Explain the differences between Romanticism and Transcendentalism - Essay Example

Romanticism and Transcendentalism Romanticism refers to the quality or of being romantic. On the part of the arts, romanticism refers to a movement of the late 18th century in literature and the arts that emphasized inspiration, subjectivity and especially the primacy of an individual. On the hand, transcendentalism refers to a social and philosophical movement that developed around 1836 in New England as a reaction to rationalism. Transcendentalism, at its inception, developed out of the great influence of romanticism, Platonism and Kantian philosophy; the last of which was a system developed by Immanuel Kant. Transcendentalism taught that all nature and humanity were pervaded by divinity (Habich and Nowatzki 78). Commencing the differentiation of romanticism from transcendentalism and vice versa with romanticism as the first of them, it is at the end of the 18th century that Alexander Pope’s neoclassicism gave way to the development of romanticism, its development and eventual getting rooted into the soils of literature. Thomas Gray, Oliver Goldsmith and William Smith can be easily -yet safely- said to have been the pioneers of this new form of literature and its development (Wayne 88). A lot of credit can be given to Freneau for his great role in bridging the gap between the classicism of the late 18th century and the fully-fledged romanticism of the nineteenth century. Transcendentalism, its own right as a form of the arts and literature as whole, can be traced to Immanuel Kant, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry Thoreau as the father figures and major followers of this form of the arts and literature. This system of the arts, above everything else, stressed intuition and spiritualism above the empirical and material aspects in any given context. Kant, being a pioneer in this ideology, stressed the fact that reasoning is the best way to the understanding of reality. Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe is considered by many to have been one of the most influential authors to ever come from the American continent. In his works of literature and the arts in general, Poe put a great emphasis on an art appealing both to the emotion and reason of the audience. He put forth the idea that a piece of work was not a part of the author’s life but a creation that should be characterized by beauty and spirituality (Wayne 54). His works preached of the most intense concentration backed by a unity characterized by a very conscientious use of words (Habich and Nowatzki 109). Poe belonged to a group whose other members included Cooper, Irvine and Hawthorne whose works have survived the advent of the works of new fiction writers and have always found readers in every generation. On the other hand, Poe’s definition of sensibility differed greatly from the meaning held by other notable authors of his time among them Longfellow, Hawthorne, Emerson, Holmes and Whittier all of whom had been born between 1803 and 1809. These followed William Wordsworth while Poe chose to lean towards Coleridge in his search for a consistent theory of art. Other authors of the same style of writing as Poe can only be found Melville before the Civil War and, although Hawthorne shared his signature symbolism with Poe, his impulses tended to be more didactic compared to Poe’s who gave no moral lessons in his works except his emphasis on the discipline of beauty. Poe’s influence on the arts and literature is well-preserved by European symbolism especially in France. His approach is widely referenced to due to its way of making an intellectual analysis and controlled perception of emotional consciousness. Themes, plots, and literary devices found in the short stories from Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and/or Herman Melville Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville share a character here and there in the way they present their works of art. Edgar and Hawthorne were both writers of fiction writers whose almost similar works have stood the test of time (Ladd 46). Both Poe and Hawthorne, in their pieces of work, use symbolism strongly to pass across their messages to the audience. The little difference that comes about due to their respective use of symbolism is that while Hawthorne often had a moral lesson in his pieces of work, Poe’s lacked a moral lesson and instead focused on love as a discipline. Both writers are related to Melville by their use of romanticism as a style of literature. A theme most evident in many Poe’s pieces of work is death. This is evidenced by his use of death in “The Fall of the House of Usher” and “The Cask of Amontillado.” This particular theme lacks in most of Hawthorne and Melville’s works of art hence a distinct difference between them. On the other hand, Hawthorne distinguishes his pieces of work from that of the other two authors by his use of psychological themes (Ladd 45). One of his works, titled “Billy Budd,” is obviously connected to Moby-Dick in the way it is presented. He therefore comes across as having been influenced by the author of Moby-Dick who is but Herman Melville. It is thus a similarity the two authors shared against all odds. Literary Devices Harriet Beecher Stowe Used in “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” That Made the Slavery Issue Vivid to the Reader In “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” Harriet Beecher Stowe employs several literary devices to not only pass across the correct message as she intended it, but to make her work beautiful and memorable. These literary or stylistic devices are seen time and again with their even distribution in the story. Of note is the fact that the story blends well with the devices used to keep the reader focused and immersed into the story. The use of imagery is the first case of the use of a literary device. From the Shelby mansion and the death of the slaves one by one, imagery reigns supreme and clear. Eliza’s escape to protect her son is also well described by the author with emphasis on the fear she experienced during the escape. The sound her ears capture clearly comes out to the reader. An of example imagery is; “Her husband’s suffering and dangers, and the danger of her child, all blended in her mind with a confused and stunning sense of the risk she was running in leaving the only home she had ever known, and cutting loose from the protection of a friend whom she loved and revered.” (Habich and Nowatzki 19). Another device used by Beecher is literary dialect. The use of person-specific speech brings the real picture of the events to the reader. The quotation of the readers is not left to be flat and monotonous but varied both tonally and otherwise to give the reader the real picture of the goings-on in a given scene. Example are; “This yer’s a seris bisness, Andy. Yer must n’t be a-makin’ game. This yer ain’t noway to help Mas’r” (Ladd 24) and “I may bring him up in a year, not much the wuss for wear, and trade him back.” (Wayne 24). Foreshadowing is also plainly evident. It lets the reader anticipate a given event and creates more zeal of what could eventually happen in the story. Such an example is; “Tom heard the message with a forewarning heart; for he knew all the plan of the fugitives’ escape, and the place of their present concealment; he knew the deadly character of the man he had to deal with, and his despotic power. But he felt strong in God to meet death rather than betray the helpless.” (Habich and Nowatzki 33). Works Cited Habich, Robert and Nowatzki, Robert. Research Guide to American Literature: romanticism and transcendentalism, 1820-1865. New York: Facts On File, Incorporated, 2010. Ladd, Andrew. Romanticism and Transcendentalism: (1800-1860), Volume 2. New York: Facts On File, Incorporated, 2006. Wayne, Tiffany. Encyclopedia of Transcendentalism. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2009. Read More