Comparing Individualism In The Devil And Tom Walker

According to Mr. Young, “Romanticism was a nineteenth-century literary and artistic movement that placed a premium on imagination, intuition, emotion, nature, and individuality.” These principles are reflected in many Romantic authors including Irving, Poe, Dickinson, and others. The compendium of poems with Romantic origins differ incredibly, but the dominant themes of imagination, intuition, nature, and individualism unify Romantic poetry. Imagination and intuition are major themes of romanticism. Irving’s The Devil and Tom Walker is a retelling of a man making a deal with the devil. It’s imaginative in than the Devil, a personage many intuitively believe in, is shown as a tangible being, a “great black man” who has “a shock of
Through literature, Romantic writers strove to define themselves and their place in life. In Nature, Emerson wrote, “In the tranquil landscape, and especially in the distant line of the horizon, man beholds somewhat as beautiful as his own nature.” Transcendentalists defined themselves through nature and the Over-Soul. Longfellow’s optimistic view of life, A Psalm of Life, tells of how individuals should be. “Let us, then, be up and doing, With a heart for any fate; Still achieving, still pursuing, Learn to labor and to wait.” Gothic works such as Poe’s The Raven with its macabre and psychological torment and supernatural elements exposes the darker side of mankind. Telling of the Raven, Poe writes, “And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming; And the lamp-light o’er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor; And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor Shall be lifted--nevermore!” Emily Dickinson’s poetry illustrates a great deal of individuality, and what she believes individuals are capable of. In The Brain--is wider than the Sky--, she relates the astounding capacity of the human brain. “The Brain--is wider than the Sky--...The Brain is deeper than the sea--...The Brain is just the weight of God--.” In their own way, each Romantic author reflect the idea of the individual in their