American Romanticism :::
English III AP: Ms. Gutierrez
A. Read Bryant’s poem Thanatopsis. Thanatopsis (1821) and The Prairies (1832) are two of Bryant's best-remembered poems; they are works that make him an exemplary figure in the American Romantic tradition. We see here a dramatic change in the verse being written in the United States -- in how it sounds, in how it moves from one perception to the next, in how it is heard by the reader, and in how it implicitly defines the role of the poet. Thanatopsis is an elegy -- and if you have read other elegies, you know that the conventions of the elegy require it to move from grief into consolation, to come out of the darkness and away from the pain. Bryant gives us an elegy for all of humankind, for all living things. How does this poem find its way out of melancholy? By logic? By intuition? Where does the mood change, and how does it change? Be thorough in this answer: ¾ of a page or so, with citations/examples/intelligent discussion.
B. The early nineteenth century was an era when landscape painting favored the vast
canvas, the panoramic scene, the wild, dark, windswept landscape, and a portentous sky. The cover
of NAAL, volume 1, shows such a painting, by Asher Durand -- in fact, the two figures on the rock
in the middle distance are Bryant and the American Romantic painter Thomas Cole.
Reconsider Thanatopsis as a visual experience. Where do you see painterly moments in the poem? You may wish to find this work and enlarge it for a more detailed look and for a more specific discussion.
http://www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/viewOne.asp?dep=2&viewmode=0&item=11.156
C. Read and print the following stanzas from Walt Whitman’s Song of Myself: Stanzas 1,2,3,5,15,21,24,51,52. Make annotations for each stanza. Look at words/tones/images. Summarize each stanza, providing specific words and images to support your summary. How is this work Romantic in nature? What do you think of Whitman’s work? http://www.princeton.edu/~batke/logr/log_026.html
D. Visit this site to learn more about Bryant and painters Thomas Cole
and Asher Durand.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/ihas/icon/hudson.html,
and this site to learn about The Hudson River School/artists:
http://www.artcyclopedia.com/history/hudson-river-school.html.
Write two full paragraph on the style of these painters…how do they represent the spirit of
American Romanticism?
E. Find a scholarly review of Hawthorne’s work in connection with the subject Romanticism. You might find a writing that explain how the novel works in the Romantic literary tradition or you may find a writing that discusses how Hawthorne is conflicted with Romantic/Puritan ideas. Write a synopsis of your review, using specific citations as necessary.
Literature Resource Center http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/la99595?db=LitRC-16
Questia
http://www.questia.com/ For the passwords
ask Ms. Gutierrez