1 ROMANTICISM and TRANSCENDENTALISM (1800-1860)

2 Romanticism Love for nature Focus on individualismFascination with the supernatural, the mysterious, gothic (dark side of human nature) Idealism Passionate love of country Yearning for picturesque and exotic

3 MORE CHARACTERISTICS Focuses on feelings and emotionsRevolt against Age of Reason Revolt against Industrial Age Two divisions (types) -Dark Romantics: Edgar Allen Poe, Washington Irving, Herman Melville, Emily Dickinson -Transcendentalism: Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau Romantic vs. romantic: Die Hard vs. Flowers

4 Edgar Allen Poe The Tell Tale Heart The Raven The Fall of the Houseof Usher

5 OTHER MAJOR AUTHORS Nathaniel Hawthorne: The Scarlet LetterJames Fenimore Cooper: The Last of the Mohicans

6 FIRESIDE POETS Longfellow, Lowell, Holmes, WhittierEasy to read, inspiring- read by families Concerned with ordinary Americans Romanticized American life Romanticism began a major change for America; we started producing our very first FICTION: -First published American Authors/Books -Literature reflected life in the U.S.- our experiences (freedom, expansion, industrialization)

7 Transcendentalism: A philosophy that grew from the Romantic philosophy and believed that the truths about life and death could be reached only by going beyond the world of the senses. The term itself and some of its ideas came from the German philosopher Immanuel Kant.

8 TRANSCENDENTALISM IndividualismBelieved democratically--every man/woman could transcend the material world Knowledge comes from intuition Nature is alive with “the spirit” Human mind could read nature and find truths Material success is source of corruption Wanted to reform society and create utopia “Oversoul”, “universal soul” Even the smallest element of nature was a microcosm of the universe

9 Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David ThoreauReligion is a barrier to God Humanism is another term for Transcendentalism Optimistic attitude/tone