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ROMANTICISM Notes Romantic Attitudes Early American writing o Dominated by Age of Reason Philosophy = Classicism Characterized by reason, clarity, balance, and order Romanticism was a reaction to Classicism o The decay and corruption found in Urban cities Retained ideals o Equality, Freedom, and Individualism Valued Emotion/Feelings rather than Reason A “willing suspension of disbelief” o Romantics vs. Rationalists (Age of Reason) Imagination reached truths vs. Reason Emotion & natural beauty vs. Logic Individual feeling vs. Planning Nature vs. Cultivation Romantic Techniques Society = A world of “lies”; “harmful morality” Cultivation of the Individualized o Authorial subjectivity Truly heard author’s bias about the subject Organic principle in writing o Form rises out of content (informal) o Experimentation in new forms Using obsolete patterns Remoteness of settings in time and space Improbable plots Inadequate / unlikely characterization ROMANTICISM Notes Elements of Romanticism Frontier o Vast expanse, freedom, no geographic limitations o American Novel & Wilderness Westward Expansion & Wilderness Growth of Nationalist spirit American hero was unsophisticated and uncivilized o Quest for beauty Involves a journey to the countryside or to the imagination o Celebration of beauty and mystery of Nature For itself and beauty Source for the Knowledge of the primitive Refuge Revelation of God to the individual Themes Countryside, Independence/Moral Clarity, Healthful Living Optimism o Greater than in Europe because of the frontier o Sense of Idealism Portraying National life, Character, Common Man o Fireside Poets Read by fireside Family Entertainment Memorized in classrooms Wanted to prove Americans weren’t “hicks” Used British themes and style ROMANTICISM Notes Experimentation o In Science and Institutions o Interest in the Exotic (Far Eastern ideas) o Fascination with supernatural and gothic o Emphasis on Imagination Key to revealing the innermost depths of human spirit o Poetry Contrasted with science Contemplate natural world until reality collapsed and beauty and truth revealed The highest essence of imagination Lyric Poems Discussed a commonplace object/event with deep insight Mingling of Races o Large scale Immigration Growth of Industrialization o North becomes industrial, South remains agricultural o Escapism from American problems Involves a flight from something to something o The use of the far-away and non-normal Historical Perspective A great interest in picturesque / exotic aspects of the Past Characterization and Mood: Grotesque, Gothicism = sense of terror / fear