Defining Self-Awareness in the works of Emerson, Whitman and Poe
Literature in the American Renaissance influenced the Romantic sentiment that prevailed during this period: the emergence of the individual. This materialization evolved out of the Age of Reason, when the question of using reason (a conscious state) or faith (an unconscious state) as a basis for establishing a set of beliefs divided people into secular and non-secular groups. Reacting to the generally submissive attitudes predominant in America at this time, nineteenth century writers envisioned "the source of religion within consciousness itself" (Chai, 10). This "secularization of religion" ultimately led to the "isolation of the self from others" (Chai, 10), and manifested the persuasive theme in Renaissance literature that promoted independent thinking. The writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Edgar Allan Poe, and Walt Whitman all emanate from this Romantic spirit. "Trust thyself" asserts Emerson, do not remain "clapped in jail by [your] consciousness" (261), be "led [out] in triumph by nature" (542). Merging the individual and nature is a common motif in Romanticism, but these writers had contrasting views on the dynamics of this connection. While Emerson and Whitman were on one end of the Romantic meter proclaiming the potential greatness of the individual, Poe was at the other end questioning human nature. Indeed, the literature these authors produced are relative to the Romantic trend in elevating self-awareness, however their work demonstrates Emerson and Whitman differ with Poe regarding the ascendancy of the conscious and unconscious states of the mind.
Emerson and Whitman celebrated the conscious power of the individual, while Poe exposed the hidde...
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Vlad was killed in battle near Bucharest shortly after he returned to Wallachia to conquer it in 1476. The Turks took his head to Constantinople as a trophy. Vlad is honored in Romania and Bulgaria for defending them against the Ottoman rule (Swan). His admiration broadened in 1976 on the 500th anniversary of his death for preserving Wallachian Independence for which Vlad is called father of Romanian dominion (Lawrence). Vlad lived in a time where print was evolving and became one of the first horror individual to be printed in fiction (Wilde).
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"When the Count saw my face, his eyes blazed with a sort of demoniac fury, and he suddenly made a grab at my throat” (Stoker 28). Also to help with the influence in the two, Stoker gave the name Dracula after the real Vlad the Impaler. “Vlad the Impaler was well known for the punishment that he adopted, the impalement, this is the reason why he was named Tepes, which means The Impaler.” (“Vlad”) However instead of being an infamous vampire, Vlad was known for his method of impaling criminals and enemies and raising them in the town for all to see. To add onto Vlads amazing personality and how he was as a person. He was also known for his various means of torture. He would “cut limbs off of people, blind them, strangle them, burn them, cut off their noses and ears, scalping, skinning, and he would even sometimes boil people alive” (“Vlad”). However Dracula wasn’t as vicious and as evil as Vlad was, he was still just as blood thirsty. "With his left hand he held both Mrs. Harker 's hands, keeping them away with her arms at full tension; his right hand gripped her by the back of the neck, forcing her face down” (Stoker 310-311). Vlad the Impaler, the basis of where the infamous Dracula was born, was a very vicious and blood thirsty
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The manner in which Poe addresses the topic of class differences and the struggle for power with his fictional characters resounds of his own struggles in his personal life. However, unlike in Hop Frog and the Masque of the Red Death, he was never himself able to emerge wholly victorious over his adversaries, including the publishing industry. In addition, Poe’s characters appear to hint that while wealth may be the source of power for many, the correct use of information itself is the surest path to the acquisition of power.
Keeping all of these in mind we can see why the story of Dracula is so attractive to us. The Dracula character being a cult figure is because of the fact that his character carries the sins and the emotions of the 20th century: killing, rape, incest, fascism… On the other hand, despite all these Dracula did not forget his true love. Maybe everyone of us finds his/her darkness in the Count and that’s why many people sympathise with him. Whatever it is, the truth is that in the end Count Dracula dies but in real world he has promoted to immortality as a heroic and charismatic character.
Dracula’s peculiar actions begin when Johnathan Harker takes a Journey to help Dracula with some business. When Harker was getting
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Romanticism and Transcendentalism are both literary movements that were appreciated in the American literature. Both movements are quite similar; however, Romanticism is a strong motivational force that depicted emotions, patriotism, and imagination. Dark Romanticism, on the other hand, is a branch of Romanticism that focuses on the evil qualities of the man. Not only it is a branch of Romanticism, however, it is a reaction of Transcendentalism. Transcendentalism focuses on self-realization, empowering the connection between man and nature, and the goodness of man and nature. Throughout the years, American authors such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allen Poe projected dark romantic features in their work, “Young Goodman Brown” and “Tell-Tale Heart”, where they show the conflict between the good and evil. However, Emerson portrayed transcendentlistic characteristics in his book “Nature” as he shows the power of knowledge, nature, and divinity.
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One very important topic that major American authors Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson incorporated into their writing was the idea of the “self” or “self-identity”. Both Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson were prolific major American poets and many of the topics they chose to write about involved aspects of transcendentalism. Though Whitman and Dickinson wrote about some of the same topics, they did not share the same meanings, especially with the description of “self”. Published in 1855 within a poetry collection called Leaves of Grass, “Song of Myself” gives a look into how Walt Whitman felt about self-identity. Whitman uses a first person narrator to describe the “self” as the celebration of the individual through personal exploration and gaining personal experience. In Emily Dickinson’s poem, “I heard a Fly buzz when I died” published in 1896 as part of Poems by Emily Dickinson (third series), she alludes that the key to identifying the “self” is sight.