Romanticism1

“Romanticism is the expression of man's urge to rise above reason and common sense, just as rationalism is the expression of his urge to rise above theology and emotion.”  –Charles Yost

=Herman Melville =

(August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891)
Herman Melville was a man of many talents and tastes. Born to a prominent family, Melville's father allowed his eight sons and daughters all the luxuries they could want. However, Melville's father died when he was twelve and left Melville's mother, in debt, to raise his brothers and sisters. Melville attended school for only one year until he returned home and began his travels around the world. Soon afterward, Melville married Elizabeth Shaw and the two settled down to have four children together. Melville became a successful author and traveled to many places in Europe and America speaking of his writings and travels. It was during this time living in the country when Melville became good friends with Nathaniel Hawthorne. Melville soon moved from the country to the New York City began working at the New York Custom House. Melville began writing poetry, but his fame as an author had ceased to exist. He died in his home in the early morning at the age of seventy-two. Melville is most famous today for two of his books written later in life, //Billy Budd// and //Moby-Dick.// However, these two books were not very popular when they were first published, and only became popular in the twentieth century. Historians recently recovered a newspaper article dated from August 1864. It is unknown what newspaper the article came from as only the body of the article had survived. The article tells of an interview with Melville about his former popularity as a writer and about his knowledge of the time period he lived in. The part of the article regarding the time period has been approved to be posted here. The other half of the article has not been approved at this moment in time.*

August 1864 **Interviewer:** //What important events have happened in your lifetime, during the Romanticism period?//

**Melville:** To begin with, the Romanticism period began roughly around 1800, before I was born, and ended a few years ago, around 1860. Many different events happened in this time period around the world and in the United States. Thomas Jefferson became president in 1800, and the Louisiana Purchase was soon to follow in 1803. The Lewis and Clark Expeditions took place from 1804 to 1806. The importation of slaves was outlawed in 1807, I believe (You’ll excuse me if I get these dates a little off or have to think about it. My memory isn’t the greatest.), and Congress passed the Embargo Act because the English and French kept interfering with our trade. In 1812, the US declared war on Great Britain and the war lasted until 1815 when we Americans defeated those British at the Battle of New Orleans. The Monroe Doctrine was passed in 1823 warning Europe not to interfere in our affairs and telling them that we wouldn’t interfere in their wars. In 1830, the Indian Removal Bill was passed resettling all those Indians. In 1838, “The Trail of Tears” began forcing Cherokee Indians to move. From 1846 to 1848, the Mexican War took place. The Compromise of 1850 dealt quite a bit with admitting and banning slavery. Four years later, the Kansas-Nebraska Act passed repealing The Missouri Compromise that was passed, oh, I can’t remember-I think back in 1820-about slavery as well. This only led to “Bleeding Kansas,” local warfare that pitted anti-slavery and pro-slavery settlers against each other. During this period, many new states were admitted to the United States, doubling the number of states from sixteen to thirty-three. Well, that’s about all I can remember.

**Interviewer:** //What other events, such as religious, social, and political movements, were sparked by the historical events you previously mentioned?//


 * Melville: ** The Second Great Awakening took place throughout this period. The movement dealt with religion and embraced the Romanticism’s view on the emotions of humans. Also, because women comprised much of church congregations, women's views and voices became much more dominant in this era. The Temperance Movement was a movement that began in the early nineteenth century that dealt with limiting alcohol consumption. This movement is still ongoing today, in the 1860s. I certainly do wonder if any compromise will be made. The [[image:slavery.JPG width="217" height="245" align="left"]]Anti-Slavery Movement began in the 1820s. Many women were also involved in the abolitionist movement and the set for the women’s rights movement was made. The Women’s Labor Movement began soon after in the 1830s. Women began to gather to defend their rights as workers in cotton mills and later on, as shoe workers. Many female reform societies, such as the New York Female Moral Reform Society and the Boston Female Morale Reform Society, were formed to eliminate prostitution and other sexual exploitations in the 1830s. The Dress Reform of the 1840s encouraged women to wear, dare I say it, trousers. Many women’s rights reforms and conventions were soon to follow, like the Women’s Suffrage Movement and Women’s Rights Convention Movement beginning, oh, I’d say fifteen-sixteen years ago. The Young Women’s Christian Association was founded in 1858 and did the same basic things as the YMCA which was founded seven years earlier, I believe. I know that there are more movements than all those I have somehow managed to remember, but I suppose those will do.

