1. A Movement Across the Arts

2.  Romanticism refers to a movement in art, literature and music during the 19 th century (1800 – 1860)  American Romanticism was a reaction to the Age of Reason (Classicism) of the late 18 th century  Classicism was characterized as:  Upholding REASON over nature and human nature  Emphasizing Social over the personal  The Common over the Individual  In literature, Classicists valued Clarity, Order and Balance

3.  Classicism rested firmly on the belief that the city and urban center was the place to find success and self-fulfillment

4.  By the early 1800’s, early American cities were festering with social problems:  Poverty  Over-crowding  Unemployment  Malnourishment

5.  At this time in American History, exciting things were occurring outside of these urban centers:  The Louisiana Purchase of 1803 and the subsequent Gold Rush prompted Westward Expansion and the idea of ‘Manifest Destiny’  America needed a new identity and a new spirit

6.  We will walk with our own feet  we will work with our own hands  we will speak our own minds -Ralph Waldo Emerson

7. ... Was born out of three main events:  1. Westward expansion  2. The need for a new ‘American’ identity that set it apart from the British past  3. The demise of the urban center

8.  Imagination  Intuition  Idealism  Inspiration  Individuality

9.  Imagination was emphasized over “reason.”  This was a backlash against the rationalism characterized by the “Age of Reason.”  Imagination was considered necessary for creating all art.

10.  Romantics placed value on “intuition,” or feeling and instincts, over reason.  Emotions were important in Romantic art.

11.  Idealism is the concept that we can make the world a better place.  Idealism refers to any theory that emphasizes the spirit, the mind, or language over matter – thought has a crucial role in making the world the way it is.  Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher, held that the mind forces the world we perceive to take the shape of space-and- time.

12.  The Romantic artist, musician, or writer, is an “inspired creator” rather than a “technical master.”  What this means is “going with the moment” or being spontaneous, rather than “getting it precise.”

13.  Romantics celebrated the individual.  During this time period, Women’s Rights and Abolitionism were taking root as major movements.  Walt Whitman, a later Romantic writer, would write a poem entitled “Song of Myself”: it begins, “I celebrate myself…”

14.  Classical art was rigid, severe, and unemotional; it hearkened back to ancient Greece and Rome  Romantic art was emotional, deeply- felt, individualistic, and exotic. It has been described as a reaction to classicism, or “anti-Classicism.”

15. Classical Art

17. Romantic Art

19.  “Classical” musicians included composers like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Franz Josef Haydn.  1730-1820.  Classical music emphasized internal order and balance.

20.  Romantic musicians included composers like Frederic Chopin, Franz Lizst, Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky  1800-1910.  Romantic music emphasized expression of feelings.

21.  In America, Romanticism most strongly impacted literature.  Writers explored supernatural and gothic themes.  Romantic authors distrusted progress, and often looked to the past for inspiration  Writers also wrote about Nature – Nature was a source of inspiration and a reflection of the inner world

22.  Let’s read Nathaniel Hawthorne’s description of Romanticism in his Preface to The House of Seven Gables

23.  Washington Irving was an early Romantic author  Irving explored mythology and nature in his writings as a way to examine the human condition and moral development  As you read “The Devil and Tom Walker” ask yourself what makes this short story a representation of Romantic Literature