The Romantic Period---(1830-1870)
Introduction:
The Romantic
Period of literature was a period that started as a reaction to the Age of
Enlightenment and Puritanism. It actually began in the late 1700's in Europe but didn't start making its characteristics evident and discernable in American literature until about 1830.
Romantic literature embraced the individual and dealt with human impulse and intuition. It held that people were inherently good and that people had the ability to create the world in their minds. A defining trait of the Romantic era was that creativity was more highly valued over logic, seeing that people wanted to be free from thinking logically, and instead think fantastically. Romantic literature was also inspired by the awe of nature and taught that everyone is connected to the world. Its literature inspired people, rather than striking the fear of God into their hearts. Poetry was also popular during this era, such as that written by Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman.
During this time period was when America came of age and became mature both culturally and literarily. During this time, the nation's capital was moved to Washington D.C. and in that city, the Library of Congress, the first cultural institution in the capital, became a storehouse for creativity. Romanticism in America manifested itself either through a Gothic, dark side of nature, or a Transcendental, hopeful side of nature.
Gothic literature was literature where imagination led its authors to the threshold of the unknown, which was a shadowy region where the fantastic, demonic, and insane became manifest. Gothics saw the potential of evil in the individual. Edgar Allan Poe was the master of the Gothic form in the United States, as most of his works' literary elements contributed to the single effect of fear and disturbing ambiguity. Other notable authors who used Gothic elements in their works are Nathaniel Hawthorne, Washington Irving, and Herman Melville.
Transcendentalism was a more direct American offshoot of Romanticism than Gothic literature was. Transcendentalism held that: human senses are limited and that deeper truths came through intuition, the observation of weather illuminates the nature of human beings, and that God, nature, and humanity are united in a shared universal soul. In transcendental works, a person would reach a spiritual state where they would "transcend" the physical. Ralph Waldo Emerson is credited with having been to first express this philosophy during this era. He has most notably written "I become a transparent eyeball; I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or parcel of God" in his most famous work "Nature." He and Henry David Thoreau were among the most famous authors to portray the premises of transcendentalism in their works, which are: the individual is the center of the universe, all knowledge begins with self-knowledge, nature is alive and symbolic, and that one should be self-reliant.
Both Transcendentalism and Gothic literature reflect Romanticism as they both deal with the importance of the individual and nature. Both genres help illuminate the importance of the individual in connection to the world.
Romantic literature embraced the individual and dealt with human impulse and intuition. It held that people were inherently good and that people had the ability to create the world in their minds. A defining trait of the Romantic era was that creativity was more highly valued over logic, seeing that people wanted to be free from thinking logically, and instead think fantastically. Romantic literature was also inspired by the awe of nature and taught that everyone is connected to the world. Its literature inspired people, rather than striking the fear of God into their hearts. Poetry was also popular during this era, such as that written by Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman.
During this time period was when America came of age and became mature both culturally and literarily. During this time, the nation's capital was moved to Washington D.C. and in that city, the Library of Congress, the first cultural institution in the capital, became a storehouse for creativity. Romanticism in America manifested itself either through a Gothic, dark side of nature, or a Transcendental, hopeful side of nature.
Gothic literature was literature where imagination led its authors to the threshold of the unknown, which was a shadowy region where the fantastic, demonic, and insane became manifest. Gothics saw the potential of evil in the individual. Edgar Allan Poe was the master of the Gothic form in the United States, as most of his works' literary elements contributed to the single effect of fear and disturbing ambiguity. Other notable authors who used Gothic elements in their works are Nathaniel Hawthorne, Washington Irving, and Herman Melville.
Transcendentalism was a more direct American offshoot of Romanticism than Gothic literature was. Transcendentalism held that: human senses are limited and that deeper truths came through intuition, the observation of weather illuminates the nature of human beings, and that God, nature, and humanity are united in a shared universal soul. In transcendental works, a person would reach a spiritual state where they would "transcend" the physical. Ralph Waldo Emerson is credited with having been to first express this philosophy during this era. He has most notably written "I become a transparent eyeball; I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or parcel of God" in his most famous work "Nature." He and Henry David Thoreau were among the most famous authors to portray the premises of transcendentalism in their works, which are: the individual is the center of the universe, all knowledge begins with self-knowledge, nature is alive and symbolic, and that one should be self-reliant.
