English question

Question

In America, the movement known as Romanticism took two forms: Bright Romanticism, or Transcendentalism, and Dark Romanticism. What do Transcendentalism and Dark Romanticism have in common? How are they different? You might find it helpful to create a Venn diagram to organize your thinking. Then answer the questions in complete sentences.

Answer 1

Hi Adam,

Transcendentalism and Romanticism were two literary movements that occurred in America during roughly the same time period (1840—1860).

Similarities:

Transcendentalism was the outcome of Romanticism. Romantics focused on the experience of a person on Earth as they physically lived, but Transcendentalist focused on more than just what happens to one’s physical being. One is a result of the other. Neither movement could have continued without the other—Transcendentalism began in the realm of Romanticism, and Romanticism would have died alone and forgotten had it not been for the continuation of some of its basic ideas through the Transcendentalist movement.

Differences:

1. view of God and God’s role in the lives of people.

Transcendentalism was based largely on the idea that God is an internal force and that, every person and everything has within it a divine spark. The ultimate goal of the human experience was to connect to that inner spark with God.

Romanticism, on the other hand, had less to do with God. God, when mentioned, was seen as an external force as opposed to a divine spark within human nature. Romanticism was concerned with beauty and darkness, and literary works of this genre are often concerned with the battle between the two within the individual. Many Romantics believed in an inherent darkness in human nature, as well as an inherent light. Because of the difference in these views on God, most Romantic authors did not share the optimism of their Transcendentalist contemporaries.

2.Belief in the inherent goodness or inherent dark side of human beings

Romanticism was concerned with the great “flaw in the universe.” Nathaniel Hawthorne explored the effects of guilt, sin, and misery on the human spirit; many other Romantic works are based on the thought that everything may not be okay. This directly opposes the Transcendentalist view of the ultimate goodness of people and of the universe. According to Transcendentalism, innate goodness in the human spirit is a given, due to the “inner light.” All people carry a part of God within their soul; therefore, inherent goodness is unavoidable because we are all God.  To the Transcendentalists, there was no “flaw in the universe.” There was only God.

3.Written style

Romanticism is largely defined by its style, which stresses the use of emotion over reason and effect versus details. Romantic writing uses large contrasts, between good and evil, darkness and light. It gives the general effect of a dream world. Romanticism was also concerned with the physical world. The writing appeals to the reader’s senses. Transcendentalism, too, relates more to the senses than to reason and facts, but its style cannot be described. Every Transcendentalist writer wrote differently. Their works are grouped together due to their content, not the manner in which they were written. The writing is also concerned more with the journey of the spirit, rather than that of the body or the mind.

Hope this helps!

Adriana