Study notes of American romanticism and transcendentalism, Study notes of English

Download Study notes of American romanticism and transcendentalism and more Study notes English in PDF only on Docsity! Pagina di 1 2 Alessia Mamone American romanticism and transcendentalism Features ➛individualism (= selfishness) ➛disdain for the city/distrust of civilisation ➛nostalgia for the past ➛concern for individual freedom ➛love for the beauties of nature ➛interest in the supernatural ➛imagination is more important than logic ➛reason is limited: imagination and intuition are needed to «go beyond» and discover truths which cannot be reached through reason ➛authors should rise above empirical (= factual) experience to look for higher and deeper meanings (exotic places far from industrialisation – see Gothic literature) ➛God is to be found in nature –> pantheism: from the Greek  πᾶν  pan  ("all, of everything") and θεός theos ("god, divine") ➛pantheism states that God is immanent in nature ➛science is not to be trusted Similarities with English romanticism ➛focus on nature ➛focus on freedom ➛imagination ➛hectic city life vs. simple country life ➛nostalgia for the past ➛supernatural elements Differences with English romanticism ➛American Romanticism focuses on individualism and self-reliance, not on individuality