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As a literary mode, sentimentalism, the practice of being sentimental, and thus tending towards making emotions and feelings the basis of a person's actions and reactions, as opposed to reason,"sentimentalism, n.", ''
Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house. The dictionary, which published its first editio ...
''
has been a recurring aspect of world literature. Sentimentalism includes a variety of aspects in literature, such as sentimental poetry, the sentimental novel, and the German sentimentalist music movement, Empfindsamkeit. European literary sentimentalism arose during the
Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment (also the Age of Reason and the Enlightenment) was a Europe, European Intellect, intellectual and Philosophy, philosophical movement active from the late 17th to early 19th century. Chiefly valuing knowledge gained th ...
, partly as a response to sentimentalism in philosophy. In eighteenth-century
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, the
sentimental novel The sentimental novel or the novel of sensibility is an 18th- and 19th-century literary genre which presents and celebrates the concepts of sentiment, sentimentalism, and sensibility. Sentimentalism, which is to be distinguished from sensi ...
was a major literary genre. The genre developed in England between 1730 and 1780 at the time of high enlightenment from where it spread to other European literatures. Its philosophical basis primarily came from Anthony Ashley Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury, a pupil of
John Locke John Locke (; 29 August 1632 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) – 28 October 1704 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.)) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of the Enlightenment thi ...
.


Philosophical influences

Sentimentalism in philosophy and sentimentalism in literature are sometimes hard to distinguish. As the philosophical arguments developed, the literature soon tried to emulate by putting the philosophical into practice through narration and characters. As a result, it is common to observe both philosophical and literary movements simultaneously. Philosophically, sentimentalism was often contrasted to
rationalism In philosophy, rationalism is the Epistemology, epistemological view that "regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge" or "the position that reason has precedence over other ways of acquiring knowledge", often in contrast to ot ...
. While eighteenth-century rationalism corresponded itself with the development of the analytic mind as the basis for acquiring truth, sentimentalism hinged upon an intrinsic human capacity to feel and how this leads to truth. For the sentimentalist this capacity was most important in morality ( moral sense theory). Sentimentalists contended that where the rationalists believed morality was founded upon analytic principles (e.g.
Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (born Emanuel Kant; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German Philosophy, philosopher and one of the central Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works ...
's "
Categorical Imperative The categorical imperative () is the central philosophical concept in the deontological Kantian ethics, moral philosophy of Immanuel Kant. Introduced in Kant's 1785 ''Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals'', it is a way of evaluating motivati ...
"), these principles could not be adequately founded in the empirical nature of humans—such as observing a sad image or expressing a strong emotion physically. Therefore, one could not obtain a sound moral theory. However, by developing the moral sensibility and fine tuning the capacity to feel, a person could access a sound moral theory by building from an intrinsic human nature, which each person possessed. Sentimentalists were, thus, often seen as relating to the schools of
humanism Humanism is a philosophy, philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and Agency (philosophy), agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The me ...
and empirical
ethical intuitionism Ethical intuitionism (also called moral intuitionism) is a view or family of views in moral epistemology (and, on some definitions, metaphysics). It is foundationalism applied to moral knowledge, the thesis that some moral truths can be known n ...
.


Characteristics

Sentimentalism asserted that over-shown feeling was not a weakness but rather showed one to be a moral person. Arising from religiously motivated empathy, it expanded to the other perceptions—for example, sensual love was no longer understood as a destructive passion (
Vanitas ''Vanitas'' is a genre of symbolizing the temporality, transience of life, the futility of pleasure, and the certainty of death, and thus the vanity of ambition and all worldly desires. The paintings involved still life imagery of transitory i ...
) but rather as a basis of social institutions, as it was for Antoine Houdar de la Motte. Requited love was, as in serious opera (the
Tragédie en musique ''Tragédie en musique'' (, musical tragedy), also known as ''tragédie lyrique'' (, lyric tragedy), is a genre of French opera introduced by Jean-Baptiste Lully and used by his followers until the second half of the eighteenth century. Operas i ...
or
Opera seria ''Opera seria'' (; plural: ''opere serie''; usually called ''dramma per musica'' or ''melodramma serio'') is an Italian musical term which refers to the noble and "serious" style of Italian opera that predominated in Europe from the 1710s to abou ...
), a symbol for a successful alliance between nations. The " Lesesucht" re-evaluated what was permitted literature, and the novel as a type of literature as versus drama. Around the middle of the century, sentimentalism set "untouched" nature against (courtly) civilization, as in the works of Jean Jacques Rousseau. In addition, Samuel Richardson's sentimental
epistolary novel An epistolary novel () is a novel written as a series of letters between the fictional characters of a narrative. The term is often extended to cover novels that intersperse other kinds of fictional document with the letters, most commonly di ...
"
Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded ''Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded'' is an epistolary novel first published in 1740 by the English writer Samuel Richardson. Considered one of the first true English novels, it serves as Richardson's version of conduct literature about marriage. ...
" (1740) had great literary influence. The literary work often featured scenes of distress and tenderness, and the plot was arranged to advance emotions rather than action. The result was a valorization of "fine feeling," displaying the characters as a model for refined, moral and emotional effect. Sentimentalism in literature was also often used as a medium through which authors could promote their own agendas—imploring readers to empathize with the problems they are dealing with in their books. For example, in Laurence Sterne's novel, ''
A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy ''A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy'' (1768) is a novel by Laurence Sterne. It follows the Reverend Mr. Yorick on a Picaresque novel, picaresque journey through France, narrated from a Sentimental novel, sentimental point of view. ...
'', the narrator is using the sentimental character Yorick as a device to critique the obligation of morality, whether it is sentimental or rational. There is a scene early in the novel where Yorick meets a monk and refuses "to give him a single sous penny" He feels discontent when he disregards what he senses he ought to do, even though he appears to obey "better reason" (4). Rationally, he disregards his sentimental obligation because "there is no regular reasoning upon the ebbs and flows of our humours" (6) .e. our emotions While he argues against the authority of sense, ultimately this sense creates discontent in his conscience. After the monk leaves empty handed, it is Yorick's "heart" that "smote imthe moment he monkshut the door" (7). Accordingly, Yorick has "behaved very ill" (7). He has complied with his rational maxim, the justified action of his "great claims" argument (6). Yet he senses from the conscience of his sentimental nature that he has done wrong.


