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American Romanticism

American Romanticism. “The characteristic journey of the nineteenth century is the journey away from the city to the world of nature”. What is Romanticism?. It is not single thing- difficult to define A name given to a school of thought that considers the rational inferior to the intuitive

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American Romanticism

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  1. American Romanticism “The characteristic journey of the nineteenth century is the journey away from the city to the world of nature”

  2. What is Romanticism? • It is not single thing- difficult to define • A name given to a school of thought that considers the rational inferior to the intuitive • Imagination, spontaneity, individual feelings and nature were of greater value than reason, logic, planning and cultivation • A reaction against rationalism

  3. Romanticism • A movement that began in Europe developing distinct American characteristics out of our colonial past and the development of a new nation • Romantic sensibility sought to rise above “dull realities”: • Explored exotic settings, both past and present • Contemplated the natural world

  4. Countryside • Independence • Straightforward moral certainty • Health • The idea of the frontier takes on great importance. • This geography of the imagination-town, country, frontier- played a powerful role in American literature and life, and it continues to do so today.

  5. Values • The city was a place of moral ambiguity and corruption and death • The countryside became associated with independence, straightforward moral certainty, and health • This geography of the imagination-town, country, frontier-played a powerful role in American literature and life, and it continues to do so today.

  6. Washington Irving • One of the first New World Romantics • Depicted an escape from the constraints of civilization • The story of Rip Van Winkle makes him immortal • Rip is a do-nothing rather than a do-gooder- an anti-Franklin figure • While Franklin found freedom and prosperity through a journey to a great town, Rip’s most urgent efforts are directed toward escaping from town and the domestic concerns of his wife

  7. Rip Van Winkle • Irving’s story is whimsical fairy-tale, much of it borrowed from a German source • Attitudes and tendencies associated with American Romanticism • Distrust of “civilization” • A nostalgia for the past • A concern with individual freedom • An interest in the supernatural • A profound love for the beauties of the natural landscape

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