THE 35 MAIN AUTHORS OF ROMANTICISM AND THEIR WORKS - LITERATURE - 2024

The leading and most outstanding authors of Romanticism emerged in Europe in the late 18th century. They were the most important representatives and exponents of an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement that reached its greatest splendor between the years 1800 and 1850.

The emphasis on emotion, individualism, as well as the glorification of the past and nature were characteristic features of this movement, which tended towards the medieval rather than the classical.

Its emergence can be considered a reaction to the Industrial Revolution, the scientific rationalization of nature and aristocratic social rules during the Age of Enlightenment. Its most visible manifestations were in the visual arts, music and literature, although it also had an impact on historiography, education and the social sciences.

It shares its etymology with terms like romance and romanesco. In the middle of the 18th century, the term romantic had a similar meaning in both English and French (romantic contra romantique), both used to refer to the exaltation of natural phenomena such as landscapes and sunsets.

Romanticism exalted the figure of the hero or genius and emphasized their passions and internal challenges. The conception of the artist as an extremely individualistic creator whose creative spirit was more important than strict adherence to traditional rules and procedures was a hallmark of the period.

The movement arose in Germany, however the most prolific and famous Anglo-Saxon authors during this period.

Who were the main exponents of Romanticism in English-speaking literature? You may also be interested in this list of western writers.

The main writers of Romanticism

1- Jane Austen

(1775-1817) Full of comedy, romance, wit and satire, the six novels by this English author were also a poignant reflection of the social and territorial situation in England in her time.

He began writing at a very young age, with the constant support and promotion of his family and friends. His first work, Sense and Sensibility (1811) took ten years to be published. It was followed by Pride and Prejudice two years later, which according to her would be her favorite work. Her last two works would be published after her death at 41.

You can learn more about the author by reading the article "The 51 best phrases of Jane Austen".

2- William Blake

(1757-1827) This London-based author is known for being an original and creative poet, painter, and thinker, yet his work was practically ignored while he lived. The third of six siblings, he claimed to have been visited by bright angels in his childhood.

He designed a visual poetry technique that combined his texts with illustrations of his own authorship. Her works include The Marriage of Heaven and Hell and Songs of Innocence.

3- Charlotte Brontë

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(1816-1855) Author recognized for her passionate novel Jane Eyre (1847), she also published poems and three more novels. Born in England, the third of six children, she was five years old when her mother died.

He spent part of his life teaching and his unbridled love for the principal of the school where he worked inspired his novels Villette and The Professor.

4- Emily Brontë

(1818-1848) His most recognized work was Wuthering Heights (1847), although he also wrote more than two hundred poems that were described by his sister Charlotte as "of a particularly wild, melancholic and exalting musicality."

Supported by her sister, she published a collection of poems in 1846. After her early death from tuberculosis, a novel that she left unfinished was destroyed by Charlotte.

5- Elizabeth Barrett Browning

(1806-1861) One of the most praised poets of her time. Born in England, she is best known for her Sonnets from the Portuguese, a collection of love poems written for her husband Robert Browning. She died in Florence, Italy.

6- Robert Burns

(1759-1796) Born in Scotland, he received a good education in mathematics and English literature, although from a very young age he had to serve on the family farm. His work Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect was published in 1786 and brought him fame.

7- Lord Byron

(1788-1824) Dedicated to freedom of thought and action, anarchic in his political stance and personal morality, the English poet and adventurer was the epitome of the romantic hero.

After touring multiple Mediterranean countries, he returned home to publish Childe Harold's Pilgrimage (1812), which was an instant success. It was Don Juan, published in 1819, his most recognized work.

8- Lewis Carroll

(1832-1898) The pseudonym used by the English mathematician Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, which he first used when publishing his famous children's novels.

His fondness for paradox and nonsense as well as his appreciation for childhood led him to write his most famous novel, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland in 1865 and its sequel, Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There in 1871.

9- Samuel Taylor Coleridge

(1772-1834) One of the most emblematic and controversial figures of the romantic period. His career as a poet and writer was established after publishing Lyrical Ballads in 1798. His best known work is The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.