**Interviewer:** //Who do you think are prominent writers, political figures, and activists of your lifetime?//


 * Melville: ** The romantic period was not focused heavily around politics and such but primarily on the literature. Due to this, there are not as many prominent political figures as there are writers and poets. However, one political figure that I can think of is the president Andrew Jackson. Now, although the amount of political figures are lacking, I still do feel that this period was a time of many great writers and poets. Some of the great writers of the Romanticism include James Fenimore Cooper, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margret Fuller, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Washington Irving, and of course myself, Herman Melville. Poets were also a large part of the Romantic period. Some of the more known poets include Edgar Allen Poe, Walt Whitman, and of course, Emily Dickinson.

**Interviewer**: How have these writers and thinkers helped to form the new beliefs and values of this new time period?

<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">**Melville**: These writers' styles reflected heavily on what was happening during the time of the American romanticism. Several of these writers have written stories that include reference to spiritual of Biblical figures, which coincides with the people of this era seeking greater spiritual knowledge. One example of this was in Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel //The Scarlet Letter//, in which the “Black Man” is used to portray the devil. Other writers turned toward more unrealistic subjects for their novels, which ties in with the people of this times intrigue with the supernatural and uncommon. The writers that include these notions in their novels include Washington Irving in his books //The Legend of Sleepy Hollow// and //Rip Van Winkle//, along with myself and my own novel //Moby-Dick//. The poets of this era were sadly outspoken, for Edgar Allen Poe’s works were primarily influential in France instead of at home in America, and Emily Dickinson's works were not well read or popular until after she had passed away.

<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">**Interviewer:** What do you believe the connection is between the cultural climate of this period and the literary climate?

<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">**Melville**: I believe that the various writing styles and themes have much in common with the cultural conditions during the Romanticism. During this time, several writers began to turn towards the supernatural or the unusual as subjects in their novel. This is also true of the people of this time who were looking for new spiritual roots and also beginning to question the norms of society. During this time period, there was an idea of expansion among the frontier, which could be in direct relation the imaginative and subjective themes in the literature. This relates because the people would not know what expansion would bring them so they must imagine it for themselves. The writers also used their imaginations, not to imagine what could happen, but to imagine subjects and ideas for their stories. Industry was also growing during this time, primarily in the North. This growth in industry could have indirectly caused one of the literary themes of this era which is that of using nature as a refuge. This contrast would most likely be due to the rebellious nature of the people during this era and the desire for the uncommon, in that if industry was growing and becoming prominent then the people must turn to nature in which case would be unpopular. The use of nature as a refuge also relates to the previous point about spirituality for the people of this time also sought nature as a source of knowledge and spiritual guidance. One final possible relation between the new styles of writing during this time could be the increase in immigration during this time. With all the new people entering the country, several new cultures had also been brought to America, which could have influenced the newer styles and themes of writing, like the theme of escapism in that the immigrants were trying to escape their previous home.

<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">Herman Melville's Blog <span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">Lecture 16: The Romantic Era <span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">Timeline: 1800-1860 <span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">Women and Social Movements in the United States <span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">Romanticism <span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">General Romanticism Information

<span style="font-family: Symbol,sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 15px;">*Persons and events mentioned in the article are historically correct. However, the article and interview are fictitious. <span style="font-family: Symbol,sans-serif; font-size: 80%;">This wiki page has been created by Josh Kienzle and Rachel Luoma.