The Pit And The Pendulum

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Romanticism is a movement in the arts and literature that originated in the late 18th century, emphasizing inspiration, subjectivity, and the primacy of the individual. People began to feel dubious, this new-found pessimistic view challenged individuals and the hope of the 18th century. People felt concerned for the metaphysical aspects of life, death, and eternity, this is how romanticism emerged. Romanticism was a revolt against the order of things, against strict laws and rules. The romantics were focused on imagination over reason and logic, they examined the inner human being and its mental potential. They also found inspiration in nature, which is seen as unspoiled by corrupt civilization. Idealism was a key part in romanticism, it is …show more content…

The author of “Thanatopsis” is William Bryant, it is a poem of encouragement and appreciation for life and death. It informs the reader that everyone dies, no matter what background a person has. Another text, “ The Pit and the Pendulum” is written by Edgar Allan Poe. In summary, it is a story about a man who is kept prisoner and is tortured by the Spanish Inquisition. The author of “Song of Myself”, is Walt Whitman, who describes a travelling man who dreams of being in the shoes of heroes. In the dreams, he tells of the audacious actions and suffering that follows. In a way, all the texts, refer to pain, torment and …show more content…

The narrator also values the imagination and the exploration of the self. Individualism is a key part in “Song of Myself” because it shows how the narrator embraced the individualistic views of the world. In the poem, “ All this I swallow, it tastes good. I like it well, it becomes mine, I am the man, I suffer’d, I was there.” This shows how the narrator believes that the best way to understand the world and its people, a person has to be an active part of it. Another example is, “ The hounded slave that flags in the race, leans by the fence, blowing, cover’d with sweat, the twinges that sting like needles his legs and neck, the murderous buckshot and the bullets, all these I feel or am.” This quote shows that the narrator supports the worth of the individual. He describes the single person, not a group of people. Throughout the poem, the speaker values the individual and he uses imagination to put himself into the shoes of the heroes who

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