American Romanticism An Era of Optimism 1820-1865

"In the four corners of the globe, who reads an American book "In the four corners of the globe, who reads an American book?" --Sydney Smith

This book started the literary period known as American Romanticism. Washington Irving's The Sketch Book, published in 1820, was the first American book widely read and respected throughout the world. This book started the literary period known as American Romanticism. The movement peaked in 1850-55 with the "American Renaissance," a five year burst of creative energy producing many influential works.

American Romanticism This time period in America was a time of national optimism because of confidence in the economy, political system, and citizenry of the nation. The United States experienced rapid growth in population, as well as growth economically, politically, and technologically. During this time period, America's possibilities seemed unlimited.

Literary Romanticism Romanticism was a revolt against the literary values of the previous age (which symbolized the large-scale revolt against all traditional values). The romantic revolt continues to affect American society – especially in its view of man’s relationship to his fellow man and to God.

4 Cornerstones of American Romanticism Individualism = man as an individual is superior to man in the mass Frontier tradition - proved man's ability to triumph over circumstances Jacksonian democracy - all men posses credentials for public office Abolitionists - opposed slavery because of the sanctity of the individual Mormonism/7th Day Adventism - man is elevated over Biblical truth *The Romantics believed that man could fulfill his potential without God Prior to the Romantic period, writers (and society) readily accepted the point of view that society is over the individual because of their faith in universal truth and majority opinion – those views began to change with the romantic period..

Romantic writers believed that man was basically good, and that to improve man one needed only to remove the corrupting influences. As Christians, we know that this is a rejection of God's truth and that without finding and fixing the true source of evil (man's sinful heart), sin and evil will continue.

4 Cornerstones of American Romanticism 2. Imagination = Feeling and Emotion are more important than Reason **because of the focus on emotion over reason, many later critics described romantic writing as unrealistic and philosophically shallow

4 Cornerstones of American Romanticism 3. Nature = provided romantics with the means of knowing truth AND with subject matter for their literature --Romantic writers claimed that God reveals himself solely through Nature; therefore, Nature is the moral teacher for men. --Many romantics believed that Nature was untouched by Adam's fall, and thus free from the evil of society. Nature, therefore, offered a place of retreat for men, particularly the artist.

4 Cornerstones of American Romanticism 4. The distant = the use of distant settings, both in time and space *Distance in time = past vs present vs future *Distance in space = different places around the world **Also look for examples of supernatural elements**

Genre Development in American Romanticism The Short Story Brevity--a story must be short enough to be read in one setting Unity--all elements of a story must contribute to a single emotional effect

Genre Development in American Romanticism The Novel The novel gained popularity during the romantic time period, although many of the first American novels tended to imitate what was popular in England.

Dark Romantics or Transcendental Pessimists Otherwise known as Gothic literature Authors include: Hawthorne, Poe, and Melville

Characteristics As opposed to the Optimistic Romantics, the Dark Romantics took a shadowy approach to the fantastical Creepy Symbols Horrific themes Psychological effects of guilt and sin/shame

“The idea that our surroundings could be filled with evil fueled much of their writing, encouraging readers to question everything around them.” As opposed the the Transcendental Optimists, the Gothics believed that humans often were capable of evil. Much of their work explored these ideas, and the effects of the internal and external evils on humankind.

Common Themes/Ideas Evil, darkness, the sinister, the hopeless Struggles of human nature Nights, creepy/uncanny situations “Like the Puritans before them, they believed evil and sin were everywhere, but it was not as easy to identify, so it could easily lead to self-destruction.”