American Romantics and Transcendentalism

The 60’s (1800’s style)

Get your Composition NotebooksOut, please!

Romantics and Transcendentalism

– Both movements emphasized an aesthetic experience identifying new emotions such as anxiety, awe, terror, and horror.

– Both draw inspiration from things beyond the ordinary, and encouraged truth and strong feelings.

– The two movements began practically simultaneously

Romantic Movement

– Romanticism exemplifies the importance of emotions and freedom over intellectual growth. They believe that everyone should follow what they’re feeling.

– Popular literary authors include Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne.

Romanticism

– They also explored the ideas of exquisiteness, the weird and exotic. This movement shaped the start of the Industrial Revolution.

– stressed the power of good in preventing evil.

– God or divine being is not necessarily the center of the universe. They believe He has a place, but people have free will.

– People choose to be good or evil.

Poe: First author to scare the bejibbies out of Americans

– A few of his stories

– "The Black Cat" Horror story about a cat"The Cask of Amontillado" A story of revenge"The Masque of the Red Death” The horror of the plague"The Pit and the Pendulum” A torture chamber"The Premature Burial” About being buried alive"The Tell-Tale Heart” A murderer's guilt

Horror stories…

– Most authors didn’t write this way, could have had something to do with Poe’s personal habits and life; but, he made a ‘monster’ because most people love horror stories.

Hawthorne…(Scarlet Letter)

– Writing about issues in America, rather than hiding them or not discussing them. American Authors still write in this fashion…Authors write about issues.

– The American Dream becomes ‘attractive’ and real to Americans. What is your definition of the American Dream?______________________________

Mark Twain(America’s most famous icons)

– Real name Samuel Clemons

– Known as America’s Author. Used different dialects in his writing.

– Novels: Huckleberry Finn, Adventures of Tom Sawyer…

– He wrote articles, humorous stories, Short stories, Novels, Plays…

– Huge Civil Rights Activist! Strongly against slavery!

– "Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do” M.Twain

Transcendentalism Movement

– Transcendentalism draws inspiration from the beyond (God or other supreme being) or external to the human perspective even beyond reasoning and normal traditions.

– Popular literary authors include Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman, and Henry David Thoreau

Transcendentalists

– believe in a philosophy of refinement but still connects to sensual motives. Transcendentalism also pertains to the ground of religion, inner spirituality, and the essence of man in upholding nature as a sanctuary.

– POETRY BECOMES KEY TO AMERICAN AUTHORS

Poetry becomes more…Whitman (America’s 1st great poet)– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_zsMwCOoEs

– “Oh, Me! Oh Life!”

Thoreau (Deep thinking evolves) EVERYTHING WRITTEN HAS A PURPOSE

– “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms.”

Some believe these movements never ended in America

– Think about what we write/read about. What movies we enjoy. What we enjoy about life.

Carpe diem, ya’ll….;)

Tomorrow bring a blanket and a notebook and meet me on the front lawn (out by the teacher’s parking lot)

References

– Read more: Difference Between Romanticism and Transcendentalism | Difference Between | Romanticism vs Transcendentalism http://www.differencebetween.net/miscellaneous/culture-miscellaneous/difference-between-romanticism-and-transcendentalism/#ixzz3mwnqYruM