Late Romanticism

-Introduction (Coliflores)
-Walt Whitman (Casey)
-Emily Dickenson ( Renalou)

Romanticism:
Romanticism, attitude or intellectual orientation that
characterized many works of
literature, painting, music, architecture, criticism,
and historiography in Western civilization over a period from
the late 18th to the mid-19th century.
Romanticism can be seen as a rejection of the precepts of order,
calm, harmony, balance, idealization, and rationality that
typified Classicism in general and late 18th-
century Neoclassicism in particular.
It was also to some extent a reaction against
the Enlightenment and against 18th-century rationalism and
physical materialism in general.
Romanticism emphasized the individual, the subjective, the
irrational, the imaginative, the personal, the spontaneous, the
emotional, the visionary, and the transcendental.

It is a way of thinking that values the individual over the group,

the subjective over the objective, and a person’s emotional
experience over reason. It also values the wildness of nature
over human-made order. Romanticism as a worldview took
hold in western Europe in the late 18th century, and American
writers embraced it in the early 19th century.
Walt Whitman:
Born:
 
May 31, 1819 New York
Died:
 
March 26, 1892 (aged 72) Camden New Jersey
Awards And Honors:
 
Hall of Fame (1930)
Notable Works:
 
“Calamus” “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry” “Democratic Vistas” “Drum-
Taps” “I Sing the Body Electric” “O Captain! My Captain!” “Out of the
Cradle Endlessly Rocking” “Sequel to Drum-Taps” “Song of
Myself” “Specimen Days & Collect” “Starting from
Paumanok” “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d”

Movement / Style:
 
American Renaissance

What was Walt Whitman’s early life like?

Walt Whitman spent his childhood in New York, where he was
first employed at age 12 as a printer. He later held jobs as a
newspaper editor and a schoolteacher. During this time he
began publishing poems in popular magazines. The first edition
of Leaves of Grass was printed in 1855.

What is Leaves of Grass?

The verse collection Leaves of Grass is Walt Whitman’s best-
known work. He revised and added to the collection throughout
his life, producing ultimately nine editions. The poems were
written in a new form of free verse and contained controversial
subject matter for which they were censured. They received
little critical acclaim during his lifetime.

What is Walt Whitman’s legacy?

Walt Whitman’s poetry was innovative for its verse style and for
the way it challenged traditional narratives. He championed the
individual soul over social conventions, presenting himself as a
rough and free spirit. His poetry has continued to resonate with
new generations of Americans, and he is considered a symbol of
American democracy.

To summarize:
Walt Whitman wrote poetry that described his home, New York
City. He refused the traditional constraints of rhyme and meter
in favor of free verse in Leaves of Grass (1855), and his
frankness in subject matter and tone repelled some critics. But
the book, which went through many subsequent editions,
became a landmark in American poetry, and it epitomized the
ethos of the Romantic period.
Emily Dickenson:
Born:
 
December 10, 1830 Amherst Massachusetts
Died:
 
May 15, 1886 (aged 55) Amherst Massachusetts

Why is Emily Dickenson Important?

Emily Dickinson is considered one of the leading 19th-century
American poets, known for her bold original verse, which
stands out for its epigrammatic compression, haunting personal
voice, and enigmatic brilliance. Yet it was only well into the
20th century that other leading writers—including Hart Crane,
Allen Tate, and Elizabeth Bishop—registered her greatness.

What was Emily Dickinson’s education?

Emily Dickinson is considered one of the leading 19th-century
American poets, known for her bold original verse, which
stands out for its epigrammatic compression, haunting personal
voice, and enigmatic brilliance. Yet it was only well into the
20th century that other leading writers—including Hart Crane,
Allen Tate, and Elizabeth Bishop—registered her greatness.

What did Emily Dickinson write?

Emily Dickinson wrote nearly 1,800 poems. Though few were
published in her lifetime, she sent hundreds to friends,
relatives, and others—often with, or as part of, letters. She also
made clean copies of her poems on fine stationery and then
sewed small bundles of these sheets together, creating 40
booklets, perhaps for posthumous publication.

To summarize:
Emily Dickinson lived a life quite unlike other writers of the
Romantic period: she lived largely in seclusion; only a handful
of her poems were published before her death in 1886; and she
was a woman working at a time when men dominated the
literary scene. Yet her poems express a Romantic vision as
clearly as Walt Whitman’s or Edgar Allan Poe’s. They are sharp-
edged and emotionally intense. Five of her notable poems are

“I’m Nobody! Who are you?”

“Because I could not stop for Death –”

“My Life had stood – a Loaded Gun”

“A Bird, came down the Walk –”

“Safe in their Alabaster Chambers”