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American Romanticism: 1800-1860. Light Romanticism, Dark Romanticism, Transcendentalism. Romanticism as a Journey. Away from Corruption of civilization Limits of rational thought. Romanticism as a Journey. Toward Integrity of nature Freedom of imagination. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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American Romanticism: 1800-1860Light Romanticism, Dark Romanticism, Transcendentalism
Romanticism as a JourneyAway from
Corruption of civilization
Limits of rational thought
Romanticism as a JourneyToward
Integrity of nature Freedom of
imagination
Source The Deerslayer N. C. Wyeth
Which are you?Romantic• Intuitive• Nature-
loving
Rational• Practical• Worldly
Imagination
Beauty
Truth
Big Ideas of Romanticism
Intuition Experience Individual Nature Ideal
source: Skipp, Francis in American Literature
Characteristics of American Romanticism Values feeling over reason Places faith in inner experience and
imagination Shuns artificiality of civilization; seeks
unspoiled nature Prefers youthful innocence to educated
sophistication Emphasizes individual freedom and worth Believes nature’s beauty can lead to
spiritual an moral developmentElements of Literature (145)
Characteristics of American Romanticism Looks backward to the wisdom of past
and distrusts progress Finds beauty and truth in
Exotic locales Supernatural realm Inner world of the imagination
Sees poetry as the highest expression of the imagination
Finds inspiration in myth, legend, and folk culture
Elements of Literature (145)
A New Hero Young or youthful Innocent and pure of purpose Sense of honor based on principle
higher than society’s rules Understanding of the world is intuitive,
not based on formal learning Loves nature Quests for higher truth in the natural
world
Elements of Literature 149
LegacyLasting Effects of American Romanticism Humanitarian reform
Abolitionism Feminism
Liberal religious movements Unitariansim Universalism
Economic experiments Communal living (Brook Farm, New Harmony)
James D. Hart, The Oxford Companion to American Literature, 6th ed. (572).
Dark Romanticism Nathaniel Hawthorne
“The Birthmark” (packet 131) “Dr. Heidegger's Experiment” (packet
124) Washington Irving
“Devil and Tom Walker” (packet 93)
Focus on the inherent inner darkness of humans, the perverseness of spirit,
and the flaw of the universe.
Light Romanticism Emily Dickinson
“Some Keep the Sabbath Going to Church” Walt Whitman
“Learn'd Astronomer” Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Each & All” Focus on the inherent inner light of humans, the beauty
of nature, and the perfection of the universe.
Quiz: “The Birthmark” In a well-developed paragraph(s),
discuss the four elements of dark romanticism. Use examples from “The Birthmark” to explain and further your analysis.
Quiz is worth 25 points.
Transcendentalism Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Self Reliance” (packet 67) “Each and All” (packet 66)
Henry David Thoreau “Civil Disobedience” (packet 69) Walden
Solitude (packet 80) Conclusion (packet 84)
Built on the idea of the inner light, but believed that this was the divine spark, that humans carry God inside us. And because we all carry the divine, we are all capable of
perfection.
Transcendentalism Immanuel Kant“…concerned not with objects but with our mode of knowing objects."
source
Transcendental Beliefs the spark of divinity lies within man; everything in the world is a microcosm of
existence the individual soul is identical to the world soul
(Emerson’s Over-Soul)
By meditation, by communing with nature, through work and art, man could transcend his senses and attain an understanding of
beauty and goodness and truth.
source
Transcendentalists Belief in the Inner Light Authority of
Self Walt Whitman's I Ralph Waldo Emerson’s doctrine of Self-
Reliance Henry David Thoreau's civil
disobedience, Utopian communities at Brook Farm
source
Hudson River Painters
Art as an agent of moral and spiritual transformation
Kindred Spirits, Asher B. Durand, 1849