Romanticism A literary, artistic, and intellectual movement “The Nightmare”, Johann Heinrich Fussli ~ 1781

Look at the painting on your handout Look at the painting on your handout. Make brief notes on what you see, e.g: which part attracts your attention most and why you think this is three or four adjectives describing the emotions it might cause in a viewer any questions it raises connections to films, novels, poems or other paintings

Mysterious, eerie image – unsettling for the viewer A creature with some human features but also strange, supernatural, ‘other’ Horrible, ugly and threatening creature Gloom and darkness = sense of threat Woman in sexual pose? Or dead? Awake or asleep? Oppositions – human/not human; living/dead; male/female; awake/asleep An image that raises questions: a horrible dream? A real life ‘nightmare’? White versus dark – purity and innocence versus threat

The Roots of a New Era The Romantic era originated in Europe during the second half of the 18th century. It was largely rooted in a German movement (Sturm und drang) which strongly prized emotion and intuition. Historians also contribute the climate of war (French Revolution, French and Indian War, American Revolution, etc.) as being a catalyst to this new era.

Counter-Enlightenment Many hypothesize that romanticism was an intellectual backlash to the Enlightenment Era. Scientific rational and religious intellect would become secondary to emotion, intuition, and individualism. In a culture consumed by war and machines, many longed for personal identity and freedom.

The World is Too Much With us William Wordsworth THE world is too much with us; late and soon, Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers: Little we see in Nature that is ours; We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon! The Sea that bares her bosom to the moon; The winds that will be howling at all hours, And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers; For this, for everything, we are out of tune; It moves us not.--Great God! I'd rather be A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn; So might I, standing on this pleasant lea, Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn; Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea; Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn. 1806

(Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter) American Romanticism The Romantic Era would not reach America until the early 19th century. Many Americans strongly welcomed the ideas of the Romantic Era---especially freedom and individualism. American authors of the Romantic Era include Edgar Allan Poe and Nathanial Hawthorne. Their works often portrayed human psychology intertwined with the strange workings of the supernatural. “She stood apart from mortal interests, yet close beside them, like a ghost that revisits the familiar fireside, and can no longer make itself seen or felt…” (Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter)

Beliefs of American Romanticism Writers considered cities to be centers of corruption and ugliness. This was during the Industrial Revolution, when cities became more widespread Rejected rationalism because they believed that scientific reasoning discouraged intuition and feeling Romantics can be best characterized as leaving civilization and entering the world of nature

Romantics believed that poetry was the most effective way to show the power of imagination American Romantics felt the frontier (the American West) offered possibilities of growth and freedom The typical American Romantic hero was deeply intuitive (naturally understanding of truth) and ruled by superior principles

Romantic Beliefs Appeals to the imagination (“the willing suspension of disbelief”) Stress emotion rather than reason Subjectivity—the importance of the individual Nature as a source of knowledge and spirituality

Conditions that Influenced American Romanticism The frontier offered possibilities of growth and freedom There was a spirit of optimism associated with the possibilities of the frontier Increasing immigration brought new cultures and perspectives to American Increasing industrialization in the North Experimentation in science and social institutions

Women and the Romantic Era Romanticism , which emphasized creativity and literary experimentation, brought about a surge of women writers. Such writers include Jane Austen and Mary Shelley. During this era, we also see many examples of literary heroines.

Setting the Stage for Transcendentalism and Gothic The fruits of emotional and supernatural exploration gifted to us by Romanticism , set the stage for the Transcendental Era (mid-to- late 1800s). Transcendentalists emphasized the connection between God, humankind, and the natural world. During this time span we also see the Gothic movement. Gothic philosophers, writers, and artists explored the darker side of human nature. Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing, Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before; But the silence was unbroken, and the darkness gave no token… (Edger Allan Poe, “The Raven”)