American Romanticism 1800-1855

Historical Context & Cultural Influences Online textbook (my.hrw.com) Unit 2/Unit Introduction). Historical Context (p. 305)  5 main ideas Cultural Influences (p. 306-07) 5 main ideas Background on Washington Irving (p. 318-19)

American Cultural Development- Search for cultural independence – For nearly 200 years, American readers had been looking to Europe, mainly Great Britain, for most of their reading material. The North American continent offered a vast and exciting vista for American artists of all types, including writers.

Sunset by Thomas Moran

Hudson River School Recognized as the first coherent school of American Art Helped shape the mythos of the American landscape Focused on an awe of the majestic natural resources and the seemingly endless wilderness of the new world

Kindred Spirits by Asher Durand This work pictures Thomas Cole and William Cullen Bryant, two prominent figures in American Romanticism.

Romanticism: An artistic movement, or a state of mind, that favors imagination over reason, and intuition over facts

Major Authors Edgar Allan Poe Washington Irving William Cullen Bryant

Imagination Power of imagination: It can apprehend truths the rational mind could not reach; these truths were usually accompanied by powerful emotion and associated with natural, unspoiled beauty. Faith in inner experience Accent on mystery and the strange and fantastic aspects of human experience

Nature Shuns the artificiality of civilization and seeks unspoiled nature Contemplates nature’s beauty as a path to spiritual and moral development because nature reveals underlying beauty and truth Finds beauty and truth in exotic locales and the supernatural realm

Individuality Prefers youthful innocence to educated sophistication Champions individual freedom and the worth of the individual