Both Transcendentalism and Gothic literature reflect Romanticism as they both deal with the importance of the individual and nature. Both genres help illuminate the importance of the individual in connection to the world.
Emily Dickinson:
Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massachusetts on December 10th, 1830, into a well known, but not wealthy family. Emily Dickinson's paternal grandfather, Samuel Dickinson, had founded Amherst College and built the homestead of the Dickinson family in 1813. Emily's father, Edward, served numerous terms as a state legislator and represented the Hampshire district in the United States Congress. Emily was a particularly well-behaved girl who loved music, especially the piano. Emily and her two siblings were well educated, as they attended Amherst Academy at a young age, and were raised in a very Puritan New England society.
Emily took classes in English, classical literature, latin, and "mental philosophy." The principal of the school remarked her as being "very bright" and assiduous. From a young age, Emily was troubled by death and was traumatized deeply by the deaths of people close to her. When her second cousin Sophia Holland died, she became so melancholic that her family sent her to live with another family in Boston to recover.
She returned to Amherst in 1845, the year a religious revival swept through the town. At first, Emily was greatly moved and enlightened by the revival, but by 1852, her regular attending to church ended. She had never made a formal declaration of faith. Emily finished her last year at Amherst Academy in 1847 and attended Mount Holyoke Female Seminary for only ten months before wanting to return home for reasons that are often speculated.
When she was eighteen, she befriended Benjamin Franklin Newton, an attorney. Newton introduced Emily to the writings of William Wordsworth, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Lydia Maria Child. Newton saw Emily's potential as a poet and nourished that potential in her until his death of tuberculosis. Emily was also fascinated with the works of Shakespeare and was introduced to Charlotte Bronte by a close friend. In the years she spent reading numerous works, she stayed at home and felt no desire to leave.
In the mid-50's, Emily's mother became bed ridden with multiple chronic illnesses. Emily took it upon herself to attend to the homestead and her sickly mother. This caused her to withdraw more and more from the outside world and gave her time to write her numerous poems. From 1858 to 1865, she created 40 fascicles that held nearly 800 poems that no one even knew existed until after her death. The first half of the 1860's became her most productive writing period, after she had withdrawn from her social life and lived in seclusion. Today it is believed that she might have suffered from agoraphobia and epilepsy, explaining her extreme seclusion.
By the end of the 1860's, Dickinson wouldn't even talk to people face to face, and she gained notoriety for being rarely seen at all. Towards the end of her life, most of few close friends she had had died of various causes. This struck Emily deeply with grief and made her feel as if her world had ended. She had become bedridden in 1885 because of her declining physical condition. She died on May 15, 1886 with what her physician diagnosed to be Bright's disease. She was buried in a white coffin and, as was her wish, was "not driven but carried though fields of buttercups." Before she had died, she made her sister Lavinia swear to burn all of her writings. Lavinia, upon discovering Emily's 1800 poems, decided to begin publishing them four years after her death instead of burning them, resulting in Emily Dickinson's posthumous rise to fame.
Emily took classes in English, classical literature, latin, and "mental philosophy." The principal of the school remarked her as being "very bright" and assiduous. From a young age, Emily was troubled by death and was traumatized deeply by the deaths of people close to her. When her second cousin Sophia Holland died, she became so melancholic that her family sent her to live with another family in Boston to recover.
She returned to Amherst in 1845, the year a religious revival swept through the town. At first, Emily was greatly moved and enlightened by the revival, but by 1852, her regular attending to church ended. She had never made a formal declaration of faith. Emily finished her last year at Amherst Academy in 1847 and attended Mount Holyoke Female Seminary for only ten months before wanting to return home for reasons that are often speculated.
When she was eighteen, she befriended Benjamin Franklin Newton, an attorney. Newton introduced Emily to the writings of William Wordsworth, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Lydia Maria Child. Newton saw Emily's potential as a poet and nourished that potential in her until his death of tuberculosis. Emily was also fascinated with the works of Shakespeare and was introduced to Charlotte Bronte by a close friend. In the years she spent reading numerous works, she stayed at home and felt no desire to leave.
