Define the term Romanticism. How did it facilitate the promotion of nationalist sentiment?

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 How did Romanticism pave the way for Nationalism in Europe ? Explain.

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Romanticism was a cultural movement which sought to develop a particular form of nationalists sentiments in the following ways :
(i) Critical approach towards reason and science :
Romantic artists criticized the glorification of reason and science and focused on emotions, intuitions and mystical feelings.

(ii) Folk culture as the spirit of the nation: Johann Gottfried Herder claimed that through folk songs, folk poetry and folk dances, the true spirit of a nation could be popularised.
(iii) Emphasis on vernacular language: They gave emphasis on vernacular language to recover the national spirit and to carry the modem nationalist message to large audience who were mostly illiterate.

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