American Romanticism Was life after the Revolution boring?
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American RomanticismAmerican Romanticism
Was life after the Revolution Was life after the Revolution boring?boring?
Well…technicallyWell…technically
• It was surrounded by wars!– Seven Year’s War
(1756 -1763)– French and Indian
War (1754-1763)– American Revolution
(1775-1783)– French Revolution
(1789-1799)
annnnnnd….annnnnnd….
• It was surrounded by controversy!– Revolutions– Enlightenment– Rationalism– Deism– Basic changes in
thinking!– Ideas were getting
thrown around that were never even considered before!
Remember thoughRemember though
• This time was about freedom!
• Freedom of person! Thought! Religion! etc.
• So what did people do with all of this freedom?
• Well they didn’t at first• People branched out to
new things• Writing how they wanted to
write and for who they wanted to write for!
This is where Romanticism comes This is where Romanticism comes in…in…
• Journal Entry: Based upon how I led you here through the previous power point slides, what is Romanticism? What do you think Romantics wrote about?
RomanticismRomanticism• There really is no all-
encompassing definition
• The main comes from the interest in aestheticism
• Aestheticism- the branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, with the creation and appreciation of beauty
• Focus away from humans and towards nature
Romanticism part 2Romanticism part 2
• We start with the natural and we see where that takes us
• People were experiencing freeing emotions both good and bad with the newfound freedom
• Emotions of Nature – how aesthetically pleasing nature is with regards to human emotion
• It can please, frighten, numb, pain, blind, tickle…Nature can influence a lot of human emotion
Romantic ArtRomantic Art• John Trumbull - US
William Hunt - USWilliam Hunt - US
William Blake - EnglandWilliam Blake - England
JMW Turner - EnglandJMW Turner - England
Caspar David Friedrich - GermanyCaspar David Friedrich - Germany
Ivan Aivazovsky - RussiaIvan Aivazovsky - Russia
SymbolsSymbols• Alright, so we have
aestheticism• Something evoking
emotion• Now add symbolic
thinking to this as well• Symbol – something
that represents an idea, a physical entity or a process but is distinct from it
• A symbol communicates a meaning.
Romantic SymbolsRomantic Symbols
• Nature = Beauty• Natural reactions =
emotion• The interpreting of
these natural images, whether through paintings, poetry, books, or other means of entertainment
Romantic HeroRomantic Hero
• A focus on the individual, rather than the collective: unique…eccentric
• One person to break away from the mold and become a valuable or hurtful asset to society.
• Stories based upon one person, not a group of people
• The Scarlet Letter, The Devil and Tom Walker
Tragic FlawTragic Flaw
• Greek: Hamartia• One thing wrong with the
individual that ends up being their undoing
• Overly ambitious, too happy, too sad, depressed…usually obvious
• One defining quality• Undoing does not mean
death…perhaps losing of their position in the world
Washington IrvingWashington Irving
• April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859
• Mostly lived in New York• Considered the first
American Romantic• Wrote some stories you
know• The Legend of Sleepy
Hollow• Rip Van Winkle• All of his stories have a lot
to do with the Appalachian area
Irving 2Irving 2
• Irving was obsessed with the supernatural
• Took myths and legends from Dutch and German folklore
• Elves, Dwarves, Enchanted forests
• Combined with his love for the surrounding New York countryside
• He was also interested in writing about the corruption of man
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