Romantic

A capitalized descriptor referring to Romanticism and its worldview—the cultural, artistic, and philosophical movement that emphasized emotion, imagination, and the subconscious over Enlightenment rationalism. It denotes a frame of mind or sensibility associated with the Romantic era, often used to characterize intellectual or aesthetic positions that oppose rationalist or Enlightenment thinking.

Claims that use this term

• The Romantic self is constituted through successive contrasting experiences
• The Romantic, religious bent of American critics primed them for French anti-Enlightenment theory
• The Romantic imagination rejected Enlightenment rationalism and embraced the subconscious