Curated OER
Romanticism 1800-1860
What do Roger Chillingworth, Dr. Heidegger, and Ethan Brand have in common? They are all American literature poster boys for Romanticism, advertising the dangers of valuing reason over feeling and intuition. Introduce your class to...
Virginia Commonwealth University
On American Romanticism: Definitions From a Handbook to Literature
This page, from A Handbook to Literature, provides a definition of Romanticism and identifies characteristics of the Romantic movement. Describes the Romantic Period in American literature and names major writers of the period.
Georgia Department of Education
Ga Virtual Learning: American Literature: American Romanticism:washington Irving
This lesson focuses on Washington Irving and his short story "Devil and Tom Walker." It features links to the Discovery Education video: "Washington Irving's Life and Work" (Registration required) and a PDF of the short story text. It...
University of Groningen
American History: Essays: Philosophy and Literature: Intellectual Climate
Discusses the intellectual atmosphere in the 1800s as America struggled to find its identity. The influences of the Enlightenment and Romanticism are described, and the ideas of various writers and philosophers.
University of Groningen
American History: Essays: Philosophy and Literature: Two Philosophies
Explains what the 'Scottish philosophy' was and how well it fitted with American sensibilities in the 1800s. Over time it evolved into the American philosophy of Pragmatism. The other philosophy that took hold in some groups of society...
University of Groningen
American History: Essays: Philosophy and Literature: History and Literature
Discusses the state of literature and written history in the 1800s as they related to the development of a national identity, and the role Romanticism played. With the passage of time, more serious literature emerged and authors began to...
Other
Poets' Corner: John Greenleaf Whittier Snow Bound
This site houses the text to John Greenleaf Whittier's poem entitled "Snow-Bound. A Winter Idyl."
Virginia Commonwealth University
Vcu: American Romanticism (Archived Content)
This site, from Ann Woodlief's Introduction to American Romanticism (or the American Renaissance) defines the Romantic movement in American literature and discusses its major themes.
Washington State University
Washington State University: Literary Movements: Gothic, Novel, and Romance
This site defines and identifies characteristics for the Romance, the novel, and the Gothic novel. Uses good examples to distinguish between these genres.
Lumen Learning
Lumen: American Literature: "Thanatopsis" by William Cullen Bryant
Use the text and the video "Thanatopsis" by William Cullen Bryant to identify and understand the characteristics of American Romanticism.
Lumen Learning
Lumen: American Literature: "Wakefield" by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Use the text excerpt and video "Wakefield" by Nathaniel Hawthorne to identify and understand the characteristics of American Romanticism.
Lumen Learning
Lumen: American Romanticism: "Song of Myself" by Walt Whitman
Use the text and video excerpt of "Song of Myself" by Walt Whitman to identify and understand the characteristics of American Romanticism. "Song of Myself" is a poem by Walt Whitman that is included in his work Leaves of Grass. It has...
Lumen Learning
Lumen: American Romanticism: The Use of Nature in American Gothic
This article "The Use of Nature in American Gothic" focuses on how nature is used in American Gothic literature.
Lumen Learning
Lumen: American Romanticism: The Indian Burying Ground by Philip Morin Freneau
This is the text and video reading of the poem "The Indian Burying Ground" by Philip Morin Freneau, an American poet, nationalist (also known as Federalist), polemicist, sea captain, and newspaper editor sometimes called the "Poet of the...
Lumen Learning
Lumen: American Romanticism: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
This is an excerpt of the text and an audio book of the full text of the novella The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
Lumen Learning
Lumen: American Romanticism: "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe
This is the text and audio of the poem "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe, a narrative poem first published in January 1845, and is often noted for its musicality, stylized language, and supernatural atmosphere.
Lumen Learning
Lumen: The Second Great Awakening and Transcendentalism
This article focuses on the Second Great Awakening and Transcendentalism in America. It looks at the relationship between religion and politics.
Lumen Learning
Lumen: American Romanticism: "Nature" by Ralph Waldo Emerson
This is the text of the essay "Nature" by Ralph Waldo Emerson, the foundation of transcendentalism, a belief system that espouses a non-traditional appreciation of nature. Transcendentalism suggests that the divine, or God, suffuses...
Lumen Learning
Lumen: Romanticism: "The American Scholar" by Ralph Waldo Emerson
"The American Scholar" is a speech given by Ralph Waldo Emerson on August 31, 1837, to the Phi Beta Kappa Society at Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was invited to speak in recognition of his groundbreaking work "Nature" in which he...
Lumen Learning
Lumen: Romanticism: "Self Reliance" by Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Self-Reliance" is an essay written by American transcendentalist philosopher and essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson. It contains the most thorough statement of one of Emerson's recurrent themes, the need for each individual to avoid...
Lumen Learning
Lumen: American Romanticism: Walden: Economy
This is text and audio of Chapters 1-4 of Walden; or, Life in the Woods, by transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau. It is a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings and a manual for self-reliance.
Lumen Learning
Lumen: Walden: Where I Lived, and What I Lived For
This is the text and audio of Chapter 2.2 of Walden by transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau. It focuses on where he lived and what he lived for.
Lumen Learning
Lumen: American Romanticism: Walden: Conclusion
This is the text of Chapter 18 of Walden by transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau. By immersing himself in nature, Thoreau hoped to gain a more objective understanding of society through personal introspection. Simple living and...
Lumen Learning
Lumen: American Literature: Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
This is the text and audio of the novel Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe, an anti-slavery novel published in 1852, that was said to "helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War." It was the best-selling novel of the 19th...