Romanticism and the Age of Reason
Romanticism and The age of Reason
Most people know that it is a lot more fun to watch something that is associated with some kind of emotion. It is common to hear someone say: “I cried so much, loved it!” or “That movie was hilarious!” after a movie. Movies that are strictly fact are not as exciting as the ones with some action in it; emotion makes the story interesting. The romantic period in American literature is often called the American renaissance. During this period many of the novels, which can be found in today’s English schoolbooks, were written. Romanticism, which put emotion before everything, was a direct reaction against the age of reason, which put logic first. This essay will talk about characteristics of romanticism, such as: Death and intuition, which are going to be discussed in this essay. It is also going to talk about the ways that the romantic authors were trying to show, in their writings, how they opposed logic and reason. The Romantic authors believed that intuition was an essential part of their literature. They did not want to use reason and logic in order to write their novels, instead, they used intuition. It meant that they wanted to look inside themselves and inside nature to find inspiration and knowledge. Along with intuition comes also the supernatural, things that happen that cannot be explained with logic. A perfect example of that is Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven;” it is about a man, the narrator of the poem, whom has lost his love, Lenore. One night when the man is grieving in his chamber, a raven appears in his window and starts chatting with him. The man wants to know more about his Lenore, but the Raven just keeps saying “Nevermore”. In the end the man panics and tells the raven to leave; but the Raven does not leave. The last verse in “The Raven” reads as follow:
“And the Raven, never flitting, still sitting, still sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the
Most people know that it is a lot more fun to watch something that is associated with some kind of emotion. It is common to hear someone say: “I cried so much, loved it!” or “That movie was hilarious!” after a movie. Movies that are strictly fact are not as exciting as the ones with some action in it; emotion makes the story interesting. The romantic period in American literature is often called the American renaissance. During this period many of the novels, which can be found in today’s English schoolbooks, were written. Romanticism, which put emotion before everything, was a direct reaction against the age of reason, which put logic first. This essay will talk about characteristics of romanticism, such as: Death and intuition, which are going to be discussed in this essay. It is also going to talk about the ways that the romantic authors were trying to show, in their writings, how they opposed logic and reason. The Romantic authors believed that intuition was an essential part of their literature. They did not want to use reason and logic in order to write their novels, instead, they used intuition. It meant that they wanted to look inside themselves and inside nature to find inspiration and knowledge. Along with intuition comes also the supernatural, things that happen that cannot be explained with logic. A perfect example of that is Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven;” it is about a man, the narrator of the poem, whom has lost his love, Lenore. One night when the man is grieving in his chamber, a raven appears in his window and starts chatting with him. The man wants to know more about his Lenore, but the Raven just keeps saying “Nevermore”. In the end the man panics and tells the raven to leave; but the Raven does not leave. The last verse in “The Raven” reads as follow:
“And the Raven, never flitting, still sitting, still sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the