American Romanticism Research Paper

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When many hear “Romanticism” they think of love, but Romanticism isn’t mainly about love. Yes, it may have some love, but it’s also about reasoning, nature, imaginations, and individualism. Like American Romanticism, that occurred from 1830 – 1865. It was caused by authors like Washington Irving, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and James Fenimore Cooper. For Americans, “it was a time of excitement over human possibilities, and of individual ego. American writers didn’t know what “America” at the time could possibly mean in terms of literature, which was American and not British. It questioned their identity and place in society, creatively” (Woodlief). The American values that were imposed by American authors during romanticism period was the interest …show more content…

It illustrates the sublime, so popular with Romantic artists and associated with emotions of greatness and founded on awe and terror. At the same time, it shows the glories of nature and landscape that open during long walks in the hills and mountains. This theme features heavily in English Romantic literature and poetry. But the painting is also the very icon of the alienation from nature experience by urban dwellers of industrial cities. It depicts the wanderer as a stranger in nature, but at the same time as a conqueror of nature. The contradictions in this painting show the complexity of Romantic art. These ideas for love of nature caused by romantic authors help create the way for modern-day conservation and environmentalism as well as outdoor recreation and appreciation for natural and historical heritage.

Dark romanticism is a literary subgenre of Romanticism, reflecting popular fascination with the irrational, the demonic and the grotesque; things that were very controversial in a time when religion was dominant. Often conflated with Gothicism, it has shadowed the euphoria of the Romantic Movement ever since the18th-century. Edgar Allan Poe (the father of the short story) is often …show more content…

They describe anyone who stays in the mainstream as a “conformist,” basically another way of saying sheeple. Early American literature is full of the spirit of individualism. This spirit can best be described by Emerson when he says, "Good men must not obey the laws too well". This view has long been an inspiration for future generations of Americans to start some of the greatest reformations of our history. Among the literary units that show support for Emerson's idea, there are three that are more powerful at conveying this spirit. The Revolutionaries, the Transcendentalists, and the Dark Romantics, all support Emerson's quote because they show that a truly righteous individual is not one that conforms to society's standards, but rather judges his/her actions based on his/her reason from the knowledge of people and life based on a deep understanding, not based on education. Individualism in American romanticism help create the American romantic hero that set its self-apart American literature from the rest of the world. The American romantic hero was new breed of character, in which would leave society to become a great man who lived the natural life. A well-known romantic hero is Natty Bumppo from Cooper’s the Leatherstocking Tales (were written chronologically with the intent of evolving Natty from youth to old age.) describes his protagonist in as “just

