Part-3-American-Romanticism

Chapter3:TheliteratureofRomanticismAmericanRomanticismTheRomanticPeriod,oneofthemostimportantperiodsinthehistoryofAmericanliterature,stretchesfromtheendofthe18thcenturytotheoutbreakoftheCivilWar.2originItstretchesfromtheendofthe18thcenturytotheoutbreakoftheCivilWar.startedwiththepublicationofWashingtonIrving'sTheSketchBookendedwithWhitman'sLeavesofGrass.6BackgroundsofAmericanRomanticismNationalinfluencesInternationalinfluencesNationalInfluencesA.Inpolitics:democracyandpoliticalequalitylaythefoundationofRomanticism;B.Ineconomics:thespreadofindustrialism;thesuddeninfluxofimmigrationandthepioneerspushingthefrontierfurtherwest;C.Inculture:thepublicationofWebster’sDictionarymarkedthebeginningoftheAmericanEnglish;theappearanceofmanymagazinesandnewspapers.7InternationalInfluencesA.RomanticMovementinEnglandandEuropeprovedtobeadecisiveinfluence;B.ManyEnglishandEuropeanmastersofpoetryandprosemadestimulatingimpactonAmericanRomanticism.1).WalterScott:Waverlynovels,TheLadyoftheLake2).Byron:Orientalromances3).Gothictradition,thecultofsolitudeandofgloom8RomanticismTheterm,Romanticism,isassociatedwithimaginationandboundlessness,ascontrastedwithclassicism,whichiscommonlyassociatedwithreasonandrestriction.Themostprofoundandcomprehensiveideaofromanticismisthevisionofagreaterpersonalfreedomfortheindividual.9DetailedInformationaboutRomanticismA.Romanticismwasamovementinliterature,philosophy,musicandartwhichdevelopedinEuropeinthelate18thandearly19thcenturies;B.ItemphasizedindividualvaluesandaspirationsabovethoseofsocietyasareactiontotheIndustrialRevolution;C.ItlookedtotheMiddleAgesandtodirectcontactwithnatureforinspiration;D.Itgaveimpetustothenationalliberationmovementin19th-centuryEurope.10AmericanRomanticism1.ItstartedwiththepublicationofWashingtonIrving'sTheSketchBook（1819）andendedwithWhitman'sLeavesofGrass（1855）;2.Itwasarebellionagainsttheobjectivityofrationalism.Forromantics,thefeelings,intuitionsandemotionsweremoreimportantthanreasonandcommonsense;3.Thewritersemphasizedindividualism,placingtheindividualagainstthegroup.Theyaffirmedtheinnerlifeoftheself,andcherishedstronginterestinthepast,thewild,theremote,themysteriousandthestrange.11AmericanRomanticism4.thewritersstressedtheelementof“Amerianness”intheirworks;5.BeingaperiodofthegreatfloweringofAmericanliterature,itisalsocalledtheAmericanRenaissance;6.AmericanRomanticismis,inacertainway,derivative.12AmericanRenaissanceItisalsocalledNewEnglandRenaissance.ItisaperiodofthegreatfloweringofAmericanliterature,fromthe1830sroughlyuntiltheendoftheAmericanCivilWar.Itcameofageasanexpressionofanationalspirit——nationalism.OneofthemostimportantinfluencesintheperiodwasthatoftheTranscendentalism,mainlyfromRalphWaldoEmerson,HenryDavidThoreau.13CharacteristicsofAmericanRomanticismI.TheAmericannationalexperienceofpioneeringintothewestprovedtobearichsourceofmaterialforAmericanwriterstodrawupon.TheycelebratedAmerica'slandscapewithitsvirginforests,meadows,groves,endlessprairies,streams,andvastoceans.Thewildernesscametofunctionalmostasadramaticcharacterthatsymbolizedmorallaw.14characteristicsofAmericanRomanticismcharacteristicsofAmericanRomanticismII.AmericanPuritanismasaculturalheritageexertedgreatinfluencesoverAmericanRomanticism:1.AmericanromanticwriterstendedmoretomoralizethantheirEnglishandEuropeancounterparts.2.apreoccupationwiththeCalvinisticviewoforiginalsinandthemysteryofevilmarkedtheworksofHawthorne,Melvilleandahostoflesserwriters.characteristicsofAmericanRomanticism3.WiththegrowthofAmericannationalconsciousness,Americancharactertypesspeakinglocaldialectsappearedinpoetryandfictionwithincreasingfrequency.4.NewEnglandTranscendentalismisthemotclearlydefinedRomanticliterarymovementinthisperiod.DistinctFeatureofAmericanRomanticism1.Itwastheexpressionof“arealnewexperience”;2.IttendedtobedidacticbecauseofPuritaninfluence;3.Itwasbothimitativeandindependent18DistinctFeatureofAmericanRomanticism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-knownarepoetssuchasPhilipFreneau,WilliamCullenBryant,HenryWordsworthLongFellow,JamesRusselLowell,JohnGreenleafWhitter,EdgarEllenPoe,and,especially,WaltWhitman,whoseLeavesOfGrassestablishedhimasthemostpopularAmericanpoetofthe19thcentury.21MajorwritersoftheromanticperiodThefictionoftheAmericanRomanticperiodisanoriginalanddiversebodyofwork.ItrangesfromthecomicfablesofWashingtonIrvingtotheGothictalesofEdgarAllenPoe,fromthefrontieradventuresofJamesFenimoreCoopertothenarrativequestsofHermanMelville,fromthepsycho1ogicalromancesofNathanielHawthornet