Romanticism, Transcendentalism and Gothic Lit

Lecture for Americal Lit

1. Romanticism Transcendentalism Gothic literature EG

2. Korido at Buhay na Pinagdaanan ng Tatlong Prinsipeng Magkakapatid na anak ni Haring Fernando at ni Reyna Valeriana sa Kahariang Berbanya Literary movements reflect the cultural, social, and philosophical milieu of its time. Phil connection: What are your encounters with “ROMANCES” in Phil Lit? Are you familiar with:

3. Romanticism 1820-1861 emerged in the late 18th to early 19th century as a reaction against the rationalism of the Enlightenment E mphasizes emotion, imagination, and the individual. Characteristics: Emphasis on intuition and emotion over reason. Celebration of nature and the sublime. Interest in the supernatural and the mysterious. Focus on the individual and the subjective experience. Notable Writers and Works: Washington Irving "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" "Rip Van Winkle" Edgar Allan Poe "The Raven" "The Fall of the House of Usher" Nathaniel Hawthorne "The Scarlet Letter" "Young Goodman Brown" Herman Melville "Moby-Dick" Emily Dickinson Various poetry exploring themes of nature, love, and death.

4. Transcendentalism emerged in the mid-19th century as a philosophical and literary movement rooted in the belief in the inherent goodness of people and nature, and the importance of self-reliance and intuition. Characteristics : Belief in the inherent goodness of humanity and nature. Emphasis on self-reliance and individual intuition. Rejection of societal norms and institutions. Spiritual exploration and connection with the divine through nature. Notable Writers and Works: Ralph Waldo Emerson "Nature" "Self-Reliance" Henry David Thoreau "Walden" "Civil Disobedience" Margaret Fuller "Woman in the Nineteenth Century" Walt Whitman "Leaves of Grass" Emily Dickinson (also associated with Romanticism)

5. Gothic Literature emerged in the late 18th century as a subgenre of Romanticism, characterized by elements of horror, death, decay, and the supernatural. Characteristics : Atmosphere of mystery, terror, and suspense. Use of eerie settings such as castles, crypts, and haunted houses. Exploration of psychological and emotional depths. Presence of supernatural or inexplicable phenomena Edgar Allan Poe (also associated with Romanticism) "The Tell-Tale Heart" "The Fall of the House of Usher" Nathaniel Hawthorne (also associated with Romanticism) "The House of the Seven Gables" "The Minister's Black Veil" Charlotte Perkins Gilman "The Yellow Wallpaper" H.P. Lovecraft "The Call of Cthulhu" "At the Mountains of Madness"

6. Samplers Washington Irving, The Devil and Tom Walker Edgar Allan Poe, The Masque of the Red Death Herman Melville, Bartleby, the Scrivener Henry David Thoreau, Walden

7. Romanticism 1820-1861 emerged in the late 18th to early 19th century as a reaction against the rationalism of the Enlightenment E mphasizes emotion, imagination, and the individual. Characteristics: Emphasis on intuition and emotion over reason. Celebration of nature and the sublime. Interest in the supernatural and the mysterious. Focus on the individual and the subjective experience. Notable Writers and Works: Washington Irving "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" "Rip Van Winkle" Edgar Allan Poe "The Raven" "The Fall of the House of Usher" Nathaniel Hawthorne "The Scarlet Letter" "Young Goodman Brown" Herman Melville "Moby-Dick" Emily Dickinson Various poetry exploring themes of nature, love, and death.

8. Romanticism as a reaction to Industrial Revolution IR fueled Romantic sentiments as well. Advances in industry and mechanization, first seen in Britain in the late 1700s, spread quickly to Europe and the United States. IR triggered a period of great social and economic upheaval in the mid-1800s. People moved from the country to the city and worked in factories at tedious and sometimes dangerous jobs. Machines began to replace some workers, who were left to fend for themselves. Cities grew polluted and housing in some areas became crowded and unsanitary. Many people felt that they were losing control over their lives.

9. The Romantics turned to the past for comfort against feelings of isolation and despair. They believed that mankind had lost something precious in the process of modernization and that this “essence” could be found among farmers who still earned their living in traditional ways. In the eyes of the Romantics, these farmers were not yet tainted by the sins of the cities.

