American RomanticismAmerican Romanticism

1800 - 18601800 - 1860

The theme of The theme of journeyjourney as a declaration of as a declaration of independenceindependence Bryant, Homes, Whittier, Longfellow, and Bryant, Homes, Whittier, Longfellow, and Lowell are Romantic poets also called the Lowell are Romantic poets also called the Fireside PoetsFireside Poets Irving is the Father of American FictionIrving is the Father of American Fiction Cooper is the Father of the American Cooper is the Father of the American novelnovel Poe is the inventor of the American Short Poe is the inventor of the American Short StoryStory

Emerson is the Father of American Emerson is the Father of American TranscendentalismTranscendentalism

Thoreau is a famous practical Thoreau is a famous practical transcendentalisttranscendentalist

Dickinson and Whitman are bridge poets Dickinson and Whitman are bridge poets between American Romanticism and the between American Romanticism and the 2020thth century century

The rationalistic view of urban life was The rationalistic view of urban life was replaced by the Romantic viewreplaced by the Romantic view

Rationalists saw cities as a place to find Rationalists saw cities as a place to find success and self-realizationsuccess and self-realization

Romantics saw the city as a place of Romantics saw the city as a place of moral corruption, poverty, and deathmoral corruption, poverty, and death

The Romantic SensibilityThe Romantic Sensibility

Romanticism: valuing feeling and intuition Romanticism: valuing feeling and intuition over reasonover reason

Romanticism: viewing life as we would Romanticism: viewing life as we would like it to be, rather than how it really islike it to be, rather than how it really is

Romanticism began in Germany and Romanticism began in Germany and influenced literature, music, and artinfluenced literature, music, and art

Romanticism is a reaction against Romanticism is a reaction against RationalismRationalism

The Romantic SensibilityThe Romantic Sensibility

The development of slums and poverty The development of slums and poverty due to the Industrial Revolution turned due to the Industrial Revolution turned people from Rationalismpeople from Rationalism

Romantics believed that imagination, Romantics believed that imagination, emotion, spontaneity, feelings, and nature emotion, spontaneity, feelings, and nature were more important than rational thoughtwere more important than rational thought

Characteristics of RomanticismCharacteristics of Romanticism

values feelings over intuitionvalues feelings over intuition values the power of the imaginationvalues the power of the imagination seeks the beauty of unspoiled natureseeks the beauty of unspoiled nature values youthful innocencevalues youthful innocence values individual freedomvalues individual freedom values the lessons of the pastvalues the lessons of the past finds beauty in exotic locales, the supernatural, finds beauty in exotic locales, the supernatural, and in the imaginationand in the imagination values poetry as the highest expression of the values poetry as the highest expression of the imaginationimagination values myth, legend, and folk culturevalues myth, legend, and folk culture

Romantic EscapismRomantic Escapism

The Gothic novel had wild, haunted The Gothic novel had wild, haunted landscapeslandscapes

It had supernatural events in the plotIt had supernatural events in the plot

It was often mysteriousIt was often mysterious

The Gothic concept had roots in France, The Gothic concept had roots in France, Germany, and EnglandGermany, and England

Edgar Allan Poe was Romanticism’s great Edgar Allan Poe was Romanticism’s great American writerAmerican writer

American Romantic PoetryAmerican Romantic Poetry

Most Romantic poets worked within Most Romantic poets worked within conventional European literary structuresconventional European literary structures

They proved that American poetry could They proved that American poetry could reflect American subject matter, yet still reflect American subject matter, yet still hold to conventional poetic stylehold to conventional poetic style

Most American Romantic poets wrote Most American Romantic poets wrote about the pastabout the past

American Romantic PoetryAmerican Romantic Poetry

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