The Romantic Period

1. The Romantic Period Lauren Harmon and Emily Simpson

2. In America • Romanticism began in Germany, and soon spread to England and France, finally reaching America. • It was nicknamed the “American Renaissance”

3. In England: Historical Influences • The Romantic Era began with the William Wordsworth's Lyrical Ballads and ended with the death of Charles Dickens • Queen Victoria was in power • Influenced by American and French Revolutions • Reduced confidence in British power • Grief was expressed through writing • Both of these occurrences made the English think a Revolution could happen in their own country.

4. In England: Historical Influences Age of the Romantic Movement (1798-1832) • Began with the publication of Wordsworth's Lyrical Ballads, and ends with the death of Walter Scott. • Dominated by works of Wordsworth, Byron, Shelley, etc. • Same time as the Napoleonic wars.

5. In England: Historical Influences Early Victorian Age (1832-1870) • Most major romantics had died by this time • Poetry began to reveal social issues and uncertainties • Industrial Revolution in Europe • Went from manual labor to machinery • Caused the rise of the middle class • Living conditions in cities were poor • Workers had no right to vote, and they were not allowed to meet in groups • The government suspected a subtle protest, resulting in the Peterloo Massacre in St. Peter’s field • Major romantics were Tennyson, Arnold, Dickens, etc.

6. In America: Historical Influences • The War of 1812 • The Gold Rush • Westward Expansion • The population grew from seven million in 1810 to thirty million just fifty year later. • Using recent inventions, such as the sewing machine, the cotton gin, the assembly line, and the telegraph. • The first woman’s college in Massachusetts. • Anti-slavery newspapers and societies were created. In this time, abolitionist books were written, such as Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

7. In England: Values and Beliefs • Religion was inspired by the French Revolution • The Higher Criticism was a movement that encouraged prophetic texts influenced by the Bible, which were extremely common • People began supporting the freedom to express yourself through writing and art during this time; direct effects of the Enlightenment.

8. In America: Values and Beliefs • Two contradicting bodies of religious thought were quickly forming in the American Romantic Period. The Great Awakening, a mass religious revival helped to maintain the original Trinitarianism. • However, some people were beginning to feel unfulfilled. People tried to think for themselves, using less rational thought. They became more intuitive and relied on imagination moreso than logic. • Individualism was emphasized. Prior to this era, “self” suggested selfishness. It was redefined as positive to focus on oneself.

9. In America: Values and Beliefs • Before Romanticism came to the light, conformity was normal. During this era, however, people began to speak out for themselves in favor of democracy and against slavery. • Man began to appreciate nature and its fragility. People saw the world as living and dynamic; not mechanic as they had before.

10. In England: Genre and Style • Poetry was the major style of writing, however, political pamphlets, reviews, and nonfiction novels were also popular. • Some poets thought personal emotion and imagination were among the most effective tools in writing poetry. • Nature was a major topic.

11. In America: Genre and Style • Traditional forms of literature were exchanged for emotion, expression, and imagination. • This was a revolt against classicism, and a struggle to break free from its restraints. • The “manifest destiny” provoked more nature works. Authors began to realize the beauty and freedom of the landscape. • This era took on a more optimistic tone in literature.

12. Significant Authors and Works in England • William Blake (1757-1827) • Jerusalem (1804), Songs of Innocence and of Experience (1789) William Wordsworth (1770-1850) • Lyrical Ballads (anonymous publication 1798), The Prelude (published after death) • Jane Austen (1775-1817) -Pride and Prejudice (1813), Sense and Sensibility (1811)

13. Significant Authors and Works in America • Ralph Waldo Emerson(1803-1882) Nature (1844) Self Reliance (1841) • Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804- 1864) The Scarlet Letter (1850) • Edgar Allen Poe (1809-1849) The Raven (1845) Annabel Lee (1849)

14. Jerusalem-William Blake And did those feet in ancient time Walk upon England's mountains green? And was the holy Lamb of God On England's pleasant pastures seen? And did the Countenance Divine Shine forth upon our clouded hills? And was Jerusalem builded here Among these dark Satanic Mills? Bring me my bow of burning gold! Bring me my arrows of desire! Bring me my spear! O clouds, unfold! Bring me my chariot of fire! I will not cease from mental fight, Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand, Till we have built Jerusalem In England's green and pleasant land.

