other hand had longer melodies and constantly changing dynamics that lead for many surprises for the audience. The audience of these musical concerts also changed. Pieces were catered for the middle classes rather than the courtly patrons. Famous among the Romantic generation was Beethoven who was seen as the heroic artist. In Beethovens symphony he depicted Napoleon as a champion of freedom and then later showed his disapproval after striking him out of his Eroica symphony. Besides depicting the revolutionary changes of that era through music the actual structure of instruments also changed. The introduction of iron frames for pianos and wound string for string instruments allowed for louder dynamics and a variation of tones. There were free standing concerts and virtuosic concertos with new musical atmospheres

which included supernatural terror and melodramatic plot in folkloric contexts. This was first made successful by Weber Der Freischutz. Romantic literature was also different from the era before. This era was mostly dominated by poetry with themes such as criticism of the past, sensibility with focus on women and children and the heroic narrator. There was also a passion for untamed nature. Some authors like Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne focus on the human psychology and the supernatural. Among the French victor Hugo who wrote the hunch back of Notre Dame and Les Miserables. There was also nationalism present in the stories such as the three musketeers written by Dumas and Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott reverting to medieval themes. In Germany Johann Wolfgang von Goethes novel, sorrows of a young werther influenced young men throughout Europe to emulate the protagonist who is passionate and deeply in love. Many literary works of that period depicted a longing to return to medieval days when man was in his relaxed untamed state. Socialism another revolutionary movement present in the 19th century carried intellectual changes from its previous capitalist movement. Capitalism came into existence after the influence of the industrial revolution which saw the fall of the aristocracy and the rise of the bourgeois classes. This class in society owned the factors of production while the peasants worked in the factories. The capitalist systems contained business cycles which were characterized by periods of growth and slums. To solve this problem industrialist tried to stabilize the economy by passing regulations to maximize profits by regulating imports banning labor efforts and using monopolistic trusts. The result however was the poors suffering. Socialists in Europe to find an end to the poors suffering advocated a democratically controlled economy managed for the benefit of all. It was a theory in which unfettered competition of capitalism is replaced by co-operation and the business cycle by planned stability. They rejected the proposal that the wealthy deserved their wealth because they have created it, instead believing that wealth is created by the working classes and wrongfully appropriated by the rich who benefit disproportionately from their underpaid labor.4 This philosophical movement evoked political changes in the 19th century Europe. Capitalism practiced democratic politics viewing economics and politics working alongside each other. Democracy was necessary to wrest power from the old nobility to pass laws enabling business to thrive and to guarantee property rights.5 Jean Jacques Rousseau proposed the social contract in which he stated that true democracy could not thrive in a society where there were existed extremes of wealth and poverty because power always flows toward the wealthy whatever electoral system.6 In 1864 the first international which included delegates from all over the world attempted international co operation among the working class groups. This
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Paul Brians, Introduction to 19 century Socialism, http://www.public.wsu.edu/~brians/hum_303/socialism.html (October 25 2011) 5 http://www.public.wsu.edu/~brians/hum_303/socialism.html 6 http://www.public.wsu.edu/~brians/hum_303/socialism.html

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movement was openly socialist and under the influence of Hegel and Karl Marx. It was a response to the revolutions of 1848.

The working conditions present in Europe gave rise to acceptance of socialism by the population. Working conditions especially in England and Germany were deplorable. Labour was competitive and workers were forced to work cheap in order to gain an advantage in the job market. There were no permanent posts and they could lose their jobs. There were long working days and injuries on the jobs from malfunctioning machines and food shortages for factory workers. These societies also suffered from a series of slumps. In Germany, 1863 Ferdinand Lasalle founded the German Workers Association and together with August Bebel and Wilhelm Liebknechts Social democratic workers party of Germany merged together forming the Socialist Working Party of Germany. At first the party was barred by Bismarcks anti-socialism laws but the party prospered from its thriving subculture of reading groups, sports and leisure societies ensured its survival in strongholds such as Berlin, Frankfurt and Leipzig. (europeantransformed.blogspots.com) In 1981 after the anti socialist laws were dropped the party grew to one of the largest socialist parties in the world following Marxs analysis and revolutionary goals. It showed that they could achieve their goals through legal means. In France the first French socialist party was founded in 1879 in Marseille but severe divisions among the Proudhonists and the Marxists caused the disunity of the group. In 1881 the first French socialist party was elected in the national assembly. They promoted secularization and tax reform but the party split again in 1900 this time the dispute being between Jean Jaures and the reformists. Jean Jaures tried to adopt anarcho-syndicalist tactic of the general strike to stop the war, a motif which was against the German Socialist who supported the war against tsarist Russia. Britain also experienced some political changes at the hands of the socialist party. In the 1870s British trade unions were organizations of skilled craftsmen who were also called the aristocrats of labour. Protection and funds were granted by the liberal and conservative governments and allowed peaceful strikes. In 1880s new unionism evolved encompassing unskilled labourers. The high point of this movement was the London dock strike of 1889 which protected the dockers tanner. In 1884 the Marxist social democratic federation was formed with majority of the trade unions not following the ideology of Karl Marx. Socialism and romanticism two movements which evolved out of the 19th century in Europe can most certainly be considered revolutionary movements. Romanticism which was more an ideology than anything else evoked changes in the arts and served as a catalyst for other ideologies such as nationalism and socialism. Socialism has shown itself to be a revolutionary movement since its theories provided changes in politics and economics. These movements

arose out of oppression and rejection of past changes that had occurred during the enlightenment and industrial revolution. These movements served as a means to escape severe changes and as means to correct the consequences of these previous movements.

Bibliography Dr. Stott Ann. Europe 1700-1914: A continent transformed. Blogger.com. February 11 2011. October 25 2011. <www.europetransformed.blogspot.com/2007/02/feminism-socialismanarchism.html Europe (1815-1848). Sparknotes. Sparknotes editors. October 18 2011. <http://www.sparknotes.com/history/European/1848/> Paul Brians. Introduction to 19th century Socialism. October 25 2011. <http://www.public.wsu.edu/~brians/hum_303/socialism.html> Revision:Socialism in Europe 1870-1914. The student room. October 26 2011. <www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/revision:Socialism_in_Europe_18701914#scientific_socialism:_.28from_mid-19th_century.29> Romanticim: the romantic age. October 23 2011. <http://www.indepthinfo.com/history/romanticism.htm>. What is a Revolution. October 2011.< http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-revolution.html>