American Romanticism 1800 1860 Objectives Understand the historical
American Romanticism 1800 -1860
Objectives • Understand the historical and social forces that shaped American Romanticism • Interpret the way historical context influenced literary works in the Romantic Period • Understand the relevance of the Romantic era to our own day
American Romanticism • Most students assume that “Romanticism” means that we are studying love poems. THIS IS NOT TRUE!!!! • American Romanticism can best be described as a journey away from the corruption of civilization and the limits of classical, rational thought. • American Romantics moved the away from the rigid structure of the classics and to the appreciation of imagination and intuition over reason.
Political Influences on American Romanticism • The ideals of American democracy • The tensions caused by growing concerns over the rights of women • The problem of slavery • Westward expansion
The Romantic Sensibility: Celebrating the Imagination • Romanticism is the name given to any schools of thought that value feeling and intuition over reason. • The repulsive and wretched working and living conditions in the cities showed the limits of reason. • The Romantics believed that the imagination could comprehend truths that could not be reached with reason alone. • These truths were often accompanied by powerful emotion, and were associated with natural, unspoiled beauty. • The Romantics valued poetry above all other works of the imagination.
Romanticism Classicism
Romantic Escapism • Romantics wanted to rise above “dull realities” to find a realm of higher truth. • There were two ways that the Romantics tried to understand higher truths. – One was to explore the past, the exotic and the supernatural. – The other was to contemplate the natural world.
Aspects of Romanticism • Fireside Poets – appreciation of nature and imagination • Transcendentalists – believed in the importance of the individual and living in harmony with nature • Gothics/Darks – focused on the exotic and supernatural
Fireside Poets • American poetry at this time was so popular that “The Fireside Poets” of this time are still among the most famous (and successful) American poets. • The Fireside Poets are Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, John Greenleaf Whittier, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and James Russell Lowell • They were called The Fireside Poets because families often read their poetry around the fire as a form of entertainment.
Transcendentalists • Came from “Transcendent” – knowledge that exists beyond reason or experience • Emphasized living a simple life and celebrating the truth found in nature • Favored personal emotion and imagination • Believed people were inherently good
Ralph Waldo Emerson • Ralph Waldo Emerson is considered to be a founding writer and philosopher within the American romantic movement. • Emerson is perhaps best known for his essays, from which emerge the grounding notions of Transcendentalism. • “Self-Reliance, ” “Nature”
Henry David Thoreau • Wrote about living as one with nature and being self-reliant • Thoreau presents an exploration of selfdiscipline and self-discovery which resonates significantly through American literature. • Considered one of the first environmentalists • “Civil Disobedience, ” “Walden”
Gothics/Darks • Considered Romantics but explored the darker side of human existence • Awareness for human capacity and evil • Probing of the inner life of the characters and the mysterious forces that shape human behavior • Grotesque characters, bizarre situations, and violent events
Edgar Allan Poe • Pioneer of the detective story • First major author of science fiction and fantasy • Considered to be the master of the gothic form which explored human psychology from the inside with first person narrators • “The Raven, ” “The Fall of the House of Usher, ” “The Cask of Amontillado”
Nathaniel Hawthorne • Examined the darker facets of the human soul • Agreed with the romantic ideals of emotion and the individual • Many of Hawthorne’s stories are set in Puritan America • The Scarlett Letter, “The Minister’s Black Veil”
Herman Melville • Mostly adventure stories set in the South Pacific • Explores issues such as madness and the conflict of good and evil • Moby Dick
Romanticism Today Many of these writers had a huge effect on literature and society today: • Stephanie Meyer • Stephen King • Martin Luther King Jr. • Gandhi • Political movements • Environmentalism
- Slides: 17