The American Renaissance:

1. The American Renaissance: A Literary “Coming of Age”

2. 1840-1860 • An explosion of literary genius appeared in America • For the first time, American writers no longer looked to the British as the literary trend-setters • Many of the most famous writers to emerge during this time period lived in the same town (Concord, Massachusetts)

3. Two Groups of Writers Emerged: • The Transcendentalists • The Dark Romantics

4. Transcendentalists believed: --In the “perfectibility” of man --In “utopias” --That nature was a doorway to a mystical world holding important truths --God was found in nature --That to determine the ultimate reality of God, one had to “transcend” or “go above” everyday experience

5. Famous Transcendentalists: • Ralph Waldo Emerson • Henry David Thoreau • Bronson Alcott (father of Louisa May Alcott)

6. Ralph Waldo Emerson: • A popular Lyceum lecturer (educational lectures were given at the “Lyceum,” in New England) • Once stated, “Every natural fact is a symbol of some spiritual fact” • Promoted education reform, women’s rights, and the abolition of slavery • Once described himself as a “transparent eyeball”

7. Henry David Thoreau: • Lived near Ralph Waldo Emerson in Concord, MA and looked to him as a mentor • Famous for Walden, a book that described when he lived self-sufficiently for two years on Walden Pond (a large lake in Concord) in a cabin that he built for himself • Also famous for “Resistance to Civil Government,” which he wrote after being arrested and thrown in jail for a night for refusing to pay a poll tax. • Died of tuberculosis, the dread disease of the time period

8. Bronson Alcott: • Well-known educational reformer; often viewed as “radical” for his teaching concepts • Founded “Fruitlands,” a Utopia for writers • Father of Louisa May Alcott (who became famous for Little Women and other novels. She recalled nearly starving to death as a child at the Fruitlands experiment)

9. The Dark Romantics: • Believed that mankind had a darker side • Explored the conflict between good and evil • Addressed the psychological effects of guilt, sin, madness, and insanity • Saw the horror of evil

10. Famous Dark Romantics: • Nathaniel Hawthorne • Herman Melville • Edgar Allan Poe

11. Nathaniel Hawthorne: • Most famous for The Scarlet Letter • Used the theme of “guilt” and its effects in nearly all of his major works • Wrote about man’s “dark side” • Was a direct descendant of Judge Hathorne in the Salem Witch Trials; Hawthorne changed the spelling of the last name to distance himself from the judge • Met Herman Melville on a literary picnic

12. Herman Melville: Sailed the world as a young man on several whaling ships • Experienced early writing success with Typee, Redburn, and Whitejacket • Was considered an American “sex symbol” • Felt an immediate connection with Hawthorne and felt that Hawthorne had “exposed him to the power of blackness” within men • Viewed Hawthorne as “America’s Shakespeare” • Dedicated Moby Dick to Hawthorne

13. Edgar Allan Poe: • Orphaned at age three • Lived with the Allans, a Southern couple with no children • Attended the University of Virginia, but dropped out • At age twenty-six, he married his twelve-year-old cousin • As an adult, he was plagued with misfortunes as many loved-ones died of tuberculosis • Most famous for his poem “The Raven,” (for which he received only $14) and for numerous short stories that explored insanity and guilt • Invented the “detective” story • Died under mysterious circumstances in Baltimore, MD; modern theorists believe he actually had rabies

14. Concord, Massachusetts: • Home to Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne, Bronson Alcott, and Louisa May Alcott • All are buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in that town • It is not known if Poe ever met any of the “Writers of Concord”

15. Of Interest: • Poe’s Signature: