Description
Book SynopsisEver since the word romantic and its many cognates in European languages began to be used as technical terms towards the end of the eighteenth century, the quest for a satisfactory definition of their meanings has continued unabated. This collection of essays traces the history of the word in the major European languages, showing how romantic and its cognates were first introduced, how their usage spread and their connotations proliferated, and how their present usage became established.
This book opens with an introduction by the editor, followed by an essay in which Professor Raymond Immerwaher, Chairman of the Department of German, University of Western Ontario, shows how romantic and its cognates became fashionable in England, France and Germany, and traces the extension of the meanings of these words up to 1790. The story is then taken up in individual essays on the history of the word and its cognates in the major European countries: in Germany, by the editor; in England