(I) Towards the end of the eighteenth century, a vast cultural movement began to sweep across Europe. (II) Within the Romantic movement, a group of composers were inspired by new ideas about national identity. (III) The movement, known as Romanticism, called into question many of the principles of the eighteenth-century Enlightenment. (IV) In other words, the Romantics began to question human reason and the uniformity of human nature. (V) Moreover, they emphasized the diversity of humanity, and the importance of spontaneity, creativity, emotion and passion.