In the mid-50's, Emily's mother became bed ridden with multiple chronic illnesses. Emily took it upon herself to attend to the homestead and her sickly mother. This caused her to withdraw more and more from the outside world and gave her time to write her numerous poems. From 1858 to 1865, she created 40 fascicles that held nearly 800 poems that no one even knew existed until after her death. The first half of the 1860's became her most productive writing period, after she had withdrawn from her social life and lived in seclusion. Today it is believed that she might have suffered from agoraphobia and epilepsy, explaining her extreme seclusion.
By the end of the 1860's, Dickinson wouldn't even talk to people face to face, and she gained notoriety for being rarely seen at all. Towards the end of her life, most of few close friends she had had died of various causes. This struck Emily deeply with grief and made her feel as if her world had ended. She had become bedridden in 1885 because of her declining physical condition. She died on May 15, 1886 with what her physician diagnosed to be Bright's disease. She was buried in a white coffin and, as was her wish, was "not driven but carried though fields of buttercups." Before she had died, she made her sister Lavinia swear to burn all of her writings. Lavinia, upon discovering Emily's 1800 poems, decided to begin publishing them four years after her death instead of burning them, resulting in Emily Dickinson's posthumous rise to fame.
Literary Themes:
The Romantic Movement happened as a reaction to the Age of Enlightenment and Puritanism. The literature written during this time period reflected several themes that were central to Romanticism, such as, individuality, and egotisticism. Romanticism embraced the individual and the creativity that could stem from the human mind. Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher" exemplifies the creativity of the era as it is a fictional work that embraces the fantastic and gothic elements of the unknown and Romanticism. "Moby Dick" is the story of an individual's quest for vengeance and the personal struggles that he faces. Emerson and Thoreau wrote about the individual and their connection to nature. From this newfound sense of individualism came a sense of egotisticism and entitlement. "The Devil and Tom Walker" was written by Irving and the story reflected the mentality of the people of the era in which Irving lived, which is shown through the extreme greed of Tom and his wife. Washington Irving said, "Whatever I have written has been written with the feelings and published as the writing of an American. . . ."
Key Authors:
- Washington Irving: Author of "The Devil and Tom Walker", A History of New York From the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty, "The legend of Sleepy Hollow", and "Rip Van Winkle"
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Author of Voices in the Night, The Poets and Poetry of Europe, "The Song of Hiawatha", "The Courtship of Miles Standish", "Paul Revere's Ride", and "The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls"
- William Cullen Bryant: Author of "Thanatopsis", "The Ages", and Poems
- Oliver Wendell Holmes: Author of "Old Ironsides", The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table, and The Writings of Oliver Wendell Holmes
- Nathaniel Hawthorne: Author of "The Minister's Black Veil", Twice-Told Tales, Mosses from an Old Manse, The Scarlet Letter, and The Marble Faun
- Edgar Allan Poe: Author of Tamerlane and Other Poems, Al Aaraaf, Poems, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, "The Raven", "The Fall of the House of Usher", "The Murders in the Rue Morgue", and "The Tell-Tale Heart"
- Herman Melville: Author of Moby-Dick, Typee, Omoo, Mardi, "Bartleby, the Scrivener", and Billy Budd
- Amos Bronson Alcott: Author of "The Forester" and "Thoreau"
- Margaret Fuller: Author of The Dial, The Great Lawsuit. Man versus Men, Woman versus Women, Summer on the Lakes, and Woman in the Nineteenth Century
- Ralph Waldo Emerson: Author of "Nature", "Self-Reliance", "Concord Hymn", Essays, Second Volume, Representative Men, The Conduct of Life, Poems, and May-Day and Other Pieces
- Henry David Thoreau: Author of Walden, "Civil Disobedience", A Week on the Concord and Merrimack River, The Maine Woods, Cape Cod, and A Yankee in Canada
- Emily Dickinson: Author of "Because I Could not Stop for Death", "I Heard a Fly Buzz--When I Died", "There's a Certain Slant of Light", "My Life Closed Twice Before Its Close--", " The Soul Selects Her Own Society--", "The Brain--Is Wider than the Sky", " There is a Solitude of Space", and "Water, is Taught by Thirst"
- Walt Whitman: Author of Leaves of Grass, "Song of Myself", "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer", "By the Bivouac's fitful flame", " I Hear America Singing", and "A Noiseless Patient Spider"