Romanticism (1830-1870)
Intro
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The Romantic period of American literature began in 1798. Romanticism was a critique of the Enlightenment that had recently swept over the American nation. The Enlightenment was a widespread European movement that emphasized reason, logic, and individualism. However, Romanticism was quite the opposite and is defined as the literary and artistic movement that placed a premium on imagination, emotion, nature, and individuality. It focuses on instinct and emotion rather than reason. This movement was coined as a renaissance for America that helped them reinvent and create their own literary style. This time period in American history was the era that helped set the New World completely apart from the Europeans and helped them become an even more independent and unique nation
Along with Romanticism came Transcendentalism. Transcendentalism is the belief that God, man, and nature all have an equal amount of divinity. This movement was introduced by a philosopher named Immanuel Kant. Famous transcendentalists such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau wrote poems, short stories, and documentations that reflected their beliefs of being one with nature and God. This is specifically evident in one of Emerson’s quotes as he says, “ the human mind can unlock any mystery, from the intricacies of nature to the wonders of God.” This quote shows that Emerson believed that humans are powerful enough to fully understand nature and God putting humans on the same level as nature and God.
Another branch of Romanticism was dark or gothic romanticism. This type of literature focused more on a person’s dark and gloomy emotions. Dark romantics like Edgar Allan Poe and Washington Irving tended to grasp reader’s darker emotions of fear, sadness, and horror. For example, Edgar Allan Poe’s short story, The Fall of the House of Usher, was a horrific telling of a mentally ill man living in seclusion with his physically ill sister in whom he buried alive.
Along with Romanticism came Transcendentalism. Transcendentalism is the belief that God, man, and nature all have an equal amount of divinity. This movement was introduced by a philosopher named Immanuel Kant. Famous transcendentalists such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau wrote poems, short stories, and documentations that reflected their beliefs of being one with nature and God. This is specifically evident in one of Emerson’s quotes as he says, “ the human mind can unlock any mystery, from the intricacies of nature to the wonders of God.” This quote shows that Emerson believed that humans are powerful enough to fully understand nature and God putting humans on the same level as nature and God.
Another branch of Romanticism was dark or gothic romanticism. This type of literature focused more on a person’s dark and gloomy emotions. Dark romantics like Edgar Allan Poe and Washington Irving tended to grasp reader’s darker emotions of fear, sadness, and horror. For example, Edgar Allan Poe’s short story, The Fall of the House of Usher, was a horrific telling of a mentally ill man living in seclusion with his physically ill sister in whom he buried alive.
Nathaniel Hawthorne
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Nathaniel Hawthorne was a dark romantic. He is especially well known for his novels The Scarlet Letter and The House of the Seven Gables. He came from a strictly Puritan descent most of them being businessmen, judges, and seamen. An early ancestor of his, William Hathorne, came from England to America in 1630 and became a judge known for his harsh sentencing. One of William’s sons, John Hathorne, was one of the three judges in the Salem witch trials in which dozens of people were accused and executed for being witches. Due to the horror of his ancestors doings, Nathaniel added a ‘w’ to his last name to distance himself from that side of his family. Events and family members like these fueled Hawthorne’s imagination in his writing.
Hawthorne was born in Salem Massachusetts on July 4, 1804 to Nathaniel Hathorne and Elizabeth Clarke Hathorne. He was one of three children and had two sisters. In 1808 at the young age of four, Hawthorne’s father, a sea captain, died of yellow fever at sea. His family was left in a financial crisis and was forced to move in with Elizabeth’s wealthy brothers. Hawthorne experienced a leg injury at a young age that left him immobile for a couple of months. During this time, however, he realized that he had a passion for reading and set his sights on being an author one day.
With the financial aid of his uncles, Hawthorne was granted the opportunity of going to Bowdoin college from 1821 to 1825. Among his fellow classmates he met Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and future United States president, Franklin Pierce. At Bowdoin, Hawthorne received a very strong and solid education about literature. Despite his refusal to participate in public speaking events, he still was well off in college.
After getting his education, Hawthorne spent the next twelve years of his life in his mother’s household in Salem. As he looked back on his life, he thought of these years as a dreamlike isolation. However, recent biographers have shown that this period of time was not as secluded as Hawthorne had remembered it. He still had a social life, played cards, and went out for entertainment. Nevertheless, Hawthorne felt as if this period was a strange dark dream in which he learned to write tales and draw sketches that are still unique even to this day.
Hawthorne wrote many short stories that ended up being known as American classics. He began publishing his writings anonymously in magazines and giftbooks. However in 1837, he published Twice-Told Tales. The publication of this short story lifted his spirits, bringing him out of seclusion and prompting him to continue his work. He later published The Grandfather’s Chair in 1841, Mosses from an Old Manse in 1846, and The Snow Image in 1851. Around this time, Hawthorne fell in love with his Salem neighbor Sophia Peabody and got married to her in 1842. He and his new wife began to live in Concord, Massachusetts where Hawthorne was in frequent contact with famous transcendentalists Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson, though he did not follow their transcendentalist beliefs.
In the years 1848-1853, Hawthorne produced some of his greatest novels including The Scarlet Letter, The House of Seven Gables, and The Blithedale Romance. In 1852, Hawthorne’s good friend from college Franklin Pierce was elected president and appointed Hawthorne at the position of American consul in Liverpool, England. During his years serving the president abroad he produced the novels Our Old Home and The Marble Faun. After seven years of serving, he finally returned home back to Massachusetts.
