Essay on Romance

1. What makes Romantic era classical music “romantic” and/or unique in its time?

Romantic music is romantic and unique in its time frame because, in the context of profound changes in the field of science, politics and economy, Romantic music has shifted toward traditional values and eternal issues, such as love.

1. How was Impressionist art “romantic” and/or unique in its time?

Impressionist art was romantic in its time frame because it was attempting to challenge conventional norms and resist to the fast scientific, technological, political and economic progress by focusing on the inner world of artists and the audience, uncovering unseen but powerful themes and symbols in art.

1. Name one Impressionist artist and describe how his paintings fit the Impressionist art movement.  Include the name of a specific painting if you want to focus on one, or describe the artist’s work in general.

Claude Monet and his Impression, Soleil Levant (1872) is a sample of the impressionist art. Vague forms, the silhouette of the man in a boat and the background resembling a port in an industrialized city. The industrialized background is contrasted to the beauty of the uprising sun, which is the reference to traditional but simple values, such as admiration with nature.

1. Quote a line or two from Shakespeare’s Sonnet XVIII (#18).  Briefly explain how any one cultural or dictionary definition of romance applies to that line.

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate (Shakespeare 1-2)

The poet manifests his love to his beloved through the metaphorical comparison to a summer’s day. The beloved of the narrator turns out to be the most beautiful one. She is even more beautiful than a summer day. Such idealization of the beloved is a distinct feature of romance.

1. Quote a line or two from John Keats’ “Ode on a Grecian Urn.”  Briefly explain how any one cultural or dictionary definition of romance applies to that line.

(Keats, 4-7)

The romance can be clearly traced through the use of epithets, such as a flowery tale of sweetly rhyme, which give implications to some romantic relations the narrator is involved in.

1. Quote a line or two of lyrics from one of your favorite songs (artistic or popular culture).  Briefly explain how any one cultural or dictionary definition of romance applies to that line.

Who wants to live forever
Forever is our today
Who waits forever anyway? (Queen, Who Wants to Live Forever)

The lyrics imply the internal love and questions whether such love is possible and admits that the narrator has found the eternal love.

Part 2

1. For this essay, use one of your favorite television shows (comedy or drama) that has a cultural romance theme involving passion, infatuation, or companion love.  Name the show and explain how it features cultural romance and types of romantic relationships.  Give the basic premise of the show and name major characters.  Most importantly, explain how the show compares to any of the works (movie, art, poetry, music, etc.) we have studied and discussed in this theme.

   What does the TV show say about romance, in a way that is similar to or different from the works we have discussed?  For example, how does a character in the show approach romance in a way similar to or distinctively different from the characters in Moonstruck?  How might characters in the show relate to the line of one of the poems we discussed?  You can use those works and/or others.

Friends is the comedy TV show that focuses on the romantic relations, which are often on the border between friendship and love. The relationships of the main characters are different from those of Moonstruck because the main driver of their relations is friendship, which steadily shifts to love, while the main driver of relations of the main characters of Moonstruck is love. In such a way, Friends is different from Moonstruck, where love is the main theme determining other complications in the film, while in case of Friends love is just a complication.

1. We, as a society, tend to think of romance strictly in the cultural definition.  However, this theme shows that it also has dictionary definitions that are quite different from love and relationships.  What are those dictionary definitions?  Explain how the works (movie, art, etc.) that we have addressed in class express romance by any one or more of the dictionary definitions(s) that have little or nothing to do with love, love-hate, or relationships.  For example, how were the British Romantic poets and the Impressionist artists imaginative? How did Loretta in Moonstruck use exaggeration?

   Give very specific examples from the works you chose.  You can choose one of the dictionary definitions or several, as long as you cover ones that are not about love, love-hate, or relationships.  Your thesis statement can summarize how the works you chose are romantic in ways that aren’t about the cultural definition of love, but other types of romance instead.

Romance implies certain acts being done in relation to the beloved to manifest one’s love. At the same time, manifestations of romance may vary consistently. For instance, British Romantic poets manifested their love and feelings to their beloved through their poems, where they often used metaphoric and symbolic language to show that their beloved were the most beautiful, clever, admired and so on. Impressionists focused on the depiction of romantic episodes in their paintings referring to eternal and emotional issues, such as dawn, which implies awakening of one’s love, for example. Loretta in Moonstruck also tends to exaggeration in regard to her superstitions, for example. Her love is so strong that she believes it is something supernatural and she needs to observe certain rituals not to lose her love.

Do you like this essay?

Our writers can write a paper like this for you!

Order your paper here.

(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

Loading...