American Romanticism
The Literary movement and story I decided to choose was American Romanticism, and
“The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne. American Romanticism is a literary period in American Literature that lasted from 1800s to 1850s. The movement itself started off as an offshoot of the European Romanticism artistic movement, “It arose as a reaction to the formal orthodoxy and Neoclassicism of the preceding period. It is marked by a freedom from the authority, forms, and conventions typical in Neoclassical literature. It replaced the neoclassic emphasis on reason with its own emphasis on the imagination and emotions, and the neoclassic emphasis on authority with an emphasis on individuality, which places the individual at the center of all life”(Copestake). The American Romanticism movement began after the Revolutionary war ended when America wanted to separate themselves from Britain and the European form of Romantacism. American authors wanted to separate themselves from Britain and Europe because they wanted to be their own country and not looked at like the “little brother” country. One quote that shows that America wanted independence from Britain and Europe is, “It emerged within the United States after the Revolutionary war when it was connected with the aspiration to forge a distinctive cultural identity correlative with the revolutions unprecedented political and social achievements”(Pease).
If it was not for the Romanticism movement in Europe, and Britain, and the Revolutionary war, America would not have had the important American Romanticism literary movement. Many of the early authors who started the American Romanticism movement had close ties to the European form of Romanticism. There was two generation of American Romanticism authors, the first generation of authors were William Bryant, Henry Wadsworth, Henry Longfellow, James Cooper, and Catherine Sedgwick. The movement itself is about expressing individuality, emotions, and creativity which
“The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne. American Romanticism is a literary period in American Literature that lasted from 1800s to 1850s. The movement itself started off as an offshoot of the European Romanticism artistic movement, “It arose as a reaction to the formal orthodoxy and Neoclassicism of the preceding period. It is marked by a freedom from the authority, forms, and conventions typical in Neoclassical literature. It replaced the neoclassic emphasis on reason with its own emphasis on the imagination and emotions, and the neoclassic emphasis on authority with an emphasis on individuality, which places the individual at the center of all life”(Copestake). The American Romanticism movement began after the Revolutionary war ended when America wanted to separate themselves from Britain and the European form of Romantacism. American authors wanted to separate themselves from Britain and Europe because they wanted to be their own country and not looked at like the “little brother” country. One quote that shows that America wanted independence from Britain and Europe is, “It emerged within the United States after the Revolutionary war when it was connected with the aspiration to forge a distinctive cultural identity correlative with the revolutions unprecedented political and social achievements”(Pease).
If it was not for the Romanticism movement in Europe, and Britain, and the Revolutionary war, America would not have had the important American Romanticism literary movement. Many of the early authors who started the American Romanticism movement had close ties to the European form of Romanticism. There was two generation of American Romanticism authors, the first generation of authors were William Bryant, Henry Wadsworth, Henry Longfellow, James Cooper, and Catherine Sedgwick. The movement itself is about expressing individuality, emotions, and creativity which