American Romanticism began in the early 1800s as a reaction against rationalism and industrialization. Romantics valued emotion, imagination, and nature over reason. They often used exotic settings or nature as an escape from reality. Early American writers developed a unique voice by using the American wilderness in their novels, like James Fenimore Cooper in The Last of the Mohicans. Transcendentalists like Ralph Waldo Emerson emphasized intuition and the divine in nature, while "Dark Romantics" like Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allan Poe provided a darker, more balanced view that acknowledged both good and evil in humanity and nature.

1. American Romanticism 1800-1860 L.Ruckel American Literature

2. What is Romanticism? Answer: The schools of thought that value feeling and intuition over reason.

3. The Beginning: Romanticism started in Germany in the second half of the 18 th century. It was a reaction to rationalism and the Industrial Revolution. Imagination, feelings, and wild nature were more valuable than reason and logic especially when it cam to art. Poetry vs. science

4. Wanderer Above the Sea Fog, by Caspar David Friedrich Strong emotion=aesthetic experience

5. Escapism Romantics wanted to rise above “dull realities” to reach higher truth. They often looked to exotic settings of the past or the supernatural world to escape. Or they would look to nature as a source of escape. Similar to the Puritans.

6. The American Voice Would American writers continue to imitate the Europeans or develop their own style? American novels used the wilderness of the west to create a unique style. James Fenimore Cooper was one of the first American novelists. He wrote The Last of the Mohicans.

7. The New Hero Virtue=American Innocence American Romantic Hero: truthful, young, intuitive, close to nature, rejects the rules of society, uneasy with women (women=society)

8. Romantic Poetry Stuck with English themes, meter, and imagery. Wanted to prove Europeans wrong about Americans. Fireside Poets: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, John Greenleaf Whittier, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and James Russell Lowell They were somewhat short sighted.

9. Transcendentalists Transcendental-the idea that in determining the ultimate reality of God, the universe, the self, and other important matters, one must transcend the everyday human experience in the physical world. Lead by Ralph Waldo Emerson. They were idealists, but in a broader, more practical sense. They were working towards perfection.

10. The Dark Romantics A.K.A anti-transcendentalists Included Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allan Poe, and Herman Melville They also valued intuition, but were not as optimistic about it. They thought there was both good and bad in nature. They provided more balance.