Though Hawthorne was a very active man, his health began to fail him. He refused to receive any types of medical examinations so his health issues remain a mystery. He died on May 19, 1864 during a trip with Franklin Pierce to the New Hampshire Hills. It is believed that he died on the second night of his trip while he was sleeping. Nathaniel Hawthorne is still seen today as one of America’s greatest writers.
Hawthorne was born in Salem Massachusetts on July 4, 1804 to Nathaniel Hathorne and Elizabeth Clarke Hathorne. He was one of three children and had two sisters. In 1808 at the young age of four, Hawthorne’s father, a sea captain, died of yellow fever at sea. His family was left in a financial crisis and was forced to move in with Elizabeth’s wealthy brothers. Hawthorne experienced a leg injury at a young age that left him immobile for a couple of months. During this time, however, he realized that he had a passion for reading and set his sights on being an author one day.
With the financial aid of his uncles, Hawthorne was granted the opportunity of going to Bowdoin college from 1821 to 1825. Among his fellow classmates he met Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and future United States president, Franklin Pierce. At Bowdoin, Hawthorne received a very strong and solid education about literature. Despite his refusal to participate in public speaking events, he still was well off in college.
After getting his education, Hawthorne spent the next twelve years of his life in his mother’s household in Salem. As he looked back on his life, he thought of these years as a dreamlike isolation. However, recent biographers have shown that this period of time was not as secluded as Hawthorne had remembered it. He still had a social life, played cards, and went out for entertainment. Nevertheless, Hawthorne felt as if this period was a strange dark dream in which he learned to write tales and draw sketches that are still unique even to this day.
Hawthorne wrote many short stories that ended up being known as American classics. He began publishing his writings anonymously in magazines and giftbooks. However in 1837, he published Twice-Told Tales. The publication of this short story lifted his spirits, bringing him out of seclusion and prompting him to continue his work. He later published The Grandfather’s Chair in 1841, Mosses from an Old Manse in 1846, and The Snow Image in 1851. Around this time, Hawthorne fell in love with his Salem neighbor Sophia Peabody and got married to her in 1842. He and his new wife began to live in Concord, Massachusetts where Hawthorne was in frequent contact with famous transcendentalists Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson, though he did not follow their transcendentalist beliefs.
In the years 1848-1853, Hawthorne produced some of his greatest novels including The Scarlet Letter, The House of Seven Gables, and The Blithedale Romance. In 1852, Hawthorne’s good friend from college Franklin Pierce was elected president and appointed Hawthorne at the position of American consul in Liverpool, England. During his years serving the president abroad he produced the novels Our Old Home and The Marble Faun. After seven years of serving, he finally returned home back to Massachusetts.
Though Hawthorne was a very active man, his health began to fail him. He refused to receive any types of medical examinations so his health issues remain a mystery. He died on May 19, 1864 during a trip with Franklin Pierce to the New Hampshire Hills. It is believed that he died on the second night of his trip while he was sleeping. Nathaniel Hawthorne is still seen today as one of America’s greatest writers.
Literary Themes
The overall literary theme of this time period was "embrace the individual." Romanticism was the focus on a person's imagination and feelings. It critiqued Enlightenment thinking that said that everything had a reason and could be explained. However, Romantic writers, especially dark romantics, forced their readers to examine and discover themselves and their emotions. They encouraged people to act on their own personal instincts rather than what everyone else saw logical or reasonable.
Timeline
Key Authors
Immanuel Kant- Critique of Practical Reason
Washington Irving- The Devil and Tom Walker
William Cullen Bryant- Thanatopsis
Ralph Waldo Emerson- From Nature
Henry David Throeau- Walden and Civil Disobedience
Walt Whitman- A Song of Myself and Leaves of Grass
Margaret Fuller- Women in the Nineteenth Century
Edgar Allan Poe- The Fall of the House of Usher
Nathaniel Hawthorne- The Minister's Black Veil
Herman Melville- Moby Dick
Emily Dickenson- Because I Could Not Stop For Death, I Heard a Fly Buzz- When I Died, The Soul Selects Her Own Society, The Brain- is Wider than the Sky, There is a Solitude of Space, and Water is Taught by Thirst
Washington Irving- The Devil and Tom Walker
William Cullen Bryant- Thanatopsis
Ralph Waldo Emerson- From Nature
Henry David Throeau- Walden and Civil Disobedience
Walt Whitman- A Song of Myself and Leaves of Grass
Margaret Fuller- Women in the Nineteenth Century
Edgar Allan Poe- The Fall of the House of Usher
Nathaniel Hawthorne- The Minister's Black Veil
Herman Melville- Moby Dick
Emily Dickenson- Because I Could Not Stop For Death, I Heard a Fly Buzz- When I Died, The Soul Selects Her Own Society, The Brain- is Wider than the Sky, There is a Solitude of Space, and Water is Taught by Thirst
Famous Paintings From Romantic Period
Learn more:
Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2015. <http://www.biography.com/people/nathaniel-hawthorne-9331923>.
Feldman, Kevin, Sharon Vaughan, and Kate Kinsella. Prentice Hall Literature. Penguin ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2007. Print.
"Nathaniel Hawthorne Biography." Nathaniel Hawthorne Biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2015. <http://www.notablebiographies.com/Gi-He/Hawthorne-Nathaniel.html>.