Романтизм як трансісторичний феномен та його інтерпретації
Romanticism as a trans-historical phenomenon and its interpretations

Summary/Abstract: Romanticism in the wide sense of the word can be viewed as a trans-historical cultural phenomenon, opposite to the materialistic approach to life and its naturalistic artistic representation. Together with the Realism (in wide sense of the word) it can be viewed as the stylistic counterpart of Nietzsche’s cultural principles of Apollonian and Dionysian. In terms of K.G. Jung’s Analytic Psychology it can be said that the Romanticism is a manifestation of a visionary artistic creativity, as opposed to the work of a "writer-psychologist". It is possible to trace some elements of the world outlook underlying Romanticism, at least to the Hellenistic art. I. Ratsky suggested the term "romantic genres", as an equivalent of the English term "romance". In contemporary Ukrainian humanities sometimes used the word "romence". The use of the term is highly recommended as it implies the continuous, trans-historical tradition that connects the early (Hellenistic and Medieval) adventure stories with the Romanticism of XVIII – XIX ct and further with the contemporary fantasy, some sub-genres of which clearly show the same pattern as the ancient texts. The traditional elements, including the inherited Classical topoi and the autochthonic folklore motifs, reinterpreted in a light of new, anti-Enlightenment sentiments, lead to the gradual formation of what is now known as the Pre-Romanticism, and then the High Romanticism. Both of these are well-known and need no further expostulations. We need only to note, that the rise of a radically different World model meant the rise of the new genres, most noticeably – the historical novel. The other tendency, that began with the "Ossianism", gave rise to the sentiments of national revivals that in many cases went much further than the literary experiments. Ukrainian anti-colonial romanticism can be seen in this context. The practical results of this trend was reflected in the changed map of Europe and world. It is usually stated that the second half of the XIX ct. was the time of predominance of realistic, even naturalistic literature, which has eclipsed the Romantic art, which was only revived in at the turn of the century as the Neo-Romanticism. However, it can be argued that if we take into consideration not only the "elitist" literature, but also popular genres – minding that there was no exact division into such categories before Ortega-y-Gasset’s famous work – we’ll see a different picture. There was no "death and revival", but gradual transformation, as the ideas of High Romanticism diffused in the culture, gave rise to the new genres, first of all, adventure novel and its variants, primarily detective, science fiction and fantasy. This can be termed an "intermediate" Romanticism of the mid XIX ct. The classic writers of the Neo-Romanticism only solidified the genres. They have created their "canonic" examples, which retain their paradigmal status till now. One of the characteristic traits of Neo-Romanticism was the predominance of the ordinary, down-to-life protagonist, radically different from the High Romantic "superhero", who, hoverer, grew in stature during the tale. It helped the audience to identify with the hero, and contributed to the dramatic but generally optimistic tone. The Continental counterpart of the mostly British and American Neo-Romantic novel is the Symbolism, that showed the opposite reaction to the "prose of life". Instead of finding physical adventures, the Symbolists searched the inner world and tried to establish a contact with the transcendental reality. In XX ct Romantic tendencies were quite strong, but once more, diffuse, and thus were seldom viewed as a whole phenomenon. It can be traced in different genres and art forms. Depending on the predominant ideology and the personal inclinations of the author, Romantic sentiments can lead both to the revolutionary urge, of to the complete escapism. One of the noticeable traits of the XX ct popular culture was the importance of the Neo-Romantic literature. These books retained their popularity throughout the century. Now they still have enormous international audience, and moreover, they are constantly re-interpreted both in screen adaptations and in the new works of art that use their imagery and structure. This widespread and multifaceted process is rapidly turning into a phenomenon of contemporary art, that can be defined as the "Post-Neo-romanticism". This term, if somewhat unwieldy, refers to its connection with the Neo-Romanticism (rather than the High Romanticism), and its liberal use of the Post-modern devices. For example, the Neo-romantic texts can be modernized, combined, or interpreted in terms of retro-futurism, that give rise to Steampunk and suchlike forms. The new trend can be traced to the times of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the consequent structural changes of the global culture. Now it is becoming a leading factor of the current cultural life.

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