Romantic Science

Peak:1800-1890

What defines Romanticism?

As defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Romanticism is characterized by "a reaction against neoclassicism and an emphasis on the imagination and emotions...an exaltation of the primitive and the common man, an appreciation of external nature..." (Definition 1a)

Romanticism

Unity

The goal of Science in the Romantic Era

• Science in the Romantic period sought out the unity of or behind nature.
• Scientists during this time attempted to provide a synthesis of ideas throughout history.
• Some of the features/main ideas of science in the period were the unity between humans and nature, the humanistic dimension of science, and the desire for exploring new worlds and new ideas.

The goal of Science in the Romantic Era

Scientific development during that period

Scientific

development

·Discovery of many chemical

elements

·Mass shipment of exotic plants

and animals inspired Botany,

Zoology, and Evolutionary

theory

·Discovery of Uranus and Neptune

What is the significance?

So what?

Literature and Science prove to be a symbiotic relationship in the sense that both fields provided a sizable cultural impact during the time.

• Writers utilized Science and scientific experiments in their literature, which created new dimensions of writing.
• Scientists used Romantic ideology to spread Science to society and develop nuanced theories and ideologies.

Therefore, we want to further analyze the contributions of Romanticism within the context of Romantic-Era literature and Scientific Experimentation to develop a greater sense of these two fields as well as the writers and scientists involved.

Historical Context

Chemistry made several rapid advances during the Romantic Period

• William Hyde Wollaston (1766-1828)
• Charles Hatchett (1765-1847)
• Humphry Davy (1778-1829)

Historical Context

Scientific Culture and Romanticism

• A wave of imaginative science
• Major proponents - Roger Boscovich, Humphry Davy, Joseph Priest-ley, Mary Somerville, and Michael Faraday
• Dynamic forces vs. passive, mechanistic ones
• Percy Shelley and Promtheus Unbound

Scientific Culture

Humphry Davy

• Symbol of the unification of romanticism and science
• Friend and contemporary of both Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth

Humphry Davy

Samuel Coleridge and Scientific Romanticism

• Embodied the scientific Romantic
• Authored works we've read in class like "Frost at Midnight and "Sonnet to the River Otter", and "Kubla Khan"
• Developed a deep relationship with chemistry throughout his lifetime
• Held a profound Romantic chemical philosophy

Samuel Coleridge

Modern Relevance

• Forces us to consider the nature of matter and mechanism versus Coleridge and Davy's unified and dynamic vitalism
• Keep this in consideration for later discussion

Modern Relevance

Jean-Babtiste Lamarck

• The "New Science of Biology" by Jean-Babtiste Lamarck in 1801
• Rejected notion that life is mechanical
• Nature was an assemblage of metaphysical objects

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck

Charles Darwin

• The father of evolution
• Practiced Romanticism in his experiments
• Used human attributesto describe plants in his study of botany
• Rejected the notion of "instinct"
• Poses the question, "Does habit imply having ideas?"

Charles Darwin

Frankenstein

• Biological Romanticism through science
• Prime example of scientific discovery and Romantic ideals in symbiosis
• The Monster, a scientific creation, lived in awe of nature, searched for love and a greater purpose in life, and studied Milton's Paradise Lost

Frankenstein

Mary Shelley and "Frankenstein"

• Her father, William Godwin showed her the Scientific World
• She discussed William Lawrence's Lectures

Shelley

Wordsworth and Experimentation

• Wordsworth was known to describe his work in Lyrical Ballads as "experiments"
• This demonstrates the proliferation of the scientific ideology done through prominent Romantic writers.

Wordsworth

Why does it matter?

The presence of science in two of the most famous writers from the Romantic era demonstrates the impact Science from this time had on Romantic Literature.

Significance

What we propose

Our Proposal

• There is a large gap in the research of the mutual beneficial relationship between Romantic Literature and Romantic-era scientific studies.
• This loss is detrimental to the full understanding of arguably the greatest works and conclusions of the period.
• Therefore, we propose our research of the symbiotic nature of Romanticism and Science through the contextualization of major literature and experimentation at the time.

• We will gather support from an array of papers, literature, and novels written about each subject, respectively.
• We hope to find clarity to some of the renown writings and theories of the time through exposing this relationship.

Images

Works Cited