Romanticism was a literary and artistic movement that began in the 18th century in England. It replaced strict and factual styles of art and writing with free and optimistic works with boundless opportunities. It helped people embrace the strange and unheard of.
- Two famous Romantic authors include Emily Bronte and Nathaniel Hawthorne. They have written numerous writings, Hawthorne's including The Scarlet Letter and Young Goodman Brown, and Bronte's including Wuthering Heights and many poems, such as "How Clear She Shines".
- Gothic Romanticism is a subgenre of Romanticism that combines both romance and horror. Like Romanticism, Gothic Romanticism also originated in the 18th century, primarily in England. Gothic Romanticism also spawned its own types of novels, like the Schauerroman in Germany and the roman noir in France.
- Two famous Gothic Romantic writers are Mary Shelley and Edgar Allan Poe. Poe's works include "The Black Cat" and "The Raven", and Shelley's writings include Frankenstein and The Last Man.
- Southern Gothic Romanticism is a subgenre of Gothic Romanticism, and takes place in specifically the southern half of America. Common themes to stories involving Southern Gothic Romanticism are ones relating to slavery, racism, and violence.
- Two famous Southern Gothic Romantic writers are Harper Lee and Flannery O'Conner. To Kill A Mockingbird is a novel written by Lee, and "A Good Man is Hard to Find" and "The Life You Save May Be Your Own" were short stories written by O'Conner.
Important Romantic Authors
Washington Irving was an author, a diplomat, and several other things in the beginning of the 1800s. He wrote "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", along with "Rip Van Winkle" and several biographies on important historical figures, like George Washington. He used to go by a fictitious name: Jonathan Oldstyle. Irving also fought and argued for authors so that they could have their works copyrighted to prevent others from stealing their ideas and getting the credit instead.
Irving also had an impact on the history of New York, and changed how Americans celebrate Christmas. In a revision of A History of New York, Irving described a scene where a man, St. Nicholas, would fly over houses and trees by a flying vehicle, which would later become the story of Santa Claus.
Edgar Allan Poe was an author, a poet, a critic, and an impressive part of the Romantic movement. Poe is also credited with creating the detective subgenre of fictional stories, and the genre of science fiction. Lesser known, Edgar had enlisted in the military under the name Edgar A. Perry and claimed he was 22, while he was actually just 18, because he had been unable to support himself. Poe wrote many poems and short stories, including "The Raven", "The Black Cat", and "MS. Found in a Bottle".
Charles Baudelaire was a French poet, art critic, and a translator of Edgar Allan Poe. He is most famously know for his poem "Les Fleurs du mal". Baudelaire also had his own original style of poetry: prose-poetry, which influenced entire generations of poets after him.
Charles is credited with being the force the Symbolist movement needed to get into motion. Also, in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events books, the Baudelaires, the main characters, were named after him. Other works by Baudelaire include "Le Spleen de Paris", "La Fanfarlo", and "Mirror of Art".
Nathaniel Hawthorne is an author of both novels and short stories. One of Hawthorne's ancestors, John Hathorne, was the only judge involved in the Salem witch trials, and also never repented for his sins. Hawthorne hid that relation by adding a "w" to his name later on. Hawthorne is most commonly associated with the Romantic movement, and specifically Dark/Gothic Romanticism.
Probably the most famous of Hawthorne's works is The Scarlet Letter. Like The Scarlet Letter, the majority of Hawthorne's writings center on Puritanism with important morals weaved into them. Hawthorne also used to live in Salem when he was younger, which ties some connections to his writings.
Other writings by Hawthorne include "Young Goodman Brown", "The Minister's Black Veil", and "The Birth-Mark".
Flannery O'Conner was an author and an essay writer. She was the author of 32 short stories, along with two novels. O'Conner was an important part of Southern Gothic Romanticism. Her writings, such as "A Good Man is Hard to Find", reflect her Christian views and beliefs. She was a strong Catholic
Some of Flannery's other works include Wise Blood, "Everything That Rises Must Converge", and The Complete Stories", which won an award.
O'Conner fought the same disease her father had died of: systemic lupus erythematosus. The University of Georgia Press also named an award after her: "Flannery O'Conner Award for Short Fiction".
William Faulkner was an author who also won a Nobel Prize. Faulkner wrote many novels, plays, short stories, and essays. Faulkner was very important in both American and Southern literature. He was hardly known at all until he won his Nobel Prize for literature in 1949, and then his final novel,
The Reivers, won a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1962.
Other works by Faulkner include As I Lay Dying, Light in August, "These 13", "A Rose For Emily", and "That Evening Sun".
Wallis Willis, or Wallace Willis, was a Choctaw freedman who resided on Indian territory. Willis composed many Negro spiritual songs, including "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot", which sings about the glories of escaping slavery and being taken to Heaven where their temporal pain is no longer present.
Other songs composed by Willis include "I'm A Rollin'", "Steal Away To Jesus", and "The Angels Are Coming".
Important To Remember
- Negro spiritual: A religious song that combines European hymns with elements provided by black slaves. Mainly associated with black Southern slaves.
Examples include: "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot", "Marching 'Round Selma", and "Ain't Got Time To Die".
- "Call and Response": A style of music where two distinct parts sang, and the second part answers, or responds, to the first part.
Examples include "My Generation" by The Who, and "Black Dog" by Led Zepplin.
- Motif (Narrative): An item that is seen multiple times with symbol significance in a story.
An example is the green light featured in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
- Genre: A category of either music or literature characterized by having similarities in setting, style, or topics.
Examples include fiction, non-fiction, horror, sci-fi, and fantasy.
- Irony: Saying something, but hinting at the opposite. Usually for a humorous effect.
- Situational Irony: Actions that have an effect opposite of its intentions in a situation which make the outcome contradicting to what was originally intended. Such as, if a situation goes how it wasn't intended, actions can be taken the opposite way they were also intended.
- Dramatic Irony: When events occur and only the audience knows about it, and it isn't noticed by the characters involved. Such as, in "Romeo and Juliet" when Juliet says "My grave is like to be my wedding bed" (Act I). Juliet said it, referring to Romeo, and she had no idea that because of her actually marrying Romeo, she died.
- Verbal Irony: A figure of speech where what is said actually means something else. Such as, when people refer to something being "clear as mud", because mud isn't clear at all.
Determining Theme
Two important themes that can be shown through this unit, and Romanticism, is to not listen to society and do what's the norm, along with always follow your personal inspirations and dreams. Just because something isn't well-known or popular now, that doesn't mean it won't be in the future. Just a few people can start a revolution. Those themes can be relatable in today's society, because our world is constantly changing, with new trends and ideas emerging at every minute. If people were satisfied with how the world currently is, we wouldn't grow. Life would be monotonous. Curiosity and bravery are what have made our nation grow and develop from the very beginning. Those themes reflect in individuals when they find their voice, strength, and courage, and stand up for what they believe in and want to do.
