Part VI. Romanticism

STEP 1: Understanding the Information

Picture 13

b) French Revolution.

The French Revolution began on July 14, 1789, when a mob stormed the Bastille. Intense factionalism among revolutionaries, as well as civil war between revolutionaries and royalists, led to more than a decade of fighting, which did not end until Napoleon established a military dictatorship.

Picture 14

1. d) late Bourbon reforms.

Charles III, who ruled from 1759 to 1788, was an “enlightened despot” who liberalized trade and introduced many reforms into the cumbersome Spanish colonial system. He lent Spanish troops to the fight against Great Britain in the American Revolution.

2. c) the official painter to the Spanish court.

Goya’s career at court outlasted that of many kings. He was the official portraitist for Charles III, Charles IV, Joseph II, Ferdinand VII, and their numerous noble relatives. Thanks to Goya’s realistic portrait style, we know exactly what these rulers look like, even in their unflattering moments.

Step 2: Spelling and Vocabulary

Exercise 1: Pronounce the words below. Match a word with a picture (not all the pictures have their names!)

Plate 6

Historical Costumes

1. 70 lady [ca. 1858]

2. 71 poke bonnet

3. 72 crinoline

4. 73 gentleman of the Biedermeier period

5. 74 high collar (choker collar)

6. 75 embroidered waistcoat (vest)

7. 76 frock coat

Exercise 2: Developing spelling skills. Fill in the blanks with missing letters. Remember the spelling and the pronunciation.

Thomas Cole, Hudson River School, Jean Francois Millet, Franz Joseph Haydn, Ludwig von Beethoven, Franz List, Frederic Chopin, William Wordsworth, John Constable.

Exercise 4:

Adverbs of intensity

1) hot – boiling (f)

2) cold – freezing (i)

3) interesting – fascinating (h)

4) dirty – filthy (d)

5) tasty – delicious (l)

6) bad – disgusting (c)

7) frightened – terrified (b)

8) big – vast (a)

9) angry – furious (j)

10) tired – exhausted (e)

11) surprised – astonished (k)

12) funny – hilarious (g)

Exercise 5: Put one of the words or phrases from the box into each gap.

• The Romantic artists were usually lonely, self-conscious geniuses who frequently lived outside the standards of society which did not understand them.

• The Romantic era was a rather short but powerful period.

• As its name implies, the Romantic period was full of emotionalism – the expression of feelings such as love, hate, fear, melancholy, and anger.

• After America had inspired the French Revolution, France and England became the centers of Europe's Roman­tic Movement.

• One person who did not celebrate Napoleon was composer Franz Joseph Haydn, whose work spanned both the Enlightenment Classical and the Romantic periods.

• During the “enlightened” 18th century Reason gradually gave way to the passions and frenzy of emotion.

• By the end of the 18th century, out of the Enlightenment, Romanticism was born!

• Above all, Romanticism was the overflow of emotions.

• Even madmen became subjects of portraiture.

• First, political action. Then, physical action. And finally, on July 14, 1789, an angry mob stormed the Bastille! This was Revolution! This was Romanticism in action!