The period of the late eighteenth century and beginning of the nineteenth was cosidered the Romantic era in Europe and in America. This movement was a large scale rebellion against the Englightment period ideas where science and logic ruled the literary arts. Authors took several approaches on how to convey to the readers social and metaphysical opinions through the tone in a series of novels published. Tone is apparent in much of the American Romantic era writing including that of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Edgar Allan Poe. Ralph Waldo Emerson was a self proclaimed Transcendentalist believe that every man was infinitely good and pure goodness was possible. Emerson was also an Idealist, someone who trusted that man’s …show more content…
This Transcendental idea as well as that it is essential for man to recognize the Spirit in natue were an underlying message Emerson was trying to convey in his radical essays. The radicialness of Emerson’s work prompted a movement, known as the Antitranscendentalism or Gothic movement. Nathanial Hawthorne was a promanent member of the American Antitranscendentalist movement and this was easily detectable in this works. Hawthorne’s use of allegory and symbolism in his literature was a common way of introducing metaphysical tone to a simple story, such as in The Scarlet Letter. Anti-Transcendentalism was characterized by the belief that nature is fully capable of horrible violence and man has the ability to be evil, which offers a lot of negative evidence towards Transcendentalism. Hawthorne’s use of literary techniques to transport ideals of Antitranscendentalism to his readers, and it also proved that every man could be corrupted and altered by society like in Young Goodman Brown. His works interrputed meanings showed the important of tolerance and understanding by society over differences in religious and intellectual planes. Another Antitranscendentalist of the Romantic era was Edgar Allan Poe, considered the first American Gothic writer. Poe was severly unhappy with American society and the injustices it caused, thus his strong dislike for the Transcendental ideals of Utopian ideals. Poe belonged to the section of authors who ackowledged the
Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allan Poe are considered masters of American gothic fiction. They used similar gothic elements in their writing and used it to build up a sense of impending doom. Even today numerous readers enjoy, study, and discuss the gothic elements both utilized in their work. Gothic writing is a style that is concerned with the dark side of society, an evil that lies within the self. Poe and Hawthorne contributed stories which contained dark struggles between characters and society with its rules of order of the time. Gothic writing is fantasy meant to entertain despite the fact that it depicts the political and social problems
Nathaniel Hawthorne once said, “I do not want to be a doctor and live by men’s diseases, nor minister to live by their sins, nor a lawyer and live by men’s quarrels. So, I don’t see that there is anything left for me but to be an author” (Nathaniel). This statement describes Hawthorne’s personality and life in a way that no other quote could. Nathaniel Hawthorne was an Anti-Transcendentalist writer meaning that he had a negative view of all humans. The Anti-Transcendentalist movement was a pessimistic branch of Romanticism and it began in mid 1800s and lasted until late 1800s. Nathaniel Hawthorne was influenced greatly by his childhood, which is what caused him to be an anti-transcendentalist, yet in his novel The Scarlet Letter there was a bridge created between anti-transcendentalism and utopian transcendentalism.
The Transcendentalist Movement of the early nineteenth century proved to be especially popular with American writers. Though many critics have associated authors such as Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson with this movement, many other American authors utilized themes of transcendentalism in their works. Likewise, although critics often do not portray Nathaniel Hawthorne as a transcendentalist, the multitude of characteristics central to those of the American Transcendentalist Movement suggest that Hawthorne was indeed a transcendentalist. In his novel The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne represents the Transcendentalist Movement by incorporating three major transcendentalist themes: self-reliance, the importance of nature, and the innocence of youth.
Anti-Transcendentalism, also known as dark romanticism, was a literary movement that revolved around the negative aspects of life and human nature.Many authors have made a name for themselves through Anti-Transcendentalism, including Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allan Poe.Both writers used their stories as a platform to expose the "reality" of human nature. Hawthorne discuss' the foolishness found in youth in "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment" while Poe writes about the tragedy of not being able to escape your fate in "The Fall of the House of the Usher". So essentially, each writer effortlessly demonstrates the traits of Anti-Transcendentalism.