10- Charles Dickens

(1812-1870) Author of 15 novels and countless essays and short stories, this celebrated English author generously promoted the careers of other novelists in his weekly columns and became involved in social issues.

He was noted for writing about London and its grotesque and comical characters. Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby, David Copperfield and Great Expectations are among his most famous titles.

Discover with "The 87 best phrases of Charles Dickens" the literary potential of this genius.

11- George Eliot

(1819-1880) It was the pseudonym of the novelist Mary Ann Evans. After a difficult childhood, she managed to settle in London, where she became related to the poet George Henry Lewis, who motivated her to write fiction. Her most famous book, Middlemarch, was published in eight episodes between 1871 and 1872.

12- Elizabeth Gaskell

(1810-1865) Best known as the author of Cranford and North and South, as well as for having been the biographer of her friend Charlotte Brontë. Her most famous works were written in reaction to the industrialization of Manchester, where she spent most of her life.

After the tragic death of his young son in 1845, he took refuge in writing and anonymously published Mary Barton, a work praised by Charles Dickens.

13- Thomas Hardy

(1840-1928) Poet and novelist, he is perhaps most famous for his powerful visual novels, concerned with the inexorable human destiny. He retired from architecture after publishing Far From The Maddin Crowd in 1874. Between 1874 and 1895 he wrote more than a dozen novels and compilations of short stories.

14- John Keats

(1795-1821) Keats's poetic achievement in just six years can be classified as astonishing. However, during his lifetime, critics came close to bringing him down.

His first poems received harsh criticism, although in 1818, with Endymion, he achieved greater success. The second half of the century finally brought him fame, praised by Lord Tennyson, he is today one of the most cited and beloved poets in the English language.

15- Christina Rossetti

(1830-1894) She was a lyrical poet who stood out for her direct and captivating style. Goblin market, In The Bleak Midwinter and Remember are today among the most appreciated English poems.

He learned to write poetry by imitation, experimenting with different styles of verse. He died of cancer in 1894 and his brother William edited an almost complete collection of his poems, entitled Poetical Works in 1904.

16- Mary Shelley

(1797-1851) Author of Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus, she was the daughter of the radical philosopher William Godwin. At 16 she fled to Italy with the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, who praised the irresistible and wild sublimity of sentiments.

They both promoted each other's literary work and married in 1816. Frankenstein is considered the first work of science fiction. It was based on the destructive nature of power when it meets wealth. His mythology endures to this day.

17- Percy Bysshe Shelley

(1792-1822) Born in Sussex, England, he was the heir to his grandfather's considerable fortune as well as a position in Parliament. He attended Eton College, where he began to write poetry, and Oxford University.

His first published work was the Gothic novel Zastrozzi in 1810. He married Mary Godwin, later called Mary Shelley. During the last years of his life, he produced his most notable works including The Masque of Anarchy.

18- Robert Louis Stevenson

(1850-1894) This Scottish novelist, essayist and poet is probably most famous for his children's book Treasure Island. Educated as an engineer and later as a lawyer, he was always inclined towards writing.

He published various essays and dramas. His fame grew after the publication in 1883 of La Isla del Tesoro. He later wrote and published The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in 1886.

19- Alfred Lord Tennyson

(1809-1892) Considered the venerable master of Victorian poetry, famous for In Memoriam AHH, The Idylls of The King and Maud and Other Poems. The fourth of 12 children, born in Lincoln in 1809, attended Cambridge University.

His early novels received poisonous criticism, which disappointed him at first and then made him perfect his technique. His poems were even the inspiration of royalty, extolled by Queen Victoria, who named him Baron in 1883.

20- Anthony Trollope

(1815-1882): One of the most prolific authors of the 19th century, his works include the Barsetshire Chronicles and The Way We Live Now. His humorous illustration of ordinary life won him over with readers and ensured him continued popularity.

His extensive production is impressive given that at the same time he maintained a successful career in the postal service.

He produced a total of 47 novels, an autobiography, two plays, short stories, travel books, articles, essays, and speeches. Proud of his talent, he boasted of always having a pen at hand and dedicating himself to the work of writing the same as a mechanic or a shoemaker.

