ROMANTICISM

Ms Cooper

WHAT IS ROMANTICISM?

Romanticism is a movement in the arts and literature that originated in the late 18th century, emphasizing inspiration, subjectivity, and the primacy of the individual. 1800-1860

Romanticism is a reaction to the Age of Reason.

#ROMANTICISMGOALS

Independence, and Prosperity

Imagination/Creativity

CHAR ACTER ISTICS OF RO MANTIC ERA

Focus in individual freedom

Distrust of civilization

Interest in supernatural

Love of beauty and nature-Getting back to nature

Anti-industrialism

Focus on emotion rather than reason

Imagination could reach places where reason could not

H I S T O R Y O F R O M A N T I C I S M

Romanticism was first felt in Germany

Goes beyond national

AGE OF REASON VS. ROMANTICISM

Imagination able to discover truths that Reason could not reach

Truths accompanied by powerful emotion and associated with beauty

City: place of moral ambiguity, corruption, and death

Countryside: Independence, moral certainty, and health

THE L IGHT AN D DARK OF RO MAN TICISM

TRANSCENDENTALISM

Transcendentalism in the 19th Century was more than a trend in American literature. It was a philosophical movement, but it owed its development as much to democracy as to European philosophers.

Transcendentalism centered on the divinity of each individual; but this divinity could be self-discovered only if the person had the independence of mind to do so.

LIG HT: TRANSCE NDENTAL I SM

The chief aim is to become fully aware not only of what our senses record, but also to recognize the ability of our inner voice—our intuition—to wisely and correctly interpret the sensory input.

Focus on self-reliance and individualism-listen and obeying your inner-voice

DARK: GOTHIC LITERATURE

Include highly charged emotional states like:  terror, a feeling that one is on the brink of insanity, anger, agitation, an exaggerated feeling of some impending doom, and obsessive love.

Supernatural events:  ghosts, doors that open themselves, unexplained sounds, etc.

Damsels in distress are frequent.  Women who are frightened and confused, wandering around lost, or dying due to a slow and unexplainable ailment.

FATHER OF THE DARK

Poe is the father of Dark Romanticism

- Poe is a Gothic writer

- Gothic novels feature mysterious settings and elements of the bizarre and supernatural

- Poe wrote the first detective story – Inspired Doyle to create Sherlock Holmes