Romanticism 1800-1870

Romanticism Reaction against aristocratic social and political norms of the Enlightenment Development of self; self and nature as one Imagination over reason; intuition over fact Reveled in nature Accentuated the fantastic aspects of human experience

7 Characteristics of Romantic Literature Love of Nature Love of the Common Man Neo-Classicalism Supernatural Nationalism Heroism Strange and Far-Away Places

History 1803 Louisiana Purchase extend America to the Rocky Mountains 1812 Us declares war against Great Britain 1814 Star Spangled Banner written 1820 Missouri Compromise 1838 Cherokees “Trail of Tears” 1846-1848 Mexican War 1848 California gold rush begins 1848 Seneca Falls Women’s Rights Convention 1850 California admitted to the Union

Authors Washington Irving James Fennimore Cooper William Cullen Bryant “Rip Van Winkle” “Legend of Sleepy Hallow” James Fennimore Cooper Leatherstocking Tales William Cullen Bryant “Thanatopsis” Edgar Allen Poe “Raven” “Fall of the House of Usher” Inventor of the detective story Psychological thrillers

Gothic Style in Romanticism Prominent features of Gothic fiction include terror, mystery, the supernatural, ghosts, haunted houses and Gothic architecture, castles, darkness, death, decay, doubles, madness, secrets, and hereditary curses The characters of Gothic fiction include tyrants, villains, bandits, maniacs, femmes fatales, magicians, vampires, werewolves, monsters, demons, angels, fallen angels, ghosts, skeletons Mary Shelley's’ Frankenstein Edgar Allen Poe Raven Charlotte Bronte Jane Eyre Emily Bronte Wuthering Heights

Transcendentalism 1840-1855 Ralph Waldo Emerson Henry David Thoreau Nature Self-Reliance Individuality, independence appreciation of nature Henry David Thoreau Walden Eccentric, rarely followed rules, questioned authority Dedicated life to testing Transcendentalist beliefs through experience Philosophy, religion and literature merged Real truth lies outside the experiences of the senses ‘Over-soul’ –universal benign presence

Dark side, human life in grim terms Transcendentalism Dark side, human life in grim terms Nathaniel Hawthorne The Scarlet Letter “anti transcendentalist” evil is a dominant force gloomy vision of human affairs Herman Melville Moby-Dick Work recognized posthumously Dark romanticism

Transcendentalism Emily Dickinson Walt Whitman The Poems of Emily Dickinson 1775 poems written, 7 published before her death Private person, recluse, rarely left her house Themes of death and immorality Walt Whitman Leaves of Grass Father of Free Verse Unusual images and symbols Rotting leaves, tufts of straw and debris Controversial work Wrote about death, sexuality and prostitution

Fireside Poets Adherence to poetic convention—standard forms, regular meter, and rhymed stanzas--easy memorization / recitation Source of entertainment around a fire Subjects-domestic life, mythology, politics Audience – common people

Fireside Poets William Cullen Bryant Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Thanatopsis Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Voices in the Night First American poet to reach large audience and create a national interest in poetry John Greenleaf Whittier Snowbound Deeply involved in social issues of the time James Russell Lowell Founded Atlantic Monthly with Holmes Oliver Wendell Holmes ‘Old Ironsides” (poem saved Ship) Love of exaggeration and quotes made him popular