American Romanticism
Periods in American Literature Pre-19 th century Pre-settlement (before 1620) Native American literature Puritanism (1620s – mid-1700s) Enlightenment, also known as The Age of Reason (second half of the 18 th century; 1750s-early 1800s) Romanticism (1820s-1861) Realism (1860s-1920s) Modernism (1914-1945) Post-World War II (1945- )
What We’ll Learn When American Romanticism flourished Characteristics of the American Romantic period Some American Romantic authors A bit about Transcendentalism and Dark Romanticism
Romanticism/Renaissance Some call the Romantic period the Renaissance “It was a Renaissance in the sense of a flowering, excitement over human possibilities, and a high regard for individual ego. It was definitely and even defiantly American, as these writers struggled to understand what ‘American’ could possibly mean, especially in terms of a literature which was distinctively American…” (Ann Woodlief, Virginia Commonwealth University)
Why American Romanticism? American Romanticism was a reaction to the aristocratic social and political norms of the Age of Reason It also was a response against the scientific rationalization of nature The pendulum swings the other way Coincided with national expansion and the discovery of a distinctive American voice
Romantic Period Timeframes Primarily from 1820-1865 Some put its start to late 1700s Glory years were 1850-1855
Bradstreet Franklini Bryant Reading Break Take out a sheet of paper. Turn it sideways and make three columns. Read Bradstreet’s “To My Dear and Loving Husband.” List three characteristics of this Puritan work (“it is a poem” does not count). Think about tone, language, style, etc. What does she say she values her husband’s love more than? What is she saying in lines 11 and 12? (Put it in today’s words) Go to page 83 in text. Read “A Letter” by Franklin. List at least three characteristics of this Enlightenment work. Go to page 139-140 in text. Read To a Waterfowl by William Cullen Bryant. List at least three characteristics of this Romantic work.
Outside Influences on Authors The frontier and its promises for expansion, growth and freedom This led to a spirit of optimism Immigration New cultures and perspectives Industry starts to grow in the northern states while the southern states remain agrarian The end of Romanticism coincides with the Civil War and the beginning of Realism
American Romantic Characteristics Formal language Emotional: lots of metaphors! Love solitude and nature, which were written about emotionally Tried to find a connection with the new and the spontaneous in nature and in self Had a lot of creative energy and power The “Noble Savage” appears, as do Outcasts James Fennimore Cooper’s Deerslayer and Last of the Mohicans, part of the Natty Bumpo (Leatherstocking) tales
American Romantic Characteristics Idealism Writers rejected rationalism because they believed that scientific reasoning discouraged intuition and spontaneity Examines human frailty, weakness, limitation Examined the self Stories of pilgrimages or journeys Best characterized as leaving civilization and entering the world of nature Novelists particularly were inspired by wilderness, westward expansion, and the rise of a nationalist spirit
American Romantic Characteristics Plots demonstrate: romantic love, honor and integrity, idealism of the self Some very non-romantic problems enter literature: War Slavery Materialism Interest in the supernatural Lots of metaphors
Reading/Listening Break Listen and read the opening of “The Last of the Mohicans” by James Fennimore Cooper On the handout of what you just read/listened to, edit/rewrite Cooper’s first paragraph to cut out or change all the unnecessary and overly emotional language. Follow the directions. Do the first sentence now. What do you have left? Turn in your edited paragraph tomorrow.
Reading Break: Dickenson Hope is the Thing with I'm Nobody! Who are you? Feathers I'm Nobody! Who are you? Hope is the thing with feathers Are you – Nobody – too? That perches in the soul, Then there's a pair of us! And sings the tune without the words, Don't tell! they'd advertise – you And never stops at all, know! And sweetest in the gale is heard; How dreary – to be – Somebody! And sore must be the storm How public – like a Frog – That could abash the little bird To tell one's name – the livelong That kept so many warm. June – I've heard it in the chillest land To an admiring Bog! And on the strangest sea; Yet, never, in extremity, It asked a crumb of me.
American Romantic Heroes Heroes in American Romantic literature tended to be: Childlike Innocent Distrustful of women Fond of nature In search of a higher truth
Reading Break Turn to page 125 and read “Rip Van Winkle.” Answer the following: 1. How does RVW illustrate the following: Childlike Story of a journey Idealism Interest in the supernatural Distrust of women In search of a higher truth Supernatural
Romanticism Sub Genres Slave narratives Protest; struggle for identity, self-realization Domestic Sentimental; social visits; women as secondary to men Coming of age novels Transcendentalism Dark romanticism
Transcendentalism Description: An American literary, political, and philosophical movement of the early 1800s, centered around Ralph Waldo Emerson Critical of society for its unthinking conformity Urged that each person find, in Emerson's words, “an original relation to the universe” By 1850s they were highly critical of slavery People were at their best when self-reliant and independent
Forward Thinkers In the 1840s several transcendentalists were engaged in the social experiments of Brook Farm, Fruitlands, and Walden They were the original commune-living hippies!
Walt Whitman Walt Whitman (1819-1892): Part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Was a printer, journalist, editor, poet, and teacher. Published Leaves of Grass in 1855, then continued to refine and republish for several editions. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Whitman vowed to live a "purged" and "cleansed" life. He is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse. His work was controversial, particularly Leaves of Grass, which was described as obscene for its overt sexuality. Whitman spent his later years In a simple two- story clapboard house working on additions and revisions to a new edition of Leaves.
Authors Lived the Life Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862): One of his first memories was of "looking through the stars to see if I could see God behind them." You could say he never stopped examining nature for ultimate Truth. He worked as a surveyor and making pencils with his father. At 28 he wanted to write his first book. He went to Walden pond and built a cabin on land owned by Emerson. He spent endless hours "sauntering" in nature. He was imprisoned briefly for not paying his poll tax. Wrote “Civil Disobedience,” and essay saying governments should not overrule a person’s conscious— he was an abolitionist. After a little more than two years, Thoreau returned to Concord. He died of tuberculosis at the age of 44. His last words were said to be "Moose" and "Indian."
Prominent Transcendentalists Henry David Thoreau Walden; Civil Disobedience Ralph Waldo Emerson Nature; Self-Reliance (essays) , Concord Hymn (poem) Margaret Fuller, best known for journalism Women in the Nineteenth Century (first feminist work); Summer on the Lakes
Reading Break/Discussion Turn to page 217. Read “Conclusion” for another taste of Transcendentalism. What is Thoreau telling us to do in this section? How does this piece exhibit characteristics of the Romantic period? Attitude toward society Attitude toward nature Ornate language Personification of nature Attitude toward nature
Affect of Transcendentalists Transcendentalists helped establish and lead the American ideal of individualism and self-reliance They were progressive on women's rights, abolition, reform, and education They criticized government, organized religion, laws, social institutions, and industrialization They created an American "state of mind“ Imagination was better than reason, creativity was better than theory, and action was better than contemplation They believed that all would be well because humans could rise above their limits and reach fantastic heights
The Dark Romantics Acknowledged the darker side of life and mankind Romantic authors glorified life and did not acknowledge evil or sin The world is dark and mysterious and the truths revealed in literature are evil and awful They obsessed over extreme experiences in love, fear, and horror Vivid description, gloomy events Emotional or psychological torment prominent
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