|
LITR 4328: American Renaissance  |
Final Exam Essays 2015 Sample answers
for
|
 |
Sarah
Hurt
Variety in Romanticism
Coming into the class I was aware of Romanticism in broad terms but
through the course I learned more about what Romanticism works could be. Before
this class I only thought of Romanticism as being obsessed with nature and
pictured swooning heroines and gothic elements because those were the main two
ideas discussed about Romanticism in other classes I took. While thinking about
Romanticism still brings to mind nature, gothic elements, and swooning heroines,
Romanticism also brings to mind the American dream, hope for advancement and
equality along with adventures and journeys.
Romanticism encompasses a much larger range of works than I anticipated.
Romanticism includes more subjects than nature lovers, gothic tales, and
romantic narratives with knights or brooding heroes. Romanticism can also
include sentimental works, abolitionist tales both fictional and true, utopian
elements and feminist ideas. While I have always been fascinated with parts of
the historical period when Romanticism was popular, the effect on more than just
the literature of the time has never been something that I had looked at.
Especially in regards to the women’s rights movement and the Shakers. Coming
into this course I never would have considered feminist works such as
The Declaration of Sentiments or some
of Abraham Lincoln’s speeches to be connected with Romanticism because I did not
understand the connection between Romanticism and dreaming in a
positive/productive way.
The
desire for a better life within Romanticism can come off as ridiculous when
taken out of context and Romantic dreaming only gets you so far. I believe this
plays a large part in why the style slowed down and realism became more common.
We discussed Hugh Wolfe from Life in the
Iron Mills in class and how he can only rise so high without money to help
him further his opportunities. His character exemplifies why dreaming only gets
you so far, in reality you need money and action to get you further than just
dreams. It is easy to look at Romanticism and see “imagination (or what is
possible or imaginable) over reason, logic, or the hard facts of experience”
(Romanticism course site) and then dismiss the style; however feminist and
abolitionist works used the elements of Romanticism to strive towards their
goals that almost seem to Romantic to be possible when you consider the time.
“Instead of the here-and-now or drab reality of the status quo, Romanticism
almost always values something unattainable or something lost, an alternate
reality to challenge or transform the everyday” (Romanticism course site), and
this element can both attract and repulse a reader. Romantic elements sometimes
come off as overly emotional, archaic and too idealized. While these elements
can individually be acceptable, when combined to a certain level they become
ridiculous or so unrealistic that the work is no longer enjoyable for some
readers. A large part of Romanticism tends to deal with escapism, and when works
that rely too heavily on certain Romantic elements to pull heart strings or
excite the reader, the reader might seek to escape the literature. Relying too
heavily on Romantic elements is not something that only well-read modern readers
might get annoyed with, Nathaniel Hawthorne in the introduction to one of the
sentimental novels we read complained about sentimental novels being badly
written and something he cannot understand anyone enjoying reading.
The
elements of Romanticism that are attractive to me as a reader include the quest
or journey element featured in Romantic narratives, heroic individualism and the
“possibility of higher purposes for all people” (Romanticism course site). The
elements of the gothic and concepts of civil disobedience can also be
interesting. While Romanticism will never be my favorite genre of literature, I
have come to realize that I am capable of enjoying more than just one or two
Romantic elements. Romanticism is such a large term that encompasses a variety
of works that might not seem to necessarily have anything at common at first
glance and because of this everyone can find some work written in the style that
they can enjoy.
1865 flag of the USA