ROMANTICISM PERIOD
Historical Context 1800-1850ish = time of growth and expansion westward New technologies = growth & expansion Railroads Factories and advanced farming equipment Telegraph and Morse code Louisiana Purchase doubled the nation’s size Troublesome changes: Growth, expansion & technology resulted in unsafe working conditions Women’s rights gaining a voice Opposition to slavery began to grow and gain a voice in abolitionists
What is Romanticism? A literary and artistic movement that placed an emphasis on imagination (over reason), emotion (over fact), individuality (defining this for Americans), and nature (above all)
Who are the Romantics? Before 1800 American writers were not widely read – Romantics changed this These writers define the American voice – personal and bold These writers defined one of the primary themes of American writing: the quest of the individual to define himself Bright vs. Dark Romantics
Who are the Bright Romantics? The Bright Romantics looked at the OPTIMISTIC aspects of Romanticism William C. Bryant Henry W. Longfellow Oliver W. Holmes James R. Lowell John G. Whittier “Fireside Poets”
WHAT IS DARK-ROMANTICISM? Same attributes of Romanticism but tends to accent the fantastic/negative aspects of human experience more (PESSIMISTIC) Some works characterized as part of the literary genre known as: gothic
Gothic Style Characteristics Setting is in bleak or remote places Plot involves morbid or violent incidents Characters are in psychological and/or physical torment A supernatural or otherworldly element is often present
Who are the Dark Romantics? Edgar Allan Poe Wrote “The Raven” Known as an eccentric writer – his dark and dismal life probably had something to do with it Washington Irving Most famous stories: “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” “Rip Van Winkle” Herman Melville Wrote Moby-Dick which is widely regarded as one of the finest novels in all of American Literature Nathaniel Hawthorne Believed evil was a dominant force in the world Wrote The Scarlet Letter and “The Minister’s Black Veil”
What is Transcendentalism? Philosophical movement of the 1830s-1840s Centered in Concord, Massachusetts Believed the the individual was the most important force in the universe Highly valued nature Believed in the idea of an “Over-Soul” – a universal spirit to which all beings are a part of
Who are the Transcendentalists? Ralph Waldo Emerson started the movement due to a crisis of confidence in his faith and fear of industry Henry David Thoreau protégé of Emerson Put the beliefs into action
Transcendentalism Legacy Influenced practice of nonviolent civil disobedience Influenced Mahatma Gandhi & Martin Luther king, Jr. First to suggest setting aside land to be preserved in its natural state
American Literature Realism
Realism WHAT: literary movement that stressed the actual (reality) as opposed to the imagined or fanciful WHY: A reaction against Romanticism The harsh reality of frontier life and the Civil War shattered the nation’s idealism
Realism - Characteristics Objective writing about ordinary characters in ordinary situations; “real life” Character is more important than action and plot The common man = the hero Diction is natural vernacular - Dialect and informal language Local Color Humor Characters appear in their real complexity of temperament and motive; they are in reasonable relation to nature, to each other, to their social class, to their own past. . . . Basically, it makes sense
Who are the Realists? Mark Twain Ambrose Bierce Kate Chopin Paul Laurence Dunbar
Historical Context Civil War Homestead Act moved people to the West Industrial Revolution (Age of Electricity) Social & Cultural Issues Grew The “Gilded Age” (class issues) Abolishment of slavery Women’s Rights Movement Growing
Romanticism vs. Realism Aspired to the ideal Thought to be more refined since it did not show the vulgar details of life Realism Thought to be more democratic Critics stressed the potential for vulgarity and its emphasis on the commonplace Potential “poison” for the pure of mind A common complaint is that realistic works forced readers into proximity with people whom they would never invite for dinner.
How did this literary movement prevail? The Industrial Revolution economic, social, and political changes that took place in post-war life allowed American Realism to succeed Gilded Age Rights of the oppressed (women, immigrants, African Americans) Labor Disputes
Naturalism An extension of Realism Like realism, but strongly believed that forces larger than the individual – nature, fate, heredity – shaped individual destiny
Naturalism - Characteristics Characters: usually ill-educated or lower-class lives governed by those “bigger” forces (heredity, instinct, passion, or the environment) Often represented as the criminal, the fallen, the down-and-out Themes Survival (man against nature, man against himself, man against uncontrollable & indifferent forces)
“A Man Said to the Universe” by Stephen Crane A man said to the universe: "Sir I exist!" "However," replied the universe, "That fact has not created in me A sense of obligation." What is Crane’s message in this poem? How does it reflect the beliefs of Naturalist writers?