Romanticism

Natural Settings - The Romantics focused on the beauty and mystery of nature that was an "organic process." They believed that nature is always changing and developing. They found that humans were inherently good and that being part of nature makes you innocent while living a life in suburbia or urban areas negatively impacts humans' goodness. Due to this fact, the setting of many Romanticism stories, poems, and other works of art take place in rather secluded areas.

Past Settings - Romantic writers romanticize about the past, especially before the industrial age. They were inspired by the mystery of the land and many stories were set around the frontier for nostalgic reasons.

Settings in Folklore and Legends - Romantics also enjoyed other settings including old legends or folklores. For instance, Washington Irving wrote about legends and folklore and its connection to the natural world through the use of human emotion, such as Rip Van Winkle or The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (lewispalmer.org) 

"The most import aspect, though, of American Romanticism, was that it had its own individualistic elements, apart from its European counterparts. For the first time in history, a movement came about that was entirely belonging to the United States, and the American writer’s identity thus was a result of it." (University of Alabama, College of Arts and Sciences)

Romanticism led to a "distinct American literary style." Americans helped write about natural landscapes and their beauty more prevalent. Examples are Leatherstocking Tales, The Last of the Mohicans, Moby Dick, etc.). Stories of the frontier became widely-known and more popular because of American writers which fostered a spirit of optimism thruogh the use of frontier stories.

Timeline for Romanticism in America

• 1765- The American Revolution begins (huge impact on Romanticism) 
• 1836- Ralph Waldo Emmerson publishes "Nature," allowing Americans to see the beauty of nature
• 1839- "Fall in the House of Usher "published by Poe 
• 1843- "Tell-Tale Heart" published by Poe
• 1849- Poe dies mysteriously, Scarlet Letter published by Hawthorne 
• 1850- The Fugitive Slave Act passed which stands against everything the Romanticists believe in 
• 1851- Melville published Moby Dick 
• 1861 to 1865- The Civil War, Romanticism declines and Realism becomes prevalent 
• 1862- Thoreau dies 
• 1865- Hawthorne dies 
• 1890- Emily Dickinson's poems published by family 
• 1892- Whitman dies 

Notable Authors:
Emily Dickinson
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Herman Melville
Washington Irving
Walt Whitman
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Edgar Allan Poe

Notable Short-Stories:
Life in the Iron-Mills by Rebecca Harding Davis
Bartleby the Scrivener by Herman Melville
The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe
Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe
Old Ironsides by Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.

Notable Transcendentialist Works:
Nature by Ralph Waldo Emmerson
Summer on the Lakes by Margaret Fuller
A Life of the Mind by Henry David Thoreau
Walden & Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau
Song of Myself by Walt Whitman

(Source: Flippin' English, YouTube)

Transcendentalists thought that everyone was completely pure and every person was a part of God. They also believed that everyone’s thoughts and intentions were the voice of God. They were not supporters of institutions of government because they perceived the human mind as the strongest power in the world. They concerned themselves with questions about the goodness of people and ones’ drive/passion being intrinsically driven by God (College English Prep). Notable Transcendalists: Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Margaret Fuller.

Dark Romanticism is a sub-genre that became more well-known when the Transcendental philosophical movement began in the late 1830's. However, dark works of Romanticism tend to be far less optimistic than Transcendentalism when pertaining to humans, nature, and the divine. 

What sets Dark Romantics and Anti-Transcendentalists apart? Dark Romantics and are not confident in the quality of humans. They believe that humans are inherently born to sin and cause themselves to make impulsive decisions that do not involve wisdom or the divine. Also, Dark Romantics view the belief in nature and spirit as a dark force. For Transcendentalists, however, nature is seen as an organic and divine middleman. Dark Romantics view the world as dark and mysterious and when the truth is revealed, these revelations lead to impending doom. Lastly, Transcendentalists view social reform while Dark Romantics demonstrate the failures of reform when the character is trying to change the world for the better (College Prep English).

The Dark Romantics helped set up modern horror, thriller, and mystery stories. Writers such as Poe and Melville differed greatly from Transcendentalists. In fact, many Dark Romantics were known as Anti-Transcendentalists. Dark Romantics examined psychological factors such as sin, good versus evil, and madness. They all believed that not all humans are good by nature.

The Dark Romantics thought that Transcendentalists neglected to study the darker part of humans as opposed to them who studied revenge, shame, madness, and obsession. The Dark Romantics topics helped mold what American literature looks like today. Without these authors, horror and mystery stories would not be the same.

Edgar Allan Poe was the expert of psychological thrillers. All of his stories focused on Dark Romantic topics such as madness and obsession. Hawthorne also wrote Dark Romantic works about the guilt of his ancestors as Puritans. His most notable example is The Scarlet Letter.

Ultimately, they demonstrated the darker side of stories that were not mentioned beforehand. They denounced the Transcendentalists thoughts that people are inherently good. Rather, they found that people were capable of being evil, impure, and not completely good. They argued that original sin was responsible for the badness that lives in everyone (College English Prep).

Ambrose Bierce's "Chickamauga"

Bierce's short story focuses on strange and surreal storytelling. The story is told from two different points of view and demonstrates two different points of view about the war. What's particularly interesting about this short story is that he is able to demonstrate how bad people truly are with the help of Romanticism and its common themes including the individual, the grotesque, and the fine line between fact and imagination. 

"A thin, ghostly mist rose along the water. It frightened and repelled him; instead of recrossing, in the direction whence he had come, he turned his back upon it, and went forward toward the dark inclosing wood. Suddenly he saw before him a strange moving object which he took to be some large animal—a dog, a pig—he could not name it; perhaps it was a bear. He had seen pictures of bears, but knew of nothing to their discredit and had vaguely wished to meet one. But something in form or movement of this object—something in the awkwardness of its approach— told him that it was not a bear, and curiosity was stayed by fear. He stood still and as it came slowly on gained courage every moment, for he saw that at least it had not the long menacing ears of the rabbit." 

-Bierce, 3