Chapter 3 Romanticism, Irving, Cooper

Chapter3:TheliteratureofRomanticismAmericanRomanticismTheRomanticPeriod,oneofthemostimportantperiodsinthehistoryofAmericanliterature,stretchesfromtheendofthe18thcenturytotheoutbreakoftheCivilWar.2originItstretchesfromtheendofthe18thcenturytotheoutbreakoftheCivilWar.startedwiththepublicationofWashingtonIrving'sTheSketchBookendedwithWhitman'sLeavesofGrass.4BackgroundsofAmericanRomanticismNationalinfluencesInternationalinfluencesNationalInfluencesA.Inpolitics:democracyandpoliticalequalitylaythefoundationofRomanticism;B.Ineconomics:thespreadofindustrialism;thesuddeninfluxofimmigrationandthepioneerspushingthefrontierfurtherwest;C.Inculture:thepublicationofWebster’sDictionarymarkedthebeginningoftheAmericanEnglish;theappearanceofmanymagazinesandnewspapers.5InternationalInfluencesA.RomanticMovementinEnglandandEuropeprovedtobeadecisiveinfluence;B.ManyEnglishandEuropeanmastersofpoetryandprosemadestimulatingimpactonAmericanRomanticism.1).WalterScott:Waverlynovels,TheLadyoftheLake2).Byron:Orientalromances3).Gothictradition,thecultofsolitudeandofgloom6RomanticismTheterm,Romanticism,isassociatedwithimaginationandboundlessness,ascontrastedwithclassicism,whichiscommonlyassociatedwithreasonandrestriction.Themostprofoundandcomprehensiveideaofromanticismisthevisionofagreaterpersonalfreedomfortheindividual.7DetailedInformationaboutRomanticismA.Romanticismwasamovementinliterature,philosophy,musicandartwhichdevelopedinEuropeinthelate18thandearly19thcenturies;B.ItemphasizedindividualvaluesandaspirationsabovethoseofsocietyasareactiontotheIndustrialRevolution;C.ItlookedtotheMiddleAgesandtodirectcontactwithnatureforinspiration;D.Itgaveimpetustothenationalliberationmovementin19th-centuryEurope.8AmericanRomanticism1.ItstartedwiththepublicationofWashingtonIrving'sTheSketchBook（1819）andendedwithWhitman'sLeavesofGrass（1855）;2.Itwasarebellionagainsttheobjectivityofrationalism.Forromantics,thefeelings,intuitionsandemotionsweremoreimportantthanreasonandcommonsense;3.Thewritersemphasizedindividualism,placingtheindividualagainstthegroup.Theyaffirmedtheinnerlifeoftheself,andcherishedstronginterestinthepast,thewild,theremote,themysteriousandthestrange.9AmericanRomanticism4.thewritersstressedtheelementof“Americanness”intheirworks;5.BeingaperiodofthegreatfloweringofAmericanliterature,itisalsocalledtheAmericanRenaissance;6.AmericanRomanticismis,inacertainway,derivative.10GeneralfeaturesofRomanticismA.StressingemotionratherthanreasonB.Stressingfreedomandindividuality(个性)C.IdealismratherthanmaterialismD.Writingaboutnature,medievallegends(中世纪传奇)andwithsupernaturalelementsAmericanRenaissanceItisalsocalledNewEnglandRenaissance.ItisaperiodofthegreatfloweringofAmericanliterature,fromthe1830sroughlyuntiltheendoftheAmericanCivilWar.Itcameofageasanexpressionofanationalspirit——nationalism.OneofthemostimportantinfluencesintheperiodwasthatoftheTranscendentalism,mainlyfromRalphWaldoEmerson,HenryDavidThoreau.12CharacteristicsofAmericanRomanticismI.TheAmericannationalexperienceofpioneeringintothewestprovedtobearichsourceofmaterialforAmericanwriterstodrawupon.TheycelebratedAmerica'slandscapewithitsvirginforests,meadows,groves,endlessprairies,streams,andvastoceans.Thewildernesscametofunctionalmostasadramaticcharacterthatsymbolizedmorallaw.13CharacteristicsofAmericanRomanticismII.AmericanPuritanismasaculturalheritageexertedgreatinfluencesoverAmericanRomanticism:1.AmericanromanticwriterstendedmoretomoralizethantheirEnglishandEuropeancounterparts.2.apreoccupationwiththeCalvinisticviewoforiginalsinandthemysteryofevilmarkedtheworksofHawthorne,Melvilleandahostoflesserwriters.CharacteristicsofAmericanRomanticism3.WiththegrowthofAmericannationalconsciousness,Americancharactertypesspeakinglocaldialectsappearedinpoetryandfictionwithincreasingfrequency.4.NewEnglandTranscendentalismisthemostclearlydefinedRomanticliterarymovementinthisperiod.DistinctFeatureofAmericanRomanticism1.Itwastheexpressionof“arealnewexperience”;2.IttendedtobedidacticbecauseofPuritaninfluence;3.Itwasbothimitativeandindependent16DistinctFeatureofAmericanRomanticismThemes:home,familyandchildren,nature,idealizedlove;apathytomajorproblemsofAmericanlifeTechnique:traditionalmetersandstanzaforms,BritishEnglish,stereotypedmetaphors,explicitandsuperficialsymbolismMajorwritersofthisperiodPoets:HenryWordsworthLongfellow,EdgarEllenPoe,WaltWhitman,EmilyDickinsonFiction:WashingtonIrving--comicfablesJamesFenimoreCooper--frontieradventuresNathanielHawthorne--psychologicalromancesEdgarAllenPoe--GothictalesMajorwritersoftheromanticperiodThereemergedagreathostofmenoflettersduringthisperiod,amongwhomthebetter-knownarepoetssuchasWilliamCullenBryant,HenryWordsworthLongFellow,JamesRusselLowell,JohnGreenleafWhitter,EdgarEllenPoe,and,especially,WaltWhitman,whoseLeavesOfGrassestablishedhimasthemostpopularAmericanpoetofthe19thcentury.19MajorwritersoftheromanticperiodThefictionoftheAmericanRomanticperiodisanoriginalanddiversebodyofwork.ItrangesfromthecomicfablesofWashingtonIrvingtotheGoth