American Literature: Romanticism

It is a short PPT presentation about one period of American Literature. It also features a set of questions after each sub-topic to foster in-class discussion.

1. American Romantic Period Transcendentalism and Dark Romanticism

2. Romantic Period The American Romantic period, which lasted from about 1820-1860, was a movement where literature focused on intuition , imagination , and individualism .

3. Romantic Period Characteristics : Imagination Individuality Nature as a source of spirituality Looking to the past for wisdom Seeing the common man as a hero

4. Romantic Period Washington Irving Biography Works Style

5. Washington Irving Washington Irving was the first American author who found success both in Europe and in America.

6. Washington Irving Biography : Born April 3, 1783; Grows up in Manhattan, New York; Moves to Tarrytown, New York (at the age of 15); Goes to Europe (at the age of 17); Meets Sir Walter Scott.

7. Washington Irving Works : The Sketch Book 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow' and 'Rip Van Winkle; Tales of a Traveler 'The Devil and Tom Walker;‘ Washington Irving had a great sense of humor, which transcended into his writings.

8. Washington Irving Style : Imagery using words to create a picture in the reader's mind to create long descriptions of the American landscape Modern short story; Irony saying the opposite of what you really mean

9. Question Time Romanticism started in: England United States Germany Italy

10. Question Time It is a characteristic of the American Romantic period: A trickster god interferes Symbolism Imagination Worlds are created

11. Question Time He is known as the father of American literature: Rip Van Winkle Washington Irving Henry David Thoreau Walt Whitman

12. Question Time Washington Irving’s The Sketch Book contains his most well-known story : Tales of a Traveler The Legend of Sleepy Hollow The Devil and Tom Walker The Scarlet Letter

13. Question Time It's the story of the superstitious  Ichabod Crane 's attempts to win over the fair  Katrina , and   how he is scared away by a Headless Horseman . The Legend of Sleepy Hollow The Devil and Tom Walker The Scarlet Letter Rip Van Winkle

14. Transcendentalism Transcendentalism was an American literary and philosophical movement that lasted from the 1820s to the 1850s.

15. Transcendentalism Beliefs : The 'Eternal One' Every individual carries the universe within himself and is entitled to his own personal relationship with spirituality.

16. Transcendentalism Beliefs : Intuitive Thought Intuition should have precedence over conscious thought. Intuition is the most fundamental form of knowledge.

17. Transcendentalism Beliefs : Imagination Imagination allows a person to transcend himself, to consider things anew.

18. Transcendentalism Transcendentalism encouraged man to look closely at the world , to look closely at himself , and to be radically honest about what he sees.

19. Transcendentalism Ralph Waldo Emerson Henry David Thoreau Walt Whitman Emily Dickinson

20. Ralph Waldo Emerson ‘Self-Reliance’ Individualism Every thought and action should be independent and authentic. Individuals must be free to pursue their personal goals and desires.

21. Ralph Waldo Emerson ‘Self-Reliance’ Nonconformity People must think for themselves and resist the pressure to conform to prevailing ideas or practices.

22. Ralph Waldo Emerson ‘Self-Reliance’ Intuition Intuition is the most fundamental form of knowledge. Intuition is direct knowledge; all other knowledge is secondhand.

23. Henry David Thoreau ‘Civil Disobedience’ Henry David Thoreau 's essay  Civil Disobedience , published in 1849, has influenced civil rights leaders from President John F. Kennedy to Gandhi to Martin Luther King, Jr.

24. Henry David Thoreau ‘Civil Disobedience’ He encouraged Americans to avoid supporting immoral government spending by not paying taxes, even if that action landed them in jail.

25. Emily Dickinson 19 th -century American poet; Wrote over 1,000 poems; Focused on death, immortality and nature; Her poems rarely had titles.

26. Question Time It is a movement, a reaction against 18 th -century rationalism: Modernism Puritan Writing Realism Transcendentalism

27. Question Time Transcendentalist doctrines found their greatest literary advocates in _____ and Thoreau . Jefferson Emerson Freneau Smith

28. Question Time Transcendentalists recognized ______ as the “highest power of the soul ”. intuition logic the senses thinking

29. Question Time Famous female transcendentalist: Anne Bradstreet Emily Dickinson Sylvia Plath Mary Jane Watson

30. Question Time Thoreau’s greatest essay that has influenced civil rights leaders around the world: Everything You Need Creation and Truth Civil Disobedience Patience

31. Dark Romanticism American Renaissance Explosion of uniquely American literature  1840-1860 American literary masterpieces Subgenres :  the Dark Romantics  and the  Transcendentalists . 

32. Dark Romanticism Characteristics : Lots of creepy symbols Horrific themes Psychological effects of guilt and sin

33. Dark Romanticism Characteristics : Symbols A symbol is something that represents something else.

34. Dark Romanticism Edgar Allan Poe's poem ‘The Raven’ In that poem, the raven is a symbol for death and hopelessness as it sits and watches the narrator, who is slowly going mad. 

35. Dark Romanticism Characteristics : Horrific Themes A story's theme is a statement that the text seems to making about the subject. the struggles of human nature surroundings could be filled with evil

36. Dark Romanticism Characteristics : Psychological effects of guilt and sin

37. Dark Romanticism Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter Hawthorne tells the story of a minister whose affair with a married woman sends him into a guilt-ridden self-punishment, and ultimately death.

38. Dark Romanticism The result of Dark Romantics is a collection of short stories , poems , and novels that forced Americans to see that evil was lurking in us all.

39. Question Time Movement that started during the last years of the American Romantic Period: Realism Transcendentalism Dark Romanticism Modernism

40. Question Time It is not a characteristic of Dark Romanticism: Lots of Creepy Symbols Imagination Horrific Themes Psychological Effects

41. Question Time During the Romanticism, __________ and _______ were two strong subgenres: Thinkers and Believers Transcendentalism and Realism Transcendentalists and Dark Romantics Puritans and Dark Romantics

42. Question Time Poe’s best-known poem, in his own lifetime: What Can You Do? Rip Van Winkle The Raven True Love

43. Question Time It tells the story of a minister whose affair with a married woman ultimately sends him to death : Sin and Truth Love Story The Raven The Scarlet Letter