American Romanticism

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