American Romantic Period Also known as the American Renaissance

Romanticism NOT about love Values feeling and intuition over reason Romantics believed that imagination could discover truths that the rational mind could not Nature is very important Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night. -Edgar Allan Poe

Romanticism Romanticism is the name given to those schools of thought that value feeling and intuition over reason. Romantics believed that the imagination was able to discover truths that the rational mind could not reach. Usually accompanied by powerful emotion and associated with natural, unspoiled beauty. Imagination, individual feelings, and wild nature were of greater value than reason, logic, and cultivation.

Romanticism Romantic writers placed a new emphasis on intuitive, “felt” experience and often contrasted poetry with science, which they saw as destroying the very truth it claimed to seek. The romantics wanted to rise above “dull realities” to a realm of higher truth and searched for exotic settings in the more “natural” past or in a world far removed from the grimy and noisy industrial age. Romantic writers tried to reflect on the natural world until dull reality fell away to reveal underlying beauty and truth.

Characteristics of the American Romantic period Values feeling and intuition over reason Values the imagination over reality Civilization is bad Nature is good Educated sophistication is bad Youthful innocence is good Individual freedom is important Nature is the way to find God Progress is bad Most settings are in exotic locales or the supernatural Poetry is the highest expression of the imagination Lots of inspiration from myths and legends

The American Hero Young (or at least acts young) Innocent and pure Sense of honor higher than society’s honor Has knowledge of people and life based on a deep understanding, not based on education Loves nature Quests for a higher truth

The Hero First American Hero – created by James Fennimore Cooper: Natty Bumppo (went by other names – Hawkeye, Deerslayer, and Leatherstocking)

Romantic Techniques Remoteness of setting in time and place. Improbable plots. Unlikely characterization. Informal writing style. Experiments in new forms. Individualized form of writing.

The Dark Romantics Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allan Poe, Herman Melville Believed what the Romantics did, but felt that at the core of everyone was a dark, sinister being Has a lot of crazy or guilt-racked people in their stories