Transcendentalism, Anti-Transcendentalism and the

Dark RomanticsMs. Bice

English 11

America: coming of age

Landscape and culture were developing and finding a place in a literature distinct from European models

This literary period is often described as a renaissance or rebirth (in comparison to the European Renaissance of the 14th-16th centuries) because of the cultural development between 1840-1860.

Social improvement: New England was

experiencing a period/movement ____________________.

Goals of this movement:

Emerson provided a series of lectures on self-improvement. Emerson’s utopian group became known as “The Transcendental Club”.

Other reformers: Horace Mann (improve public education), Dorothea Dix (relieve horrible conditions in institutions for the mentally ill), William Lloyd Garrison (abolish slavery), Elizabeth Peabody, Margaret Fuller and Emma Willard (women’s rights).

Many utopian projects were created in an attempt to perfect society.

What does Transcendentalism mean?

► Definition:

Where does Transcendentalism come from?

The term transcendental came from 18th century German philosopher Immanuel Kant.

Transcendentalism originated from the past idea of Idealism (created by Greek philosopher Plato in 4th century BC).

Idealism=true reality involved ideas rather than the world perceived by the senses. They wanted to look past physical appearances to see permanent reality and truth.

Transcendentalists were Idealists in a broader, more practical sense. They believed in human perfectibility as an achievable goal and worked to achieve it.

Characteristics:

1.

2.

3.

4.

Most well-known Transcendentalist authors:

Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau

The most famous Transcendentalist…Ralph Waldo Emerson Emerson was the best-known and most influential

transcendentalist. What he combined into transcendentalism… A.

B.

And the Romantic tradition (nature)

He viewed the world based on:

He possessed an intense feeling of:

Emerson’s beliefs continued…

God is_________________________. Death, disease and disasters _____________Evil stems from a separation of

____________ _____________________________________

One must know God directly to realize _______

______________________________________The optimism of Emerson and

transcendentalism was appealing because of what was happening in society at the time:

The appeal of Emerson’s optimism and transcendentalism was a result of what was happening in society at the time:

Anti-Transcendentalists aka Dark Romantics

• Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville • Unlike Emerson and transcendentalism, their

view of the world:

• Similarities to transcendentalism:

• Differences:

• Their view developed from the mystical and melancholy aspects of Puritan thought.

• Their works explored the conflict between:

• They saw: .

Where does Edgar Allen Poe fit in?

Although often considered a Dark Romantic, Poe can be viewed more as a Gothic writer.

Poe’s works strongly represent Gothic elements more so than valuing intuition over reason or examining the natural world for God and spiritual truths.

Gothic literature… Settings-

  Atmosphere: A. B. Omens, foreshadowing, and

dreams usually play a large role in the mysterious air that is created within the story.

C. Include highly charged emotional states like:

Supernatural events: 

Damsels in distress are frequent.  Women who are frightened and confused, wandering around lost, or dying due to a slow and unexplainable ailment.

Words designed to evoke images of gloom and doom: dark, foreboding, forbidding, ghostly, etc.

Romantic themes often involve the death of a man or woman in the throes of some great passion, the obsessive nature of a man or woman in love, or excessive grief one feels upon the loss of a loved one.

In short: Commonalities with

Transcendentalism: A.

B.

C.

Differences from Transcendentalists:

A.

B.

C.

D.