American Romanticism

1
American Romanticism

• (Early- Mid 1800s)

2
Rationalists Review

• Outgrowth of European Enlightenment
• Heavy reliance on Reason and Logic to understand
  world
• Radical re-thinking of religion and its role in
  government
• Anti-European feeling as America establishes
  independence.
• Whole-hearted belief in Progress, urbanization,
  civilization

3
Historical Context Early 1800s

• Louisiana Purchase (1802) doubles size of nation
  and hastens western expansion.
• Huge influx of immigrants (Irish, German, other
  N. Europeans) fleeing famine and war
• Cities boom
• Industrial Revolution
• Massive urbanization of population
• Crime, disease rampant

4
Romantic Philosophy

• City is site of corruption, moral decay, and
  death
• Countryside/ nature site of renewal and rebirth
• Valued feeling and intuition over reason
• Horrors of industrialized society, etc.
• Intuition capable of understanding truths that
  reason cant reach
• Felt experience valued over theory

5
Romantic Religion Understanding Higher Truth

• Poe Sciencedull realities that weigh down the
  poets heart and imagination
• How to get to Higher Truth?
• Method 1 Transcendentalist
• Contemplation of commonplace object or event
  brings moral/ spiritual lessons
• Method 2 Gothic or Dark Romantic
• Spooky landscapes, haunted castles, madness,
  exotic and unexplainable

6
Romantic Literature

• Poetry thought to be highest form of expression
• Traditionalist- Looks back to Europe
• Self-consciously literate- lots of big words,
  obscure references, and complex sentences
• Very emotional goal is to give reader a feeling,
  not realistically depict character, setting, etc.
  
• Yet
• About frontier (not present in Europe)
• Celebrates experience over stuffy sophistication

7
The Romantic Hero

• Youthful innocent gt experienced sophisticated
• Intuitive (Heart) gt Rational (Brain)
• Action gt Words
• Close to nature uncomfortable in city
• Uneasy with women (trying to tame them)
• e.g. Coopers Natty Bumppo
• Romantic Hero exists to this day Lone Ranger,
  Superman, Indiana Jones, etc., etc.

8
Example The Noble Savage

• Everything is good in leaving the hands of the
  Creator of Things everything degenerates in the
  hands of man.
• -Rousseau
• Idealized version of Native American as
  unspoiled, uncorrupted, close to nature
• E.g. Chingachgook and Uncas in Last of the
  Mohicans

9
Washington Irving(1783-1859)

• First big American literary celebrity
• Born and raised in America, but spent 17 years in
  England- loved European culture
• Especially German folk tales
• Thus Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van
  Winkle- European-style folk tale in American
  setting
• Voice is classically American Romantic- a mix of
  lofty, classical tone with earthy American
  characters and subject matter.

10
Romanticist Poetry

• The Fireside Poets
• Trying to prove American sophistication
• Generally kind of sappy, traditional themes
• Rigid, traditional structure (rhythm, ryhme)
• That being said
• Sometimes used to express political themes about
  abolition, Native American rights, etc.