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The American Romanticism Era: Embracing Nature, History, and Inner Worlds

Explore how American literature transitioned from Classicism to Romanticism, focusing on emotions, intuition, and nature. Discover how writers like Poe, Hawthorne, and Whitman emphasized the individual's spiritual growth and societal progress during this transformative period. Delve into the characteristic subjects of nature, the past, and the inner world of human nature that defined this shift in literary expression.

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The American Romanticism Era: Embracing Nature, History, and Inner Worlds

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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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