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American Romanticism

American Romanticism emerged as a response to the Age of Reason, emphasizing feelings, intuition, and a connection to nature. Grounded in Deism, it celebrated human rights and portrayed the noble savage's dignity. The movement coincided with industrialization, city growth, and expansion westward, leading to encounters with Native Americans. Key figures like the Fireside Poets and novelists depicted journeys between the city and countryside, exploring themes of love, patriotism, and nature. This literary style sought higher truths through imagination, contrasting sharply with the rationality of previous eras.

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American Romanticism

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  1. American Romanticism

  2. Founded on • Deism - belief in the existence of a god on the evidence of reason and nature only, with rejection of supernatural revelation • Logic • Inalienable rights It also brought • Industrialization, growth of cities, and factories • American expansion (Lewis and Clark and Manifest Destiny) • More encounters with Native Americans Albert Bierstadt

  3. Romanticism: a reaction to the Age of Reason Romanticism Age of Reason • Realism • Patrician Classicism • Dominion over the Native American • Logic, always facts to counter fear and doubt • Idealism/Utopia • Glorification of the common man • Recognition of the nobility of the primitive – the “noble savage” • Imagination to engender faith and hope

  4. Characteristics of Romanticism • Contemplating nature’s beauty is the path to spiritual and moral development. • Values feeling and intuition over reason • Looks backward to the wisdom of the past, shuns progress

  5. The City was a Place of . . . • The Rationalists saw the city as a place of industry, success, self realization, and civilization. • The Romantics saw the city as a place of poor work conditions, moral ambiguity, corruption, and death.

  6. The Journey Romanticism was often seen as a journey. • The journey from the city to the country • The journey from rational thought to the imagination

  7. The Fireside Poets The Most Popular American Poets of Their Time John Greenleaf Whittier, William Cullen Bryant, James Lowell, Oliver Wendell Holmes • Their poems were often read aloud at the fireside as family entertainment. • Themes: love, patriotism, nature, family, and religion • It is poetry that seeks a higher truth from the natural world. The Fireside poets were the first group of American poets to rival British poets in popularity in either country.

  8. Literature American Novel - The Romantic Hero Youthful Pure of Purpose Sense of Honor – not based on society’s rules but a higher principle Intuitive Understanding (not formal learning) Loves nature and avoids town life Quests for higher truth in the natural world Modern day examples: Superman, Luke Skywalker, Indiana Jones

  9. Literature ***American Novelists looked to westward expansion and the frontier for inspiration creating a break with European tradition. ***Folktales by regional writers offered glimpses of the supernatural

  10. Satire: copy what is underlined Washington Irving was a master of satire, a literary device in which people, customs, or institutions are ridiculed with the purpose of improving society. Washington Irving 1783-1859 Satire is often subtle, so as you read, watch for its indicators: humor, exaggeration, absurd situations, and irony.

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