The Romantic Period1800-1860

•1803: Louisiana territory purchased

•1804: Napoleon becomes emperor of France

•1820: Slavery is prohibited in some new-gained territories

•1814: “Star-Spangled Banner” is written

•1829: Steam locomotive is perfected in England

•1838: “Trail of Tears

Slavery Question

Democratic advances confined to white males

Slavery divided nation Conflict between abolitionists and the

advocated of state’s rights

Rising Industrialization

Factories sprang up Telegraph gave almost instant

communication across great distances Factories took up child labor and

unsafe working conditions Woman’s rights protesting 1869- rail lines linked east and west

coast

Westward Expansion

1845- most western state was Texas Transportation steadily changing and

improving 1824- Eerie Canal set a wave of canal

building 1869- railroad began to dominate long

distance travel

Culture, Customs, Inventions, and Fads

INVENTIONS

Telegraph invented in 1844 Made instant communication across great

distances possible Many telephone companies started as

telegraph services.

The telegraph facilitated almost instant communication across great distances.

The railway system dominated long-distance American travel.

Light bulb invented in 1879 1st light bulb burned for 13 ½ hours Replaced gas lamps and candles in homes

First phonograph invented in 1857 Was limited in size Could play stored music but not arbitrary

sounds or live music

In 1810 Pete Durand invents the tin can 1813 opened the first commercial canning

factory in England 1st tin can was so thick, it had to be

hammered open

FASHION

Woman usually wore longs skirts Hats and shawls were popular Shoes not made for comfort. One shoe could

fit both feet

TYPES OF LITERATURE, THEMES, AND

CHARACTERISTICS OF WRITING

*Short Stories: a piece of prose fiction, usually under 10,000 words

*Folktale: a tale or legend originating and traditional among a people, especially one forming part of the oral tradition of the common people

*Poem: a composition in verse, especially one that is characterized by a highly developed artistic form and by the use of heightened language and rhythm to express an intensely imaginative interpretation of the subject

*Novel: a fictitious prose narrative of considerable length and complexity, portraying characters and usually presenting a sequential organization of action and scenes

Characteristics of Writing

Simile: a figure of speech that makes a direct comparison between two subjects using

either like or as.

Metaphor: a figure of speech in which one thing is spoken of as though it were

something else.

Symbolism: a literary movement during the nineteenth century that influenced poets. Symbolists turned away from everyday,

realistic details to express emotions by using a pattern of symbols.

Point of view: perspective or vantage point at which the story is told.

Imagery: the descriptive or figurative language used in literature to create word

pictures for the reader.

Reverence for the imagination over reason

Interest in the past

High regard for inner feelings and emotions; intuition over fact

Quest for individual to define himself

Nature inspires man to high ideals and is loved and respected

Authors

Washington Irving (1783-1859)

• Born April 3, 1783 in New York City

• His father was a merchant• Irving was the youngest• Apprenticed to lawyer-1801• Passed ‘bar examination’ in

1806• Interest in writing promoted by

brother, Peter• Best know works: Rip van

Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878)

• Best known works: Thanatopsis

•Born November 3, 1794 in Cummington, Massachusetts

•Son of Sarah Snell and Peter Bryant

•Entered Williams College at 15 (1810)

•Left school in 1811

•Admitted to the bar in 1815

•Married Frances Fairchild in 1821

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)(A “Fireside” Poet)

• Born February 27, 1807 in Portland, Maine

• Second son • 1825- graduated from Bowdoin college

• 1829- professor at Bowdoin

• 1835-54Smith Professor of Modern Languages at Harvard University

• 1831-Longfellow married Mary Storer Potter

• 1843-Marriage to second wife, Fanny Appleton

• Best known works: Paul Revere’s Ride, The Courtship of Miles Standish, The Song of Hiawatha, and Evangeline

James Russell Lowell (1819-1891)(A “Fireside” Poet)

• Born February 22, 1819 in Cambridge, Massachusetts• Graduated from Harvard University in 1838 and from Harvard Law

School in 1840• First wife died in 1853• In 1857 he married Frances Dunlap

Best known works: The Biglow Papers, The Vision of Sir Launfal, and The Cathedral

Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894)(A “Fireside” Poet)

• Born August 29, 1809 in Cambridge, Massachusetts

• Son of Sarah and Abiel Holmes• Studied at Phillips Academy from

1824-5• Graduated from Harvard in 1829• Received his M.D from Harvard in

1836• Dartmouth professor from 1838-

40• Harvard professor from 1847-82,

six of which he was dean of the medical school

• Best known work: “Breakfast Table” pieces and novels, Elsie Venner, The Guardian Angel, and A Mortal Antipathy*He admitted that all of the above novels were “medicated”*

John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892)(A “Fireside” Poet)

• Born December 7, 1807 in Haverhill, Massachusetts

• Two terms at Haverhill Academy (1827-8)

• Little other formal schooling• Worked as a newspaper editor

in first in Boston and then in Hartford, Connecticut (1829-32)

•Best known works: “The Barefoot Boy”, Snow-Bound, “Telling the Bees”, and “Barbara Frietchie”