Abstract: | The epoch of profound changes in the social and spiritual life of Europe as a result of the French revolution made Romanticists think of the need for human and social spiritual development. They strove to penetrate “the secrets” of history and the nature of what they considered the “fateful” forces, and estimate their power over man. This historical method became one of the major principles of the Romantic writers’ poetics and was reflected in their creative works not only as disappointment with the results of the French revolution, but also as enthusiasm for irreconcilable protest and historical optimism.
This rebellious spirit, rejection of evil and the imperfection of the world find their archetypal reflection in the image of Prometheus, fighter for the progress of man who dared to oppose God himself. The fire, stolen by Prometheus for man, is identified with reason itself. At the same time this image carries the duality of benefactor and criminal, since creation of something new and advanced leads to mutiny against reality itself and rejection of its laws. Nevertheless, through this myth, western civilization has been trying to understand itself in its cultural self-consciousness. |
