This prompted a reaction: Dark Romanticism we are predisposed to sin and its even darker cousin, Gothic Literature torment, graphic morbidity, and the supernatural. Many of the works referenced above cross into the genre of Dark Romanticism , as their characters confront self-destructive forces and societal norms. Melville's Captain Ahab is the prototype of human fallibility, and he draws upon amble Biblical allusions including his character names centering on themes of judgement, guilt, sin, souls, and the end of the world.
See Moby-Dick - Study Guide. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne exemplifies Dark Romanticism in its themes of imposed judgement and punishment for those who commit sin, resulting in alienation and self-destruction. Hawthorne's most famous novel examined the human soul and our morality-- certainly a cautionary tale about the dangers of well-intended social reform and blind religious fervor.
While Hawthorne dappled in numerous genres, including Transcendentalism and Romanticism, he found his niche in Dark Romanticism, albeit on the less pessimistic side. He believed that for all of our weaknesses, hypocrisy and suffering, "the truth of the human heart" usually prevails. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott is a semi-autobiographical story about four sisters who adore their father, set during the American Civil War.
Emily Dickinson challenged the definitions of poetry and exemplify Romanticism, particularly Dark Romanticism. It's well-known that she led an increasingly reclusive life, afflicted by severe depression, and never saw success during her lifetime she died at Yet, her creative energy, willingness to fight conventions no titles, short lines , and prolific writing she published nearly 1, poems in her lifetime established her literary prowess and blazed a trail for other poets and women writers to follow.
Two American short story authors whose works were published after deserve inclusion as part of the American Romantic Movement: O. Henry and Kate Chopin. Their respective canons offer characters with emotional complexity, intuition, and an ability to express individual freedoms in the face of repressive forces or social conventions.
The etymology of the word "Romanticism" is from the Latin word "romant" which means "in the Roman manner. American authors embracing the Romantic Movement were most prolific between The country was in its infancy as an independent nation, the industrial revolution brought many practical and efficient inventions, and "manifest destiny" was on full-tilt.
Americans wanted to break away from European thoughts and philosophies to create unique forms of emotional expressions. Two opposing sub-genres emerged that were uniquely American: the optimists who believed in human goodness and spirituality, grew in to the Transcendentalism Movement ; the pessimists, who embraced human fallibility and our predisposition towards sin, grew into the Dark Romantic Movement.
Authors such as Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote about free choice and the wrongful persecution of minorities in America, as in The Scarlet Letter. Deacon's Masterpiece". Walt Whitman, poetry Leaves of Grass. Barbour, James and Thomas Quirk, eds. Romanticism: Critical Essays in American Literature. New York:Garland. Eave, Morris and Michael Fischer, eds. Whether you like it or not—whether your favorite holiday is the 4th of July or you can't get enough of this bald eagle fail —the U.
But it's only been a country for a little over two hundred years if we start counting with the Declaration of Independence in : America is still a teenager in country-years.
But America is kind of the Lorde-circa of teenage countries. You may love it, you may hate it, you may float conspiracy theories about how it's actually way older than it claims to be… but you know all about it.
You probably even have its anti-Royalist stance stuck in your head. But what is it, exactly, that makes America American?
Is it scrumptious barbeque? Is it Celia Cruz? Is it the Hollywood sign? Is it Toni Morrison um, yes please: that would make our book nerd hearts very, very happy? No, it's something more ineffable than that, right? It's the X factor of Americanism: the American character. So what is the American character? Well, if we want to get an idea, we might have to dig into the American Romantics—way back in time to the first big American literary movement.
These writers reflect for us the values that make the American character unique. Heck, they played a big part in creating those values in the first place.
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