Literary RomanticismLiterary Romanticism is a literary movement present in the history of practically every European country, the United States and Latin America. It lasted from about 1750 to about 1870 and was characterized by dependence on imagination and emotional subjectivity of approach, freedom of thought and expression, and the idealization of nature. The term "romantic" first appeared in 18th-century English and originally meant "romantic", that is, resembling the imaginative character of medieval romances. Romanticism was simply a product of times gone by, as all literary works are. Heinrich Heine is an example of a German Romantic poet. He is best known for his early lyric poems and ballads, acclaimed for the variety and depth of mood and emotion they express. Born in Düsseldorf, Heine attended schools there until 1815. There is evidence that then, while in Hamburg with his uncle Salomon Heine, a banker, Heine fell in love with his cousin Amalie but she did not return his love. This early experience may have been the source of the themes of desire, disappointment, and romantic irony in Heine's poetry. His poems embody the Romantic style and focus primarily on love and unrequited or otherwise unattainable love. In his time, he was also known for his liberal political views and his satirical attacks on German nationalism. His controversial writings and activities brought him into disgrace in Germany but made him famous throughout Europe. Reading his works, you will notice that in 1822 Heine's first volume of verse, Gedichte (Poems, 1884), was published. The book attracted attention for the delicacy and lyrical beauty of the p...... middle of paper ......f Germany, and Heine's income was greatly reduced. In 1845 he contracted a spinal disease that confined him to his "mattress grave", as he called his bed, from 1848 to his death in 1856. However, some of his most important works such as the volume of poems Romanzero (1851) , date back to the last years of his life. Heine's personality was composed of sharply contrasting elements: a pagan zest for life and a feeling for Jewish ethical values; a love of romanticism and a hatred of the German Romantic writers of his time due to their subservience to reactionary political and religious forces; German patriotism and a humanitarianism that encompassed the entire world; Nominal Christianity and lifelong attachment to Judaism. These conflicts created in Heine the spirit of disillusionment, derision and biting satire that characterizes much of his writings...