Kathryn Pierce
American Books, section 43
Essay #3
Since enough time of Socrates it's been extensively said that art work imitates life. In the case of literature, however, it would be more accurate to state that fine art reflects life. The writings of both the Romantics and the Realists were an outgrowth of life in 19th century America and both mirrored that life through style, strategy, and subject matter.
American Romanticism was the first truly American literary activity and it included a group of authors who had written and released between 1820 and 1860. Among the list of best-known are:. .
Romanticism first emerged as a reaction to Enlightenment ideas. Passionate writers rebelled against the theory that reason was the best tool for obtaining fact. Instead, they deliberately delved into feeling, imagination, fantasy, and belief. Their style got benefit of personal independence and spontaneity to be able to break through the wall structure separating the author and the audience, and gave the author the flexibility to comment on the occurrences in the story in novel ways.
The distinctively American history and landscape possessed a profound impact on the Romanticists. Many were writing not long after the American Revolution and/or the Battle of 1812, and these historical situations were shown in their preoccupation with democracy and freedom. (insert touch upon authors and their works) This is a time of progress and expansion and their idealism fueled high expectations for the infant nation. The country was moving westward into great swaths of recently acquired place. The frontier, both as a place and an idea, became an important representation of the North american spirit. The country was filled up with thousands of kilometers of untamed wilderness that placed the promises of a fresh life filled up with adventure. (put touch upon authors and their works)
While North american Romanticism was a new attitude toward aspect, often stressing it over culture, it was also a fresh frame of mind toward people, promoting the solitary individual standing against population. Individualism is a quintessential American value and was central with their writings which urged people to follow their interior knowing regardless of the pressure to conform. (put in comment on authors, Emerson & Thoreau, others, and their works). Romanticists assumed that emotions form people's experience and their understanding of the world. These were an important part of an individual's identity. Heartbreak, happiness, awe, and rage, and a great many other thoughts were very important in North american Romantic books. (insert touch upon authors, Emerson & Thoreau, others, and their works)
Stylistically, the North american Romantics liked to experiment with form and the book became an important vehicle for expression (unlike the Western european Romantics who centered mainly on poetry). In addition they made brilliant use of symbols to allude to truths or knowledge that exist beyond rationality. Uncommon, often supernatural, heroes and forces action in romantic reports. Nature was an especially important theme, expressed in almost obsessive preoccupation with beautiful blossoms, gigantic trees, towering mountains, and great sunsets. (add Cooper, Emerson, Thoreau)
Other themes that figured prominently were an impulse toward reform (temperance, women's protection under the law, abolition of slavery); a problem with the impact of new technology (the locomotive, for example); an idealization of women (Poe's Anabel Lee, for example); and a fascination with loss of life and the supernatural (Hawthorne, Poe).
Despite these lofty ideals, the new country faced challenges. Theory among these issues was the widening population base anticipated to immigration, the role of government, the treatment of Native Us citizens, and the expansion or restriction of slavery. At the same time, advances in research and philosophy helped bring changes in thinking. There have been two occurrences that propelled the transition from romanticism to realism: the Industrial Revolution and the American Civil Conflict. Both these contributed to an alteration in emphasis in literary manifestation.
Change had been coming. The Realist movements began as early as the 1830's, but the line of demarcation was the onset of war. In just four years, this warfare became the most disruptive and transformative event in American background. It had been out of this turmoil that the movements grew and reached a prominence that continuing until around the end of the nineteenth century. In the 1850s, the ideals which were driving the nation toward war were portrayed in books, but many writers became unpleasant with this kind of moral certitude even though that they had added to creating it. The warfare, with its observable distance between higher purpose and brutal actuality, began to improve what they believed and how and what they wrote.
Realism was a reaction to and a rejection of Romanticism. In her publication, Social Development of American Realism, Amy Kaplan called realism a "technique for imagining and managing the risks of communal change". Realism was about recreating life in literature. Realists were concerned with the here and now, and their work was centered in their own time and handled everyday incidents and ordinary people, and with current socio-political issues.
Stylistically, the writer was individual from the world of the story and acted as an objective observer/narrator. Absent was the intricate use of figurative vocabulary. Realism presented a simple view of life and a genuine outlook on the earth that refused to idealize or flatter the topic. Even when the topic matter was complicated, their reviews used straightforward, simple vocabulary that identified common moments and activities.
American Realists chose to show their visitors somewhat than must tell them. They made their readers face truth as it just happened in real life rather than in the make-believe world of dream. (insert comment on authors and their works). They often explored the attributes that formed a person's character and reviewed how those characteristics motivated their tendencies. To do this they used omniscient narrators who could jump from your brain of one identity to the mind of another, and could move instantly from one location to some other. For the most part, they depicted individuals who were responsible for their own destiny. Characters were superior to their circumstances even though it was the circumstances that created the plot. (insert comment on authors and their works). Their personas were vibrant and well-rounded and drove the storyline onward. The Realists also integrated empirically verifiable causality to their stories and frequently used foreshadowing. Sometimes the outcomes were left wide open.
The Realists also used their reports to critique the interpersonal and political set ups that governed people's lives. From issues like gender inequality and racial bias to poverty, category mobility, and federal power, their tales contained a solid focus on personal morality, particularly as it played out between your individual and modern culture. (insert touch upon authors and their works) Theirs was a sweeping view of a city, a land, or a society and, like the Romantics, it was supported by the format of the book.
The change from Romanticism to Realism was a natural progression. Just as the United States grew and improved so performed the literature its writers produced. Romanticism grew from the new-found manifestation of national persona and centered on storyline, hyperbole, metaphor and sense. The nation modified, however. Realism grew out of the societal changes and centered on characters, details, objectivity and parting of author and narrator. Realism portrayed a note that depicted situations realistically, whereas romanticism illustrated announcements by using fiction. Both are interesting reflections of American life and culture.
Works Cited
Campbell, Donna M. "Realism in American Books, 1860-1890". Literary Motions. Dept. of British, Washington State School. 07 Sept 2015. Web. 24 Mar 2017. http://public. wsu. edu/~campbelld/amlit/realism. htm
Shmoop Editorial Team. "Realism Top 10 List. " Shmoop. Shmoop College or university, Inc. , 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 24 Mar. 2017. http://www. shmoop. com/realism/top-ten. html
Shmoop Editorial Team. "American Romanticism Top 10 10 List. " Shmoop. Shmoop University, Inc. , 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 24 Mar. 2017. http://www. shmoop. com/american-romanticism/top-ten. html