15. Excerpt from Nature- Ralph Waldo Emerson  In the presence of nature, a wild delight runs through the man, in spite of real sorrows. Nature says, -- he is my creature, and maugre all his impertinent griefs, he shall be glad with me. Not the sun or the summer alone, but every hour and season yields its tribute of delight; for every hour and change corresponds to and authorizes a different state of the mind, from breathless noon to grimmest midnight. Nature is a setting that fits equally well a comic or a mourning piece. In good health, the air is a cordial of incredible virtue. Crossing a bare common, in snow puddles, at twilight, under a clouded sky, without having in my thoughts any occurrence of special good fortune, I have enjoyed a perfect exhilaration. I am glad to the brink of fear. In the woods too, a man casts off his years, as the snake his slough, and at what period soever of life, is always a child. In the woods, is perpetual youth.

16. . The Haywain John Constable e

17. "Immigrants Crossing the Prairie" Albert Bierstadt

18. "Nocturne: Blue and Gold, Old Battersea Bridge " James Whistler "Tower Falls and SulferRock" Thomas Moran

19. Sources • Peckham, Joel. "American Romanticism / Transcendentalism: Art and Literature Links.“ American Romanticism / Transcendentalism: Art and Literature Links. KUA. Web. 27 Feb 2013. <http://www.joelpeckham.com/transcendentalism.html • Woodlief, Ann. "American Romanticism (or the American Renaissance)." . N.p., 08 08 2001. Web. 27 Feb 2013. <http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/eng372/intro.htm>. • . "Introduction." American History From Revolution to Reconstruction and Beyond. University of Groningen, n.d. Web. 27 Feb 2013. <http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/outlines/literature-1991/the-romantic-period-1820-1860-essayists-and-poets/introduction.php>. • . "American Romanticism (1800 - 1850s)." English-E-Corner. FELC, n.d. Web. 27 Feb 2013. <http://www.english-e-corner.com/americanliterature/contents/Romanticism1/default.htm>

20. Sources • Silverman, Kenneth. "American National Biography Online." . Oxford University Press, n.d. Web. 1 Mar 2013. <http://www.anb.org/articles/16/16-01302.html>. • Richardson, Jr., Robert. "Ralph Waldo Emerson." . N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar 2013. <http://people.brandeis.edu/~teuber/emersonbio.html>. • "Nathaniel Hawthorne- Biography." The European Graduate School. Graduate and Postgraduate Studies, n.d. Web. 1 Mar 2013. <http://www.egs.edu/library/nathaniel-hawthorne/biography/>. • "Nature." Oregon State . Oregon State. Web. 1 Mar 2013. <http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/texts/emerson/nature-contents.html>.

21. Sources • "Romanticism and Religion." British Romantic Studies. G. A. Rosso, Jan 2008. Web. 6 Mar 2013. <http://home.southernct.edu/~rossog1/BritishRomanticStudies/index.htm>. • "Romantic Era ." British Literature . N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Mar 2013. <http://www.student.chula.ac.th/~52407043/romantic_hist.html>. • "The Prelude." Bartleby.com: Great Books Online. N.p., 1993-2013. Web. 6 Mar 2013. <http://www.bartleby.com/145/ww297.html>. • Blake , William. PoetryArchive. N.p., 2002. Web. 6 Mar 2013. . "The Romantic Period: Period Introduction Overview ." The Norton Anthology of English Liturature . W. W. Norton and Company, Inc. , 2011. Web. 6 Mar 2013. • "English literature: The Romantic Period ." infoplease. Pearson Education, 2000-2013. Web. 6 Mar 2013.

22. Sources • Romanticism.” New World Encyclopedia.’ Visual art and literature’. Last access December12,2010<<http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Romanticism#Visual_art_and_literature • Constable, John. The Hay Wain. 2013. Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlikeLicenseWeb. 8 Mar 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hay_Wain>. • "Famous Romantic Writers." British Romanticism. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Mar 2013. <http://faculty.unlv.edu//kirschen/handouts/british_romanticism.html>. • . "Jane Austen (1775-1817): A Brief Biography ." Jane Austen Society of North America. Jane Austen Society of North America, 29 Jan 2013. Web. 6 Mar 2013.