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American Romanticism

American Romanticism. 1800 - 1860. Write a brief description of what it means to be “romantic”. Is this romantic?. Actually, in American literature THIS is Romantic. Do these pictures have anything in common?. Yes, look again…. Intense emotions Remote setting (time and place)

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American Romanticism

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  1. American Romanticism 1800 - 1860

  2. Write a brief description of what it means to be “romantic”

  3. Is this romantic?

  4. Actually, in American literature THIS is Romantic

  5. Do these pictures have anything in common?

  6. Yes, look again… • Intense emotions • Remote setting (time and place) • Engages the imagination • Intense emotions • Remote setting (time) • Engages the imagination.

  7. Introduction • The “logical” view of the Rationalists (Revolutionary War) writers was replaced by the Romantic view • Rationalists saw cities as a place to find success and self-realization • Romantics saw the city as a place of moral corruption, poverty, and death

  8. The Romantic Sensibility • Values feeling and intuition over reason • Views life as we would like it to be, rather than how it really is • A reaction against Rationalism

  9. The Romantic Sensibility • The development of slums and poverty due to the Industrial Revolution turned people from Rationalism • Romantics believed that imagination, emotion, spontaneity, feelings, and nature were more important than rational thought

  10. Characteristics of Romanticism • values feelings over reason • values the power of the imagination • seeks the beauty of unspoiled nature • values individual freedom • values the lessons of the past • finds beauty in exotic locales and the supernatural • values poetry as the highest expression of the imagination • values myth, legend, and folk culture

  11. Gothic Romanticism • Wild, haunted landscapes • Supernatural events in the plot • Often mysterious • Edgar Allan Poe was Romanticism’s great American writer

  12. Romantic Idealism • Used lyrical poetry as a means to contemplate the beauty of nature • Focused on simple natural beauties • Sought truth through a calm contemplation of a simple natural beauty • Saw God’s presence in nature

  13. American Romantic Poetry • Most Romantic poets worked within conventional European literary structures • They proved that American poetry could reflect American subject matter, yet still hold to conventional poetic style • Most American Romantic poets wrote about the past

  14. American Romantic Poetry • The Fireside Poets, a Boston group of Longfellow, Bryant, Whittier, Holmes, and Lowell, were widely read and loved in America • They were the TV of the American Romantic period and families gathered around the fireside to be entertained by their poetry • Their subject matter was comfortable and instructional

  15. The New American Hero • American Romantic literature created this unique person • he was youthful • he was innocent • he was intuitive • he was one with nature • he was a loner – uneasy around women • he was handsome • he was brave • he was moral and honorable

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