Neo-Romanticism

The more modern version of romanticism, Neo-Romanticism, is basically like taking the genre of traditional style and putting it in a totally awesome time machine, you know, like one of those things you see in Back to the Future. Since romanticism is based on the parallels between humans and nature, reality and unreality, and natural and unnatural, I didn’t think there’d be a way to bring it into a more modern light. I basically thought romanticism was just a bunch of poets in funny pants, music from lute-like instruments, and little cozy cabins tucked away in forests… Obviously, I was wrong. The term neo-romanticism is used to describe a certain variety of movements in music, painting and architecture. Starting in the late 19^th century, it has been interpreted by many authors, poets, and musicians. Because it’s more modern appeal, it’s been rejected by more “traditional” writers of past century and favored by many contemporary composers because of its avant-garde traits. This style is often looked at as an extension of naturalism, taking the stress and brutality of a scene and adding a more positive, romantic flair. In other words, this newer style adds other emotion, looking at an object or person from the inside as well as the outside. Deep, right? In art, artists take the complex, yet simple concept of romanticism, and add their own personal “sense of place”, one that the artist has personally noticed or experienced. While doing this, they take the “ugly” modern word of machines and technology and add a softer edge. Some common themes in neo-romanticism include the perfect love story, utopian landscapes, ancient ruins (particularly Mediterranean), and romantic death. But, to be honest, doesn't thisname sound so cool and terribly eighties tacky, like it would be something involving neon colors and spandex? Or is it just me?

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[Michael Dashiell]

Greetings, I'm Michael Dashiell, I recently launched a Neo-Romantic website of my own original fiction and poetry. I've published a romantic novel(Preview One) of an Ivy League graduate who continues his life on the run until he meets an exotic young woman who just might compel him to risk the danger and stay. The story is complex, dramatic and intense at times.
The poetry is equally romantic in which I stage a revolt against modernism in the Preface (Preview Two) of Contemporary Romantic Poetry. I this I believe I successfully use the stanza "Ottava Rima" that Byron originally used in Don Juan.