week 4 forum posting

Romanticism

(about 1820-1861)

Contrary to what you might think, the age of literary Romanticism has little to do with romance.

Romantic literature thrived in an era when the common rural existence was beginning to be replaced by the anonymity of city life.
Individuality was being replaced by a factory number with the rise of the industrialists.

The rise of the Industrialization led to great separation between classes.

Cities were expanding at alarming rates.

Factories were growing in number providing unsafe and tedious employment for little pay.

American Indians were being exterminated and forced onto reservations is mass numbers.

Trail of Tears (one third died because of the relocation.)

Slavery existed.

In the years before the Civil War great debates were fought over this issue.

In 1859 John Brown led a revolt. His target was the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia.

They would attack the arsenal at Harpers Ferry and capture the guns. Emboldened by the news, a spontaneous army of slaves would rush to join them. They would then drive south, and the revolution would snowball. Brown found 21 men to join him.

At first the raid went like clockwork. They cut telegraph wires, then easily captured the federal armory and arsenal, which was being defended by a lone watchman.

News of his raid made its way to Washington by late morning.

At noon, a company of militiamen stormed into town. They charged over the bridge, and the only true escape route was gone.

The next morning, the raiders gazed out on a chilling sight: the armory yard was lined with a company of U.S. Marines. They were completely surrounded.

One Marine tried to run Brown through, but the blade struck the old man’s belt buckle. Brown was then beaten unconscious. He was taken to Charlestown, Virginia along with four other captives. His statements during his trial reached the nation, inspiring many with his righteous indignation toward slavery. The hanging would make Brown an abolitionist martyr.

Gothicism – dark, horrific tales often involving mystery, madness, and sensationalism can be a common element.

Romanticism was interested in the psychology of the individual, as opposed to the traditions of mass civilization.

Major American Romantics

Transcendentalism is an important philosophical movement within American Romanticism:
Abstract notions of morality become important; self fulfillment or transcendence could only be achieved through individual discipline.
One must find “Truth” on his/her own, outside of tradition, government, religion, and society.
One must return to the simplicity of the present moment, specifically in nature, to obtain “Truth.” Nature served as a guide, a repository of physical, moral, and spiritual value capable of inspiring.
“Truth” must be found by the individual, but the individual will come to realize that “Truth” is universal.
Each person was capable of reaching a heightened spiritual state of transcendence.

Romantic literature is not what you would normally think of as romance.

What makes it romantic is the belief in idealism. There are many wrongs in the world, but they can be solved; humanity can reach a transcended state.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Considered the father of American Transcendentalism.

He is the thinker, whereas his counterparts may be the actors.

He appreciated nature’s value, the importance of self-reliance away from the pressures of government, society, tradition, and religion, and the intrinsic goodness of humanity.

Henry

David Thoreau

Thoreau was also very much a Transcendentalist.

Emerson was the thinker, and Thoreau has been labeled the concrete actor of Transcendentalism.

He was imprisoned for refusing to pay taxes in retaliation to the government; he also spoke out against the injustices done to the American Indians and slavery.

His most famous work is Walden, where he lived in isolation for over two years.

Walt Whitman

*Whitman answered Emerson’s call for a true American poet.

*Whitman loved Emerson and was an advocate of Transcendentalism, but it has been said that he found a new way to be a Transcendentalist.

*Whitman wrote about all the facets of American life, even the material most never thought of as poetry: prostitutes, slaves, American Indians, bodily functions, etc.

After suffering from severe depression, he stated that helping the wounded soldiers during the Civil War was the best thing he ever did in his life.

Emily Dickenson

Dickenson is on the cusp of Romanticism and Realism.
She often wrote about issues like death, morality, religion, depression, etc.
She lived most of her life sheltered in her room at her father’s house.
She wrote thousands of poems which were not published until her death.

Edgar

Allan

Poe

Poe is the epitome of American Gothicism.

Many of his poems deal with the death of his lost young wife, (who was his cousin).

Though he is a gothicist, there appears to be Transcendental themes in his works: “The Lake.”

His most famous works are: “The fall of the House of Usher,” “The Tell-tale Heart,” “The Raven,” “The Black Cat,” etc.

His death was shrouded in as much mystery as his works.

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Hawthorne spoke against Transcendentalism, though critics claim that much of his work utilizes its themes.

He is one of the first American psychological authors, delving into the inner dialogues of man’s morality.

Many of his works deal with how the individual battles the pressures of society.

His most famous works include: The Scarlett Letter, The Blithedale Romance, “Young Goodman Brown,” “Rappacini’s Daughter,” etc.

Herman Melville

Melville is also a very psychological writer, as well a socially conscious author.

He differs from Hawthorne in that Melville writes about concrete social ills: slavery, factory conditions, and women’s rights, whereas Hawthorne wrote about society as a whole in abstract terms.

Melville believed that the reader had a duty to work hard to understand the meaning of a text. Most people didn’t initially like Moby Dick because they thought it was too difficult.

His most famous works include: Moby Dick, Billy Budd, “Bartleby,” “Benito Cereno,” etc.