European Literature, General & Miscellaneous European History, Literary Movements

Heroic Imagination

Name: Heroic Imagination
Author: Frederic Ewen
ISBN: 9780806508955

by Frederic Ewen

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Overview

After the Congress of Vienna in 1815, the powers of Europe, now again in the saddle, believed they had restored absolutism and crushed forever the specter of revolution. But, the guarantee that the "old" was gone and a "new" world was in the making was evident through two powerful forces: a triumphant England, standing for Empire, Industry, and Capital, the motherland of the Industrial Revolution; and the persistence of the idea of the "unfinished" French Revolution and of radical changes still to be consummated. Heroic Imagination describes the historical period and the wide manifestation of creativity that took place between 1815 and 1848, from Napoleon's downfall in the battle of Waterloo in 1815 to the "Restoration" that sought to bring back the old order preceding the French Revolution. While revolutions and historical events were shaping the world, the "collective consciousness" of the public began to integrate with the creative consciousness of the individual. The creative energies of artists, philosophers, poets, and political and social thinkers emerged and produced some of the most revered artistic geniuses in history, such as Beethoven, Byron, Pushkin, Balzac, Stendhal, Victor Hugo, Delacroix, Goya, and Goethe. Frederic Ewen vividly depicts the "new" world of the early nineteenth century, and the assemblage of genius that produced a body of art that has become the unforgettable property of all ages.

About the Author, Frederic Ewen

Frederic Ewen (1899-1988) was Professor of English Literature at Brooklyn College from 1930 until 1952, when he resigned rather than be fired for refusing to cooperate with the House Un-American Activities Committee. He went on to be a successful author and lecturer.