1830 – 1865 Romantics, Transcendentalists and Dark Romantics The Romantic Period 1830 – 1865 Romantics, Transcendentalists and Dark Romantics

Romantics Believed in the individual as the center of life Valued individualism and non conformity Believed that mankind has intrinsic connection to the natural world Saw violence as a possible means of social reform/renewal

Romantics Valued Emotion over Reason Believed in imagination as a path to knowledge and an expression of individuality Believed in the basic innocence and goodness of Mankind Romanticism can be seen as mainly a reaction against the rigidity and starkness of Realism, the preceding literary movement.

Transcendentalism Began as a protest against the general state of culture and society at the time, and in particular, the state of intellectualism at Harvard  Core beliefs: an ideal spiritual state which "transcends" the physical and empirical and is only realized through the individual's intuition, rather than through the doctrines of established religions. (New World Encyclopedia)

Transcendentalism Prominent Transcendentalists included Walt Whitman, Henry D. Thoreau, Ralph W. Emerson and Sophia Peabody (New World Encyclopedia)

Dark Romanticism Represented a response to the optimism of the ideology of Transcendentalism. Did not fully believe in the essential goodness of human nature. Focused on the dark side of the soul, the reality of evil and sin in the human heart. Undercut the optimistic worldview of the Transcendentalists.

British vs. American American Romanticism differed from European, or British Romantics in the emphasis placed on the novel form. The Americans emphasized the novel as the chief romantic form. The Brits emphasized the poem as the chief romantic form.

Inspiration The natural world Revolution/Patriotism Freedom The principals of equality and justice Exploration

Characteristics Less formal than previous literary styles Prized simplicity of form and narration Provided a literary revolution via the greater creative freedom afforded to authors

Gothic Can be seen as an off-shoot of dark romanticism Focuses on exotic, supernatural, mystery and dread. Often takes place in castles or spooky mansions in varying degrees of disrepair Poe and Hawthorne were considered dark romantics Radcliff, Walpole, Lewis were among the early Gothic writers

Top Authors Ralph W. Emerson Henry D. Thoreau Walt Whitman Herman Melville Nathaniel Hawthorne

“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” Ralph Waldo Emerson Major Works Essays: First Series Self-Reliance Nature Experience Friendship The American Scholar “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson 1803 – 1882 Married twice Believer in the “Over Soul” or shared consciousness Teacher, Pastor, Editor, Writer Influences: Coleridge, Carlyle Leader of the Transcendentalist movement

Henry David THoreau Major Works Walden Civil Disobedience Slavery in Massachusetts “The only obligation which I have a right to assume is to do at any time what I think right.”

Henry David Thoreau 1817 – 1862 Author Philosopher Poet Abolitionist Environmentalist

Walt Whitman Major Works Leaves of Grass (5 Editions) Drum Taps Democratic Vistas Passage to India “Keep your face always toward the sunshine, and shadows will fall behind you.”

Walt Whitman 1819 – 1892 Teacher Journalist Abolitionist Radical Poet Volunteer Nurse (Civil War)

Herman Melville MAJOR WORKS Typee Omoo Mardi: A Voyage Thither Redburn: His First Voyage White-Jacket Moby Dick Billy Budd, Sailor “We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men.”

Herman Melville 1819 – 1891 Bank clerk Author Sailor Mutineer Lecturer Customs Inspector

Nathaniel Hawthorne MAJOR WORKS The Scarlet Letter Twice-Told Tales The House of Seven Gables Tanglewood Tales Our Old Home The Marble Faun “No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true.”

Nathaniel Hawthorne 1804 – 1864 Custom House Clerk Author Surveyor Consul to Britain

Works Cited Photos courtesy of Wikimedia Commons North Carolina State University: American Literature Biography.com New World Encyclopedia