1. The Dark Romantics The “Anti-Transcendentalists”
However, still had much in common with the Transcendentalists
Value of intuition over logic and reason
Nature is not necessarily good
Emphasis on Original Sin
Combination of mystical and the melancholy of Puritan thought
Good vs. evil
Psychological effects of guilt and sin
Madness and the human psyche

2. Nathaniel Hawthorne “Prisoner of the Dismal Chamber”
Wrote about dark insights into the human heart
First major piece: The Scarlet Letter
Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment: Hawthorne’s obsession with the source of youth

3. Allegory
A story or poem in which characters, settings, and events stand for abstract ideas or moral qualities
Examples
Grim Reaper
Animal Farm

4. What Character Represents
Character Chart
Characters
Key Descriptions
Actions and Words
What Character Represents
Mr. Medbourne
Colonel Killigrew
Mr. Gascoigne
Widow Wycherly