1) Romanticism is a movement that encompasses the fields of visual art, architecture, music and literature.

2) The movement commenced in approximately 1800 in America. 3) The movement was presumably a reaction against the revolutionary

period that emphasized on reasoning and traditionalism.4) Romanticism brought the purity of nature and mankind into focus.5) Reasoning was overshadowed by passion and the concept of

romantic hero came into limelight.6) This character symbolized youth, sentiments and intuition.7) Romanticism enhanced the accomplishments of individuals and

artists who were looked upon as heroes in the social set up. 8) The artists of this regime believed and propagated the 5 i s

– Imagination– Intuition– Innocence– Inner Experience– Inspiration from nature and the supernatural.

Age of Romanticism

Historical Context

• 1800-1870 = time of growth and expansion westward

• The move west brought new technologies in transportation, industry, and communication:

• Canals and Railroads• Factories and advanced farming equipment• Telegraph and Morse code

Historical Context Cont.

• The move west and new technology also spurred troublesome changes:

• Factories brought fierce competition = child labor and unsafe working conditions

• Women’s rights were severely hampered and efforts to change this came to the forefront

• Opposition to slavery began to grow and gain a voice in abolitionists, eventually dividing the nation in two

What is Romanticism?

• A literary and artistic movement that placed an emphasis on imagination, emotion, nature, and individuality

• Elevated the imagination over reason – and – intuition over fact

• Reveled in nature

Who are the Romantics?

• Before 1800 American writers were not widely read –

– Romantics changed this

• These writers define the American voice – personal and bold

• These writers define the primary theme of American writing:

– the quest of the individual to define himself

Romantic Writers of 1800s

Washington Irving

James Fenimore Cooper

William Cullen Bryant

Edgar Allan Poe

The Romantic MovementVs.

The Age of Reason• Age of Reason • 1700-1800

– reason– moderation– science– pragmatism

• Age of Romanticism• 1810-1865

– emotion– excess– nature– self– idealism– intense feeling

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Characteristics of Romanticism

• Profound love of nature• Focus on the self and the individual• Fascination with the supernatural, mysterious,

gothic• Yearning for picturesque and exotic

landscapes• Deep-rooted idealism• Passionate nationalism

More on Authors

• In literature, writers published works that embodied concepts of freedom, religious piety, and independence that characterized the country.– Washington Irving “Legend of Sleepy Hollow”

– William Cullen Bryant “Thanatopsis” “ To a Waterfowl”

– James Fennimore Cooper Last of the Mohicans

– Edgar Allan Poe, the Goth Romantic “The Raven”

Washington Irving

• Romantic tales of folklore

adapted from European legends

• Set in American landscape

• Characterized by American

stereotypes that reveals general

truths about human nature– Nagging wife– Battered husband

More on Washington Irving’s Style

• Old truths (stereotypes) about human nature and possibilities of American landscape (mixes history with fantasy)

• Uses humorous tone (satirical at times) but conveys serious message

about human values

Irving’s Notable Works

• “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”

• “Rip Van Winkle”

• The Devil and Tom Walker”

• The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.

• A History of New York…by Diedrich Knickerbocker

Pictured: John Quidor, 1801–81, The Headless Horseman Pursuing Ichabod Crane, 1858, oil

Rip Van Winkle, oil on canvas by John Quidor, 1829; in the Art Institute of Chicago.

“The Devil and Tom Walker” by Washington Irving

• Common folktale about selling soul to the devil

• “Devil will get his due”

• Other Devilish Names– black man of the forest; black miner; black

woodsman; Old Scratch; Mephistopheles; Satan; Diablo; Lucifer

James Fenimore Cooper

• 1st major American novelist

• Uses actual events in American history as settings for his novels

• His characters define their personal values by their experiences in the lawless wilderness

• Natural view of life is simple and profound

Cooper’s Notable Works

• Leatherstocking Tales---collection of 5 novels that chronicle life of Natty Bumppo– The Pioneers– The Last of the Mohicans– The Prairie– The Pathfinder– The Deerslayer

• Natty Bumppo is literary hero

Cooper - Literary Analysis

• Characterization– Round, dynamic character– Literary hero

• Conflict– Natty as a product of two conflicting cultures

• Theme– Nature vs. civilization

William Cullen Bryant

• Poetry reflects Romantic approach to life• Through imagination and intuition one can

learn from nature great moral and spiritual truths

• “Religion of Nature”---natural world is inexhaustible source of moral and spiritual lessons

• Observations of nature evoke feelings of self in oneself.

• Father of American Poetry

By living in harmony with nature, • man will understand transience (temporary

state) on earth

• accept death

• rejoice in immortality of nature

More on Bryant’s Philosophy

Bryant’s Notable Poetry

• “To A Waterfowl”

• “Thanatopsis”

Commentary on “Thanatopsis”

• Romantic poets were often

concerned about:– Death– Individualism

• Since death is the final restriction upon the self and its powers, individualism (the power of the self) became an important theme in poetry.

Theme of “Thanatopsis”

• By living in harmony with nature, and realizing that all must come to an end, rather than fear it, one can come to accept death as a restful sleep

• If we move away from fear and bitterness about death, then our broader awareness about the “consciousness of time” (life eternal) makes it possible to accept our time on Earth and the natural completion of death.

Edgar Allean Poe

• Romantic view of Nature and the inner self by depicting irrational characters in a grotesque reality

• Nature’s greater truth = madness

“Poe myth” vs. Poe’s Reality

• Myth = immoral behavior; fiendish; brutish

• Reality = life was dull, miserable, dreary, perhaps just unlucky

Poe’s Accomplishments

• Most important American poet before Walt Whitman– Unreal atmosphere and musical effects influenced

French symbolist poets and on all modern poetry

• Literary critic

• Credited for giving short story it modern form– Poe thought a short story should be short enough to

be read in one sitting so as to achieve and sustain a single emotional effect

• Inventor of the detective story

Poe’s Gothic Elements of Literature

• Language– Everyday language that focuses on nature– Repetition

• Imagery

• Mystery, horror, violence, grotesque, supernatural

Summarize!• 36-40 – Now, write a 5 or more sentence summary of

what you have learned about the Age of Romanticism. Include what you may be excited to read or learn more about in this unit! Be ready to tell Mrs. Hoover one new thing as you leave today!

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