The life of a "free artist" during the early 19th century Romantic period of literature, art and music was conceptualized in terms of the artist as a free person, an artist outside of society, often beset upon by his or her inner demons. In contrast, the Classical period that immediately preceded the Romantic period during the 18th century valued wit and repartee rather than inner self-expression. Romantic literature favored lyric poetry, for example, often used by Wordsworth, Shelley, and Keats to express their inner feelings, away from society while the artist was in repose. In contrast, the previous Classical period of literature favored the use of heroic couplets, as deployed by Alexander Pope to satirize contemporary events with great literary style. Romanticism conceived of the free artist as writing or composing for his or her own pleasure, the Classical Period for the public's pleasure.

             The Romantics believed that the artistic imagination was the supreme ideal that all humans must strive towards, an imagination that held the emotions superior to pure reason of the mind. ("Romanticism," Brooklyn College, 2005) This contrasted distinctly with the traditional arguments for the supremacy of reason during the Classical era. The Romantics favored innovation on the part of the free artist, again outside of society and social ties. The Classical writers stressed their ability to use old forms of poetry, to translate ancient Greek and Roman works such as Homer, and their continuity with a rationalist tradition, and to create music in a highly organized and stately style.

             The artist in Romantic literature was often depicted free in nature, as nature allowed the individual to exit society and the world of other humans, allowing the artist to be truly free to create original works. In contrast, Classicism through its pictorial depiction carefully shaped gardens, its literary use of carefully shaped couplets, and its stress upon the beauty of social civilization in philosophy affirmed the beauty of humanity's cultivation and the discipline of nature for social pleasure, of which the free artist was a participant and advocate.