1. American Romanticism 9th grade

2. Romanticism also means “ideal,” “perfect,” or “dreamlike”
An artistic movement, or a state of mind, that favors imagination over reason, and intuition over facts.
Romanticism also means “ideal,” “perfect,” or “dreamlike”

3. American Cultural Development- After the Revolution
Search for cultural independence –200 years, American looked to Europe, for most of their literature
Europeans were “cultured”— They were sophisticated and education marked and distinguished by social classes. The land had distinct urban centers of trade and commerce (London) and a long history of government and civilization.
In contrast, a young United States had none of these cultural trademarks. All things European became viewed with distain.
Americans began to experiment with their own literary identity…
The Consummation of Empire by Thomas Cole

4. Sunset by Thomas Moran
As you look at the following pieces of art answer this question, what identity did artists find in their creation of artistic landscapes and literary heroes?

5. Kindred Spirits by Asher Durand
This work pictures Thomas Cole and William Cullen Bryant, two prominent figures in American Romanticism.

6. In the Mountain by Albert Bierstadt
                                              

7. Romantic Heroes What qualities do they have in common?

8. Romantic Writers Value Imagination
The writers say imagination
can apprehend truths the rational mind could not reach; these truths were usually accompanied by powerful emotion and associated with natural, unspoiled beauty.
Has faith in inner experience
Focuses on mystery and the strange and fantastic aspects of human experience

9. Romantic Writers Value Nature
The writers say nature
Shuns the artificiality of civilization and seeks unspoiled nature
Contemplates nature’s beauty as a path to spiritual and moral development because nature reveals underlying beauty and truth
Finds beauty and truth in exotic locales and the supernatural realm

10. Romantic Writers Value Individuality
The writers say the individual
Prefers youthful innocence to educated sophistication
Champions individual freedom and the worth of the individual

11. Romantic Writers Value History
The writers say history
Looks backward to the wisdom of the past and distrusts progress
Finds inspiration in folk culture, myth, and legend

12. Dark Romantic Writer Nathaniel Hawthorne
Valued intuition over reasoning
Believed nature is not the spiritual doorway to the universal soul; not all signs of nature are good and harmless
Believed Romantic writers ignore the concept of Original Sin; some entities are innately evil and not all elements in nature are perfect
Dark Romantic writers explored literary themes
Battles between good and evil
They wrote about the psychological effects of guilt and sin.
They were the first writers to present psychopathic characters and explore the realms of madness and the deranged mind.