American Romanticism between 1800-1860 valued feeling and intuition over reason, placing faith in inner experience and the imagination. It championed individual freedom and found beauty in nature, exotic locales, mythology, and the imagination. While some American Romantics had a more optimistic vision, others like Poe, Hawthorne, and Irving examined humanity's darker aspects through narratives of criminals, insanity, evil, terror and grief.

1. American
Romanticism
1800-1860

2. Essential Question
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What are the characteristics of American
Romanticism?

3. Characteristics of American
Romanticism
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Values feeling and intuition over reason
Places faith in inner experience and the
power of the imagination
Shuns the artificiality of civilization and
seeks unspoiled nature
Prefers youthful innocence to educated
sophistication

4. Characteristics of American
Romanticism
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Champions individual freedom and the
worth of the individual
Reflects on nature’s beauty as a path to
spiritual and moral development
Looks backward to the wisdom of the past
and distrusts progress

5. Characteristics of American
Romanticism
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Finds beauty and truth in exotic locales, the
supernatural realm, and the inner world of
the imagination
Sees poetry as the highest expression of
the imagination
Finds inspiration in myth, legend, and
folklore

6. Romantics with a
Darker Vision
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Not all writers shared the strong optimism.
Examined the darker facets of humanity,
such as greed, vanity, guilt.
Narrators who were criminals or insane.
Psychological effects of evil, terror, and
grief on the human soul.

7. The American
Romantics
Authors:
Washington Irving
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Edgar Allan Poe

8. Washington Irving
1783-1859
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Short story writer, essayist,
poet, travel book writer,
biographer, and columnist
Has been called the father of
the American short story
The first American to make a
living solely from writing
Best known stories include
“The Legend of Sleepy
Hollow,” & “The Headless
Horseman.”

9. Nathaniel Hawthorne
1804 - 1864
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Descendant of the
“hanging judge” at
Salem witch trials.
Unhappy childhood.
Worked in isolation for
twelve years.
Major work: The
Scarlet Letter 1850

10. Edgar Allan Poe
1809 - 1849
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Tormented throughout his life with loss,
bitterness, and
depression.
Lived in poverty most
of his life.
Married his 13-yearold cousin.
Dead in a gutter at 40,
drunk or rabies?

11. Edgar Allan Poe
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Brilliant talent for
investigating the dark
side of humanity.
Revenge, terror, lost
love, insanity were
common themes.

12. Edgar Allan Poe
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Credited with defining
the short story.
Father of modern
detective fiction story
and of the horror tale,
as well.