American Romanticism

Kelsey Crawford

“For all men live by truth, and stand in need of expression. In love, in art, in avarice, in politics, in labor, in games, we study to utter our painful secret. The man is only half himself, the other half is his expression.”-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Artistic Elements

• Artists used nature and imagination as inspiration and subject for most of their works.

• They used their ability to express themselves to reach the average American and let out their opinions.

Artistic Elements

• Nature was usually used as inspiration for most Romantic artists.

• They saw how nature was being overcome by Industrialism and chose to express their sorrow in writing.

Artistic Elements

• They used imagination as a way to escape from America’s problems.

• It was a rebellion against societies standard of living.

Social Elements

• Prior to Romanticism was Enlightenment. This had a very strong impact on Romanticism’s growth.

Social Elements

• Industrialism was right around this time. Things were growing and changing.

• Romantics still wanted to use nature as inspiration and were opposed to industrial development.

Social Elements

• Romantics were socially involved even though they tried to distance themselves from society.

• They relied strongly on emotion and so were often caught up in standing for what they believed in.

Religious Elements

• After Enlightenment weakened religious bonds, artists were no longer expected to be strongly pious.

• There was a new mixture of fascination and disbelief in religion.

Religious Elements

• Artists now used Biblical themes as inspiration and subject matter.

• They were no longer held to the standard of any religion.

Religious Elements

• Romantics were drawn toward individualism and so rejected anything systematic.

• Interest in religious matter was still important; however now it was used as motivation.

Political Elements

• Romanticism was a rebellion against social and political values.

• Romantics attempted to distance themselves politically, however, reacted strongly to an injustice.

Political Elements

• They focused on developing nationalism. • Romanticism was the “American Dream.”• Romantics took an idea and made it into

something real and tangible.

Political Elements

• They usually expressed feelings of injustice in writings.

• They also wrote about their opinions on abolition, slavery, etc.

Overview

• No literary movement can be completely defined; however, the Romantic artists had many similarities.

• They were extremely aware of “self” and tried to find themselves in nature.

Overview

• They tended to be attracted toward nature because that’s where they felt they could most strongly find “self”.

• They went there to escape and thought of it as a refuge from life’s problems.

Overview

• Romantics believed strongly in individuality and expressed as much in the uniqueness of their works.

• They used their creativity to define themselves.

Most Popular Romantic Artists:

• Emily Dickinson• Frederick Douglas• Ralph Waldo Emerson• Margaret Fuller• Nathaniel Hawthorne• Washington Irving

• Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

• Herman Melville • Edgar Allan Poe • Henry David Thoreau• Walt Whitman

Main themes of Romanticism:

• Emotional• Individualistic• Revolutionary• Loves solitude• Nature• Fantasy

• Creative energy• Power• Outcasts• Idealistic philosophy• Subjective perception• Satisfaction of desire

“Were I called on to define, very briefly, the term Art, I should call it 'the reproduction of what the Senses perceive in Nature through the veil of the soul.' The mere imitation, however accurate, of what is in Nature, entitles no man to the sacred name of 'Artist.‘” -Edgar Allan Poe