Romanticism vs Neoclassicism

Resulting in part from the libertarian and egalitarian ideals of the French Revolution, the romantic movements had in common only a revolt against the prescribed rules of classicism. The basic aims of romanticism were various: a return to nature and to belief in the goodness of humanity; the rediscovery of the artist as a supremely individual creator; the development of nationalistic pride; and the exaltation of the senses and emotions over reason and intellect. In …

…and all the joy and sorrow associated with these conditions. Keats' brilliance in using excess to 'attract' rather than 'detract' from his ideas, gives the reader a greater appreciation of not only his work, but also John Keats, the man and the poet. It could not be better expressed than that said by Keats himself in a letter to his brothers in December, 1817, where he stated, '...the excellence of every art is its intensity'.