American Romanticism

The Awakening of a Nation

Important Dates

• 1803-Louisiana Purchase• 1804-1806-Lewis and Clark Expedition• 1808-Importation of slaves prohibited• 1812-1814-War of 1812• 1819-Spain cedes FL to US• 1820-Missouri Compromise• 1823-Monroe Doctrine• 1825-Erie Canal opened• 1828-B & O Railroad• 1830-Indian Removal Act• 1836-Texas wins independence from Mexico

Important Dates

• 1840s-first mass migration to the American West• 1844-Telegraph• 1846-1848-Mexican-American War• 1848-1st Women’s Rights Convention• 1848-Gold discovered in CA• 1849-California Gold Rush• 1857-Dred Scot decision

The Romantic Movement

• What was the Romantic movement?• A literary and artistic change in thought and style• A reaction against the order and tradition of Neo-Classicism• An opportunity for new American writers and artists to develop

the new American style

The Seeds of Romantic Thought• Began in Europe and then spread to America• Took ideas from Rationalist beliefs in freedom

and the rights of the individual• Important people in Romantic movement:

Kant, Goethe, Schlagel, Rosseau, Wordsworth, Coleridge

The Influence of Romantic Thought

• How long did this movement last?• Roughly 100 years• Began in the late eighteenth century• Lasted throughout most of the nineteenth century

Influences on Romantic Thought

• Nature• The untamed wildernesses of the world• The beauty of the natural world

• The Past• The Classical past-ancient Greece and Rome• The Medieval past

• The Imagination• Emotions • Intuition• Creativity

Imagination: Romantic Escapism

• Rejected the rigors of reality• Fascinated with the supernatural world

• Disliked realistic portrayals• Loved folklore and fantasy

• Rejected the manmade• Embraced the natural world

Romanticism in America: INSPIRED BY…

• Discovery of the unspoiled beauty of the Western Frontier• “Noble savages”—the Indians• American beliefs in individual rights and democracy• Reform needs in America—women’s rights, slavery, and

education

Causes of the Romantic Movement in America

• Nationalism• Lewis and Clark Expedition• War of 1812

• Discovery and Exploration• Napoleon Bonaparte• The New World

• Natural Rights• “God-given rights”• Slavery• The French Revolution

Nationalism• Romantic theory spawned in America by

intense feelings of nationalism among some of the populace

• NATIONALISM IS AN INTENSE INTEREST IN ONE’S COUNTRY AND/OR HERITAGE

• American nationalism resulted largely from• The Louisiana Purchase• Lewis and Clark Expedition• War of 1812

Elements of Romanticism

• intuition, imagination, and emotion better than logic and reason• Creativity (poetry, art, etc.) superior to science• Study of the natural world yields Truth and Wisdom• Distrust of civilization and industry• Valued the past and the supernatural• Nobility of the savage• Freedom and individual rights

The Journey

• “Quest” form taken from Medieval Romances of Europe• Movement away from civilization• Physical and emotional journey• “Escape” and encounters with the supernaturalJOURNEY STRUCTURE WAS A FRAMEWORK FOR THE ROMANTIC

EXPERIENCE.

Romantic “Journeys”

• Into the past, the supernatural, and to exotic places• Into the contemplation of nature’s beauty and mystery

ALL ROADS LED TO THE DISCOVERY OF HIGHER TRUTH AND ULTIMATE BEAUTY

The Dark Side of Romanticism: Gothic Romance

• Roots in French and German lit• Took place in exotic and isolated locales• Involved the supernatural• Dark and disturbing toneS and moodS• Source of the early psychological stories• Best Gothic Romance writer:

•Edgar Allan Poe

The American Novel

• Began …• during the Romantic period• As imitations of European novels andauthors• Using American settings, but European plots, characters, and

style• Broke away to use uniquely American settings, characters, and

plots

James Fennimore Cooper

• Created the first, truly “American” novel• Invented the “American Hero” type• Chronicled life in a “geography of the imagination”—the

American Western Frontier• Was the first novelist to define the American writing style

The American Hero

• Is young, or possesses youthful qualities• Innocent and pure of purpose• Inner sense of honor based on higher principles• Has knowledge of people and life based on deep intuition

and understanding• Loves nature—hates towns and cities• Resists domestication• Quests for a higher truth in the natural world

American Romantic Poetry

• Used established, traditional poetic forms• Mimicked European forms• Used American settings and stories• “Family” poetry very popular• “Fireside Poets” wrote family poetry for fireside reading• First uniquely American poetry yet to be created

Transcendentalism

• Outgrowth of Romanticism• Proposed by Ralph Waldo Emerson AND

Henry David Thoreau• Based on Christian and Hindu religions and

Romantic theory• Philosophy that

• ONE MUST GO BEYOND (OR TRANSCEND)

THE FIVE SENSES TO FIND REALITY

Transcendentalists Believed

• In God, the Oversoul, the “Universal Being”• Everywhere, everything, all knowledge• No evil—just perspective• That God could be seen most easily and purely in nature

EMERSON AND THOREAU

Anti-transcendentalists

• Believed in the existence of evil• Believed in original sin

NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE AND

HERMAN MELVILLE

American Romantic Authors

• Washington Irving• William Cullen Bryant• Henry Wadsworth Longfellow• Oliver Wendell Holmes• Ralph Waldo Emerson• Henry David Thoreau• Edgar Allan Poe• Herman Melville