Romanticism 1800-1855

Romanticism The term derives from “romance,” which from the Medieval Period (1200-1500) and on simply meant a story (e.g. all the chivalric, King Arthur legends) that was adventuristic and improbable. Later meant opposition to truth and fact; for German and British poets it meant opposition to reason.

How it begins… The "Romantic Period" refers to literary and cultural movements in England, Europe, and America roughly from 1770 to 1860. It is an international artistic and philosophical movement that redefined the fundamental ways in which people in Western cultures thought about themselves and about their world.

Before Reaching America… The Romantic movement began in Germany and England in response to Industrialization and the Age of Enlightenment; Thomas Paine called it the Age of Reason. The forerunners believed all humans are naturally good; society makes them bad. The Romantic movement was inherently antiprogress, if progress meant industrialization. Age of Enlightenment - At its heart it became a conflict between religion and the inquiring mind that wanted to know and understand through reason based on evidence and proof.

William Blake “The Chimney Sweeper” from Songs of Innocence When my mother died I was very young, And my father sold me while yet my tongue, Could scarcely cry weep weep weep weep, So your chimneys I sweep & in soot I sleep. … And so Tom awoke and we rose in the dark And got with our bags & our brushes to work. Tho' the morning was cold, Tom was happy & warm So if all do their duty, they need not fear harm. from Songs of Experience And because I am happy, & dance & sing, They think they have done me no injury: And are gone to praise God & his Priest & King Who make up a heaven of our misery. Sample from Romantic movement in England. Can you identify how this represents antiprogress?

Romanticism as a Movement… Difficult to define Group of ideas Web of beliefs No one Romantic writer expressed all the ideas, but each believed enough of them to set him apart from earlier writers.

Historical Influences Age of Reason British Romantic Period Westward Expansion Increased Immigration Religious Exploration Growth of Industrialization Period of Prosperity Sense of Pride

Five I’s of Romanticism Imagination Intuition Innocence Inner Experience Inspiration from nature and the supernatural stressed the innate goodness of man, favored the individual over the group, revered nature, and rebelled against political authority

Romantic Writers… Commune with nature Assert the value of the individual Believe good literature follows the heart, not the rules View the world as dynamic and organic Pursue solitude (rural vs. urban) Embrace the lofty ideals of democracy Recognize inequalities still exist in the social and political climate Emphasize emotion over reason

Subcategories of Romanticism Fireside Poets Transcendentalists Brooding Writers

Fireside Poets Poets:: Characteristics: Classic Romantic poets Henry Wadsworth Longfellow William Cullen Bryant John Greenleaf Whittier Longfellow wrote work with family friendly content & produced poems straightforward in meaning. Classic Romantic poets “Mainstream” poets Optimistic Hopeful expression of ideas Focused on beauty of nature Staple of home and school reading. Considered most popular poets America ever produced. Subjects included love, patriotism, nature, family, God, and religion.

Transcendentalists Characteristics: Writers & Poets: Pursued types of knowledge that exist above & beyond reason & experience Disliked materialism & conformity Respected the hard work ethic demonstrated by the Puritans Strived for unity between man & nature Writers & Poets: Ralph Waldo Emerson Henry David Thoreau Walt Whitman

Brooding Writers (antitranscendentalists or dark romantics) Characteristics: “Alternative” Romantic poets Focused on the human capacity for evil Integrated aspects of the unusual & the macabre into works Writers: Edgar Allan Poe Nathaniel Hawthorne Herman Melville Essential truths about life were discovered in extreme situations.

Edgar Allan Poe Explored human psyche Tapped into human fears Wrote grotesques: contains characters that induce both empathy and disgust Credited with inventing the detective story

Nathaniel Hawthorne Examines the human heart under various conditions (fear, greed, vanity, mistrust, & betrayal) Believed world contained dark places that reason could not break through Produced allegorically symbolic works

Final Comments… Be sure to copy these.

American Romanticism: Common Ideas A desire to… idealize the mysteries, dangers, & holiness found within nature find solace & escape within an unadulterated nature idealize primitive or natural cultures & primitive people idealize the American past rather than a classical past