ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Dark romanticism

Dark romanticism is a type of literature that is dark and has sad themes. It is like a ghost story or a scary movie, but in writing. The writers who write in this style don't write about happy things like rainbows, sunshine, and playing outside. Instead, they write about sad things like death, evil, and sadness.

Some famous dark romantic writers are Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne. They wrote stories about ghosts, witches, and people doing bad things. These stories are not for young children because they can be scary.

One of the main themes of dark romanticism is the dark side of human nature. This means that people have a good side and a bad side, and sometimes the bad side wins. The writers want to show that not everything in life is happy and joyful, and that sometimes people do bad things.

Dark romanticism is not just about the scary stuff. It also explores nature, the supernatural, and the power of imagination. But overall, it is a style of writing that leans towards the scary and sad.