American Literature Romanticism Essay Research Paper In

American Literature: Romanticism Essay, Research Paper

In American Literature, Romanticism came during the New England Literary movement called Transcendentalism. “Transcendentalism is a belief in spiritual truth beyond sense perception and material success.” It is said to be a theory that highlights the transcendent as the realistic reality. In other words, this is a philosophy asserting the superiority of the spiritual and transcendental over the material and experimental. “During the 1 9th century, Transcendentalism was a react ion ag~inst scientific rationalism.” Transcendentalists were against material success and discarded any control except that of the individual conscience. There are many qualities associ~’i1cd with Romanticism/American Transcendentalism; such as emotional appeal, suhiective viewpoint and a love for external nature. Other beliefs included private and subjective experiences the p()~er ol human emotions and creativity, and nature as a stimulus transtorming the individual a~ay Irom sclence/systems/reasoning. The three poems ~The Slave’s Dream” by flenry Wads~orill I ~)ngteII()~ ~The Rhodora” by Ralph Waldo Emerson, and “Alone” by Ldgar Allan l~oe will he analv/ed in relation to the power of human emotions and creativity.

I lenry Wadsworth I,ongf’ellow was born on lebruary 27, 1 807. in Port land, Nia Inc I Ic ~as the most popular of the “Fireside Poets.” Lie was “educated at Port l~ind Acadcm, ~iii~I II&)Il~~i(IC athaniel hawthorne at I3owdoin College and then at flarvard niversit~.” Aist), he ~I5 the ()nl American to be given the honor of being placed in Poets’ (’orier in cstmin~tcr ibl’c ;illcr Iii~ death. I ongfelk)~ ~Tote the poem ‘~’he Slave’s Dream” which sh()~s man~ of the tran~LcI1dcI)Ialist belici;. ouc ol-those beliel;. v~as the power ofhuman emotions. Ihi~ poem ~le~cribc” ~I Ii~II~I- ~)rkII1~ sIa~e ~ith a bare chest in the rice l’iclds. The bare chest s~h(ilizcs not only his beIng ~t ~lIe h~~t ~Ils() him ~iting to be beaten. ~~hippcd. and tormented O er and O er again by his ei1e~i1y – the ~ l~itc i~i~in. flere. I &)ngtL’ll()~ is trying to illustrate ho~ the hite man asserts ~iIs p()cr *t the ci’d ~)I~ l()I~g day. his emot Ions ()l~joy take o~er as he dreams 0 I his I~miI back iii his n~it C l~ind ~) Iiie~i.