dark romanticism复习讲义.doc

Dark Romanticism ☆ a literary subgenre that emerged from the Transcendental philosophical movement popular in nineteenth-century America. Works in the dark romantic spirit were influenced by, but didn’t entirely embrace the ideas of Transcendentalism. ☆ Authors considered most representative of dark romanticism are Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville and Emily Dickinson. Features: 1. Dark Romantics are much less confident about the notion that perfection is an innate quality of mankind, as believed by Transcendentalists. Subsequently, Dark Romantics present individuals as prone to sin and self-destruction, not as inherently possessing divinity and wisdom. 2. Although nature is a deeply spiritual force and it does reveal truth to man, its revelations are evil and hellish. 3. Whereas Transcendentalists advocate social reform when appropriate, works of Dark Romanticism frequently show individuals failing in their attempts to make changes for the better. I. Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) ﹒An important American novelist and writer of short stories; ﹒His novels are significant part of American romanticism, or more specifically, Dark Romanticism. “He can neither believe, nor be comfortable in his unbelief; and he is too honest and courageous not to try to do one or the other. If he were a religious man, he would be one of the most truly religious and reverential; he has a very high and noble nature, and better worth immortality than most of us.” 1. Life ☆ Born July 4, 1804 in Salem, MA ☆ Father died when Hawthorne was four years old. ☆ sent to private school once his relatives discovered his storytelling abilities. ☆ 1821, went to Bowdoin College in Maine, where he met Harriet Beecher Stowe, Franklin Pierce and Henry Longfellow. ☆ Married Sophie Peabody in 1825 ☆ Spent many years in seclusion – starving artist. ☆ Held many jobs including writer, publisher, working at a customs.house, and consul in England. ☆Throughout Hawt