How Did Whitman Contribute To The Rise Of Romanticism

Romanticism as a period of American Literature came after the Colonial period. As a

new country, America found itself in a time of newfound freedom and an ability to take itself in

whatever direction it wanted. This led to the rise of romanticism as a way to express the feelings

and thoughts of the authors of the times as they attempted to form America’s identity.

The Romantic movement was influenced by the American Revolution and America’s

unique history. This caused American writers to question what America should be based

around, and many of them wrote about the ideas of freedom and democracy. Writers such as

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Walt Whitman specifically pioneered new forms of poetry that

often featured the ideas

of democracy and freedom.

A movement that is lumped into the Romantic period but should not be overlooked is the

Transcendentalist movement. This movement was characterized by authors such as Henry

David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson. These authors liked to emphasize the importance of

self reliance and the beauty of nature. Emerson himself even had books specifically titled “Self

Reliance” and “Nature”. I believe that the modern day “American Dream” is based on this idea of

self reliance that was introduced in transcendentalist writing and is a big reason as to why

transcendentalist work is important.

Many people question as to why the romantic period considering that the writers in this

period didn’t actually write about romantic love. It is called this because of the writers style. They

wrote in a way so as to evoke the emotions of the people and appeal to their emotions to inspire

them and persuade them to accept their ideas. This worked in a big way and ideas from their

works can be seen in many parts of modern America today.

As you can see, the Romantic period in American literature helped form the base of the
American consciousness today. It also helped inspire many people in that day and age and in

this day and age to reconsider their values. This is why the Romantic period is considered so

great.