Rousseau and Romanticism

The author traces the rise and character of the Romantic movement through Rousseau's writings and influence, contrasting classicist emphasis on judgment and common sense with romantic emphasis on imagination and private feeling. Chapters define terms, consider romantic genius and imagination, and treat moral questions in both their ideal and practical aspects; later sections analyze romantic love, irony, relations to nature, and melancholy, and conclude with reflections on the present outlook. An appendix examines Chinese primitivism and a bibliography supports the study. Throughout the argument he critiques both utilitarian/scientific and emotional naturalism while illustrating Romantic tendencies.