American Romanticism Transcendentalism - Loudoun County Public Schools

American Romanticism & Transcendentalism

The American Renaissance (1828-1865)

Romanticism

Began in Germany during the second half of the 18th century

Had a strong influence on literature, music, and art in Europe and England well into the 19th century

Tenets of Romanticism

Romantics believed that imagination, spontaneity, individual feelings, and nature were of greater value than reason, logic, planning, and cultivation.

Romantics believed that the imagination was able to discover truths that reason could not reach. These truths were usually accompanied by powerful emotion and associated with beauty.

Romantic Literature

Sought to rise above "dull realities" to a realm of higher truth by:

Exploring exotic settings in the more "natural" past--a world far away from the industrial cities

Contemplating the natural world until dull reality falls away to reveal underlying beauty and truth

Common theme-- in NATURE and CHILDHOOD we see universal, spiritual truths

Themes in Romantic Literature

City= moral corruption and death

Countryside= independence, straightforward moral certainty, and health

Development of self/self-awareness

The individual had a moral duty to reform social inequalities and relieve human suffering

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