romanticism powerpoint.ppt

8/14/2019 Romanticism Powerpoint.ppt

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Romanticism


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Romanticism (early 1800s 1865)

Refers to theRenaissance of

American thoughtand literature duringthe 19thcentury.

Dramatic increase in

amount of literatureproduced.

Romantics

placed a high

value onemotions andthe individual.

Emphasis onintuition and innertruth.


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Romantic View of Man

Stressed the individualand his place in the world.

Rejected the classicists viewthat reason was the only

way to understand life, andthey looked to the emotionsand intuition to help interact

with their world.


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Approach to Reason and Art

Writers felt thatreason was

important, but notthe only way totruth.

The individual was

most important.

Art is the trueexpression of the

inner self Human potential


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Romantic View of Literature

Emphasis on subjects such as nature,the past, and the inner world of human

nature. Challenge for writers to communicateinner world to terms that others could

understand.


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Types of Literature

Writers tried to createan American mythology

The Devil and Tom

Walker The Legend of

Sleepy Hollow

Rip Van Winkle

Myth: a fantastical

story aboutbeginnings or toexplain aspects of thenature and the world.

The dialogue of

these stories wasun-realistic.

Language was lofty


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Significant Authors &Literature

Edgar Allen Poe

The Raven, The

Tell-Tale Heart,The Pit and thePendulum

Washington Irving

James FennimoreCoopernovelist

William CullenBryant

Thanatopsis Noah Webster

An AmericanDictionary of English

Language


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Romantic View of Nature

Nature is mystical. It teaches useternal truths if we would just take the

time to truly appreciate it.


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Romantic View of Nature

Romantics emphasizedbeauty and mystery ofnature.

Viewed nature assomething in constantdevelopment andalways changing.

Nature speaks avarious language.

-William Cullen Bryant

Emphasis on connectionbetween innerimagination and nature.

This outlook stemmedfrom the fact thatAmerican writers wereliving on the edge ofwilderness.

Mystery and grandeur ofnature intrigued theirimagination.


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Romantic View of Society

Romantics weremore concerned

with humanitarianreform thananything else.

Abolition of slavery

Improvements ineducation

Emphasis upon thedignity and worth of

every person. Emerging idea of

trueequality for all.


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Society

The Romantics werent so concernedabout society as they were the

individual. In fact, they would havelikely prided themselves on rebellingagainst governmental institutions.

Thoreaus Civil Disobedience


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Society

I HEARTILY ACCEPT the motto,"Thatgovernment is best which governs least"; andI should like to see it acted up to more

rapidly and systematically. Carried out, itfinally amounts to this, which also I believe,"That government is best which governs notat all.

Henry David Thoreau

from Civil Disobedience


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The Past

Dramatic incidentsfrom history becamestandard literarymaterial.

Romantic writershelped early

Americans to feelownership and pridein the youngnations past.

Interest in pastcontributed to the

young nationdeveloping a senseof character.


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Romantic View of God

Pantheism:

God is found in

nature.

Transcendentalism


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View of Death

Death is part of theGreat Circle of Life.

We die and becomeone with nature.Our bodies becomethe soil from with

flowers grow.


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Age of Reason vs. Romanticism

Literature consisted ofjournals or politicalwriting.

Dramatic increase inamount of literatureproduced; Americanmythology; loftylanguage


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Man: self-made menwho solve problems

rationally.

Man: stressed theindividual; looked to

emotion andintuition to interactwith the worldinstead of reason

alone.


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God: Deism

Nature can be studiedscientifically.

God: Pantheism

Nature: emphasizedbeauty and mystery ofnature; connectionbetween imagination

and nature


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Society: democracy,egalitarianism.

Death: patrioticduty.

Society: focused onindividual; rebelled

against socialinstitutions.

Death: circle of life;

return to nature.


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The End

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