10. The Devil and Tom Walker SYNOPSIS A man sells his soul to the Devil for pirate treasure. He becomes a moneylender in Boston and, despite his efforts to avoid his bargain with the Devil, is eventually snatched away.

11. Events in History at the Time the Short Story Takes Place Puritanism Slavery Tales and Superstition - In Irving’s era, there was widespread belief that Kidd, a seventeenth-century pirate, had buried his treasure along the Hudson River or in southern New England.

12. Puritanism New England had been settled by Puritans in the early seventeenth century. The Puritans - a group of Protestants belonging to the Church of England who believed that the Reformation (in which the Protestant churches separated from the Roman Catholic Church) had not fully eliminated Catholic influence. Persecuted in England, Puritans emigrated to America to establish their own communal villages and worship in freedom extremely religious and austere in everyday living believed in the supremacy of God and the lowliness of man and that, as God’s chosen people, it was their duty to govern national affairs according to his will. As a result, many aspects of everyday life in colonial New England were directly influenced by Puritan beliefs.

13. doctrines were based on strict interpretations of the Bible. all information necessary for a pious life could be found in the Bible strove to live a perfectly devout life; emphasis on constant self-examination tried to eliminate such defects as pride, hardness of heart, and lust while emphasizing productivity and good works themselves as chosen by God to convert and/or punish others who were sinful and haughty

14. Extreme convictions Puritans were intolerant of other faiths and excluded from their community individuals who promoted different beliefs believed in one truth and thought that other religions were wrong. Tolerating other religions meant tolerating error philosophy is evident in a scene from Irving’s short story wherein Tom Walker talks of persecuting Quakers, an action that he believes will enhance his own spiritual development

15. Puritans believed strongly in the Devil (also called Satan or Old Scratch) and witches, who were his principal helpers. Puritans condemned certain people as witches and were convinced that American Indians worshipped the Devil. Irving touches on this belief as well in “The Devil and Tom Walker,” although he adds a twist to the concept. Satan appears to Tom Walker in an Indian burial ground and reveals that he, along with the Puritans, presided over witch burnings. The author thus associates the Devil not with the so-called witches, but with the Puritans who condemned them.

16. Slave Trade By 1808 the African slave trade had closed. The states, how ever, engaged in active trading among themselves, and the country had grown divided over the issue. The North, which had an economy based on business and manufacturing, was not dependent on slave labor and did not support the institution. Meanwhile, the South, which was agricultural, depended heavily on slave labor. Irving believed slavery was an evil practice. But he was neither an activist nor an abolitionist , and he found it difficult to believe that his country would divide over the issue. 

17. Transcendentalism emerged in the mid-19th century as a philosophical and literary movement rooted in the belief in the inherent goodness of people and nature, and the importance of self-reliance and intuition. Characteristics : Belief in the inherent goodness of humanity and nature. Emphasis on self-reliance and individual intuition. Rejection of societal norms and institutions. Spiritual exploration and connection with the divine through nature. Notable Writers and Works: Ralph Waldo Emerson "Nature" "Self-Reliance" Henry David Thoreau "Walden" "Civil Disobedience" Margaret Fuller "Woman in the Nineteenth Century" Walt Whitman "Leaves of Grass" Emily Dickinson (also associated with Romanticism)

18. Transcendentalism a religious, literary, and political movement that evolved from New England Unitarianism in the 1820s and 1830s An important expression of Romanticism in the United States, it is principally associated with: the work of essayist and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson ; journalist and feminist theorist Margaret Fuller ; Unitarian minister and antislavery advocate Theodore Parker ; and essayist, naturalist, and political theorist Henry David Thoreau .

19. emphasizes intuition and personal knowledge and resists conformity to social norms Transcendentalist writers and thinkers believe individuals are inherently good. Everyone has the power to “transcend” the chaos of society and use their own intellect for finding a sense of greater meaning and purpose In their mind, organized, historical churches are not necessary. One can experience divinity through contemplation of nature . With a return to simplicity and a focus on everyday situations, they can enhance their spiritual lives. SELF-RELIANCE

20. Can be seen as a rebellion against Puritan Calvinism Focus: post-Christian spirituality that held each person capable of spiritual development and fulfillment Advocates developed literary as well as theological forms of expression, making perhaps a stronger impact on American literary and artistic culture than they did on American religion Emerson, Fuller, and Thoreau gave the movement a literary character, based on Emerson’s innovative prose, Fuller’s translations and critical studies of Goethe, and Thoreau’s autobiographical narrative  Walden  (1854) Notes from: https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/display/document/obo-9780199827251/obo-9780199827251-0086.xml

21. Psychology of inner experience focuses on a person, character, or speaker who turns inward. Free from the demands of society, the individual pursues an exploration—often an outward one—but simultaneously of their own inner psyches. Immersing oneself in nature, living in solitude, and devoting life to contemplation are classic Transcendentalist methods for discovering the inner landscape of the individual. many Transcendentalist texts meditate on the nature of God, spirituality, and divinity.

