What is Romanticism? A world-wide movement involving writers, composers, painters, sculptors, philosophers, politicians, theologians, and many others.

What is Romanticism? It’s difficult to clearly define either its time period or the goals and beliefs of those who were involved However, it is safe to say that the movement lasted from the late seventeenth century to the mid to late nineteenth century

What is Romanticism? In many respects, Romanticism was a reaction to the strict rationality of the Classical period (what we’ve been referring to as the Enlightenment or the Age of Reason). People began to espouse the value of imagination and emotion over reason and logic

Why is it called Romanticism? Actually, it has nothing to do with romantic love and all that stuff The term Romantic is derived from Middle Age “romance” tales of adventure and chivalric values; “romance” is a reference to Latin, in which the tales were originally told

Beliefs of Romanticism The natural/innate goodness of man The perfectibility of man What is special in man is more important than what is typical Nature as a source of truth, inspiration, and moral guidance The importance of spontaneity

Beliefs of Romanticism The value of the sublime

Beliefs of Romanticism The value of the grotesque, the picturesque, and the beautiful Interest in the antique—mythology, the Medieval, the gothic A connection between all living things

Romantic literature Highly imaginative and subjective Emotionally intense Escapist The common man as heroic Nature as refuge, source of knowledge, and spiritual guidance The “noble savage”

Romantic literature Nationalistic Attempt to define American literature – Language – Motifs – Settings – Characters – Themes

Romantic Literature Folk tales – Pastoral – Allegorical – Exaggeration/Hyperbole – Supernatural – 1 Dimensional/Caricature – Humor – Moral

Romantic Literature Female literature The Gothic – Dark tales of suspense or horror – Inner world of Human Nature – Interest in irrational side of human nature – Seeks psychological insights into actions Nostalgic stories

Differences between Classical and Romantic Classical Thinkers Valued: Reason above all Urban life Public responsibility The universal Objective science External reality God and nature as a “clockwork” mechanism Romantic Thinkers Valued: Emotion and feelings Nature and solitude Private reflection The personal Subjective perception Introspection The natural world as a source of mystery and personal enlightenment

Romantic Writers James Fenimore Cooper – The Leatherstocking Tales Washington Irving – “The Devil and Tom Walker” – “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” Walt Whitman – “Song of Myself”

Transcendentalists Transcendental Club 1830s Founded by Ralph Waldo Emerson New England Emphasized perfectibility of man, role of natural world

Your favorite Transcendentalists Ralph Waldo Emerson Henry David Thoreau

Dark Romantics Some writers believed that Romantics were too optimistic about human nature They felt that people were flawed and self- serving They insisted that societies needed traditions and institutions to control the dark side of human nature

Dark Romantics Nathaniel Hawthorne – Interested in Puritan past; possibly related to Judge Hathorne of Salem infamy – The Scarlet Letter, “Young Goodman Brown,” “The Minister’s Black Veil,” and others Herman Melville – Moby Dick Edgar Allan Poe – We’ll talk about him later in detail

Emily Dickinson That isn’t a question Dickinson wrote poetry in her home She lived in Amherst, Mass, right near where the Transcendentalists were living and writing However, she wasn’t really a member of any particular group of poets Only seven of nearly 1300 poems were published in her lifetime

Emily Dickinson Puritan vestiges into 19th century Power of language Moral and social inwardness

Effects on today Revolt against genre Rejection of society Importance of the individual Civil disobedience Development of American culture