American Romanticism Was life after the Revolution boring?

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