In American literature there are many types of themes and periods of writing. Each writer has their own style and way of conveying what they want to say to their readers. A lot of time what and how an author writes comes from how they grew up and the experiences they have had. They find a way to insert themselves and their emotions into words that move the readers in some way. One of the most popular periods of writing would be the romanticism era. Some of the most well known authors in this time period were Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman. The reason they are so popular from the Romanticism period is because they also incorporated their transcendental ideas into their work.
Romanticism "has been described as a Protestantism in the arts and letters, an ideological shift on the grand scale from conservative to liberal ideas"(Keenan). This period came about at the turn of the nineteenth century after the Enlightenment movement. Some general characteristics of Romanticism would be "remote settings in different time period, heroes doing the extraordinary, idealized characters, heightened, poetic language, and the plot is central" (ecore Online content Unit 4). The philosophers of the Romanticism era believed unlike the Transcendentalism that people were not born with a clean state but shaped by environmental experiences. Romanticism in American Literature focused a lot on the beauty of nature and all nature has to offer. It also allowed writers and artists to use their
With Romanticism came a new style of beliefs known as Transcendentalism. This is similar to Puritan beliefs in that it focuses on living simply. Romanticism deals with issues concerning the conflict between the spirit and the body, nature as being good or evil, experience as mystical, the nature of reality, and the equality of men. Romanticism supported abolition and believed in the "manifest destiny" of the United States. This literature pays close attention to setting, nature, nonconformity, and the mood and tone of a piece. Romantics also made use of gothic elements in their literature, such as the supernatural, abnormal psychology, mysticism, and spiritualism. Romantic poets were fond of musical rhythmic verse, and they liked to break free of forms, making
Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman both were American poets who lived in the 19th century who strayed from the traditional style of writing poetry and formed their own individual style of writing which became the unique American style of poetry. Their lifestyles and writing styles were extremely different, as they shared little in common. The dissimilarities in these two poets are in the way they composed their poems and possibly in the content of the poems. Whitman established a unique style in the form of using free verse and Dickinson in her peculiar use of punctuation to establish her unique style of poetry.
Walt Whitman is a renowned American poet. He served as an example for all to follow. He put thoughts into peoples head. Whitman was very influential and had a very big effect on people. Langston Hughes was also a very influential American poet. He was known for changing others opinion of race and making their oppression evident to others. Hughes was very influenced by Whitman and he caused him to want to make a difference in people's thoughts on his race. Whitman wrote a poem called I Hear America Singing and some people believe that it influenced Hughes poem, I, Too, Sing America. Hughe builds on Whitman's poems in these categories; structure and technique, themes, and effect on people and society.
A common theme in the American Renaissance is breaking free from the intellectual traditions of the past. This is effectively expressed by Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne despite differences in their writing style through the stories of The Raven and The Scarlet Letter respectively.
Renowned poets and philosophers Walt Whitman and Henry David Thoreau, although being from different schools of thought, actually shared many of the same views about nature and mankind’s role in society. Whitman, being more of a ‘romantic’ poet, praised nature’s beauty and majestic qualities. Thoreau, on the other hand, was more of a Transcendentalist; The Transcendentalism school of thought emphasized individualism as a common theme and celebrated the ‘self’ as a separate, but equal, counterpart to the nature of our environment. While both of these poets had their opinions on the landscape around us, they were quite similar in their beliefs about mankind’s existence and skirted the line between both schools of thought.
The literary movement spread to almost every country in the United States, Europe, and Latin America and it was, “…associated with the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries” (Paddock). Romanticism essentially focuses on branching out from the norm and rebelling from what is “right.” Not to mention, it stressing the individual as opposed to society. Commiserating inner struggles, strong passions, ideas, moods, and
The Romantic Period was an explosion of artistic energy from 1790-1820, which began in Germany and quickly spread to the United States, almost all of Europe, and Latin America. It was a period full of emotion, intuition, intense feelings, and the revolt against any authority or order. Those in this time idealized nature and embraced the uncivilized, and imagination was a key component to their writing and way of thinking. Steven Kreis, author for The History Guide writes, “…one power possessed by the Romantic…was imagination…” (Kreis 1).