22. Walden by Henry David Thoreau Published in 1854, Walden explores Thoreau’s experiment of living simply in nature. Thoreau recounts the two years he spent living in a cabin he built near Walden Pond. He records scientific observations of natural phenomena and reflects on nature and its metaphorical significance. Part memoir, part spiritual quest, part self-reliance manual, this book has become the quintessential Transcendentalist text.

23. How does Transcendentalism manifest in Walden?

24. Anti-Transcendentalist literature Where Transcendentalism believes in the inherent goodness of one’s soul, anti-Transcendentalist literature—sometimes called American Gothic or Dark Romanticism—took a pessimistic turn. Gothic writers such as Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Herman Melville saw the potential for evil in every individual. Their literature focused on the darker side of human nature, such as betrayal, greed, and the capacity for evil. Much of the literature contained the demonic, grotesque, mythical, irrational, and fantastical, which is still popular today. Notes from: https:// www.studysmarter.co.uk /explanations/ english -literature/ american -literary-movements/transcendentalism/

25. Gothic Literature emerged in the late 18th century as a subgenre of Romanticism, characterized by elements of horror, death, decay, and the supernatural. Characteristics : Atmosphere of mystery, terror, and suspense. Use of eerie settings such as castles, crypts, and haunted houses. Exploration of psychological and emotional depths. Presence of supernatural or inexplicable phenomena Edgar Allan Poe (also associated with Romanticism) "The Tell-Tale Heart" "The Fall of the House of Usher" Nathaniel Hawthorne (also associated with Romanticism) "The House of the Seven Gables" "The Minister's Black Veil" Charlotte Perkins Gilman "The Yellow Wallpaper" H.P. Lovecraft "The Call of Cthulhu" "At the Mountains of Madness"

26. Edgar Allan Poe’s The Masque of the Red Death Think of narratives where a group of people shut themselves off from the rest of the world to escape something sinister. Published 1842 Image by Byam Shaw

27. “And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all.” Poe’s tale centres around the wealthy Prince Prospero, who secludes himself in a fortified abbey together with a thousand of his fellow noblemen and women in order to escape “the Red Death”, a plague which has wiped out half of Prospero’s subjects. After six months of isolation Prospero decides to throw a masquerade ball. When the clock strikes midnight, a mysterious stranger appears, covered in bloody garments and a mask displaying the symptoms of the Red Death. After being pursued through the seven halls in which the ball is held, the masked figure is revealed to be the personification of the plague itself. One by one Prospero and his companions drop down dead, after which, as the line cited above proclaims, the Red Death finally holds “illimitable” dominion over all.

28.  a tale about class difference and the inevitability of death  “in death, we are all equal”. The Kingsman

29. Red Death as a radical type of equality or egalitarianism not even the rich and powerful can avoid death and suffering (Does this remind you of a poem in Phil Lit?) I t’s unclear whether the reader is supposed to empathize with Prospero’s tragic fate, or whether they are supposed to find some blatant and cynical sense of wish fulfilment or Schadenfreude in the pile of dead rich people at the end. Modern element, for e.g.: Billionaire music producer David Geffen, for instance, recently became the internet’s new favourite whipping boy after posting a picture of his “corona isolation” on board his 454-foot mega-yacht.

