Ayme Christian

Rags to Riches: My Personal Journey of Transcendence from romance to Romanticism

I was not excited about enrolling in this class. After all, I'd completed an undergrad class in Romanticism within the last two years. I knew the papers would be longer, the reading requirements a bit stiffer, but other than that, what was there to look forward to? Unfortunately (I thought), it fit the requirements I had for classes. It was offered on the same day as another class, Lit Theory, which I was required to take. Since I drive an hour and a half to get to school, I try to schedule all of my classes on one day. Since I have five children, I try not to take more than two classes a semester. Lit Theory, the only specified, required class in my CPS was being offered on a Thursday, so I needed another Thursday class to take for Fall 2008 to begin my Graduate career and American Romanticism fit the bill.

I came into the class expecting the standard two to four page syllabus, listing the assignments and ending with the now all too familiar "Don't plagiarize or you will immediately be sentenced to eternity in hell" phrase. Imagine my surprise upon being handed a novella whose first page was conservatively labeled "Page 1 of 8." I say conservatively (my euphemism for out and out lie) because under that was a sub-numbering of 1. I thought this double number a bit strange and unnecessary. Looking back I realize it was Dr. White's subtle way of avoiding a panic-ensued mass exodus of students once we realized how long the syllabus actually was. After all, if the professor took 15 pages to write the syllabus, how long would he expect our papers to be? Fortunately for me, I was duped by the man's easy-going mannerisms and kind smile. I say fortunately, because I was unaware at the time that this class would prepare me to teach as no other class had before. At the time I was also unaware of how ignorant I truly was about Romanticism. Like Zora Neale Hurston, who was unaware that she was black until she was thirteen, I was unaware that what I thought was a rich background in this subject was actually poverty. Thus began my journey from rags to riches.

What I knew when I began this class was startlingly little. I knew that Romanticism was a period of time and a style of writing. I had no idea which years it actually covered. My first thoughts, still, are pre-programmed to think more of the European Romantics or writers I considered to be Romantic. Coleridge, Blake, Wordsworth, Byron. I did recall that Romanticism was fond of Nature, although I probably wouldn't have ever capitalized it, correctly or not.

Now that we've covered the very short paragraph about what I did know, it's time to cover what I didn't know or rather, what I've learned. Perhaps the most obvious thing I've learned would be considered common sense by many: the fact that the American Romantic Period was not the same as the European one. Covering the time period from the late 1700s through the 1800s, it makes perfect sense: now that I know. However the most important thing that I learned was there from day one in the course objectives. Objectives that were hammered (although not unmercifully) into our heads from the first time we cast eyes upon them. What are these objectives? Well, as near as I can tell, they are Dr. White's way of ensuring that we know what Romanticism is. For example, which attitudes or themes are often seen in Romanticism? Desire and loss, rebellion (and its consequences) nostalgia, the individual in nature (you'll remember I mentioned nature earlier, I just hadn't previously associated the individual’s relation to it). I also hadn't associated and wasn't even sure of the definition of sublime and its bearing on Romanticism. Now I can easily tell you that it's a combination of the beautiful and terrible at the same time, and even cast various examples: (see golden oldie, etc).

One of the most interesting things that I discovered was due to the incorporation of the pre and post-romantic writings. What foreshadowed Romanticism, in other words, which authors were writing in the Romantic style "before their time"  which I can now list as Jonathan Edwards, Thomas Jefferson, and even the biblical example of Genesis. And what about the lingering effects of Romanticism? Which writers showed an obvious relation to the early Romantics and how could you distinguish this in their writings? Now I can use the examples that I wrote about in my essay above, from Henry James to F. Scott Fitzgerald. I can even incorporate poetry into my examples, citing Levertov’s “Jacob’s Ladder” with its “gleaming strands” of “radiant evanescence” or, one of my personal favorites, Elizabeth Bishop’s “Fish.” The fact that I even have favorites is in and of itself something of an accomplishment earned through this class.

Now to comment on how this class will affect my future, notably, my future as an educator. Quite possibly the most valuable thing I learned in American Romanticism, isn’t about the text at all, it’s about the teacher and the way to teach. Including the students in the class presentation kept the class fresh each week. Seeing the viewpoint of others on topics we’d read about, rather than being simply dictated to by someone at the front of the class, helped to stretch my viewpoint. Having to present myself led me to the realization that the best way to learn about a subject is to prepare to teach it. I learned more about the Harlem Renaissance and I ever would have otherwise. It also showed the importance of how necessary open-ended questions are when encouraging class participation. Rather than asking simply “what do you think?” It’s much easier to stimulate discussion and participation by asking “what do you think about _____” and fill in the blank.

The few things I’ve listed above are only a small part of what I will carry with me this semester, but they are an adequate representation. Although the sneakiness, (or should I say subtlety) of a good professor can never be overrated, the solidarity of the course material is really what helped me discover the true riches of American Romanticism.