The beginning of the nineteenth century was also the start of a legendary movement in literature, known as Romanticism. Authors during this period created their own worlds by using their imaginations. Individuals no longer saw themselves a measure of everything around them, but rather as one more component of the great source of life and creativity: nature. The Romantics placed emphasis on emotions such as apprehension, terror, and awe as an authentic source of aesthetic experience, as well as the feelings that accompany confronting the sublimity and beauty of nature, especially. Supernatural elements are not present in all Romantic literature; however, the supernatural approach was an important and arguably crucial strategy for Romanticism to achieve its purposes.
Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, and Edgar Lee Masters were three literacy scholars, who without a doubt evolved American literature. They were each able to break the ancient stigmas, and created supplementary freedom when it came to what a piece of literature can offer. They were known to speak upon various topics that were recognized as inappropriate within the society, but that didn’t stop them from stating their beliefs. Common similarities that these literacy masters shared amongst each other were constant themes of death, afterlife and religion. Although these three themes made a regular occurrence in their pieces of literature, each writer had different views towards the various themes which were displayed throughout their texts, and pieces of poetries.
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.
American Romanticism is a journey away from the corruption of civilization and the limits of rational thoughts, and toward the integrity of nature and the freedom of imagination. In other words, it is a journey away from industrialism or rationalism, which is working hard and earning money. This movement, originally started in Europe and later reached in America. It can be best defined as a thought that values feeling and intuition over reason. Some of the characteristics include the importance of feeling and intuition over reason, placing faith in inner experience and the power of imagination, preferring youthful innocence over educated sophistication, finding beauty and reality in exotic locales. It encouraged people to enjoy the integrity of nature and freedom of imagination. It also encouraged one to have faith in imagination and inner experience. In addition, romanticists found inspiration in myth, legend, and folk culture and found poetry as the highest expression of imagination. Romanticists believed that the landscape was regarded as an extension of the human personality, capable of sympathy with man 's emotional state, whereas nature was regarded as a vehicle for spirit just as man; the breath of God fills both man and the earth. However, romantics would create chaos when the issues were connected with human rights, individualism, and freedom from oppression (Arpin 138-150).
Everyone loves a good competition. People voraciously read and watch novels and television programs that explore battles between good and evil, and athletic events attract enormous crowds of spectators. However, when the adversary in the competition becomes something as formidable as nature, the competition is no longer a game. The situation instead becomes a serious issue that the human race must address immediately. Poetry by Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson analyzes this complex theme of competition between man and nature. Whitman expresses his opinions on this theme in “Earth! my Likeness!,” while Dickinson articulates her point of view in “A bird came down the walk.” Information about the lives of Whitman and Dickinson helps to provide
Webster's dictionary states the definition of Romanticism as "a movement in literature and art during the late 18th and early 19th centuries that celebrated nature rather than civilization". Romanticism was a movement that helped generated other movements, but brought a new form of literature that was well embraced during the 18th and 19th centuries.
Romanticism was a movement in art and literature that started in the late 18th century and continued throughout the 19th century in Europe and America. The movement rebelled against classicism. The basic idea in Romanticism is that reason cannot explain everything. This in contrast to the Age of Enlightenment, which focused more on scientific and rational thinking, Romantics searched for deeper appeals, emotional directness of personal experience and visionary relationship to imagination and aspiration. Romantics favoured more natural, emotional and personal artistic themes. Some of the most notable writers of Romanticism were Mary Shelley, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Victor Hugo, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Friedrich von Schiller.
Romanticism came to be in the 18th and 19th centuries which emphasized the imagination and emotions of romanticism. Many people viewed this type of literature as the quality or state of being impractical or unrealistic meaning romantic feelings or ideas. During this time many poets were encouraged to express their true colors and individual uniqueness. The Romantic Era expanded all throughout the world, and reached poets such as Keats, Byron, Shelley, and Wordsworth.