Romanticism

media type="custom" key="4511232"media type="custom" key="4506738"media type="custom" key="4503922" = =

=** The Romantic Period: 1840-1865 **=

Nate's Notes
= =

The Romantic Period was one of the most important movements in American literature. I should know. My name is Nathaniel Hawthorne, and I am most proud to say that I was a part of this vital period in American literature. Many people do not know about Romanticism, though, so I have prepared this page to inform curious readers of this fascinating time.

** Background **
The Romantic Period was my heyday. It lasted from 1840 to about 1865. However, what I like to call the "glory years" lasted from about 1850-1855, which is when I published __The Scarlet Letter__, my most famous novel. During these years we had 3 presidents; Taylor, Filmore, and Pierce. The Republican party was even formed to end slavery. I never thought that would happen! Some people in the taverns would describe the time has an "American Renaissance" because of the post-revolution art and literature. We all felt a real sense of patriotism while trying to understand what being American meant; we were English for so long, after all.

**Important Authors**
There are so many writers during this period that it is hard to narrow it down to a select few. Here is a list of what I think are the most important and influential writers in the Romantic Period. ​ Although Dickinson only had two of her poems published during her lifetime, she is one of the most famous and widely-read poets even today. Emily Dickinson's poetry was about a wide range of subjects; however, she wrote about nature and love the most. Emily meet and fell in love with Reverend Charles Wadsworth. I have heard that he is the inspiration for her numerous love poems. However, no one can be sure. I //can// say that her short, emotionally-charged poems had a huge impact on 20th century poetry. Another prominent writer, this time an author, was Henry David Thoreau. His most famous book was titled //Walden//, and was about his life of solitude living next to Walden Pond. That seems too lonely for me! Thoreau was a believer in the doctrines of Transcendentalism, along with Ralph Waldo Emerson. Thoreau was greatly influenced by Emerson, who started Henry's career. These two authors headed the Transcendentalism movement, one of the most important movements in the 19th century. A lot of people are confused by the Transcendentalism concept, so I'll try to make it as simple as possible. It celebrates the individual man instead of all of humanity; it focuses on emotions instead of reason. Thoreau definitely celebrated the individual in //Walden//. In fact, he stated in that book that "the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation." Thoreau wanted to be an individual, and he definitely was. Another one of my favorite Transcendalists is Ralph Waldo Emerson, who was a great essayist, poet, and lecturer. His most famous work from our Romantic period is his //Representative Men,// which he wrote in the same year as my most famous work, in 1850. Emerson wrote a lot about nature along with his good friend Thoreau. You know those transcendatalists, "birds of a feather flock together."
 * Emily Dickinson[[image:http://www.poems.net.au/images/emily-dickinson-photo1.jpg width="59" height="67" align="right"]]**
 * Henry David Thoreau[[image:http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/42/9042-004-F9E7476F.jpg width="92" height="120" align="left"]]**
 * Ralph Waldo Emerson **

Harriet Beecher Stowe is perhaps most famous for her book __Uncle Tom's Cabin__, written in 1852. She was both a writer and a philantropist. She grew up in my neighbor state, Connecticut, and in one of the most well-known 19th century families. She had a truly privileged upbringing and attended school. It is fascinating to me that although she was a wealthy white woman, she was still able to understand and tell the story of slavery.
 * Harriet Beecher Stowe[[image:http://americancivilwar.com/women/harriet_beecher_stowe.jpg width="100" height="128" align="left"]] **

Ah, Edgar Allen Poe. Now //there's// a name that will send shivers down your spine. Poe practically created the horror story, and we all like a good scary story now and then, right? Poe was influenced by his crazy, unreal dreams that he had. The concepts of many of his short stories came from his dreams or his wild imagination. He was also influenced by the great works of Shakespeare. Which great writer isn't? Edgar Allan Poe made most of the ground rules of writing a short story that writers still use today
 * Edgar Allan Poe[[image:http://robertarood.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/poe1.jpg width="65" height="89" align="right"]]**

**Some other notable literary peers of mine are Herman Melville, James Fennimore Cooper, Walt Whitman, and Washington Irving.**

** Major Works **
Some works that everyone was talking about were __Walden,__ __Leaves of Grass,__ __Moby Dick__, and my personal favorite, __The Scarlet Letter__. Thoreau, whom I mentioned earlier, wrote __Walden__, which is a rather autobiographical sort about his life and observations surrounding Walden Pond. This work was very influencial and showed Henry's skills as a Trancendentalist. Secondly, we have __Leaves of Grass__ by Walt Whitman. __Leaves__ was a collection of poetry meant to caputure the diversified sense of America. This included many themes, such as sex, death, demoncracy, and the unity of two people, all truly influential themes. Next, we have __Moby Dick__, which is a story that sounds very familiar to many, although few have actually read it. For those who know nothing about it, I would love to briefly explain its context. __Moby Dick__ is a seafaring tale which tells the story of a school-teaching sailor and his captain who is obsessed with the idea of killing the whale (hence the name) who has scarred him. Finally, __The Scarlet Letter__,which I am an expert on because I wrote the novel. My story of a rouge symbol of adulterous behavior is a symbolic one that follows the life of Hester Prynne, her daughter, her revenge seeking husband, and her preacher and lover. It is full of unexpected events and unreal situations and chronicles life in our early American society. These are just a selection of the works that came to shape American literature in what you know call "romanticism".

** Common Themes **
Although we all had our own unique style during the Romantic Period, many of our written works had similar themes. We all wanted to be individuals, and most of us made individualism our main themes in our works. We also explored the idea of religion. We felt the need to break away from the dry, unemotional religion that we experienced growing up. We needed to be personally involved with our religion. Patriotism was another common theme. America was still trying to break all ties with England, and Americans felt like we needed to be our own individuals. A strong national pride spread throughout Americans, and found its way in books, poetry, and other written works of this time period.

Techniques
There were many techniques that a lot of us writers used during this time. For example, there was often a supernatural foreshadowing, such as visions, dreams, or other such things. Many of us also used very formal language in our writing. Since a major theme of Romanticism was individuality, many writers made their main character different from the rest of society. We also made our characters static, which means that we did not develop them. Although these characteristics do not apply to all of us, many writers during the Romantic period used these techniques.

Blog
Do you want to hear more of my thoughts about the Romantic period? Visit my blog here.

__Other Sources__
For some other websites to look at, see [] [] [] For a great outline of events go to (note Romantic Section): []

==** //"Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill. I think that there is nothing, not even crime, more opposed to poetry, to philosophy, ay, to life itself than this incessant business." -Henry David Thoreau// **==