Realism

Romanticism Review What are the characteristics of a romantic text?

Romanticism Strong connection to nature (in awe of nature) Characters are fantastical or larger than life Showed great emotions, aesthetic If Realism was a reaction against Romanticism, what do you think the characteristics of Realism are? Strong connection to nature (in awe of nature) Characters are fantastical or larger than life Showed great emotions, aesthetic If Realism was a reaction against Romanticism, what do you think the characteristics of Realism are?

Realism Characters resemble ordinary people The ending may be unhappy The writers use ordinary speech/ common vernacular The setting is typically current and/or real An exploration of American lives in various contexts

Artwork of Romanticism and Realism Romanticism Realism Eugene Delecroix, Liberty Leading the People. Gustave Courbet, Stone Breakers

Artwork How do these pieces of artwork represent the characteristics of Realism and Romanticism?

Frederick Douglass

The Life of Frederick Douglass Born a slave in Talbot County, MD (~1818) Sent to Baltimore, where his slave master’s wife taught him the alphabet Eventually learned to read and write by observing white children and the men he worked with His education fueled his anti-slavery sentiment and his desire to escape Born a slave in Talbot County, MD (~1818) Sent to Baltimore, where his slave master’s wife taught him the alphabet Eventually learned to read and write by observing white children and the men he worked with His education fueled his anti-slavery sentiment and his desire to escape

Escape from Slavery Talbot county to Havre de Grace (train) to Wilmington, DE to Philadelphia (steam boat) to NY

Later Life He continued further north to Massachusetts where he began his abolitionist and pro women’s suffrage activity Gave speeches and wrote about slave experiences Douglass’ major work, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave was published in 1845 Died 50 years later in 1895