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THE NEW ENGLAND RENAISSANCE ( )

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1 THE NEW ENGLAND RENAISSANCE (1880-1860)
Romanticism and Transcendentalism

2 Background Information
Follows the Enlightenment Thinkers Stressed objectivity Use of the senses Removal of the “unexplainable Removal of knowledge based on belief Power of Reason to discover laws of the universe Scientific and Systematic approach to discovery Famous enlightenment thinkers Albert Einstein (Germany, 1879-Princeton, NJ 1955) -Became U.S. citizen in 1940 Thomas Paine (“Age of Reason” Thomas Jefferson (Jefferson Bible)

3 Literary Timeline British Romanticism 1785-1830
British Literary Movement British Gothic movement ( ) American Romanticism Central Movement of American Renaissance Linked to the ideas associated with building America Transcendentalism New England Literary Movement Realism Truthful and accurate depiction of life

4 British Romanticism Important Elements Human Emotion
Celebrates Imagination over Rational Thought Beauty of the Supernatural A higher form of reason, above ordinary “understanding” of the physical world of senses Ability to grasp “metaphysical” truths in nature and life experiences Nature was the stimulus for these “truths” Beginning of focus on the “self”

5 American Romanticism Includes Elements of British Romanticism---Inclusion of Nature and the Individual are Important Satisfaction of Desire Loves Solitude Revolutionary Idealism Gaps in causality (logical sense of cause and effect) Includes Outcasts/ ”Noble Savage” Many characters are static Plot demonstrates romantic love, honor and integrity, idealism of self Good and bad receive appropriate justice Heavy use of description to create tone and mood May incorporate the grotesque Expansion of British Gothicism

6 American Romantic Writers
James Fenimore Cooper Emily Dickinson Frederick Douglass Margaret Fuller Nathaniel Hawthorne Washington Irving Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Herman Melville Edgar Allen Poe Walt Whitman

7 Transcendentalism “Things are in the saddle/And ride mankind”-Ralph Waldo Emerson
Distinct American Literary Movement that stemmed from Romanticism Critique the ethic of material success and social advancement Belief in “transcendent truths” Humans could find this through contemplation Influence of natural environs

8 Using intuition in nature to help understand a “higher truth” of life
TRANSCENDENTALISM Using intuition in nature to help understand a “higher truth” of life Science is questioned and criticized Return to spirituality Celebrated “the self” and self-awareness as a way to understand the universe/God Reflect on both positive and negative sides of human nature WALDEN POND-Thoreau

9 Dismissed authority beyond the individual conscience
Literary Ideas Dismissed authority beyond the individual conscience Believed understanding the individual would enable a person to understand the universe and God. Terms coined-”self-realization,” “self-expression,” and “self-reliance” Respect of individual, unique viewpoints Focus on “inventing themselves” as writers Stories involve nature both as environments and as the “nature of man”

10 Brook Farm Transcendentalist Utopia
Founded by George Ripley-Minister (1841) Notable Resident= Nathaniel Hawthorne Notable Visitors= Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller "Our objects, as you know, are to ensure a more natural union between intellectual and manual labor than now exists; to combine the thinker and the worker, as far as possible, in the same individual; to guarantee the highest mental freedom, by providing all with labor, adapted to their tastes and talents, and securing to them the fruits of their industry...to prepare a society of liberal, intelligent, and cultivated person, whose relations with each other would permit a more simple and wholesome life, than can now be led amidst the pressures of our competitive institutions."

11 “Fireside Poets” Ralph Waldo Emerson John Greenleaf Whittier
James Russell Lowell Oliver Wendell Holmes Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Used Traditional Rhythmic Patterns Told American Legends Represented scenes of American home life Covered Contemporary Politics

12 Famous Transcendentalist Authors
Ralph Waldo Emerson Eternal Optimist Belief in self “Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of our own mind…The only right is what is after my constitution, the only wrong what is against it.” Henry David Thoreau Self-Reliance Experiment “Walden” Keen Observation of Nature “If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.

