The Romantic Period
in American Literature
1820 – 1860
Two kinds of Romantics
• Dark Romantics: Characters were
haunted, alienated individuals; mood:
dark and foreboding; themes:
exploration of the hidden recesses of
the soul; motifs: nature is dangerous,
forbidden; fascination with the
supernatural
• Transcendental Romantics: In
tune with the optimism of the
growing nation; valued the beauty of
nature, solitude, nonconformity, and
the individual
Edgar Allan Poe (1809 – 1849)
• Legends and untruths
• Troubled childhood
• Father left; mother died; taken in by the Allan family
•
•
•
•
College, gambling problems, and family turmoil
1827 – publishes Tamerlane and Other Poems
Expelled from school
Barely supports self as magazine editor in New York, Baltimore,
Richmond
• Lived in poverty despite success of “The Raven” and short stories
• Depression, madness
Poe’s mysterious death
• Wife Virginia died at 24; Poe died two years later
• No one really knows how Poe died, though there are many theories
• On his way to Philadelphia to edit a book of poetry, Poe fell ill and
was taken to the hospital; he was unconscious and dressed in
strange clothing; he died days later
Quoth the
Raven
“Nevermore.”
Poe’s stories and poetry
• Regarded as brilliant, original
• Exploration of the dark side of human nature: wickedness, death, guilt,
revenge, fear
• “The Cask of Amontillado,” “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Raven,” and
“Annabel Lee”
• Altered American literature
• Gothic literature: bleak, remote settings; violent incidents; characters in
psychological torment; supernatural elements; strong language with
dangerous meanings
• Poe’s “single effect”: fear and disturbing ambiguity about what is real
Reading Poe
• Break down long sentences/paraphrase – Poe
uses long sentences, ornate diction, and detailed
descriptions, which all contribute to the “single
effect” of his story. Pause to make sure you
understand, and re-read if needed. Read once
for basic understanding, twice to clarify, and a
third time to analyze.
• Pause to annotate, summarize, and interpret.
“The Cask of
Amontillado”
• Catacombs – much of the action of the
story takes place in the catacombs of
Italy; these are underground tunnels
often beneath family homes used to
bury the dead;
• Amontillado – a kind of wine
• Carnival – an Italian festival dating
back centuries that involves revelers
wearing masks, day and night
celebrations
Irony – a contradiction
between appearance and reality
• This story relies heavily on irony for its creepiness.
• Situational – when something happens that
contradicts the expectations of the reader or a
character; when the events are ironic
• Dramatic – when a character’s understanding is
substantially different from the audience’s
understanding
• Verbal – when what someone says in ironic
• Irony is often used to add humor to a scene. Poe uses
irony to add darkness, drama, and tragedy to his story.
Examine dialogue, setting, and action for use of irony.
“Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and
weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a
tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
‘’Tis some visitor,’I muttered, ‘tapping at my chamber
door—
Only this and nothing more.’”
From “The Raven”
From Reason to
Romanticism in
literature
• The emphasis on reason is evident in early American
works (Benjamin Franklin, Patrick Henry).
• America is both expanding and dividing (westward,
slavery).
• Around the 1820s, Romanticism, which focuses on
individualism and concerns of the heart, begins to emerge.
We shift from reason to emotion.
• The Romantic works were not love stories but were serious
novels, stories, and essays.
• Two kinds of Romantics: dark and Transcendental
Ivan Shishkin,
1891, The Forest
of Countess
Mordvinova
How about these?
Inferences:
and Cole Thomas The Voyage of Life:
Youth 1842
Two kinds of Romantics
• Dark Romantics: Characters were
haunted, alienated individuals; mood:
dark and foreboding; themes:
exploration of the hidden recesses of
the soul; motifs: nature is dangerous,
forbidden; fascination with the
supernatural
• Transcendental Romantics: In
tune with the optimism of the
growing nation; valued the beauty of
nature, solitude, nonconformity, and
the individual
Carnival, catacombs