AmericanLiterature030533/4/5,26thSep.2006LectureThreeTheAmericanRomanticism(I)I.WhatisRomanticismSimplyspeaking,Romanticismisaliterarymovementflourishedasaculturalforcethroughoutthe19thCanditcanbedividedintotheearlyperiodandthelateperiod.Alsoitremainspowerfulincontemporaryliteratureandart.Romanticism,atermthatisassociatedwithimaginationandboundlessness,ascontrastedwithclassicism,whichiscommonlyassociatedwithreasonandrestriction.Aromanticattitudemaybedetectedinliteratureofanyperiod,butasanhistoricalmovementitaroseinthe18thand19thcenturies,inreactiontomorerationalliterary,philosophic,artistic,religious,andeconomicstandards....ThemostclearlydefinedromanticliterarymovementintheU.S.wasTranscendentalism.TherepresentativesoftheearlyperiodincludesWashingtonIrvingandJamesFenimoreCooper,andthoseofthelateperiodcontainRalphWaldoEmerson,HenryDavidThoreau,WaltWhitman,NathanielHawthorne,HermanMelville,EdgarAllanPoe.Internalcauses:Americanburgeonedintoapolitical,economicandculturalindependence.Democracyandpoliticalequalitybecametheidealsofthenewnation.Radicalchangescameaboutinthepoliticallifeofthecountry.Partiesbegantosquabbleandscrambleforpower,andnewsystemwasinthemaking.Thespreadofindustrialism,thesuddeninfluxofimmigration,andthepioneerspushingthefrontierfurtherwest,alltheseproducedsomethingofaneconomicboonand,withit,atremendoussenseofoptimismandhopeamongthepeople.TherepresentativesoftheearlyperiodincludesWashingtonIrvingandJamesFenimoreCooper,andthoseofthelateperiodcontainRalphWaldoEmerson,HenryDavidThoreau,WaltWhitman,NathanielHawthorne,HermanMelville,EdgarAllanPoe.II.ThereasonsontheriseofAmericanRomanticism

Ever-increasingmagazinesplayedanimportantroleinfacilitatingliteraryexpansioninthecountry.Externalcauses:ForeigninfluencesaddedincentivetothegrowthofromanticisminAmerica.TheinfluenceofSirWalterScottwasparticularlypowerfulandenduring.III.CharacteristicsofAmericanRomanticism(b)Sentimentalism,primitivismandthecultofthenoblesavagePoliticalliberalismThecelebrationofnaturalbeautyandthesimplelifeIntrospectionTheidealizationofthecommonman,uncorruptedbycivilizationInterestinthepicturesquepastandremoteplacesAntiquarianismIndividualismMorbidmelancholyHistoricalromanceIV.TheRepresentatives

oftheearly

AmericanromanticismA.WashingtonIrving

(1783-1859)WashingtonIrvingwasborninNewYorkCityonApril3,1783astheyoungestof11children.Hisparents,Scottish-Englishimmigrants,weregreatadmirersofGeneralGeorgeWashington,andnamedtheirsonaftertheirhero.EarlyinhislifeIrvingdevelopedapassionforbooks.Hestudiedlawprivatelybutpracticedonlybriefly.From1804to1806hetravelledwidelyinEurope.AfterreturningtotheUnitedStates,IrvingwasadmittedtotheNewYorkbarin1806.HewasapartnerwithhisbrothersinthefamilyhardwarebusinessandrepresentativeofthebusinessinEnglanduntilitcollapsedin1818.Duringthewarof1812IrvingwasamilitaryaidetoNewYorkGovernorTompkinsintheU.S.Army.Irving'scareerasawriterstartedinjournalsandnewspapers.Hissuccessinsociallifeandliteraturewasshadowedbyapersonaltragedybecausehisengagedlovediedattheageofseventeen.Sohenevermarriedorhadchildren.1.AbouttheAuthorAfterthedeathofhismother,IrvingdecidedtostayinEurope,whereheremainedforseventeenyearsfrom1815to1832.In1832IrvingreturnedtoNewYorktoanenthusiasticwelcomeasthefirstAmericanauthortohaveachievedinternationalfame.Betweentheyears1842-45IrvingwastheU.S.AmbassadortoSpain.IrvingspentthelastyearsofhislifeinTarrytown.From1848to1859hewasPresidentofAstorLibrary,laterNewYorkPublicLibrary.Irving'slaterpublicationsincludeMahometAndHisSuccessors(1850),Wolfert'sRoost(1855),andhisfive-volumeTheLifeofGeorgeWashington(1855-59).IrvingdiedinTarrytownonNovember28,1859.Hisearliestworkwasasparkling,satiricalHistoryofNewYork(1809)undertheDutch,ostensiblywrittenbyDiedrich

