Choose three examples to show the contribution of culture to the growth of nationalism in Europe.

Culture played an important role in creating the idea of the nation: art and poetry, stories and music helped express and shape nationalist feelings. Following examples show the contribution of culture to the growth of nationalism in Europe:

1. Romanticism, a cultural movement which sought to develop a particular form of nationalist sentiment. Romantic artists and poets generally criticised the glorification of reason and science and focused instead on emotions, intuition and mystical feelings. Their effort was to create a sense of a shared collective heritage, a common cultural past, as the basis of a nation.
2. The emphasis on vernacular language and the collection of local folklore was not just to recover an ancient national spirit, but also to carry the modern nationalist message to large audiences.
3. Language too played an important role in developing nationalist sentiments. After Russian occupation, the Polish language was forced out of schools and the Russian language was imposed everywhere. The use of Polish by members of clergy came to be seen as a symbol of the struggle against Russian dominance.