English 11 January 14, 2014

Agenda - 1/14/2014

If you could have a party before you die, who would you invite? Why?

Writing Prompt – Party Time 1/14/2014

Dark Romanticism/ Anti-Transcendentalism

Before we begin, let us review some of the major tenets of Romanticism.

• Intuition is favored over reason • Focus on the imagination, emotional intensity, spontaneity, the

individual, freedom, and nature as a source of escapism and spirituality

• Romantic heroes are usually “common” men who will often journey away from the “corruption” of civilization and seek truth in nature

• Helped instill proper gender behavior for men and women • Romantic texts often contain elements of the supernatural or

mysterious (dreams, visions, ghosts, irrational/absurd plot points with no explanation, etc.)

• Romantics believed in the natural goodness of man; that man in a state of nature would behave well, but is hindered by civilization

Dark Romanticism • Dark romanticism is a literary subgenre that emerged from the Transcendental

philosophical movement popular in America from about 1836 through the 1840’s. Works in the dark romantic spirit were influenced by Transcendentalism, but did not entirely embrace the ideas of Transcendentalism. Dark Romantic works are notably less optimistic than Transcendental texts about mankind, nature, and divinity. Authors considered most representative of dark romanticism are Edgar Allan Poe (“The Raven”, Masque of the Red Death) and Nathaniel Hawthorne (The Scarlet Letter)

• The following are some basic tenets of the Dark Romantic literary movement: 1. Dark Romantics are much less confident about the notion perfection is an innate

quality of mankind, as believed by Transcendentalists. Subsequently, Dark Romantics present individuals as prone to sin and self-destruction, not as inherently possessing divinity and wisdom.

2. While both groups believe nature is a deeply spiritual force, Dark Romanticism views it in a much more sinister light than does Transcendentalism, which sees nature as a divine and universal organic mediator. For these Dark Romantics, the natural world is dark, decaying, and mysterious; when it does reveal truth to man, its revelations are evil and hellish.

3. Whereas Transcendentalists advocate social reform when appropriate, works of Dark Romanticism frequently show individuals failing in their attempts to make changes for the better.

Transcendentalism

Here is a quick review of the Transcendentalist philosophy:

• Transcendentalists believed that everyone was absolutely pure and that each individual is a part of God.

• Transcendentalists believed that people's thoughts and intuition were the voice of God.

• Transcendentalists did not believe in institutions like government because they thought the individual human mind was the strongest power in the universe.

• Transcendentalists would be concerned with questions such as: Are all people good? Is the voice inside people's heads the pure voice of God?

Dark Romanticism/ Anti-Transcendentalism

• The Dark Romantics were the forefathers to the modern horror, thriller, and mystery stories. Poe and Hawthorne added drastically different perspectives from those of the Transcendentalists, which is why Dark Romantics are often called Anti-Transcendentalists.

• Their views of human existence and strong use of symbolism made them stand apart from Transcendentalists like Emerson and Thoreau. They examined the psychological effects of guilt and sin, the conflict between good and evil, and people plagued with madness. They agreed that human nature is not necessarily good.

• The Dark Romantics believed that the Transcendentalists ignored the darker side of humanity, so they sought to show their readers what was otherwise ignored or hidden. They did this through dark tales of obsession, revenge, shame, and madness. Their views and styles helped shape American literature.

Dark Romanticism/ Anti-Transcendentalism

• The master of the psychological thriller was Edgar Allen Poe. He filled his stories with grotesque details like people buried alive, decaying mansions, strange mental illnesses, and a raven that torments a madman. He wrote about the darkness of the human mind and characters who were plagued with madness and dementia. His purpose behind his morbid tales was to take the reader beyond the normal, everyday, rational world and into the dark recesses of the human mind. – In "The Raven", Poe writes of a grief-stricken man who

has seemed to have lost touch with reality. – Gothic details like the rapping on the door and the

raven's eerie presence set a mood of fear.

Where does Edgar Allen Poe fit in? • Although often considered a

Dark Romantic, Poe can be viewed more as a Gothic writer.

• Poe’s works strongly represent Gothic elements more so than valuing intuition over reason or examining the natural world for God and spiritual truths.

Gothic Literature…

Settings- include large, drafty old houses that have "been in the family for years."

Gothic Literature • Atmosphere of

mystery and suspense

• A ghostly legend, an unexplainable occurrence, or a story about a horrible death or murder .

• DICTION – Words designed to evoke

images of gloom and doom: dark, foreboding, forbidding, ghostly, etc.

Gothic Literature • Omens,

foreshadowing, and dreams usually play a large role in the mysterious air that is created within the story.

• Supernatural events: ghosts, doors that open themselves, unexplained sounds, etc.

Gothic Literature • Includes highly

charged emotional states like: terror, a feeling that one is on the brink of insanity, anger, agitation, an exaggerated feeling of some impending doom, and obsessive love.

Gothic Literature • Damsels in distress

are frequent. • Women who are

frightened and confused, wandering around lost, or dying due to a slow and unexplainable ailment.

Gothic Literature • Romantic themes often

involve the death of a man or woman in the throes of some great passion, the obsessive nature of a man or woman in love, or excessive grief one feels upon the loss of a loved one.

Edgar Allan Poe 1809-1849

• Poe was born in Boston, the son of traveling actors. The beginnings of his unhappy life were marked by his father's desertion of the family, followed by the death of his mother when he was two years old. The orphaned Poe was taken in by John and Frances Allan of Virginia.

Edgar Allan Poe 1809-1849

• After being expelled from West Point, Poe looked for work as a journalist and wrote literary reviews, but money was scarce. Poverty intensified his despair when his beloved wife, Virginia, died following a long illness. Deeply depressed, Poe died two years later after being found on the streets of Baltimore, sick, delirious, and, in his doctor's words, "haggard, not to say bloated, and unwashed.“

Edgar Allan Poe 1809-1849

• Many critics credit Poe with the invention of the detective story. His classic tales include "The Masque of the Red Death," "The Pit and the Pendulum," "The God Bug," and "The Purloined Letter."

Literary Devices

• Imagery - A descriptive language that evokes a sensory experience.

• Symbolism - The practice of representing things by means of symbols or of attributing symbolic meanings or significance to objects, events, or relationships.

• Alliteration - the repetition of consonant sounds, usually at the beginning of words.

• Assonance - the repetition of vowel sounds, usually within words.

• Internal rhyme - the rhyming of words within a line of poetry, not just at the end of the lines.

Edgar Allen Poe – “The Raven”

What word/words do you associate with this bird? When you have your word, come write it on the board!

Edgar Allen Poe – “The Raven”

• Interactive Raven: – http://www.teachersfirst.com/lessons/raven/start

.cfm

“The Raven” Audio

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BefliMlEzZ8

“The Raven” – Simpsons Version

• http://dotsub.com/view/58591756-7128-488c-bfe9-22463d46d907

• http://www.yourenglishclass.com/the-simpsons-raven/