Elements Of American Romanticism

Romanticism, commonly known as American romanticism, is writing in which feelings and intuition are valued over reason. It had a great influence over literature, music, and painting in the early eighteenth and well through the nineteenth centuries. It was commonly thought of as a trip into our imagination and could be written as stories, music, and paintings, but it was mainly found in poetry. In this essay, I will discuss the romantic qualities of “The Devil and Tom Walker” by Washington Irving, “Thanatopsis” by William Cullen Bryant, and “The Pit and the Pendulum” by Edgar Allen Poe. In “The Devil and Tom Walker” by Washington Irving, we see American romanticism in many points throughout the story. It starts with the devil offering answers to Tom and his wife’s money problems, for a price. The price is that at the end of his life, he has to go with the devil. The wife, overcome with greed, tries to take an offer not meant for her and was never heard from again. Tom’s love of greed for the thing that caused his wife’s death overtakes his better judgement. Once his time is coming to an end, he regrets his decision. He starts to worship a God that he doesn’t believe in, just so he wouldn’t end up in hell. All of this shows romanticism by showing that Tom and his wife choose the feeling of greed over
In all cases we see emotions and feeling being appealed to over the use of logic and reason. In “The Devil and Tom Walker”, we see the use of greed through emotions to show romanticism. In “Thanatopsis”, we see the use of supernatural evidence and the thoughts of life after death to show romanticism. In “The Pit and the Pendulum”, we see the use of fear through emotions to show romanticism. Whether the story is trying to relate to you, to ease the fears you have, or just trying to mess with your mind, American romanticism can be found in the story and in most cases, it can be