The romantic period was between the year 1800 and 1880.
In this period poets, singers, and story-tellers produced works based on their emotions.
The romanticist is unhappy about the state of the world. He does not like the period, or the place, in which he lives. Therefore, he practices escapism via lyric poetry and songs. He makes up his own, perfect, reality.
The romanticist is aware of his own individualism. Which is not restricted by time nor place. He resists common tradition and social values. Dismissing it as old and rusty.
He also loves, even idolizes, nature.
The romaticist has a desire for an afterlife, yet at the same time he tries to be match for God. Like Dr. Frankenstein, who recreated life.
The humouristic works are often soaked in depression. While it is funny, there is also a whiff of insatisfaction with reality in it.
Here, in the Netherlands, Multatuli (a.k.a. Eduard Douwes Dekker) is one of the most famous writers from the romantic period. He wrote the book "Max Havelaar, of de Koffij-veilingen der Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij" in 1860.
This book expressed Multatuli's insatisfaction with the way the dutch government exploited the natives of the indian colonies. The book itself has a rather odd form (e.g. fictional characters addressing the reader as if they were the ones to write the book).