adjective
- relating to or characteristic of the period in literature and art before Romanticism, typically the late 18th century
Usage: literary criticism; art history
Examples
- The preromantic poets began to emphasize emotion over reason.
- Gray’s ‘Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard’ is considered a preromantic work.
- Preromantic literature showed early signs of the movement away from neoclassicism.
- The preromantic period bridged the gap between the Enlightenment and Romanticism.
- Many preromantic writers explored themes of nature and individual feeling.
- The preromantic sensibility valued sentiment and imagination.