Knickbocker(hencethenameofIrving’sfriendsandNewYorkwritersoftheday,the“KnickbockerSchool”.)TheSketchBook(1819-20asGeoffreyCrayon)-contains'RipVanWinkle'and'TheLegendofSleepyHollow'TheLifeofGeorgeWashington(1855-59,fivevolumes)2.HisMajorWorks3.EvaluationtohimAmericanauthor,shortstorywriter,essayist,poet,travelbookwriter,biographer,andcolumnist.IrvinghasbeencalledthefatheroftheAmericanshortstory.Heisbestknownfor'TheLegendofSleepyHollow,'inwhichtheschoolmasterIchaboldCranemeetswithaheadlesshorseman,and'RipVanWinkle,'aboutamanwhofallsasleepfor20years.ThefirstAmericanwriterofimaginativeliteraturetogaininternationalfame,sohewasregardedasfatherofAmericanliterature.TheshortstoryasagenreinAmericanliteratureprobablybeganwithIrving’sTheSketchBook,ACOLLECTIONOFESSAYS,SKETCHES,ANDTALES.ItalsomarkedthebeginningofAmericanRomanticism.B.JamesFenimoreCooper

(1789-1851)

InhislifeCooperwroteoverthirtynovelswhichcanbedividedintofrontiernovels,detectivenovelsandreferencenovels.HeconsideredThePathfinder(1840)andTheDeerslayer(1841)hisbestworks.TheunifyingthreadofthefivenovelscollectivelyknownastheLeather-StockingTalesisthelifeofNattyBumppo.Cooper’sfinestachievement,theyconstitute4avastproseepicwiththeNorthAmericancontinentassetting.IndiantribesasCharacters,andgreatwarsandwestwardmigrationassocialbackground.ThenovelsbringtolifefrontierAmericafrom1740to1804.ThePioneers(1823):NattyBumppofirstappearsasaseasonedscoutinadvancingyears,withthedyingChingachgook,theoldIndianchiefandhisfaithfulcomrade,astheeasternforestfrontierbeginstodisappearandChingachgookdies.1.HisMajorWorksTheLastoftheMohicans(1826):AnadventureoftheFrenchandIndianWarsintheLakeGeorgecounty.ThePrairie(1827):SetinthenewfrontierwheretheLeatherstockingdies.ThePathfinder(1840):ContinuingthesameborderwarfareintheSt.LawrenceandLakeOntariocounty.TheDeerslayer(1841):EarlyadventureswiththehostileHuronsonLakeOtsego,NY.ThecreationofthefamousLeatherstockingsagahascementedhispositionasourfirstgreatnationalnovelistandhisinfluencepervadesAmericanliterature.Inhisthirty-twoyears(1820-1851)ofauthorship,Cooperproducedtwenty-nineotherlongworksoffictionandfifteenbooks-enoughtofillforty-eightvolumesinthenewdefinitiveeditionofhisWorks.Amonghisachievements:ThefirstsuccessfulAmericanhistoricalromanceintheveinofSirWalterScott(TheSpy,1821).Thefirstseanovel(ThePilot,1824).Thefirstattemptatafullyresearchedhistoricalnovel(LionelLincoln,1825).2.ContributionsofCooperThefirstfull-scaleHistoryoftheNavyoftheUnitedStatesofAmerica(1839).

ThefirstAmericaninternationalnovelofmanners(HomewardBoundandHomeasFound,1838).

ThefirsttrilogyinAmericanfiction(Satanstoe,1845;TheChainbearer,1845;andTheRedskins,1846).

Thefirstandonlyfive-volumeepicromancetocarryitsmythichero-NattyBumppo-fromyouthtooldage.Heisgoodatmakingplots.Allhisnovelsarefullofmyths.HehadneverbeentothefrontierandamongtheIndiansandyetcouldwritefivehugeepicbooksaboutthemisaneloquentproofoftherichnessofhisimagination.HecreatedthefirstIndianstoappearinAmericanfictionandprobablythefirstgroupofnoblesavages.Hehituponthenativesubjectoffrontierandwilderness,andhelpedtointroducethe“Western”traditionintoAmericanliterature.3.HisSkillsV.AmericanRenaissance

Italsocalled

NewEnglandRenaissance

periodfromthe1830sroughlyuntiltheendoftheAmericanCivilWarinwhichAmericanliterature,inthewakeoftheRomanticmovement,cameofageasanexpressionofanationalspirit.TheliterarysceneoftheperiodwasdominatedbyagroupofNewEnglandwriters,the“Brahmins”.Theywerearistocrats,steepedinforeignculture,activeasprofessorsatHarvardCollege,andinterestedincreatingagenteelAmericanliteraturebasedonforeignmodels.OneofthemostimportantinfluencesintheperiodwasthatoftheTranscendentalists,includingEmerson,Thoreauandsoon.1.TheConceptTheTranscendentalistscontributedtothefoundingofanewnationalculturebasedonnativeelements.Theyadvocatedreformsinchurch,state,andsociety,contributingtotheriseoffreereligionandtheabolitionmovementandtotheformationof