The Romantic Manifesto

The Romantic Manifesto

"The Romantic Manifesto: A Philosophy of Literature" is a non-fiction work by Ayn Rand, a collection of essays regarding the nature of art. It was first published in 1969, with a second, revised edition published in 1975. Most of the essays originally appeared in "The Objectivist", except for the "Introduction to Ninety-Three", which was an introduction for an edition of the Victor Hugo novel. The revised edition added the essay "Art and Cognition".

At the base of her argument, Rand asserts that one cannot create art without infusing a given work with one's own value judgments and personal philosophy. Even if the artist attempts to withhold moral overtones, the work becomes tinged with a deterministic or naturalistic message. The next logical step of Rand's argument is that the audience of any particular work cannot help but come away with some sense of a philosophical message, colored by his or her own personal values, ingrained into their psyche by whatever degree of emotional impact the work holds for them.

Rand goes on to divide artistic endeavors into "valid" and "invalid" forms. (Photography, for example, is invalid to her (qua art form) because a camera merely records the world exactly as it is and has very limited, if any, capacity to carry a moral message beyond the photographer's choice of subject matter.) Art, to her, should always strive to elevate and idealize the human spirit. She specifically attacks Naturalism and Modernism in art, while upholding Romanticism (in the artistic sense, not in terms of general philosophy).

The book ends with a short story entitled "The Simplest Thing in the World".


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • The Romantic Anonymous Fellowship — was founded by the Stuckist painter Odysseus Yakoumakis on September 2004, as the first, and currently the only, Greek group of Stuckism International. It has an international membership.HistoryOdysseus Yakoumakis discovered Stuckism in July,… …   Wikipedia

  • The Early Ayn Rand — is a collection of unpublished early short stories, plays, and excerpts from We the Living and The Fountainhead , written by Ayn Rand and published after her death in 1984. The collection was compiled and edited by the heir of Rand s estate,… …   Wikipedia

  • The Fountainhead — Fountainhead redirects here. For other uses, see Fountainhead (disambiguation). The Fountainhead   …   Wikipedia

  • The Atlas Society — Objectivist movement …   Wikipedia

  • Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand —   …   Wikipedia

  • The Music Lovers (pop group) — The Music Lovers are a San Francisco based elegantly romantic pop group. HistoryFormed in San Francisco in 2003 by transplanted Englishman (and main songwriter) Matthew (Ted) Edwards. After a series of successful shows in New York City the group… …   Wikipedia

  • Capitalism : The Unknown Ideal — Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal (en français Capitalisme : l idéal inconnu ) est un ouvrage d Ayn Rand publié en 1966, regroupant plusieurs de ses essais, ainsi que quelques autres par ses associés Nathaniel Branden, Alan Greenspan et Robert… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • For the New Intellectual — For the New Intellectual: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand est un ouvrage d Ayn Rand publié en 1961. Ce fut son premier véritable essai. L ouvrage est constitué de larges extraits de ses romans (Nous, les vivants, Hymne, La source vive et La révolte d… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • The Coca-Cola Kid — For the Game Gear video game, see Coca Cola Kid (video game). For the English Turkish footballer nicknamed Coca Cola Kid , see Colin Kazim Richards. The Coca Cola Kid Promotional movie poster for the film …   Wikipedia

  • The Idiots — This article is about the Danish film. For similar titles, see The Idiot. The Idiots German movie poster Directed by Lars von Trier …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”