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Quickwrite. When you hear the term “American Romanticism” what images do you think of? What do you think the literature of this period will be like and what will it be about? Take 5 minutes to jot down your notes for discussion. American Romanticism. Literary Period 1800-1860.
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Quickwrite When you hear the term “American Romanticism” what images do you think of? What do you think the literature of this period will be like and what will it be about? Take 5 minutes to jot down your notes for discussion.
American Romanticism Literary Period 1800-1860
Genres Represented Character Sketches Slave Narratives Poetry Short Stories
Philosophy • Influenced by European Romanticism and Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason • Romanticism is a reaction against the ideal of pure reason representative in the Enlightenment period. Romantics Puritans Deists
Emerging Ideas Deists believe that truth is found in nature and the scientific method. Romantics believe that the site of knowledge is the individual and think that there is higher truth above the material world. “Allegory of the Cave” Material Reality is imperfect – a higher reality exists because it can be imagined and comes through inspiration.
Inspiration & Imagination The ideal is supreme, and can apply to love, nobility, bravery, comradeship, or terror. The individual is inspired by nature, activating the imagination, which leads to the ideal. Imagination Ideal Nature Individual Nature is deeper, purer, better, and the best place to stir imagination and elevate the soul.
Various Subjects • Since nature is a symbol of titanic forces, it is not reasonable when it acts. • Nature inspires both the beautiful and the awesome. • EXPERIENCE NATURE TO THE EXTREME! • Keats (English Poet) said, “Truth is Beauty. Beauty is Truth. That is all we need to know.” • True romantics (idealists) are madmen because they will not listen to reason. • Gothic is borne out of the romantics in that it creates a dangerous place where anything can happen, operating outside of expected laws.
American Individualism Romantics embrace the idea of individualism in that each person has their own ideal to achieve. Separated into two sects:
Transcendentalism (1840-1860s) Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay “Nature” is the basis for American Transcendentalism. God & Nature are in unity. Individuality & Self-Reliance Unlimited Human Potential Transcendentalists wanted to transcend the material world to the ideal (the oversoul). Both Emerson & Whitman see America as a symbol of the oversoul in practice in democracy.
Quickwrite: Poetry*handwrite on paper please Many students today balk at the idea of studying poetry. Is poetry something you enjoy or something you dread? Why do you think you have this opinion? What type of music do you enjoy listening to? Does it contain any “poetic” elements? Explain how popular music (or music you listen to) is similar to or different from poetry.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) Most popular American poet Longfellow endorsed values that were positive forces in the making of the American character His most celebrated poetry is based on American legends: Evangeline (1847); The Song of Hiawatha (1855) First American to be honored with inclusion in the Poet’s Corner in London’s Westminster Abbey
Key Poetry Terms Lyric Poetry: Poetry that does not tell a story but expresses the personal feelings or thoughts of the speaker. (Unlike Epic Poetry) Alliteration: The repetition of the same or similar consonant sounds in words that are close together. Assonance: The repetition of similar vowel sounds followed by different consonant sounds, especially in words close together. Consonance: The repetition of the same or similar final consonant sounds on accented syllables or in important words.
The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls • Literary Focus: Meter • Meter is a pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry. Meter gives poetry rhythm. You can hear the meter of a poem when you read it aloud. Stressed syllables are emphasized more than unstressed syllables. • Analyzing the meter of a poem is called scanning. You can use special marks to scan a poem. The stress mark () is placed over each stressed syllable. The “short” mark (˘) is placed over each unstressed syllable. • Along / the sea- / sands damp / and brown