American RomanticismAmerican Romanticism1800-18601800-1860

Cities continue to grow New factories Frontier pushed outward Improvements in transportation and

communication Literature was not a continuation or

extension of European literature American literature became a specific

literature that expresses the values and ideals of the new nation…and soon the Industrial Revolution.

Cities continue to grow New factories Frontier pushed outward Improvements in transportation and

communication Literature was not a continuation or

extension of European literature American literature became a specific

literature that expresses the values and ideals of the new nation…and soon the Industrial Revolution.

United States solidifies as a nation with the change from Classicism to Romanticism

These changes effect: culture, arts, education, philosophy, science and literature!

Classicism viewed nature as a self contained machine (like a watch) whose laws of operation could be rationally understood

Remember Newton?

United States solidifies as a nation with the change from Classicism to Romanticism

These changes effect: culture, arts, education, philosophy, science and literature!

Classicism viewed nature as a self contained machine (like a watch) whose laws of operation could be rationally understood

Remember Newton?

Reason over imagination Social over personal

Common over individual

Reason over imagination Social over personal

Common over individual

Characteristics of society with Classicism

In literature: Clarity, order, balance

Classicism resisted change and relied on tradition.

EMPHASIS on HUMAN LIMITATIONS

Characteristics of society with Romanticism

Characteristics of society with Romanticism

Imagination over reason Personal over social

Individual over common

Imagination over reason Personal over social

Individual over common

Placed emphasis on the individual, imagination and emotion

EMPHASIS on HUMAN POTENTIAL

Certain subjects were characteristic of Romantic attitudes

Certain subjects were characteristic of Romantic attitudes

1. Nature - The beauty, strangeness and

mystery of nature Not as a machine, but as an organic

process in constant development and change.

William Cullen Bryant - “The natural world serves as an inexhaustible source of moral and spiritual lessons.”

1. Nature - The beauty, strangeness and

mystery of nature Not as a machine, but as an organic

process in constant development and change.

William Cullen Bryant - “The natural world serves as an inexhaustible source of moral and spiritual lessons.”

Cooper was the first American writer to make a career as a professional novelist, and his "Leatherstocking Tales" were the first American books to become international bestsellers. Cooper is a definitive American "Romantic" writer. His novels resemble those of the British Romantic novelist Sir Walter Scott (e. g., Ivanhoe), and Cooper spent a good deal of his life in Europe, where his novels were well-received. Cooper grew up and lived much of his life in Cooperstown, New York, named for his father who founded the city and now famous as home of the Baseball Hall of Fame. "The Leatherstocking Tales" are a series of five novels that are connected by two fictional characters

2. The Past - An interest that develops slowly.

The Revolution Border Wars with Indians Conquest of the wilderness

2. The Past - An interest that develops slowly.

The Revolution Border Wars with Indians Conquest of the wilderness

3. Inner World of Human Nature3. Inner World of Human Nature

Emphasis on emotions, intuition and exploration

The expression of the writer is important Characters like Natty Bumpo who

represents the “natural” view of life that is both simple and profound.

Emphasis on emotions, intuition and exploration

The expression of the writer is important Characters like Natty Bumpo who

represents the “natural” view of life that is both simple and profound.

Dark RomanticsDark Romantics

Last of the Mohicans movie clip