(2016 midterm assignment) Sample Student Midterm Answers 2016 #2b: Short Essay (Favorite Term)

LITR 4328 American Renaissance

Laura E Wilson

Sentiment vs. Sentimentality: Escapism Then and now

The idea of Romantic literature and sentiment tend to go hand in hand. Sometimes sentiment crosses the line into sentimentality, and this seems to be a major difference between the literature of the antebellum age, and modern America. While sentimental aspects certainly appear in the literature of old, mostly its authors sought out genuine and honest reflections. However, much of modern literature seeks only the momentary, and obvious thrill of shallow emotion from its readers. Reading has always been a form of escapism, and the increasing prevalence and type of sentimental storytelling is a reflection on the type of escapism we seek as a society.

The American Romantic period came about after the Enlightenment, and solid logic and reason gave way to literature that placed higher value on human emotions in addition to those. The authors of the time used many themes and ideas to tell their stories, including the Gothic, the Sublime, the Byronic Hero, and sentiment. The nature of literature in the American Romantic period was to place value on human emotions, and by using romantic rhetoric to explore emotion, you open the door for your reader to think and feel in response to your language and content. This is called sentiment, and without that stirring of emotion and thought in the reader, there isn’t much memorable or thought-provoking about the story. When the language provokes an automatic, shallow response, it cheapens or even glosses over any intended message. The use of sentiment is seen across the American Romantic movement, no theme is untouched by it, including the Gothic. 

Without sentiment, many Gothic stories would be seen as cheap thrills, instead of the deeply affecting, emotional works of art they are. Edgar Allen Poe was a master at crafting memorable Gothic stories with Romantic rhetoric. In Ligeia, when the narrator describes his reaction to Ligeia’s death Poe writes, “She died;—and I, crushed into the very dust with sorrow, could no longer endure the lonely desolation of my dwelling in the dim and decaying city by the Rhine.” (Paragraph 14). Not only is the language lyrical, Poe conjures a vivid depiction of a grieving man’s need to escape, that anyone who has ever felt grief can identify with. Another common tool implemented by Poe is the Byronic hero, which in itself depends on sentiment to be effective. The Byronic hero; a dark, mysterious, and alluring man, who is brilliant yet haunted, cannot be taken seriously without an emotional connection to some part of the character, otherwise he merely seems ridiculous. Without the given sentiment of grief and love to connect them, the reader will only view the narrator of Ligeia as mad, or even cruel. While he may be those things, the implementation of sentiment in his writing allows Poe to create a multifaceted character, which makes the story much more complicated. Combining Gothic elements with sentiment through Romantic diction transforms Ligeia from a creepy story about a creepy guy, into a haunting depiction of grief and what it can do to a person.

The Sublime is another motif in the American Romantic period that uses sentiment well. The Sublime describes ideas huge, grand ideas that inspire awe and are often beyond explanation.  Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Nature is a wealth of Romantic themes and language, but mostly as a subcurrent of the Sublime. In Chapter 1: Nature, Emerson speaks of man discovering his inner child in nature, that the grand landscapes around us can inspire the same childlike wonder we felt as children. In paragraph 12 he writes, “I have enjoyed a perfect exhilaration. I am glad to the brink of fear.” The level of emotion talked of in this section is intense and awe-inspiring, a great depiction of the Sublime. While some of the diction and florid language used can be synonymous with sentimental expressions, Emerson doesn’t depict easy, or uncomplicated emotions here. The words inspire thought and reflection on oneself in a great execution of sentiment.

If sentimentality is so superficial and emotionally exploitative, why do people read it? Why is it is often the main theme of popular fiction in modern America? As stated earlier, reading is a form of escapism and the type of escapism we seek depends on the society we live in. In the American Romantic era, life was certainly not as comfortable as it is now. Disease, displacement, and death were prevalent; it was a turbulent time. The sentimental literature of the time, often depicted best in Domestic literature such as Maria Susanna Cummins The Lamplighter, was incredibly popular. Domestic literature often depicted an idealized version of family life, or had a happier ending for character who had struggled. In The Lamplighter, Gerty finds a family in Trueman after escaping a difficult and abusive life with Nan Grant. Having a harder life meant wanting to escape to something happier, and something that doesn't require the energy you need during the day. This could explain why sentimental literature was so popular, and somewhat why it remains popular. The difference is, sentimental literature in modern America often seems to end in a tragic death, leading to some kind of personal discovery for the protagonist. This is seen in John Green’s The Fault in our Stars, Jojo Moyes’ Me Before You, and films like If I Stay. For most people, life is not a constant struggle, and so society has glamorized depictions of death and loss. Sentimental literature lets the reader experience a shallow emotion they themselves likely haven't felt, have a good cathartic cry, and then not think about it again once the book is over.

It’s easy to understand why sentimental literature is popular, but cheap emotions are fleeting because they are not earning, they are thrust upon you. It feels exploitative instead of challenging, and the feelings produced during a reading won’t stay with you after the last page has been turned. This is the true difference between sentiment and sentimentality. The examples of sentiment above are effective because, while they use superlative and florid language, they avoid straying into stereotypes and hyperbolic statements of emotion. They don’t appeal to the readers emotions, they inspire them. They seek thought and they’re not exploitative. That’s why, instead of changing with the whims of society, they live on and continue to inspire generation after generation.