Romanticism was a period time 1750 to 1870 in Europe, Latin America and The United States. Romantic Movement didn’t reach to France until the 1820’s. Romanticism main spirit was against of rule, law and formulas that classicism the different characterized of general in 18th century. Imagination, Subjectivity of approach, freedom, Expression and the idealization of nature will be focused in movement of Romantic Literature. In this period industrial revolution with the social and political norms form as age of enlightenment and against of scientific rationalization of nature. Some Literature element of that period will be emotional, imagination and suspense. Romanticism movement brings some of different writes such as John Keats, Blake William, Wordsworth William and other. They came with the different illustrated, poetry that expresses the language, emotion and imagination. Romanticism is a phenomenon characterized by subjectivity of approach and reliance on the imagination, An Idealization of nature and freedom of though and expression.
Emerson was known as America’s Intellectual Declaration of Independence. He encouraged Americans to look inward and find power and inspiration within. He used the spiritual resource of nature to promote the nation politically and morally. He influenced many of his peers by his transcendental ideas about nature’s unity, distinctive soul, and deep belief in God. He also was known as a prophet of faith and unconditional optimism during a struggling historical
Emerson's "transcendentalism" is essentially a romantic individualism, a philosophy of life for a new people who had overthrown their colonial governors and set about conquering a new continent, in hopes of establishing new and unique views. Though Emerson is not a traditional philosopher, the tendency of his thought is toward inward reflection in which soul and intuition, or inspiration, are fundamental. The new American needed less criticism and a rejuvenated sense of personal inspiration. Taking a practical and democratic, yet philosophic interest in all of nature and in individuals of every walk of life. Emerson stresses the potential for genius and creativity in all
Transcendentalism was an early philosophical, intellectual, and literary movement that thrived in New England in the nineteenth century. Transcendentalism was a collection of new ideas about literature, religion, and philosophy. It began as a squabble in the Unitarian church when intellectuals began questioning and reacting against many of the church’s orthodoxy ways regarding all of the aforementioned subjects: religion, culture, literature, social reform, and philosophy. They in turn developed their own faith focusing on the divinity of humanity and the innate world. Many of the Transcendentalists ideas were expressed heavily by Ralph Waldo Emerson, in his essays such as “Nature”, “Self Reliance”, and also in his poems such as “The
The Romantic Movement, or period, was from the year 1828 to about 1865. The main feature of the American Romantic period was the celebration and praise of individualism. This time is also considered to be the first period of genuine American creativity. Emotion, instead of reason, became the largest source of inspiration and creativity during this period. All of this was a reaction to all of the constraints that were forced on people during the era of Realism. At this time in history, America was in a great period of expansion, the writers of the American Romantic period were discovering that could create a new and vastly different voice for this new era in
Although transcendentalism is primarily viewed as straying from tradition, the element of nature and the simplicity that comes along with it are also very salient. Emerson believed that nature
Romanticism took place in the early 1800's, it focused on the evolution and the effects nature has upon the universe. This time period helped grasp imagination, emotions, symbolism, and focus on the individual of one's self. I will be evaluating the authors, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Nathaniel Hawthorne to demonstrate how their works relate to the time era of the 18th century.
Human nature is something that never seems to change. While humans all seem to be different from one another through physical and emotional attributes, their psychological behaviors are all mostly very similar. In the late 18th century and early 19th century, many authors successfully could explain the characteristics of human nature and the effects that it has on everyone and everything surrounding human beings. Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Edgar Allen Poe all convey the behavior of human nature in separate ways. These three authors show the curiosity, drive for perfection, and fear of human nature throughout their texts in detail. With these characteristics being prominent in human nature itself, it
The theme of individualism is present in several of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s works. It was also his philosophical views on how to live life. He believed that human beings had remarkable capabilities, more than they can possibly identify. With these capabilities a person should govern themselves, not be governed by a society. Emerson also believed that nature played a large role in how man should act and to follow nature’s actions of growing without obstruction (“Nature”). This is why he lead the Transcendentalism movement in the nineteenth century, along with Theodore Parker, Frederic Henry Hedge, Amos Bronson Alcott, Margaret Fuller and Henry David Thoreau (Lewis). This philosophy was not only significant then, it was imperative throughout times in history.
Undoubtedly, Gothicism was meant to focus on the darker side of human nature (Gothic Literature). This literary movement began from authors that believed the novels in the transcendentalism movement were too optimistic. The readers became
The Romantic period developed in America in the 19th century, with the Gothic/Romantic stories of Edgar Allan Poe and the quasi-religious, transcendentalist poetry of Ralph Waldo