13 Transcendentalist Authors, cont.
William Cullen Bryant ( ) “Thanatopsis” Romanticized and personified nature +/- Championed humanitarian causes Helped form the Republican party

14 American Gothic Writers
*Fall within transcendentalist time periods/location, but often incorporate more romantic elements/points of view. Louisa May Alcott Incorporates failed experiments with transcendentalism Herman Melville Explored the forces of evil and obsession in his masterpiece Edgar Allen Poe (most Romantic) Psychology of madness and terror Nathaniel Hawthorne Darker aspects of human nature Sin The ways in which humans deal with temptation, guilt, and revenge

15 American Gothicism Castle/Castle-like Settings
Family estates Large, drafty old houses that have “been in the family for years” Elements of large homes such as doors, wine cellars, towers. 2.  An atmosphere of mystery and suspense. 3.  A ghostly legend An unexplainable supernatural-type event A story about a horrible death or murder that took place at the family estate. 6. Omens, foreshadowing, and dreams that help build the mystery. Extreme emotions for the characters, including: Terror Insanity Extreme anger Obsession An exaggerated feeling of impending doom Supernatural events:  ghosts, doors that open themselves, unexplained sounds, etc. Damsels in distress. 10. Sense of gloom and doom (setting, plot events, and diction choices such as dark, forbidding, ghostly, etc. 11. Romantic themes often involving violent passion, extreme romantic obsession, excessive grief. HOUSE OF SEVEN GABLES-Inspiration for Hawthorne’s Novel

16 Gothicism—Grotesque and Arabesque Elements of Horror
Incorporates elements of Gore and Horror Physical Harm A World in Disharmony Distortion of Nature Blend of Human and Creature Arabesque Psychology Horror Terrific situation Often show strong elements of romanticism Gore Must elicit reaction from the reader of fear or dread Can be grotesque or arabesque Forces the reader to confront fears and scary realities Do not require brutal physical attacks or pain Elements of Transcendentalism Focus on the individual Character’s use of nature to transcend to a higher level (to meet godliness). Personification and detailed observation of nature Criticized Science Positive and negative side of human nature (doppelganger)

17 Emerson Thoreau

18 “Old Ironside” by Holmes
Ay, tear her tattered ensign down!  Long has it waved on high,  And many an eye has danced to see  That banner in the sky;  Beneath it rung the battle shout,  And burst the cannon's roar;  The meteor of the ocean air  Shall sweep the clouds no more!  Her deck, once red with heroes' blood,  Where knelt the vanquished foe,  When winds were hurrying o'er the flood  And waves were white below,  No more shall feel the victor's tread,  Or know the conquered knee;  The harpies of the shore shall pluck  The eagle of the sea!  Oh, better that her shattered hulk  Should sink beneath the wave;  Her thunders shook the mighty deep,  And there should be her grave;  Nail to the mast her holy flag,  Set every threadbare sail,  And give her to the God of storms,  The lightning and the gale!

19 Realism (1860’s-1900’s) Began in America as an active movement in the 1870’s Usually written in prose Wrote about “typical” American experiences Often wrote about the common man Presented “objective” and “non-idealized” point of view. Presented society’s material philosophy Many writers incorporated humor and satire

20 Some Famous Realism Authors “The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them.” (Twain) Female Writers Kate Chopin Charlotte P. Gilman Sarah Orne Jewett Edith Wharton War Writers Stephen Crane Humorists Mark Twain Ambrose Bierce Jack London Twain Gilman Wharton Sarah Orne Jewett Stephen Crane Bierce London Kate Chopin

21 Works Cited "The American Novel . Literary Timeline . Movements . Realism | PBS." PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. Web. 21 Feb < "American Transcendentalism Web." Virginia Commonwealth University. Web. 21 Feb < "Google Image Result for House of Seven Gables. Web. 21 Feb < "Google Image Result for Jack London. Google. Web. 21 Feb < "Google Image Result for Winslow Homer. Google. Web. 21 Feb <

22 Works Cited IHAS: Artist/Movement/Ideas." PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. Web. 21 Feb < "Literature Timeline." PlaceHolder for Socsdteachers.org. Web. 21 Feb < "Romanticism.Characteristics." MURAL - Student Homepages at University of Valencia. Web. 21 Feb <

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