Poe, Hawthorne, Melville, Irving and a few living people too
Wednesday, October 23, 13

Comparing Literature Ages
Remember….
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Each successive age is a reaction to the previous one.
Each previous age fails to see the achievement of the successive age.
Using the chart on the next slide, explain how the Age of Reason reacted to
Puritanism.
Wednesday, October 23, 13

Comparing Literature Ages
Puritanism Age of Reason Romanticism
Wednesday, October 23, 13

Comparing Literature Ages
Puritanism
Faith
Age of Reason
Reason
Romanticism
Extreme Emotions,
Insanity
Wednesday, October 23, 13

Comparing Literature Ages
Puritanism
Faith
Age of Reason
Reason
Romanticism
Extreme Emotions,
Insanity
Authority Skepticism Mystery, Suspense
Wednesday, October 23, 13

Comparing Literature Ages
Puritanism
Faith
Age of Reason
Reason
Romanticism
Extreme Emotions,
Insanity
Authority
Theology
Skepticism
Science
Mystery, Suspense
Supernatural, Occult
Legends, Dreams,
Wild Nature
Wednesday, October 23, 13

Comparing Literature Ages
Puritanism
Faith
Age of Reason
Reason
Romanticism
Extreme Emotions,
Insanity
Authority
Theology
Predestined
Humanity
Skepticism
Science
Self-made
Humanity
Mystery, Suspense
Supernatural, Occult
Legends, Dreams,
Wild Nature
Fate, Curses,
Omens
Wednesday, October 23, 13

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19 th century America
(1800s)
Intense period of
EMOTION
 Very pessimistic
 Individuals prone to SIN and SELF-DESTRUCTION!
 Inherently evil
Wednesday, October 23, 13

Elements of Dark Romanticism
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Drafty, old, family houses/castles
Mystery and suspense, finding dark secrets
Supernatural: ghosts, curses, monsters, etc.
Grisly death and macabre murder
Omens, curses, dreams, legends
Extreme emotions of grief, passion, love
Instances of madness and insanity
References wild, dangerous nature
Mood: creepy, doom and gloom, terror
Wednesday, October 23, 13

Dark Romantic Heroes
 Conflicted
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Loner
Misunderstood by society
Spiritual
Talented or gifted in some way
Inspired by creativity and imagination rather than society norms
Wednesday, October 23, 13

Wednesday, October 23, 13

Who Were the Dark Romantics?
Wednesday, October 23, 13

Who Were the Dark Romantics?
•The Dark Romantics were a group of nineteenthcentury writers who explored the dark side of human nature.
Wednesday, October 23, 13

Who Were the Dark Romantics?
•The Dark Romantics were a group of nineteenthcentury writers who explored the dark side of human nature.
•Dark Romantic writers explored the human potential for evil, including the psychological effects of guilt, sin, and madness.
Wednesday, October 23, 13

Who Were the Dark Romantics?
•The Dark Romantics were a group of nineteenthcentury writers who explored the dark side of human nature.
•Dark Romantic writers explored the human potential for evil, including the psychological effects of guilt, sin, and madness.
•The Dark Romantic view countered the optimism of the Transcendentalist writers of the time.
Wednesday, October 23, 13

 Death, sin, pain, the loss of a love one, divorce, heart-ache, hardship, mystery, obsession, obscurity, tragedy, madness, guilt, evil, darkness, decay, materialism, greed
Wednesday, October 23, 13

Wednesday, October 23, 13

Similarities Between
Transcendentalists and Dark Romantics
Wednesday, October 23, 13

Similarities Between
Transcendentalists and Dark Romantics
Transcendentalists Dark Romantics
Wednesday, October 23, 13

Similarities Between
Transcendentalists and Dark Romantics
Transcendentalists Dark Romantics
True reality is spiritual.
Wednesday, October 23, 13

Similarities Between
Transcendentalists and Dark Romantics
Transcendentalists Dark Romantics
True reality is spiritual.
Intuition is superior to logic or reason.
Wednesday, October 23, 13

