 Louisiana Purchase  Lewis and Clark Expedition  “The Star Spangled Banner”  Railroad Expansion  Abolitionist Movement

Quest for the distinct American Literature  Reading for entertainment  Short stories, novels, poetry (mostly fiction)  Vivid details  Imagination and fantasy over reason and fact  Respected nature and its power  Accented the mysterious, strange, fantastic aspects of the human experience

 Gothic Writing:  A type of romanticism writing  Usually has dark and gloomy settings  Typically there is an element of the supernatural  Writers try to evoke the feeling of fear from the reader

 Setting:  Large house or castle with vast land  There always seems to be a body of water  Gothic architecture (dim lighting, high ceilings)  Gothic Formula  Mental disease or physical ailment creating pain and agony in one or more characters  A character or element in the story foreshadows the future  One or more death (usually a mysterious death)  Haunting  One character lives to tell the story  Main author is Edgar Allan Poe

  Born to a wealthy family  Father of American Literature  Grew up in Manhattan, New York.  He was named after George Washington, who was considered a hero after the American Revolution.  Pseudonyms: Jonathan Oldstyle, Diedrich Knickerbocker, Geoffrey Crayon  “The Devil and Tom Walker” & “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”

 Irony  Folk Tale  Stereotype  Satire

 Place: Tarrytown, New York is a small town in the mainland part of New York.  The area became a haven for Dutch settlers.  Fun Fact: In 1997, Tarrytown changed its name to Sleepy Hollow, New York. Their high school team is called The Horsemen Sleepy Hollow, New York

 The time period is around 1790 (not quite a generation after the American Revolution).  Many of the older men in Tarry Town would have been Revolutionary War soldiers.

 During the American Revolution, Great Britain decided it would be cheaper to hire/rent soldiers (mercenaries) to fight for Britain rather than pay to train their own men- they hired Hessians from Northern Germany.  German Hessians made up ¼ of the total forces sent to America to fight the rebels.  Most Hessians were unhappy being sent to America because they were paid very little.  Some Hessians were prisoners who were forced into fighting for a country that they weren’t even a part of.  Hessians tended to be very loyal countrymen, so they were very willing to fight against a group of people who were rebelling against their home country (Colonists vs. Britain).

  Born to a wealthy family  First successful American novelist  Creator of the adventure tale  Brave, faultless hero  Loyal companion  Encounter with danger  Physical danger tests the hero’s skill, expertise, or bravery  A nick-of-time rescue  Focus on the natural man in the wilderness  “A Rescue” from The Deerslayer  The Last of the Mohicans

  Born in Boston. Both of Poe’s parents died when he was almost 2 years old. He is adopted by John Allan.  Fights with Mr. Allan about his future and ends up leaving the house  He becomes engaged to a woman while in college, but while he is away, she gets married to someone else.

 He moves in with his aunt, Maria Clemm (acts like a mother towards him  Her daughter (his cousin) becomes the object of his desire.  In 1835 he marries his then 13-year-old cousin, Virginia Clemm. She dies 2 years later of tuberculosis. Virginia Clemm

 In the 1830s he published several works, but he didn’t earn enough money to sustain himself.  “The Raven” (1845) earned him great reviews, but he still lived in poverty.  Suffered from depression and madness  Mysterious death  Legacy: Inventor of the detective story and psychological thrillers  Edgar Award for mystery writing

 How does this picture represent the Romantic style?  Supernatural- how does the house finally fall?

 “The Raven”- most popular poem  “Anabel Lee”