Romanticism in American literature

Introduction

Although the movement began more than 130 years ago, readers today are still trying to define the highly complex genre known as American Romanticism. Understanding the meaning of the literary period is challenging. Romanticism in America consisted of several common themes that questioned earlier ideas of literature, art, and philosophy. This feature will discuss Edgar Allan Poe's "Ligeia" (1838) to demonstrate how one writer uses supernatural themes than the more traditional, classical themes of the 18th century.




Edgar Allan Poe

Many consider Edgar Allan Poe to be the seminal dark romantic author. Much of his poetry and prose features his characteristic interest in exploring the psychology of man, including the perverse and self-destructive nature of the conscious and subconscious mind.[12] Some of Poe’s notable dark romantic works include the short stories "Ligeia" and "The Fall of the House of Usher" and poems "The Raven" and "Ulalume".


Author Nathaniel Hawthorne had close ties to American Transcendentalism.[edit] Nathaniel Hawthorne
Main article: Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne is the dark romantic writer with the closest ties to the American Transcendental movement. He was associated with the community in New England and even lived at the Brook Farm Transcendentalist Utopian commune for a time before he became troubled by the movement; his literature later became anti-transcendental in nature.[13] Also troubled by his ancestors' participation in the Salem witch trials, Hawthorne's short stories, including "The Minister's Black Veil", frequently take the form of "cautionary tales about the extremes of individualism and reliance on human beings" and hold that guilt and sin are qualities inherent in man.[14]