What romantic element is present in this excerpt from “Rip Van Winkle”?

In a long ramble of the kind, on a fine autumnal day, Rip had unconsciously scrambled to one of the highest parts of the Kaatskill mountains. Panting and fatigued, he threw himself, late in the afternoon, on a green knoll, covered with mountain herbage, that crowned the brow of a precipice. From an opening between the trees, he could overlook all the lower country for many a mile of rich woodland. He saw at a distance the lordly Hudson, far, far below him, moving on its silent but majestic course, with the reflection of a purple cloud, or the sail of a lagging bark, here and there sleeping on its glassy bosom and at last losing itself in the blue highlands.

A.
the emphasis on individual choice
B.
the emphasis on human optimism
C.
the emphasis on the beauty of nature
D.
the emphasis on the importance of society
E.
the emphasis on scientific discovery

Question

What romantic element is present in this excerpt from “Rip Van Winkle”?

In a long ramble of the kind, on a fine autumnal day, Rip had unconsciously scrambled to one of the highest parts of the Kaatskill mountains. Panting and fatigued, he threw himself, late in the afternoon, on a green knoll, covered with mountain herbage, that crowned the brow of a precipice. From an opening between the trees, he could overlook all the lower country for many a mile of rich woodland. He saw at a distance the lordly Hudson, far, far below him, moving on its silent but majestic course, with the reflection of a purple cloud, or the sail of a lagging bark, here and there sleeping on its glassy bosom and at last losing itself in the blue highlands.

A. 
the emphasis on individual choice
B. 
the emphasis on human optimism
C. 
the emphasis on the beauty of nature
D. 
the emphasis on the importance of society
E. 
the emphasis on scientific discovery

Allison · Answer

Process of elimination, from the reading, we can eliminate E and D.