''Empfindsamkeit''

In continental Europe, one aspect of sentimentalism was ''Empfindsamkeit''. The
sensitive style Empfindsamkeit () or Empfindsamer Stil is a style of musical composition and poetry developed in 18th-century Germany, intended to express "true and natural" feelings, and featuring sudden contrasts of mood. It was developed as a contrast to the B ...
(German: ''empfindsamer Stil'') of music, developed in Germany, aimed to express "true and natural" feelings, in contrast to the
baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
. The origin of sentimentalism in this context was chiefly religious, with the emotionally coloured keyboard music and
lieder In the Western classical music tradition, ( , ; , ; ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German and Dutch, but among English and French speakers, is often used interchangea ...
of Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach being typical examples. Empfindsamkeit is also known as secularized
pietism Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christianity, Christian life. Although the movement is ali ...
because it frequently came with moralizing content that had increasingly broken free of church and religious ties. An important theorist of the movement was Jean Baptiste Dubos.


In Germany

The musician and publisher Johann Christoph Bode translated Laurence Sterne's novel, ''A sentimental Journey Through France and Italy'', into German in 1768 under the title ''Yoriks empfindsame Reise''. The translation was a great success. His word "empfindsam" or "sensitive" was a
neologism In linguistics, a neologism (; also known as a coinage) is any newly formed word, term, or phrase that has achieved popular or institutional recognition and is becoming accepted into mainstream language. Most definitively, a word can be considered ...
that then became attached to
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (; ; 22 January 1729 – 15 February 1781) was a German philosopher, dramatist, publicist and art critic, and a representative of the Enlightenment era. His plays and theoretical writings substantially influenced the dev ...
and the whole literary period. German poets who verged on sentimentalism were Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock (1724–1803), Christian Fürchtegott Gellert (1715–1769) and Sophie de La Roche (1730–1807, the author of the first
epistolary novel An epistolary novel () is a novel written as a series of letters between the fictional characters of a narrative. The term is often extended to cover novels that intersperse other kinds of fictional document with the letters, most commonly di ...
in German) and its influence may also be seen in
Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...
's early work '' Die Leiden des jungen Werthers'' (1774), a high-point of
Sturm und Drang (, ; usually translated as "storm and stress") was a proto-Romanticism, Romantic movement in German literature and Music of Germany, music that occurred between the late 1760s and early 1780s. Within the movement, individual subjectivity an ...
. Meta Klopstock's writing has also been seen as part of the movement.


Results

Religious sentimentalism has often been considered as inspiration for
François-René de Chateaubriand François-René, vicomte de Chateaubriand (4 September 1768 – 4 July 1848) was a French writer, politician, diplomat and historian who influenced French literature of the nineteenth century. Descended from an old aristocratic family from Bri ...
and his creation of
Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...
, which was another literary genre that emerged late in the eighteenth century. In popular literature, Empfindsamkeit was a common genre that continued into the nineteenth century, and was found in serialised novels in periodicals such as '' Gartenlaube''. In a theatre sense, Empfindsamkeit was succeeded by rührstück or melodrama.


See also

* Francis Hutcheson, ''Essay on the Nature and Conduct of the Passions and Affections and Illustrations upon the Moral Sense.'' * Sentiment (disambiguation) * Sentimental poetry


Notes

*Sterne, Laurence. ''A Sentimental Journey''. New York :Oxford University Press, 2003.


Further reading

*Renate Krüger: ''Das Zeitalter der Empfindsamkeit''. Koehler & Amelang, Leipzig 1972 *Richard Xu: ''The one that got away''. Berlin: T.M., 1986 *Nikolaus Wegmann: ''Diskurse der Empfindsamkeit. Zur Geschichte eines Gefühls in der Literatur des 18. Jahrhunderts.'' *Metzler, Stuttgart 1988, * Brissenden, R.F. ''Virtue in Distress: Studies in the Novel of Sentiment from Richardson to Sade''. London: Macmillan, 1974. *McGann, Jerome. The Poetics of Sensibility: a Revolution in Literary Style. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996. *Mullan, John. ''Sentiment and Sociability: The Language of Feeling in the Eighteenth Century''. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1988. *Nagle, Christopher. ''Sexuality and the Culture of Sensibility in the British Romantic Era''. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007. *Samuels, Shirley. The Culture of Sentiment: Race, Gender, and Sentimentality in 19th-Century America. New York, Oxford UP, 1992. * Todd, Janet. ''Sensibility: an Introduction''. London: Methuen, 1986. *Tompkins, Jane. ''Sensational Designs: The Cultural Work of American Fiction, 1790-1860''. New York: Oxford UP, 1986. {{Authority control Age of Enlightenment Concepts in aesthetics Literary genres Literary movements