30. What’s your take on the tale? Didactic? Is it a cautionary tale? Amoral? Is Poe neutral? Allegorical? What is it trying to say? Does it parallel our pandemic experience? Where do you find the Gothic element? I s it in the terror of the disease or the horror of a society which divorces human needs and suffering from itself? With notes from: https://www.arts.kuleuven.be/literatuurwetenschap/coronameron/la-peste/themasqueofthereddeath

31. Gothic elements include the following Setting in a castle or old mansion An atmosphere of mystery and suspense. Omens, portents, visions, an ancient prophecy Supernatural or otherwise inexplicable events. High, even overwrought emotion Women in distress Women threatened by a powerful, impulsive, tyrannical male The metonymy of gloom and horror

32. Gothic Lit characteristics Characters: a specific cast who represent the various ideas the author presents in the text. Common characters found within the genre include anti-heroes, fallen heroes, tyrannical villains, the “damsel in distress," fallen female, Byronic hero , servants, and religious figures. Setting: typically include structures such as castles, expansive manors, and expansive yet isolated regions that are devoid of life. There is usually a suggestion of decay or deterioration reflected in the setting that mimics a significant plot point in some way. The setting provides a reflection of the internal nature of the main characters while highlighting the duality that exists between man and their environment. Authors utilize the setting as a means of creating an atmosphere of trepidation and fear. Gothic Architecture: Decaying and Isolated Setting

33. Byronic hero ( remarkable intelligence and cunning, strong feelings of affection and hatred, impulsiveness, strong sensual desires, moodiness, cynicism, dark humor, and morbid sensibilities

34. Themes Terror and Horror Ann Radcliffe: “Terror grows out of suspense while horror grows out of disgust.” suspense that often arises due to a seemingly supernatural occurrence while creating a sense of disgust as to how their characters act/react throughout the text Justice and Revenge Typically, there is an initial action that drives the protagonist to right the wrong. At times, the action that needs to be righted is committed by the protagonist themselves. Often, the one who is being targeted is not the one who committed the crime. Regardless, there is the belief that someone must pay for the offense.

35. Good vs. Evil aim to reveal the darker side of human nature. Good can be directly pitted against evil, or a character might be fighting their own battle internally between these forces. Ultimately, novelists present ideas that question the reader's understanding of good and evil, positing if there truly is an absolute understanding of the concepts. Sublime As a response to the ideals of the Enlightenment, the Romantics focused on an appreciation of natural beauty, rather than what is produced by science. Writers took this appreciation of nature and detailed the emotional impact it elicits, thus creating what is now known as the sublime. However, rather than appreciating the emotional response to natural beauty, Gothic writers emphasize the irregular and chaotic forces, often manipulating the natural world to highlight the power it has to inflict trauma and fear.

36. Classic Examples Frankenstein  (1818) by Mary Shelley Setting:  The novel begins and ends in the Arctic, a setting that is isolated with intolerably cruel weather. The setting comes to represent the creature's connection with society, one in which he was socially isolated and treated heartlessly. Good vs. Evil:  The conflict Shelley provides between Frankenstein and his creation blurs the lines that exist between good and evil. She presents the creature in a way that forces readers to question if he is evil or a product of his environment, leaving Dr. Frankenstein at fault for his creation's actions. The Picture of Dorian Gray  (1890) by Oscar Wilde Supernatural Forces:  Wilde's novel focuses on the bargain the titular protagonist makes assuring he remains forever young while his portrait bears the impact of age. In exchange for his soul, the portrait will grow old while Dorian remains youthful. Despite his outer appearance remaining beautiful, it is his character that begins to decay. Dorian eventually stabs the painting to rid himself of it, and upon doing so, the portrait regains the image of Dorian's youth while he lies dead on the floor as an old man with a knife in his heart.

37. Shirley Jackson’s “The Haunting of Hill House”

38. Western strokes of the Gothic

39. Hyperbolic Phrases. In the advertising business, it is sometimes said, "The lie is in the adjective." Adjectives control how we think of the nouns they modify: "mild curiosity" presents an attitude of relaxed interest, whereas "insatiable curiosity" presents the attitude of a hungry mind. In the Gothic, adjectives are used to amplify nouns in order to (1) create phrases that increase the feeling of dread, horror, anxiety, or suspense, or (2) produce a substantially increased emphasis or sense of importance.

40. I t might be said that another element of the classic Gothic is its intensity created by profuse employment of the vocabulary of the Gothic. Consider this from Chapter 1 of The Castle of Otranto : The servant "came running back breathless, in a frantic manner, his eyes staring, and foaming at the mouth. He said nothing but pointed to the court. The company were struck with terror and amazement. "In the meantime, some of the company had run into the court, from whence was heard a confused noise of shrieks, horror, and surprise."

41. END [Link to Readings and References]