The neoclassical period directly influenced Romanticism, and Romanticism directly influenced Victorianism.
Romanticism was a reaction against the neoclassical. Romantic writers rejected the emphasis on reason and on the big picture concerning society and government. Swift, a neoclassical writer, for instance, uses satire to ridicule the English government, as well as the English and Irish wealthy in his essay, "A Modest Proposal." His satire is largely based on reason, as well as wit and humor. Blake, a forerunner of Romanticism, uses a single chimney sweeper to expose the plight of the poor in "The Chimney Sweeper."
Romanticism emphasizes the individual and the transcendent and nature and that which is beyond human reason, as opposed to the neoclassical.
The early Victorian period is very much romantic in nature. Early poems by Tennyson, for instance, contain much that is romantic. Romanticism's influence is direct. Eventually, Victorian writers and thinkers would reject the optimism of Romanticism, and realism and then naturalism would become predominant. Later Victorian writers sought to present works of art that more directly reflected reality.
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