The transition from Romanticism to Realism and Naturalism in modern European drama reflects profound social, political, and intellectual transformations that occurred in Europe from the late eighteenth to the nineteenth century. Romantic drama emerged as a reaction against the rigid rules of Neoclassicism, emphasizing imagination, emotion, individual freedom, and the glorification of nature and heroism. However, as Europe underwent political revolutions, industrialization, and the rise of the middle class, dramatic literature gradually shifted toward Realism and later Naturalism, which focused on everyday life, social problems, and scientific observation of human behavior. Romanticism dominated early modern European drama through playwrights such as Victor Hugo, Friedrich Schiller, and Lord Byron. Romantic dramatists rejected classical unities and instead embraced historical settings, emotional intensity, and heroic individualism. Their characters often represented idealized figures struggling for freedom, justice, or personal expression. Romantic drama celebrated the extraordinary rather than the ordinary and reflected revolutionary optimism inspired partly by the French Revolution. The revolution promoted ideas of liberty, equality, and fraternity, which encouraged writers to explore themes of individual rights and emotional authenticity. Early Romantic drama therefore retained strong idealistic elements, portraying humanity as capable of moral greatness and social transformation. However, the long-term consequences of political revolutions began to reshape European society in ways that undermined Romantic idealism. The French Revolution initially promised social equality, but its violent phases, such as the Reign of Terror, revealed the darker side of mass political movements. Later revolutions in 1848 across Europe showed both the aspirations and failures of democratic reform. These events led writers to question heroic visions of history and instead focus on the complexities and contradictions of real social life. Disillusionment with revolutionary utopianism encouraged dramatists to depict society more critically and realistically. Simultaneously, the Industrial Revolution transformed economic and social structures. Rapid urbanization created overcrowded cities, harsh factory conditions, and new forms of poverty. These changes produced visible social inequalities that could not easily be reconciled with Romantic ideals of harmony and heroism. The rise of capitalism and industrial labor highlighted the struggles of ordinary people, making everyday social reality a more