Which literary movement is characterized by a focus on individual experience and emotional depth?

Romanticism is indeed characterized by a strong emphasis on individual experience and emotional depth. This literary movement, which blossomed from the late 18th to the mid-19th century, champions the value of personal feelings, intuition, and imagination over the rationalism and order that came before it, particularly during the Enlightenment. Romantic writers often explored the complexities of the human psyche, nature, and the sublime, showcasing intense emotions such as passion, love, and despair.

The focus on the individual's subjective experience is evident in the works of prominent Romantic authors like William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who celebrated nature and personal reflection, and later figures like John Keats and Lord Byron, who delved into the depths of human emotion. Romanticism was a reaction against the industrialized society of the time, seeking to highlight the beauty of individual expression and the emotional connections people have with the world around them. This context of prioritizing individual feelings makes Romanticism distinct, especially when contrasted with movements like Realism and Naturalism, which tend to focus on external circumstances and societal structures rather than personal emotion.