Notes: The Romantics
The concept of the journey is critical during the flowering of literature in New England. The time is the mid-nineteenth century (mid-1800's). The idea of the journey offered real, not just poetic possibilities. There was something refreshing and revivifying about a walk into nature.
Important figures
Bryant, Longfellow, and Cooper were significant writers of this period.
- James Fenimore Cooper was the first American novelist
- Washington Irving was the first American short story writer.
- Thoreau said:
West is a concept, not just a direction. It implies progress beyond our present state--improvement of the human condition. The discovery of gold made the lure of the West even stronger."Eastward I go only by force, but westward I go free."
- William Cullen Bryant reflected on the nature of death and the afterlife in his poem, Thanatopsis, at the tender age of 16 (disputed).
Themes of Romanticism
Romanticism involved a heavy indulgence in the physical and metaphysical worlds. Think of it as another frame of existence, where the past coexists with the present, and the forces of nature are omnipresent, giving their due to the flow of time as required. In this sphere, the individual forms a sort of bond with nature and reflects upon his life and the past from within that communion. There is a good deal of power within this reasoning, which lends itself to the name "romantic" - the exaggerated and epic form.
- Emphasis on individual/self
- Emphasis on America's past
- Poetic justice
- Imagination
- Supernatural
- Mystery
- Nature