Romanticism Test Review
Romanticism
 A Movement in art, literature, and music
during the 19th century
 Characterized by the five “I”s
 Imagination
 Intuition
 Idealism
 Inspiration
 Individuality
Romanticism
 Imagination: Emphasized over “reason.” It
was a backlash against the “Age of Reason.”
 Intuition: Romantics placed value on
“intuition,” or feelings and instincts over
reason.
 Can you think of examples of these two from
“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” or “The Devil
and Tom Walker”?
Romanticism
 Idealism: The concept that we can make the
world a better place. It refers to any theory
that emphasizes the spirit, the mind, or
language over matter- thought plays a crucial
role in making the world the way it is.
 From “Self Reliance”:
“Nothing is at last sacred
but the integrity of your
own mind.” - Emerson
Romanticism
 Inspiration: The romantic artist in an
“inspired creator” rather than a technical
master.” What this means is “going with
the moment” or being spontaneous rather
than “getting it precise.”
Romanticism
 Example of Inspiration from “Self Reliance”
by Ralph Waldo Emerson:
 “Ah, so you shall be misunderstood.” Is it so
bad to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was
misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and
Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and
Newton, [great thinkers whose radical
theories and viewpoints caused controversy]
and every pure and wise spirit that ever took
flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood.”
Romanticism
 Individuality: Romantics celebrate the
individual. They write about personal
feelings and ideas. During this time,
Women’s rights and Abolitionism were
taking root as major movements.
 Example from “Song of Myself” by
Whitman: “I celebrate myself, and sing
myself…”
Themes in Romantic Literature
1. Individualism (Nonconformity and Self-Reliance)
2. Imagination and the Supernatural
3. Nature vs. City (Simplicity vs. Materialism)
4. Distant or Remote Settings
List specific examples of these from the literature we
have covered in this unit. The next slide will tell
you what literature will be on the test. Try
specifically to tackle #3.
Literature Covered
Title
Author
“The Devil and Tom Walker”
Washington Irving
“Success”
Emily Dickenson
“Song of Myself”
“I Sit and Look Out”
“I Hear America Singing”
Walt Whitman
“The Raven”
“Masque of the Red Death”
Edgar Allan Poe
The Devil and Tom Walker
Tom Walker and his wife are a miserable couple who live in a run
down home with their starving horse. One day, Tom takes the
long way home through a swamp to avoid his wife. This
spooky swamp has a history of pirates, buried treasure
protected by the Devil, and Indian sacrifice rituals. Tom
stumbles on the Devil. Devil says he will make Tom rich (with
the unmentioned price of selling Tom’s soul). Tom is not sure.
Tom tells wife. Wife goes to strike deal with Devil. Devil kills
wife. Tom then strikes deal with Devil to be a usurer, a money
lender who charges high interest rates that unsuspecting
clients cannot pay back.
Tom is happy with his new job, but as he ages, he becomes
more concerned about the deal he has made. He carries a
bible in his pocket, and leaves a bible on his work desk. He
even prays loudly in church. One day, a client says he
cannot pay Tom his money because his family is broke.
Tom gets angry and says, “The Devil can take me if I have
made a farthing!” The Devil then barges in, swoops Tom
onto his horse, and they ride off to Hell. All of Tom’s assets
are burned to cinders. THE END.
Walt Whitman Poetry
“I Hear America Singing” – An uplifting poem about America’s working class and
their contribution to our country
“I Sit and Look Out” – An exposure to the negative injustices of America’s working
class
“Song of Myself” – Taken from his book of poetry titled Leaves of Grass, these
poems are all about Whitman connecting himself to nature and the grand scheme
of life. He explains that grass represents “the uncut hair” above graves, and that
there is no death, only “forward life.” When he dies, he becomes one with the soil,
which fertilizes our food, which in turn we digest. So all of us will meet up one day
in the ground or in someone’s blood after they have ingested us! This is also where
“I sound my barbaric YAWP” comes from in Dead Poets Society.
The Raven by Poe
It's late at night, and late in the year (after midnight on a December evening, to be
precise). A man is sitting in his room, half reading, half falling asleep, and trying
to forget his lost love, Lenore. Suddenly, he hears someone (or something)
knocking at the door. He calls out, apologizing to the "visitor" he imagines must
be outside. Then he opens the door and finds…nothing. This freaks him out a
little, and he reassures himself that it is just the wind against the window. So he
goes and opens the window, and in flies the raven.
The Raven settles in on a statue above the door, and for some reason, our
speaker's first instinct is to talk to it. He asks for its name, and the Raven answers
back, with a single word: "Nevermore."
The man asks more questions, particularly about
his lost Lenore and if he will ever see her again.
The bird's vocabulary turns out to be pretty
limited, though; all it says is "Nevermore." Our
narrator catches on to this rather slowly, and asks
more and more questions, which get more painful
and personal about Lenore. The Raven, though,
doesn't change his story, and the poor speaker
starts to lose his sanity.
The Masque of the Red Death by Poe
Poe writes about the Red Plague, modeled after the Black Plague happening
during Poe’s lifetime. The Red Plague is all about people oozing blood from
painful sores and dying in a half an hour.
Because of the plague, Prince Prospero decides to host a masquerade party with
crazy entertainment, dancing, food and wine. He invites a thousand lords and
ladies to attend this party that lasts for months. He shuts everyone into his
kingdom, and his home is set up in seven different colored rooms, representing
the stages of life. This eerie clock chimes every hour, and the guests get a little
nervous about it but the party continues. Little do they know the clock
represents their life time running out.
When the clock strikes midnight, they notice a grim reaper
type figure at the party and the guests get freaked out by this
new guy they had not noticed. He starts walking toward the
black and red room, so Prospero chases him all the way from
the blue room to the black room. When Prospero tries to
stab the character with his dagger, the Red Death turns
around and Prospero falls dead. The guests become
outraged and run toward the Red Death to rip off his mask,
revealing nothing. Then, everyone else falls dead and the
clock stops ticking. THE END.