It is not necessary to use a strong melody to create a successful (or even great) work, but a beautiful, easy-to-hum melody will always give ordinary laymen more joy. Many people who have not studied or analyzed music are easily attracted by composers who are good at melody. Comparing the composers of the Baroque period with some composers of the 20th century; both classical composers and romantic composers make their melody more easy to catch, and long and short melody are easy to master.
According to this passage, the correct understanding is that Romantic composers are particularly good at using short melody in the process of composition.