American Romanticism 1800 - 1860 A Reaction to Puritanism and Rationalism.
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Transcript of American Romanticism 1800 - 1860 A Reaction to Puritanism and Rationalism.
American Romanticism1800 - 1860
A Reaction to Puritanism and Rationalism
Swinging Pendulum
Each new movement in part a reaction to the previous
The rationalistic view of urban life (from Federal period) replaced by the Romantic view
Rationalists: cities as a place to find success and self-realization
Romantics: the city as a place of moral corruption, poverty, and death
Signing the Mayflower CompactSigning the Mayflower Compact
Puritanism: c1620-1700
Purpose for Literature: Provide spiritual
insight and instruction Mostly sermons,
theological studies, and hymns
Puritan Style Simple, Spare,
Straightforward
Neoclassic Rationalism: 1750-1800
Founding FathersEmphasized reason, harmony, and
restraint
Introduction to Romanticism An international movement arising as a response to Enlightenment ideals and the French revolution Rationalism and materialism of Enlightenment rejected for an almost religious appreciation of nature and worship of the individual misunderstood hero. The initial strongholds of Romanticism were England and Germany. Nationalism was a key element in romanticism.
● English, German as well as American movements all had nationalistic trends.
Characteristics of Romanticism in General
Values feelings over intellectValues the power of the imaginationSeeks the beauty of unspoiled natureValues youthful innocenceValues individual freedomValues the lessons of the pastFinds beauty in exotic locales, the
supernatural, and in the imaginationValues poetry as the highest expression of the
imaginationValues myth, legend, and folk culture
Rejection of Belief in Total Depravity
People naturally People naturally benevolentbenevolent
Mind a Mind a tabula rosatabula rosa at at birthbirth
Corrupted by institutions Corrupted by institutions that sought to that sought to dehumanize individualsdehumanize individuals
Those closest to Nature Those closest to Nature best living examplesbest living examples““Noble savage”Noble savage”
Journey to the Countryside
The Romantics: the country = independence, moral clarity, and purity
The Gothic Romantic: the country as a place of delusion (phantasm)
The Pastoral Romantic: the country as idyllic and an escape
American Literature Comes of Age with Romanticism
Finally, America had a literature worthy of international recognition
Finally, America had a distinctly American literature rather than an imitation of British literature
American Romanticism grew from Puritan visions and rhetoric of salvation and guilt; the wilderness; fiery rhetoric of freedom and equality
A Renaissance in the sense of a flowering, an excitement over human possibilities and a high regard for individual ego
Characteristics of American Romanticism
Places faith in inner experience and power of imagination
Shuns the artificiality of civilization; seeks unspoiled nature
Prefers youthful innocence to educated sophistication
Champions individual freedom and the worth of the individual
Contemplates nature’s beauty as a path to spiritual and moral development
American Romanticism
Traditional literary forms mattered much less than inspiration, enthusiasm, and emotion
Good literature should have heart, not rules Immersion in nature and its wild aspect:
Nature for itself, for beauty Nature as source for the knowledge of the
primitive Nature as refuge Nature as revelation of God to individual
Frequent emphasis on fantastic aspects of human experience
The Romance as Prose Epic
Romance: Less formal version of epic poem Noble character on a series
of adventures Pastoral setting Love interest and the
idealization of women According to William
Gilmore Simms, the romance does not confine itself to what is known or even probable: "it grasps at the possible."
Romance versus the Novel
Reality not as central as in a novel Characters generally not as complex Relationships narrowly or obsessively
involvedOrigins of characters irrelevant, often a
mystery Plot highly colored, featuring astonishing
events of symbolic or allegorical import Mythic, allegorical, or symbolic forms;
heightened diction (more flowery language)
Gothic
Gothic writing used the supernatural in nature and/or in folk legends
Gothic novels wild, haunted landscapesGothic concept roots in France,
Germany, and England Edgar Allan Poe Gothic Romanticism’s
first great American writer
American Romantic Poetry
Fireside Poets—Boston group composed of Longfellow, Whittier, Holmes, and Lowell–widely read and loved in America
Families gathered around the fireside to be entertained by their poetry
Subject matter comfortable and instructional
Praised during the time but not as highly regarded today
The means of knowing TruthGod reveals himself solely through
NatureNature becomes a moral teacher
Eden-like and untouched by Adam’s fall A retreat for humanity
U.S. literature different in the sense of wild Nature vs. Europe’s cultivated Nature
Nature
Cultivated Nature
Wild Nature
Wilder Nature
Romantic Heroes
Dark HeroDangerousMysterious
Noble Savage Heroadventurousindependent
Strong Silent Hero
admirable/attractive
Romantic Heroines
BlondesPure, innocentVirtuousNeed protection
BrunettesPassion, experienceDangerousSexy
Bibliography Faber, Doris, and Harold Fabor. Great Lives. New York:
Simon & Schuster, 1988. 179-185. Woodlief, Anne. “An Introduction to American
Romanticism”. 18 August 2001. 30 September 2007. <http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/eng372/intro.htm>