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American Romanticism

American Romanticism. Enter imagination. Shift from Classicism to Romanticism. Classicism = the belief that reason dominates nature and human nature & both are ruled by fixed and unchanging laws The United States came together as a nation during this period (Classicism = roughly 1750-1850)

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American Romanticism

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  1. American Romanticism Enter imagination

  2. Shift from Classicism to Romanticism • Classicism = the belief that reason dominates nature and human nature & both are ruled by fixed and unchanging laws • The United States came together as a nation during this period (Classicism = roughly 1750-1850) • Well known Classicists: • Thomas Paine • Ben Franklin • Patrick Henry

  3. A Period of Great Cultural Change • Romanticism focused on emotions and the individual • Writers in this time period (roughly 1830-1870) emphasized… • Intuition • Imagination • Human potential for social progress and spiritual growth • The Humanitarian Reform was a mark of this time period

  4. Well-known Romanticists Edgar Allan Poe Nathaniel Hawthorne Walt Whitman Herman Melville Washington Irving Harriet Beecher Stowe Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

  5. Characteristic Subject: Nature • Nature: beauty, strangeness, & the mystery of nature • Washington Irving, author of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” & “Rip Van Winkle,” explored nature through legend and folklore • James Fennimore Cooper (1st major American novelist), author of Last of the Mohicans, explored nature on the frontier • He created the 1st national literary hero, Natty Bumppo • Edgar Allan Poe explored nature in the depths of his imagination

  6. Characteristic Subject: The Past • The Past: rise in nationalism = interest in American past • Irving and Cooper deal with the past directly • Irving uses legend and folklore as history • Cooper wrote about great historical events: Revolution, Indian border wars, & the conquest of the wilderness

  7. Characteristic Subject: Inner World of Human Nature • Inner World of Human Nature: emotion, intuition, individual, & exploration of the private inner being • William Cullen Bryant (poet) focuses in the inward observations and psychological reactions of people to aspects of life • Poe takes exploration of the inner self to great depths

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