The romantic writers has something that the previous era, classicism, did not, and that is - freedom. They rejected all the norms and the rules of the previous eras, and started giving individuals more freedom, and the writers themselves had a choice of what they would write about, and how they would write it. I'd say they were very effective - their characters were able to experience a lot more than their predecessors had, and to live a fuller life the way they wanted to. They could do anything and weren't restrained by limits somebody imposed on them without their consent.