The West And Its Romantic Appeal

The Romantic era began in 1770, with its peak being from 1800 to 1850. With emphasis on the imagination and emotion, Romanticism emerged as a result of the Enlightenment period, which heavily placed values upon reason and order. Thus, Romanticism depends heavily on “the practical accomplishments of the prior un-Romantic era— a relationship between material wealth and scientific knowledge on one hand, and personal, spiritual, or emotional transcendence on the other, that twenty-first century Americans continue to manage.” The simplest explanation for what is Romantic is “‘anything but the here and now’ or whatever is not realistic” (“Romanticism”). The

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).

“So long as the human consciousness remains within the hills, canyons, cliffs, and the planets, clouds, and sky, the term landscape, as it has entered the English language, is misleading. ‘A portion of territory the eye can comprehend in a single view’ does not correctly describe the relationship between the human being and his or her

American Romanticism illustrates the first purely American literary movement that began alongside the beginning of a new nation. American Romanticism appeared in response to the rationalists, such as Ben Franklin, which the American Romantics believed to be too single-minded and not as expressive. Therefore, this literary movement turned away from the corruption of cities and the physical world and focused on nature and imagination. Washington Irving, in his stories “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “Rip Van Winkle”, displays characteristics of American Romanticism and creates American Romantic heroes.

The author utilizes words such as “flyover region that one must endure,” “easy inclines,” “square states”, and “farmable plains.” Marquart’s description characterizes the landscape as plain and dull. At the same time her diction recapitulates a landscape which is calm and serene. The upper Midwest has “easy inclines” and “farmable plains.” It is a place that is eye-catching to those who are farming, like her grandparents, who received an portion of land.

Generally when one thinks of the American west their mind jumps to an image of untouched, unspoiled land, such as the land that is represented by America’s national parks. These tourist destinations in the West showcase the history of our nation’s land in a way that many people assume is and has always been the reality, but although the natural beauty of these lands is represented perhaps the beauty of the cultures that used to inhabit them is not.

Landscape, History, and the Pueblo Imagination is different than the first two stories. Although Silko is describing what she sees, Silko is also describing what other people are seeing. Silko describes people as part of the land and not just people.“Viewers are as much a part of the landscape as the boulders they stand on”. (Silko pg.92) Silko is saying that landscape is everything seen, not just selected items.

further more towards the west marquart shows, the grid was foiled by steep valleys, rivers, foothills, and mountains(53). She shows further past the midwest region someone can encounter the beauty of nature, showing there is more to see then just being the state that is avoided seen by others. Along with the even squares and the neat land, other parts of the midwest can be described as, a war on roots….. fix it with geometry, democracy,

In chapters two and three titled “Sites” and “Movements” respectively, Howard makes the case that there is a “dialectical” relationship between the subject and the landscape (both social and physical) and

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.

Romanticized stories are those that show an idyllic yet unrealistic view of reality. It’s the picturesque quality of romance that draws the reader in. One example of this is in An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce. In An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge, Bierce increases the impact of the story’s ending by romantically depicting Farquhar’s escape and following the romantic portrayal with a sudden snap back to reality.

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

Passing by the flat and rolling landscapes of the Interior Plains, I learned that there was more than what I thought, which were flat and featureless terrains, when I thought of it as the inner land of a country. However, there are actually two escarpments that separate the region into three elevations. The area receives the perfect amount of water and sunlight, which is evident by it’s diverse variety of vegetation and is also a prime destination for farming and is home to many oat, wheat, and barley farmers. My favourite feature of the Interior Plains is it’s majestic wide river valleys. Watching the beauty of the sunset in this grand setting seems to relinquish me from all of my worries, almost as if they are washed away by the ever flowing

A Golden age is defined as a period of prosperity and happiness. The Western Society is in a golden age because for the past 100 years the Western Society has led the world. The Western Society includes the United States, Canada, Australia, and Europe. The western society has made many great advancements.

Romantic ideals of love and romance, permanence and transcendence and freedom and liberation found expression through a variety of modes and motifs such as Hellenism, Medievalism, Pastoralism and Orientalism. Initially conceived as a fanciful exercise about passing curiosities of the East, Romantic Orientalism came to be connected with the rise and glory of Empire and the accompanying challenges and tensions, subsequently becoming more imaginative, academic and objective. Compared with the similar writings of the past, Romantic Orientalism claimed to be more realistic on account of the local details it made