Individualism In 'Civil Disobedience'

Romanticism is an era that originated in Europe toward the end of the 18th century and was an artistic, literary, and intellectual movement that focused on certain ideals such as individualism, nature, intuition, and religion. These ideas that were formulated from the Romantic era are still alive in today’s society and still appear in modern literature. The ideas are portrayed in a unique way throughout literature and are made to catch the reader’s attention and make them contemplate the meaning behind Romantic ideals. Many authors during the Romantic era used literary elements and techniques in their literature to illustrate certain Romantic ideals.
Washington Irving uses the two literary elements imagery and personification to help convey a central theme of nature. In his short story “Rip Van Winkle”, Irving describes the setting of the story and mentions the “magical hues and shapes of the mountains.”(p.1) In other words, Irving describes the mountains as being majestic and
Thoreau states that “I think that we should be men first, and subjects afterward.” (p.2) As a result, Thoreau believes we should think about our own individual rights first, before thinking about the needs of others. This is important because he believes we need to be individuals and pursue our own liberties and freedoms. Thoreau also mentions that “All men have the right of revolution that is, the right to refuse allegiance to, and to resist the government.” (p.2) Everyone has the right to question the government and authority and do what is in their best interest in able to make themselves a better individual. This proves Thoreau feels we have to stand up against authority and be our own individual which is a repetitive theme throughout his essay. Unlike the Romantic authors and literature spoken about above, Emily Dickinson uses gothic elements to express Dark Romantic