American Literature: Romanticism Student Midterm Submissions 2016 (midterm assignment) 3. Web Highlights

Victoria Webb

October 10, 2016

Defending American Literature: A Web Review

          Before reviewing the work of past students, I would like to start by stating my stance. I am an American literature enthusiast. In my own mind, I cannot fathom the idea of anyone disliking American literature nor appreciating it for what I believe it is: a genre that is unique in its own right. While many “anglophiles” criticize American literature for lacking the depth or originality that its English literature counterpart has, I have always had an appreciation for what makes American literature different than others. While I was reading through the midterms and finals from years prior, I noticed many students, who were and are scholars of literature, had legitimate reasons for disliking the genre altogether.

Why the General Dislike for American Literature? By Kristin Vermillion
Midterm Sample 2013

          In Kristin Vermillion’s essay Why the General Dislike for American Literature? I found some biased opinions on the matter of American literature and the general consensus. On the whole, I appreciate her work. She writes with honesty and the knowledge of a true literature scholar; however, I do not agree with her during most of her essay. In her first paragraph, I see that while she likes the qualities of romanticism, she is not fond of it in American literature. She states that she is in fact a “romantic”, and that becomes apparent in the following paragraph when she describes her upbringing. Her description of her experiences in Wyoming could easily be classified as romantic, as she describes the rugged beauty of the wilderness from which she’s from. I appreciate her doing so because it shows that she genuinely understands the concept of romanticism. Though, my fondness for her opinions ceased quickly in the third paragraph when she claims one of the reasons for her distaste for the genre is because of the criticism. While I will agree that typically the criticism for American literature can be shallow at times, that does not knock the genre as a whole. Rather than having literary critics sway my opinion of great literature, I believe that one should form their own opinion of the writing and read it with historical context in mind.

          Not to say that I disagree with her the entire time; as her paper went on, she made points that I found to be accurate. Even as a diehard American literature fan, I can agree with her statement that conversations over American literature can turn into debate over race relations, hypocrisy, and race favoritism. While my class did not turn the discussion about The Captivity of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson into a political debate, I can definitely see how that could happen, and I understand her opinion on the matter.

          Overall, I enjoyed her essay because I did not purely agree or disagree with her statements. While I don’t necessarily agree with her about American literature lacking powerful narrative, I will agree that there are dramatically less narratives in American literature than genres like British literature. However, I do not believe that this will sway my opinion that American literature is just as riveting and enjoyable as the literature of older countries.

Defining American Romanticism: The Problems with Labels By Niki Bippen
Midterm Sample 2015

          When I first began to read Niki Bippen’s essay, I was immediately relieved to know that she was an advocate of American literature. I completely understood her inability to understand others’ distaste for a genre she held so dearly, and I could relate to her hearing things like “stupid tree huggers” and “how is this creepy dude describing the death of a loved one a romantic text?”. As a lover of gothic literature, I had to hear too often that gothic literature is anything but beautiful. While Bippen promotes herself as a lover of American literature, she can understand why the other half does not appreciate American romanticism the way she does.

          One of the first problems that Bippen sees, which I agree with, is that American romanticism stretches itself “to encompass a wide variety of themes” and goes on to say that it is difficult to pinpoint what is and isn’t romantic. I agree with this statement because anyone versed in American romanticism knows that the texts vary greatly: from Poe’s dark gothic world, to the transcendental essays of Emerson or Thoreau. It is easy to understand how the other half does not fully comprehend the vast variety of literature that falls under the umbrella of American romanticism. However, like Bippen says, it is the variety of themes and terms found in the literature that define American romanticism.

          Bippen goes on to say that many people find the material “dry and boring”, which is most likely a true statement. The reason, she says, is because upon hearing “romantic” people instantly assume “love stories with Fabio on the cover” (Bippen). I can agree with this observation because when I was first introduced to the term “romantic”, I too assumed the stories would be filled with love and other traditionally romantic sentiments. Many cannot get passed the fact that not all of the stories have a central love theme. As Bippen says, romanticism requires the full attention of the reader, and many, even those who love literature, read for enjoyment and have a difficult time finding deeper meaning than words on the paper.

Reflections of an Anglophile By Hannah Wells

Final Exam 2013

The last model assignment that I read was Hannah Wells’ Reflections of an Anglophile. I was immediately drawn to this essay because I wanted to know how self-proclaimed anglophiles viewed American literature after taking this course. Of course, this American lit fan cheered for a change of heart, but I was fully ready to accept that some people will just never appreciate American literature the way they appreciate British literature. Hannah’s essay was a great read. I appreciated her honesty and her genuine desire to learn more about American literature.

She writes in her first paragraph that she had a “rigid, block-like picture” in her mind that represented American literature. She also admits that her definition of romanticism prior to the class was British. I liked when she wrote that learning about American romanticism is necessary for “the expansion of [the] mind and the genre itself”. The fact that she was a teacher made her essay all the more meaningful. As a teacher, I have the desire to take what I learn in class and pass on that knowledge to my students. Overall, Wells appears to understand the importance of learning American literature, despite not being initially drawn to the genre from the beginning.

After reading these model assignments, I can say that my stance as a diehard American literature fanatic remains. While I understand the allure of British literature, and literature of other countries, the fact remains that American literature is a special type of gem and essential to the education of the literature scholar.