Romanticism, Realism, and Reason: Their Influence on American Literature
1049 Words | 3 Pages
During the time period of romanticism, literature usually contained grotesque and fantastical settings, plots, and characters. The short story, “The Masque of the Red Death,” by Edgar Allen Poe resembles the qualities of romantic literature. Poe uses objects and settings to represent values of life and death. These representations add to the overall romantic theme of this story. Poe uses seven rooms of the main character, Prince Prospero’s, palace to represent stages in life. The last and seventh room represents death. This room “was shrouded in black velvet tapestries that hung all over the ceiling and down the walls […] the panes here were scarlet—a deep blood color”(116). In this story Prince Prospero and his guests all die of the “red death” once they enter this room. The theme of this story is that no one can escape death. This is shown as Prince Prospero, a greedy and self-centered man, who tries to escape death, ironically dies as he enters the seventh room. Another element that is often found in romantic literature is the literary device, symbolism. Washington Irving, the author of the romantic folktale, “The Devil and Tom Walker”, uses symbolism to develop the plot and setting of his story. In this story, the setting is a dark and gloomy swamp with trees that symbolize lives that were once given to the devil, Old Scratch, in exchange for wealth. “Tom looked in the direction that the stranger pointed, and beheld one of the great trees, fair and f...
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American Romanticism
664 Words | 2 Pages
Just as the European romantics cared about emotions, nature, imagination, meditation, humanity and freedom, the American first "group of great imaginative writers -Irving, Bryant and Poe" (readers Note p 57) -cared about the them too . In their writings, these writers were taken by the romantic ideals empathizing on nature, creating their own world, borrowing sets from the past or from legends, meditating their life, and finding their own explanations to its processes . With such attitudes, these writers made their way into literature as romantics . " The Devil And Tom Walker","Hop Frog", " To a Waterfowl" and "Thanatopsis" serve as good examples for American Romanticism .
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Romanticism and Realism: Examples of Mark Twain and Herman Melville Novels
1408 Words | 3 Pages
Romanticism first came about in the 18th century and it was mostly used for art and literature. The actual word “romanticism” was created in Britain in the 1840s. People like Victor Hugo, William Wordsworth, and Percy Bysshe Shelley had big impacts on this style of art. Romanticism is an art in which people express their emotion. Whatever they believed is put into a picture, painting, poem, or book. Romanticism goes deep into a mind. It is very deep thinking and it’s expressing yourself through that deep thinking. Romanticism is the reaction to the Enlightenment and the enlightenment aka the “Age of Reason” took place during the 1700s to 1800s. The enlightenment emphasized being rational and using your mind; on the other hand, romanticism focuses on emotion and imagination. It says don’t just focus on rationality and reason.
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Parrnaasian And Romanticism Essay
1381 Words | 3 Pages
To start with, Romanticism was the first writing movement of the nineteenth century. It originated at the close of the eighteenth century in Europe, but was popular from the 1800s to 1850s. This movement was a revolt against the political and social standards of the Age of Enlightenment and a reaction to the reasoning of nature through science. Romanticism’s characteristics came from philosophical sources and, because it is a reaction against reasoning, it focuses on intuition, nature, and human emotions. The philosophical background of this movement came from an author named Jean-Jacques Rousseau who emphasized the individual and the power of inspiration. Romanticism later then broke off into another two movements called Parnassian and Realism.
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Analysis: Chris Mccandless
1177 Words | 3 Pages
For Example, “Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members.” (Emerson 1) This quote for example shows just how much hatred that Ralph had against the ideals of society. Emerson is a transcendentalist which makes this biased, but since he has such a large following, he had a bigger platform to inspire and inform the people of the wrong doing of society.
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The Importance Of American Romanticism In Poe's Ligeia
1505 Words | 4 Pages
The American Romantic period was essentially a Renaissance of American literature. “It was a Renaissance in the sense of a flowering, excitement over human possibilities, and a high regard for individual ego” (English). American romantics were influenced by the literary eras that came before them, and their writings were a distinct reaction against the ideology of these previous eras. In this sense, American Romanticism grew from “. . . the rhetoric of salvation, guilt, and providential visions of Puritanism, the wilderness reaches of this continent, and the fiery rhetoric of freedom and equality . . .” as they eagerly developed their own unique style of writing (English). American romantic authors had a strong sense of national identity and
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American Romanticism
794 Words | 2 Pages
Romanticism is an influential literary movement in America that changed literature permanently from the drastically modest and structured ideals of Puritanism. Two contrasting types of authors, Romantics and Dark Romantics, introduce new, meaningful literature to America; while Romantics see the light and airy side of the world, Dark Romantics see the darker more horrific side. This drastically modified literary period is influenced by Europe and was revolutionary for America from the moment it arrived. American Romanticism rejects the normal, rational thought and praises the unpredictability and complexity of emotion. Romanticism has changed American literature forever.
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Dark Romanticism Essay
1369 Words | 3 Pages
