Dark Romanticism Vs Dark Romanticism

American Romanticism/Gothicism is a very interesting literary period. American romanticism is characterized on the focus on the tragic and the belief of sin and evil. It pays attention to the mysteries of life and it does not stress the cynical. It has a respect for human nature and all of its struggles. Dark romanticism is very different from transcendentalism. Transcendentalists saw people as good, unlike dark romantics. Dark romantics saw that people could be evil and impure. Also unlike transcendentalists, they believed that original sin is responsible for the evil that was existent inside everyone.

Romanticism was an era where the individual became more important than society. Instead of the rules and norms of society being the topics, it shifted to more of the imagination. At the time, there was uprisings, and much of this imagination stemmed from dreams that times could go back to the

My definition of romanticism is when nature played a huge part to all the great artists and writers of the time. The Period of romanticism took place during the 1800s when individuals put emotion into their work and cared about education, literature, and natural history. The true romantics wanted to escape the industrial age and move away from urbanization and population in general. The romantic revolution paved the way for many writers and artists because people felt free and it gave inspiration for original ideas. Some of the great novelists surfaced during the Romanic age, one of which was marry shelly who wrote Frankenstein a masterpiece during its time.

Transcendentalism and Dark Romanticism are two different elements of Romanticism. Transcendentalism was a 19th-century philosophy that had a spiritual over scientific way of thinking. Moreover, transcendentalist writers believed in knowledge/intuition or “transcend” logic. On the other hand, Romanticism (1830-1860) was an American way of writing, defined by the depiction of emotions. In terms of Dark Romanticism, writers were generally more cynical about humanity, as opposed to Transcendentalist writers who believed in the inherent goodness of individuals.

The Romantic Era featured two sub categories that had similarities as well as differences; Dark Romantics and Transcendentalists. They could be compared and contrasted by their use of supernatural and spiritual forces and how those powers affected the characters and their perspectives. The first text is a Dark Romantic piece,“The Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe. This piece is about the main character who narrates the hallucinations he experiences. His dynamic perspective builds throughout the text as his addiction to opium intensifies. The second piece is also in the Dark Romantic category and is called “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The main character and antagonist is a scientist by the name of Aylmer who has a wife with a distinct birthmark upon her face. Aylmer unravels as the text continues. The first Transcendentalist text is “Self Reliance” by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Emerson narrates this piece himself and the subject matter emphasizes individualism and his hopes for the transformation of society. Lastly is “Walden” by Henry David Thoreau. He into nature to live alone and shares his experiences and reasoning behind it.These pieces work together and against each other to exhibit how the supernatural and spiritual forces influence the characters in each text.

4. Define “Dark Romanticism” as you understand it by discussing two works by different authors. Account for the rise of this kind of writing in America and evaluate its appeal and significance then and now.

Leslie Mendoza  Mrs. Soltis  English 10H; Period 4D  10 January 2017  A Literary Movement   Throughout time, we are introduced to many different genres and types of literature. Each genre focuses on a particular subject. Narrative or types of literature fall into a certain category.

Romanticism first came about in the 18th century and it was mostly used for art and literature. The actual word “romanticism” was created in Britain in the 1840s. People like Victor Hugo, William Wordsworth, and Percy Bysshe Shelley had big impacts on this style of art. Romanticism is

Romanticism (also called Romantic Era or Romantic period) was a complex artistic, literary, and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and developed in reaction to the Industrial Revolution. In part, it was a movement against various social and political norms and ideas of the Age of Enlightenment. It strongly influenced the visual arts, music, and literature, but it had impact on education and natural history as well.

Dark romanticism is a subgenre of writing that took a different approach to the fantasy, and it submerged into American literature in 1800-1860. And it emphasized humans weakness and vulnerability to sin and destruction. The main characteristic of this genre was horrific themes and creepy symbols. Since many famous writers wielded it into their writings such as Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Emily Dickenson.

In the 19th century, two significant different genres in American literature emerged: Transcendentalism and Dark Romanticism/Anti-transcendentalism. Towards the middle of the 19th century, the Transcendentalism movement became significant in literature. Thus, as a reaction to the widespread movement, Dark Romanticism was founded. Transcendentalism was based on logical thinking and human’s consciousness, whereas, Dark Romanticism was different in many aspects.

Imagine a candle-lit dinner on a starry night in Paris, the Eiffel Tower just in view with dazzling lights shining into the night. This image is probably what you think of when you hear the word “romantic,” correct. However, this image is a stumbling block when people think of the “Romanticism Period” in literature. Where “romantic” means having a lovely time with the person you love the most, “Romanticism” is a piece of literature written with key themes in mind. Those themes tend to be a strong emotion, imagery or worship of nature, and individuality and subjectivity. The peak of inspiration for these pieces was in the years 1800-1850, and there are famous poems that are well loved today from this period. Many of the poets that you enjoy reading and know are, in actuality, Romanticism writers, and instill the themes above in our minds.

In reaction to The Enlightenment, the period of Romanticism rises in the nineteenth century; with its major influences in the arts. Romantics focused on the individual and emotion over reason. Nature is their biggest influence. Through nature romantics could be closer to a supreme being. When it came it religion, the romantics were drawn to Christianity, but did not consider themselves Christians. In her essay “Defence of Poetry,” Percy Shelley describes the characteristics of Romanticism, when describing poetry. She uses phrases like “the expression of the imagination,” to describe poetry. (Percy Shelley, Defence of Poetry). In her essay Shelley describes what true poetry is and consists of. Her descriptions resemble the ones of Romanticism. Thus, what is Romanticism? It is one of the hardest periods to define as Hobsbawm states, “As a style, a school, an era in the arts, nothing is harder to define or even describe in terms of formal analysis…” (The Age of Revolution, 257). Even though Romanticism can be described as undefinable, its presence could be felt throughout Europe.

Romanticism started during the end of the 18th century as politics and society were changing in Europe. Gaps were growing farther and farther apart between the rich and the poor, which created changes for the time period (Class notes). Paul Brians, a English Professor at Washington State, says that Romanticism:

Neoclassical and Romantic movements cover the period of 1750 to 1850. Neoclassicism showed life to be more rational than it really was. The Romantics favoured an interest in nature, picturesque, violent, sublime. Unlike Neo_classicism, which stood for the order, reason, tradition, society, intellect and formal diction, Romanticism allowed people to get away from the constrained rational views of life and concentrate on an emotional and sentimental side of humanity. In this movement the emphasis was on emotion, passion, imagination, individual and natural diction. Resulting in part from the liberation and egalitarian ideals of the French Revolution, the romantic movement had in common only a revolt against the rules of classicism. There are