1. American Romanticism p. 215-6
English III
American Romanticism p

2. I. Characteristics of American Romanticism
Affirmation of feeling and intuition over reason
Faith in imagination, inner experience, and youthful innocence, rather than educated sophistication
Belief in the unspoiled natural world, as opposed to the artificiality of civilization
Regard for individual freedom and the worth of the individual

3. II. A Reaction Against Rationalism
Americans begin to form their own cultural identity
Romantics helped build this identity
Romanticism – the schools of thought that value feeling and intuition over reason
Romanticism developed as a reaction against rationalism
Industrial Revolution
Squalid cities
Miserable working conditions
Limits of reason

4. E. Imagination able to discover truths that rationalism could not 1
E. Imagination able to discover truths that rationalism could not 1. these truths were accompanied by powerful emotion and associated with natural beauty 2. imagination, individual feelings, and wild nature valued above reason, logic, and sophistication

5. III. Romantic Escapism
Desire to rise above “dull realities” of life to find a realm of higher truth
Situations and settings from “natural” past rather than the grimy and noisy industrial age
Supernatural elements
Old legends
folklore

6. C. Reflect on natural world until dull reality fell away to reveal beauty and truth D. Contemplation of nature leads to emotional and intellectual awakening

7. IV. The American Novel and the Wilderness Experience
America provides a sense of limitless frontiers
Novel develops along with westward expansion, growth of nationalist spirit, and idealization of frontier life
Unique characters and settings
James Fennimore Cooper
Natty Bumppo – true Romantic hero
Simple morality
Love of nature
Distrust of town life
Superhuman resourcefulness

8. V. American Romantic Poetry: Read at Every Fireside
American poets wanted to show that Americans were a sophisticated people
Worked within European literary traditions
Used styles familiar to those who had recently immigrated to America

9. D. Fireside Poets 1. Boston poets a. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow b
D. Fireside Poets 1. Boston poets a. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow b. John Greenleaf Whittier c. William Cullen Bryant d. Oliver Wendell Holmes e. James Russell Lowell E. Named because their poetry was read aloud at the fireside as family entertainment

10. F. The Fireside Poets were limited by their literary conservatism and did not recognize the poetry of the future.

11. 1. How does Romanticism differ from rationalism?
Answer: Romanticism differs from rationalism because Romanticists believed that there was knowledge and truth that could not be accessed or understood by the mind.

12. 2. In what two principal ways did Romantics try to rise above “dull realities”?
Answer: The first way was to focus their attention on pre-industrial or nonindustrial people and societies. The second way was to focus on nature so that they could shake off the dulling effects of everyday life.

13. 3. How were the goals of the American Romantic novelists different from the goals of the Fireside Poets?
Answer: The novelists wanted to celebrate American uniqueness, while the Fireside Poets wanted to prove that Americans could life up to European standards.