Dark Romanticism

Romanticism…with a kick This era in American Literary history is…weird The writers write similar to Romanticism Excess in Nature Lots of emotion Symbols aplenty Just slightly different….

Gothic There are modern adaptations of the term “gothic” Gothic – literature that combine elements of both Romanticism and Horror; exploration of the surrealism of human nature Usually these elements combine to form mysteries, ghost stories, spiritual awakenings, delving into the “sublime” Gothic does not mean evil, however this genre is where we start seeing actual “villains”

On the Dark Side Dark Romantics explore the dark side of human nature Murder, sin, corruption, darkness of nature, animals, weather… Main characters are deeply troubled…or will deeply trouble another Not about religion…rather, more science led

Nathaniel Hawthorne 7/4/1804 – 5/19/1864 Hawthorne belongs to the Dark Romantics. Novels and short stories all go into the dark side of human nature The Minister’s Black Veil The Scarlet Letter Considered the greatest American writer

Edgar Allen Poe 1/19/1809 – 10/7/1849 Poe’s writings are synonymous with horror and the horror genre Bleak imagery and bleak outlook on life You can bet that if you are reading one of his stories, it deals with death and/or the macabre Macabre – Grim/ghastly atmosphere

His life may explain it Early in his life, his mother died and his father left the family He was adopted by the “Allan” family who refused to financially back Poe After publishing “The Raven” in 1845, his wife of 10 years died His writing style was based on writing alone, secluding himself from his family Because of this, his life was not very financially successful and very random with living arrangements

His Death He was found, face down and dead in a ditch on 10/7/1849 Journal: Write a paragraph chronicling how you think that he met his end, given his grim and disturbing demeanor coupled with his very dark and foreboding life. A paragraph means 5 sentences!