1. Dark Romanticism

2. Romanticism…with a kick ► This era in American Literary history is…weird ► The writers write similar to Romanticism ► Excess in Nature ► Lots of emotion ► Symbols aplenty ► Just slightly different….

3. Gothic ► There are modern adaptations of the term “gothic” ► Gothic – literature that combine elements of both Romanticism and Horror; exploration of the surrealism of human nature ► Usually these elements combine to form mysteries, ghost stories, spiritual awakenings, delving into the “sublime” ► Gothic does not mean evil, however this genre is where we start seeing actual “villains”

4. On the Dark Side ► Dark Romantics explore the dark side of human nature ► Murder, sin, corruption, darkness of nature, animals, weather… ► Main characters are deeply troubled…or will deeply trouble another ► Not about religion…rather, more science led

5. Nathaniel Hawthorne ► B: 7/4/1804 – D: 5/19/1864 ► Hawthorne belongs to the Dark Romantics. ► Novels and short stories all go into the dark side of human nature ► The Minister’s Black Veil ► The Scarlet Letter ► Considered the greatest American writer

6. Edgar Allen Poe ► 1/19/1809 – 10/7/1849 ► Poe’s writings are synonymous with horror and the horror genre ► Bleak imagery and bleak outlook on life ► You can bet that if you are reading one of his stories, it deals with death and/or the macabre ► Macabre – Grim/ghastly atmosphere

7. His life may explain it ► Early in his life, his mother died and his father left the family ► He was adopted by the “Allan” family who refused to financially back Poe ► After publishing “The Raven” in 1845, his wife of 10 years died ► His writing style was based on writing alone, secluding himself from his family ► Because of this, his life was not very financially successful and very random with living arrangements

8. His Death ► He was found, face down and dead in a ditch on 10/7/1849 ► Journal: Write a paragraph chronicling how you think that he met his end, given his grim and disturbing demeanor coupled with his very dark and foreboding life. A paragraph means 5 sentences!