1. Am. Lit. Notebook 1.Favorite horror/mystery books or movies? 2.What makes a good horror story? 3.Why are crazy people interesting? 4.What creates tension in a horror or mystery story?

2. The Birth of Horror, Mystery and Proto-Hippies The American Romantic Movement

3. When was it? Began in the late 18 th and early 19 th centuries—first in Europe in the 1780’s. Dominated from 1800-1850

4. What is it? The American Romantic movement was a revolt against the artistic, political and philosophical principles associated with neoclassicism. These principles were characterized in literature, music, painting, etc. by freedom of form, emphasis on feeling, originality, and sympathetic interest in nature, medievalism, and the common man. Where neoclassicists stressed reason over emotion/faith, the romanticists stressed personal experience and were often highly emotional.

5. Who are they? The Romantic writers can be divided into two groups, the Dark Romantics (a.k.a. Gothic) and the Light Romantics (a.k.a. Transcendentalists) Gothic here means this Not this

6. Characteristics of All Romantics Stresses the importance of imagination and emotion (and away from the logical) Explores human motivation and behavior Focuses on the individual/self, individual rights; writers reveal with emotion their own personal visions and delve deeply into the individual personalities of their characters Knowledge is achieved through intuition rather than relying solely on the five senses A passionate nationalism or love of country. Writers were aware of the need to establish an American literary art

7. Characteristics of the Dark Romantics (Gothic) Fascination with the supernatural, mysterious, and gothic. Often deals with abnormal psychological states. For example, Edgar Allan Poe displays tortured minds and hearts of inward-looking character and a fascination with the dark, irrational side of human imagination. A yearning for the picturesque and the exotic. For example, an interest in the past offers an escape from an oppressive or unromantic present.

8. Main Dark Romantic Writers: Nathaniel Hawthorne (“Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment,” The Scarlet Letter) Edgar Allan Poe (“The Cask of Amontillado,” “The Masque of the Red Death,” “The Raven”) Washington Irving (“The Devil and Tom Walker,” “Rip Van Winkle,” “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”)

9. Characteristics of the Light Romantics (Transcendentalists) A profound love of nature and close observation of the natural world. Felt that reflecting on nature would help them spiritually. A deep-rooted idealism—a heroic mode of behavior which would make life worthwhile. Non-conformity—belief that you should follow your conscience/beliefs, no matter how far off-base from the rest of society they may be. This stems from a great belief in individualism. Transcendentalism=a belief that there is a direct connection, or “correspondence,” between the universe and the individual soul.

10. Main Light Romantic Writers Ralph Waldo Emerson (“Self Reliance,” aphorisms) Henry David Thoreau (Walden) Walt Whitman (“When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer,” “One’s-Self I Sing,” “I Hear America Singing”) Emily Dickinson (“This is My Letter to the World,” “Hope is a Thing with Feathers,” “Success is Counted Sweetest,” “Because I Could Not Stop for Death”)

11. We Don’t Need No Education Song title by Pink Floyd Highlight/annotate – Ideas you agree with – Ideas you disagree with (underline) – Things that are interesting (!) – Things you have questions about (?)

12. WHEN I heard the learn’d astronomer; When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me; When I was shown the charts and the diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them; When I, sitting, heard the astronomer, where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room, How soon, unaccountable, I became tired and sick; Till rising and gliding out, I wander’d off by myself, In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time, Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars. Walt Whitman

13. Literary Terms Allegory: work of fiction in which people, objects and events stand for abstract qualities such as evil, compassion, etc. Written to teach a lesson/moral in addition to being entertaining. Alliteration: repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words (usually in same line, phrase, stanza, paragraph, etc.) Allusion: indirect reference to a person, place, event or thing in literature or common cultural works. Used to give a short cut for understanding the meaning of the text. (Most common are Biblical and Classical allusions) Ambiguity: when something is stated in such a way that there can be more than one interpretation/conclusion or its meaning is unclear.

14. Literary Terms Cont. Consonance: repetition of similar consonant sounds. End rhyme: rhyme that comes at the end of a line. Foreshadowing: hints or clues left throughout a text that help the reader figure out the events that come later in the story. Internal rhyme: rhyme that comes within the line. Metaphor: comparison between two unlike things that have something in common in order to make a point. Symbol/Symbolism: something that has a concrete meaning in itself and also stands for/represents an idea or theme beyond itself.

15. Southern Gothic Southern Gothic Literature is a sub-genre of gothic literature focusing on character, social, and moral shortcomings in the American south; it reached its height between 1940-1960s.

16. SG Characteristics Often comments on society’s negatives or weaknesses to point out truths of America’s Southern culture Often disturbing but realistic Plot relies on unusual, disturbing, supernatural, or ironic events