His stories had an immense importance among authors such as Stephen King, along with helping to establish the genres of science fiction and the detective story, which got him the named father of the detective story. When writing his work “Poe was concerned above all with the “effect” of his tale on the reader. This effect, he thought, should be single and unified. When readers finished the story, they ought to be left with a totality of impression, and every element of the story--character, style, tone, plot and so forth--should contribute to this effect” (Wright). So Poe sought to give his readers emotional and aesthetic pleasure, but also to get them to believe that his stories had a reality of their own. Poe’s early career path had him harboring two aspirations, one was writing and the other the army. The army aspiration didn’t last long and Poe began to focuses solely on writing full time. Poe began working for a magazine, writing reviews of his contemporaries and developed a reputation as a cutthroat critic, but while working for the magazine he also published some of his own works in it. In later years Poe worked as an editor, a poet, a critic and would publish several poems, short stories, and collections of stories. Poe was one of the more famous Dark Romantic writers, leading his works to have Dark Romantic elements such
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Francisco Goya Romanticism
805 Words | 2 Pages
Romanticism was an artistic and literary movement that began in the late 18th century Europe that stressed the individual’s expression of emotion and imagination, glorification of the past and nature, and departure from forms of classicism. The movement emerged as a reaction against the ideas
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American Romanticism By Washington Irving And James Fenimore Cooper
1004 Words | 3 Pages
When many hear “Romanticism” they think of love, but Romanticism isn’t mainly about love. Yes, it may have some love, but it’s also about reasoning, nature, imaginations, and individualism. Like American Romanticism, that occurred from 1830 – 1865. It was actually caused by Washington Irving and James Fenimore Cooper. For Americans, “it was a time of excitement over human possibilities, and of individual ego. American writers didn’t know what “America” could possibly mean in terms of literature, which was American and not British. It questioned their identity and place in society, creatively” (Woodlief). It was characterized by an interest in nature, and the significance of the individual’s expression on emotion and imagination; good literature should have heart, not rules. Some of the most famous authors who wrote during American Romanticism were Nathaniel Hawthorne, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, Henry David Thoreau, and Ralph Waldo Emerson. American Romanticism is important because it was the “historical period of literature in which modern readers most began to see their selves and their own conflicts and desires”. Romanticism was a literary revolution.
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American Romanticism Research Paper
1833 Words | 4 Pages
...numerous ways. Over the course of the American Romantic Period, focusing on emotions, changed the way Americans comprehended upward mobility in the American dream, which in turn changed the way authors wrote and lived their lives. The American Romantic movement created various new characteristics of the ideas, values, and writing styles of Americans. Literature staring seeing optimism in life and wrote about nature and created the American Hero. Many manifestations started concentrating on more on self-reliance. The Louisiana Purchase allowed for Americans to explore new opportunities. Slaves also had their dream to become free during this time period. The American Romantic period had a vast role in the way authors wrote literature. The American movement caused separation of the English, and helped Americans express themselves in their desire for the American Dream.
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British Romanticism versus American Romanticism
723 Words | 2 Pages
First, let’s give a little bit of overview about the British and American romance definitions. The British defined Romanticism as “a fascination with youth and innocence as well as a questioning of authority.” Also, “changing tradition for idealistic purposes and an adaptation to change.” p. The American poets defined Romanticism as “a school of thought that valued feelings and intuition over reason.” p. 143. “A Journey away from the corruption of civilization and the limits of rational thought and toward the integrity of nature and the freedom of imagination.” p. 142. American romance also showed a great respect to youth and innocence, just like that of the British. One of the very active British poets of this time, William Blake, wrote a very good poem called “The Chimney Sweeper from Songs of Innocence”, and the following is a quote from the poem, “Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy and warm,
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American Romanticism And Transcendentalism
1201 Words | 3 Pages
The Romantics lasted from “1830 to 1870” (The Romantic Period in American Literature and Arts). During this time the three main historical events happened which included. “Route such as the Santa Fe trail and the Oregon Trail brought a flood of settlers to the west a mass immigration that intensified with the Gold Rush of 1849”. (American Romanticism). The second was “At the same time,
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The Importance Of Romanticism
718 Words | 2 Pages
The word "romance" in romanticism is not in the sense of hearts and flowers or infatuation but rather, we use "romance" in the sense of glorification. (Esaak, 1) Romanticism emphasizes on inspiration, subjectivity, and the importance of the human individual. It praises imagination over reason, emotions over logic, and intuition over science. (“The Romantic Era” 1) Romanticism started to develop in the late 18th century early 19th century in Europe. It emerged as a response to the disillusionment with the Enlightenment values of reason and order and partly a reaction due to the Industrial Revolution. This movement also appealed to those in opposition of Calvinism, which involved the belief that the universe and all the events within it are subject to the power of God. Romanticism was so prominent in the 19th century they even called it the “the romantic era”
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Essay On Romantic And Romanticism
1200 Words | 3 Pages
Romantics believed in freedom and spontaneous creativity rather than order and imitation, they believed people should think for themselves instead of being bound to the fixed set of beliefs of the Enlightenment. Romanticism and Love Of all the emotions celebrated by the Romantics, the most popular was love. However, Romanticism should not be confused with romantic love in the sense of candle lit dinners and receiving love notes, flowers and boxes of candy. Instead, it was about a love for nature and beauty, and a sense of all human beings having a connection, empathy was heightened for others in which they brought on feeling the pains of other people in the world. To the Romantics love, which invokes compassion, was a natural God-given right.
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American Romanticism Research Paper

Romanticism, Realism, and Reason: Their Influence on American Literature