Similarities Between
Transcendentalists and Dark Romantics
Transcendentalists Dark Romantics
True reality is spiritual.
Intuition is superior to logic or reason.
Human events contain signs and symbols of spiritual truths.
Wednesday, October 23, 13

Wednesday, October 23, 13

Differences Between
Transcendentalists and Dark Romantics
Wednesday, October 23, 13

Differences Between
Transcendentalists and Dark Romantics
Transcendentalists Dark Romantics
Wednesday, October 23, 13

Differences Between
Transcendentalists and Dark Romantics
Dark Romantics Transcendentalists
Saw divine goodness and beauty beneath everyday reality
Wednesday, October 23, 13

Differences Between
Transcendentalists and Dark Romantics
Dark Romantics Transcendentalists
Saw divine goodness and beauty beneath everyday reality
Embraced the mystical and idealistic elements of
Puritan thought
Wednesday, October 23, 13

Differences Between
Transcendentalists and Dark Romantics
Transcendentalists
Saw divine goodness and beauty beneath everyday reality
Dark Romantics
Believed spiritual truths may be ugly or frightening
Embraced the mystical and idealistic elements of
Puritan thought
Wednesday, October 23, 13

Differences Between
Transcendentalists and Dark Romantics
Transcendentalists
Saw divine goodness and beauty beneath everyday reality
Dark Romantics
Believed spiritual truths may be ugly or frightening
Embraced the mystical and idealistic elements of
Puritan thought
Reintroduced the dark side of Puritan beliefs: the idea of Original Sin and the human potential for evil
Wednesday, October 23, 13

 Setting is in bleak or remote places
 Plot involves morbid or violent incidents
 Characters are in psychological and/ or physical torment
 A supernatural or otherworldly element is often present
Wednesday, October 23, 13

Wednesday, October 23, 13
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Believed evil was a dominant force in the world
Wrote The Scarlet
Letter and “The
Minister’s Black
Veil”

Wednesday, October 23, 13
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Wrote Moby-Dick which is widely regarded as one of the finest novels in all of
American Literature
Bartleby the Scrivener
The Lightning Rod Man
The Confidence Man
Billy Budd
Typee

Wednesday, October 23, 13
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Wrote “The Raven”
Widely accepted as the inventor of the detective story
Known as an eccentric writer
– his dark and dismal life probably had something to do with it
The Cask of Amontillado
The Black Cat
The Fall of the House of Usher
The Tell-Tale Heart
The Murders in the Rue
Morgue

Wednesday, October 23, 13

The Dark Romantic Legacy
Wednesday, October 23, 13

The Dark Romantic Legacy
Dark Romantic themes still appear in stories, books, movies, TV shows, and comic books.
Wednesday, October 23, 13

The Dark Romantic Legacy
Dark Romantic themes still appear in stories, books, movies, TV shows, and comic books.
•Present-day horror stories and movies borrow images and themes from the original master of horror, Edgar
Allan Poe.
Wednesday, October 23, 13

The Dark Romantic Legacy
Dark Romantic themes still appear in stories, books, movies, TV shows, and comic books.
•Present-day horror stories and movies borrow images and themes from the original master of horror, Edgar
Allan Poe.
•The conflict between good and evil and the effects of guilt and sin are major themes in current literature, popular writing, and television.
Wednesday, October 23, 13

 Can you think of any television shows, websites, movies, people that fall into the dark romanticism category?
Wednesday, October 23, 13

Wednesday, October 23, 13
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Bruce Wayne: both parents killed
Believes that the world is inherently evil
 “Because he's the hero
Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now. So we'll hunt him because he can take it.
Because he's not our hero. He's a silent guardian, a watchful protector. A dark knight.”

Wednesday, October 23, 13
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Evil vs. good
Betrayal
Darkness
Forbidden love
Omg

Wednesday, October 23, 13

Wednesday, October 23, 13
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Visiting sites of extreme death or destruction
Examples
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Ground Zero
Prison camps
New Orleans ruins
Genocide sites
War sites

 Emphasis on wealth and materialism
 Credit crisis
 National debt
 Foreclosures
 Financial chaos
Wednesday, October 23, 13