1. THE AMERICAN RENAISSANCE 1800-1870

2. WHAT’S GOING ON IN AMERICA? We need a new style of writing for this new country! After breaking away from England, we seek to write the opposite of what they’re writing over there.

3. RENAISSANCE  A “re-awakening” of intelligence.  Italian Renaissance – Art  American Renaissance - Literature

4. AUTHORS  Edgar Allen Poe  Ralph Waldo Emerson  Nathaniel Hawthorne  Herman Melville  Henry David Thoreau

5. ROMANTICISM  These authors all fall into a style of writing known as “Romanticism”. This does not mean “romantic” like we think of today (love).

6. THEMES OF ROMANTICISM:  Individuality and Optimism People are good by nature. They are special and unique.

7. THEMES OF ROMANTICISM:  Oneness with Nature They admired the power and mystery that nature provided. What lays over the next hill? Nature was a spiritual journey that could guide your life.

8. THEMES OF ROMANTICISM:  The Power of Darkness Ideas about evil, supernatural, fantasy, death, insanity, and an evil side of nature. These themes inspired Gothic literature – texts with exotic locations and dark themes.

9. ROMANTIC WRITERS  Authors during this time period are divided up into two, major group: PESSIMISTS & OPTIMISTS. Those who thought the world was naturally good and pure, and those who thought it was a dangerous place to live in.

10. TRANSCENDENTALISM  To “transcend” means to go beyond the limits of something; to rise above.  It includes the idea that man can almost commune with nature. God is in nature, God is in man, so man in one with nature.

11. TRANSCENDENTALISM  An idea that came out during the American renaissance. It’s a theme that included writing about nature, importance of self, and finding a spiritual connection with the world around you.

12. RALPH WALDO EMERSON  The world’s biggest optimist.  He loved nature and everything that the universe had to offer man.  Wrote many essays about his views on the world around him.