1. The Beginning of Poetry, Painting, and the Short Story in America
Romanticism
The Beginning of Poetry, Painting, and the Short Story in America

2. From Gatsby
“It was an extraordinary gift for hope, a romantic readiness such as I have never found in any other person and which it is likely I shall never find again. No– Gatsby turned out all right at the end; it was what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams…”

3. Change
As The Age of Reason (Revolutionary Period) drew to a close, so did the pressing issues from the Revolutionary Era:
America was separate from England
A new government was in place
America's international relations were stable
Frontier promised opportunity for economic growth and freedom
Immigration brought new cultures and perspectives

4. Change
Americans began to realize that there is more to life than logic, and so we see the first flowering of American art and literature:
Emotion over logic
Imagination over reason
Spontaneity over control
Individualism over conformity

5. Common Themes Individuality Imagination Common man as hero
Characters and setting are separate from society
Universe is mysterious, irrational, incomprehensible
Nature can punish or reward
Supernatural foreshadowing (dreams, visions)

6. Dark Romanticism (gothic)
Sub-Genres
Dark Romanticism (gothic)
Transcendentalism

7. Sub-Genres Dark Romanticism Transcendentalism The darkness within man
Major writers included: Irving, Poe, Hawthorne
Literature emphasized:
The darkness within man
Physical and mental isolation of main character
Tortured Search for beauty in an ugly world
Supernatural elements (ghosts, haunted houses, crypts, graveyards)
Transcendentalism
Major writers included: Whitman, Emerson, Thoreau
Literature emphasized:
Natural goodness of man
Individuality
Spiritual forces in nature and within man
Civil disobedience
Carpe diem

8. Poetry Analysis
With your partner, analyze the following poem by Walt Whitman using the SOAPStone method:
Speaker (the voice or character)
Occasion (think setting, environment or surrounding circumstances)
Audience (who is this intended for? Someone in particular?)
Purpose (what does the poet hope to achieve? What is their message?)
Subject (paraphrase)
Tone (attitude of speaker)

9. “O Me, O Life” Walt Whitman

10. O Me! O life!... of the questions of these recurring; Of the endless trains of the faithless—of cities fill’d with the foolish; Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more foolish than I, and who more faithless?) Of eyes that vainly crave the light—of the objects mean—of the struggle ever renew’d; Of the poor results of all—of the plodding and sordid crowds I see around me; Of the empty and useless years of the rest—with the rest me intertwined; The question, O me! so sad, recurring—What good amid these, O me, O life? Answer. That you are here—that life exists, and identity; That the powerful play goes on, and you will contribute a verse.