American Romantics:

1820-1865

A journey away from the corruption

of civilization and the limits of
rational thought and toward the
integrity of nature and the freedom of
the imagination.
Romanticism
A movement in literature that
celebrated the individual.
The name given to those
schools of thought that value
feeling and intuition over
reason.
Romanticism contd
Romanticism, which started in Europe
long before it reached the U.S., was a
reaction against rationalism.
Thus, emotional, intuitive, and sensual
elements of artistic, religious, and
intellectual expression were counted in
some ways more valid than the
products of education and reason.
Romanticism, contd
Believed imagination was better able to
understand truths than the rational mind
could.
These truths often accompanied by
powerful emotion and associated with
natural, unspoiled beauty.
Imagination, spontaneity, feelings, and
nature were of more importance than
logic, planning, and cultivation.
Romanticism contd
Romanticism embraced nature
as a model for harmony in
society and art.
The typical romantic journey was to
the countryside, which represented
independence, moral clarity, and
healthful living
Romantic escapism

Sought to rise above the

dull realities to a realm
of higher truths.
Achieved this two ways:
Romantic escapism, contd
1) Searched for exotic settings in the more
natural past or in a world far removed
from the grimy and noisy industrial age.
1) Sometimes did this in the supernatural realm,
or with old legends and folklore.
2) Most easily seen in Gothic writings (Poe, for
example), with wild, haunted landscapes,
supernatural events, and mysterious medieval
castles.
Romantic escapism, contd
2) Tried to contemplate the natural world until dull
reality fell away to reveal underlying beauty and
truth.
-- Most commonly seen in lyric poems. A
commonplace item leads to important, deeply felt
insights
-- Rather than leading them to evidence of God,
these objects offered a generalized emotional and
intellectual awakening.
The American Novel
Westward expansion, and the ability to explore
settings unknown to Europeans allowed the
Romantics to finally break from European models
and develop a distinctive literature of their own.
James Fennimore Cooper: first and second
novels had European settings, but third novel
explored uniquely American settings and
characters. Created first American hero (Natty
Bumppo).
American Romantic Hero
Typical hero was youthful, innocent,
intuitive, and close to nature.
He was also uneasy with women, who
represented civilization and the need to
domesticate.
This influence is still felt in todays
literature and movies.
Notable Romantic authors
Washington Irving (Rip Van
Winkle), James Fennimore
Cooper, Herman Melville
(Moby Dick), Nathaniel
Hawthorne (The Scarlet
Letter), and Edgar Allan Poe
Romantic poetry
Unlike Romantic novelists, Romantic poets
stayed solidly within European traditions
rather than crafting their own voice.
Used American settings, but typically
English themes, meter, and imagery
For years, the poems were staples of
home and school readings.
Romantic poetry, contd
Fireside poets most popular of their time
and for many decades after.
Called fireside poets because their poems
were read aloud at the fireside as
entertainment
Included: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow,
John Greenleaf Whittier, Oliver Wendell
Holmes, and James Russell Lowell
Romantic poetry, contd
Theirsubject matterlove,
patriotism, nature, family,
God, and religionwas
mostly comforting rather than
challenging.
Romantic poets, contd
However, some took on social issues
(Whittier attacked slavery), and all
furthered the evolution of American poetry
by introducing uniquely American subject
matter in their topics:
American folk themes, descriptions of
American landscape, abolition, Native
American culture, and celebrations of
American people, places and events
Notable Romantic Poets
WaltWhitman, Emily
Dickinson, Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow, John Greenleaf
Whittier, Oliver Wendell
Holmes, and James Russell
Lowell
FINALLY
The
Civil War brought the
Romantic period to an end.