21- HG Wells

(1866-1946) Hailed as a scientist and social prophet, Herbert George Wells was a prolific novelist, famous primarily for his science fiction works but also for his comic realism.

His studies in zoology inspired him to write science fiction. The Time Machine (1865) was the first of his very famous works and the pioneer of the genre called "scientific romance."

He lived to see the end of the Second World War and his defense of human rights had a definite influence on the formation of the United Nations.

22- Oscar Wilde

(1854-1900): Born in Dublin, Ireland, he was an exuberant and sparkling playwright, poet, and critic. He was a prominent proponent of aestheticism, the controversial theory of art. He published his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray in 1890 and fell in love with the very young Lord Alfred Douglas.

Since then, he has lived a double life, publishing blockbuster social comedies such as The Ideal Husband and The Importance of Being Ernesto while spending his time visiting male brothels.

After being accused of indecent conduct, Wilde spent two years in prison, where he wrote two novels that were published after his death: De Profundis and The Ballad of Reading Gaol. Financially ruined, disowned by society, and in poor health, he spent the rest of his life in Europe. He died in Paris on November 30, 1900, at the age of 46.

23- William Wordsworth

(1770-1850) This Cockermouth-born English poet was inspired by the dramatic landscapes of the Lake District to write his poetry. After the death of their parents, William and his sister Dorothy settled in the West Country, where they met the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, with whom they would publish Lyrical Ballads in 1798.

After receiving the payment of a debt to his father, the poet was able to marry and settle. He continued his poetic work, publishing The Excursion in 1814 and The River Duddon in 1820, although the conservativeness of his work at this stage annoyed his more radical friends. After his death in 1850 his autobiographical poem The Prelude was published, on which he worked from 1798.

25- Victor Hugo

(1802-1885) Considered by many to be the best French writer in history. He was a poet and novelist and among his most notable works are Our Lady of Paris (1831), Les Miserables (1862) and The Man Who Laughs (1869).

26- Walt Whitman

(1819-1892) American poet, author of works such as Leaves of Grass (1855) or I Sing to Myself (1855), in which he reflected the reality of his time. In addition to Romanticism, Whitman was a bridge between transcendentalism and realism.

27- Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer

(1836-1870) Possibly the most recognized writer of Spanish Romanticism. Sensitivity, expressiveness and musicality are part of the style of the Sevillian poet. His most notable works are Rimas y Leyendas (1871) and From my cell (1864).

28- Honore de Balzac

(1799-1850) Although this French writer stood out more in literary realism, he also had relevance in Romanticism, which was his bridge to the movement in which he stood out the most. His most outstanding work in its beginnings was Cromwell (1820).

29- Alessandro Manzoni

(1785-1873) He has the title of being the greatest representative of Romanticism in Italy, a country where this literary movement did not have much roots. The Count of Carmagnola (1820), Adelchi (1822) and, above all, Los novios (1827), are his best known creations.

30- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

(1749-1832) The greatest representative of German Romanticism, a genre that he later denied after settling in Rome. Before, he wrote marvelous works such as Young Werther's Sorrows (1774) or Clavijo (1774) or Los accomplices (1768).

31- José de Espronceda

(1808-1842) If Bécquer was the greatest representative of Spanish Romanticism, Espronceda was the pioneer. His poem Canción del pirata (1830) is well known, but he also wrote The Student of Salamanca (1840) or El diablo mundo (1841) which represent very well the literary quality of the Extremaduran author.

32- Alexandre Dumas

(1808-1842) Introduced Romanticism in French theater. He is one of the most translated authors in the world thanks to works such as The Three Musketeers (1844), The Count of Monte Cristo (1845) or The Man in the Iron Mask (1848).

33- Rosalía de Castro

(1837-1885) Poet, great representative of Spanish Romanticism and the most international author of Galician letters. For many it gave a breath of fresh air to Romanticism thanks to titles such as Conto Gallego (1864), El Cadiceño (1886) or Ruinas (1866).

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(1798-1837) Italian poet and philosopher, author of notable works such as Canzoni (1824) or Versi (1826).

35- François-René de Chateaubriand

(1768-1848) Pioneer in French literary Romanticism. Highlight René (1802) or The Martyrs (1804) as some of his most important writings.