1. Anti- Transcendentalism AKA Dark Romanticism This is where it gets weird…

2. Dark Romanticism explored the potential evil in the individual. Also explored conflicts between good and evil, psychological effects of guilt and sin, and madness. AKA Gothic Romantics

3. Three Dark Romantics or Anti-Transcendentalists 1.Edgar Allen Poe 2.Nathaniel Hawthorne 3.Herman Melville

4. The main theory of Dark Romanticism is that the “self ” is the only thing that can be known or verified.

5. Characteristics of Dark Romanticism focus on the tragic belief in sin and evil attention paid to the mysteries of life not bitter or pessimistic; man is the victim reverence for human nature and all struggles believe that individuals are prone to sin and destruction the natural world is dark, decaying and mysterious show individuals failing in their attempts to make changes for the better

6. Edgar Allan Poe

7. 1809 - 1849 Mother dies, father leaves Lives with Allan family, but never adopted Marries Virginia, his cousin Travel, job instability, alcoholism Virginia dies at 25…Poe goes downhill Dies at age 40 in Baltimore

8. Poe’s Writing Truthful, often vicious, editor Worked hard at horror elements to affect reader Created detective story at age 32 Very influential (worldwide) and very debated Extreme situations & settings to expose true human nature

9. Poe’s Works “The Raven” “Annabel Lee” “El Dorado” “The Cask of Amontillado” “The Tell-Tale Heart” “The Fall of the House of Usher”

10. Nathaniel Hawthorne

11. 1804 - 1864 Father dies early, mother becomes recluse 12 years of intense reading & writing Married in his 30s Scarlet Letter cements his popularity Friend to Franklin Pierce, Herman Melville, Emerson, Longfellow

12. Hawthorne’s Writings Focus on heart under conditions (greed, betrayal) to see important truths Great psychological insight Theme: past influencing the present (Puritan ancestors) Theme: impossibility of erasing sin from human heart

13. Hawthorne’s Works “Young Goodman Brown” “Dr. Heidigger’s Experiment” “The Minister’s Black Veil” The Scarlet Letter The House of the Seven Gables