American Romanticism

& Renaissance1800-1860

“I unsettle all things. No facts are to me sacred.”

--Ralph Waldo Emerson

Purpose of Writing• As a reaction against rationalism

• To explore imagination and emotion

– Emphasized feelings and intuition over reason

– Central importance upon the emotions and individual

• Emphasize dignity and worth of the common individual

• Escapism

Rationalism

Romantic Escapism - Romantics wanted to rise above the current times, which they called “dull realities” to a world of higher truth.

– The natural escape – the Romantic who views the modern world as inherently ugly and lifeless, attempts to escape into the perfect world. Often, this other world can be seen as an escape into human imagination, or an exploration of the human mind.

– The contemplation of the natural world – the Romantic sees a commonplace object or event, such as a flower, tree or rock in a pastoral (rural, idyllic) setting; the literal sight brings contemplation, which leads to deeper “vision”; (this is an “insight” into the human soul, and awakening of the mental landscape.

Types of Literature• Poems

• Novels– featuring the new Romantic

Hero

• Essays

Romantic Techniques• Remoteness of setting in time and space

• Improbable plots

• Inadequate or unlikely characterization

• Authorial subjectivity (bias)

• Socially “harmful morality;” a world of “lies.”

• Experimentation of New Forms– Obsolete patterns– Individualized subjective form of

writing

View of God:opposing opinions

The Transcendentalists• Everything in

this world is fueled by imagination

• Imagination leads to the Divine Soul

The Dark Romantics• Imagination

does NOT lead to the Divine Soul

• God is still here, and He still punishes

View of Man/Self• The Romantic Hero

– This new hero defined American virtue, not European sophistication, as the answer to the ideal protagonist

• American virtue = wilderness, rugged, undomesticated individual who thrives in the wild

• European sophistication = dusty old libraries where the world is thought about, not acted upon

Views of Work and Money• Self-reliance

– This is an extension of the ideas of the self-made man

– Reflection first, action second• A “Know thyself” mentality

View of Nature• Nature = a teacher

– Embraced nature as a model to follow—• for itself, for beauty• As a source of knowledge• As a refuge• As a revelation of God to the individual

• Reactions against the city—Escapism – Industrialization resulted in a migration to cities which

resulted in overpopulation, dirty living conditions, and disease. As a result, people wanted to escape.

– City = society = bad example of living

• Nature’s components viewed as symbols of spontaneous growth– Leaves in autumn– Waves on the ocean– Breeze through a forest– Storms against the earth

The Authors and Poets• Three separate movements

– The Transcendentalists– The Dark Romantics– The Fireside Poets

– Different styles, same goal:• to capture the human

experience

Transcendentalism• Two leading authors:

– Ralph Waldo Emerson– Henry David Thoreau

“One must go beyond (transcend) the everyday human experience in order to determine the ultimate reality of God.”

Transcendental Themes• Weird• Intuition over logic• Self reliance &

individualism over conformity & tradition

• Spontaneity over rationality• Natural world leads to spiritual

world, so it must be observed• Everything in this world is a

reflection of the Divine Soul

The Dark Romantics• Three leading authors:

– Nathaniel Hawthorne– Herman Melville– Edgar Allan Poe

Dark Romantic Themes• Known as the anti-transcendentalists

• Agreed that spiritual facts do lie behind the natural world, but they are not inherently good

• Examined the darker facets of humanity such as greed, vanity, and guilt.– These guys do not shy away from

Puritanical focus on original sin & innate wickedness and its consequences

– Examined the psychological effects of evil, terror, and grief on the human soul.

The Fireside Poets• Henry Wadsworth Longfellow• John Greenleaf Whittier• Oliver Wendell Holmes• James Russell Lowell

Fireside Poet Facts• All four poets based in Boston

• They got their nickname because of their very wide success with poems during their lifetimes

• Wrote the type of poems people would read at the fireside for entertainment.

• Modeled their style on European themes

• Preferred conventional forms over experimentation

• Warm and comforting