Absolutism Vs Romanticism

Before the end of the eighteenth century, most “literature” was not intentional. The classics of the colonial period that we study today are more often than not personal letters or aimless jottings of someone’s opinions, and if someone truly did write with the preconceived notion of publishing it, their pieces were either factual accounts or persuasive pieces pertaining to controversy. The Romantic era was a revitalizing time in the world of literature, considered by many as a literary revolution. It defied the “laws of literature” previously implemented, ditching the rigid structure of writing beforehand and stressing the importance of uniqueness and self-expression. It’s a very crucial period in the timeline of literature’s progression because

At the time of its emergence, the United States was undergoing many changes. Greatly inspired by the French and American revolutions, this era of writing was the product of the Enlightenment, a late 17th-century movement which stressed the importance of the individual rather than tradition. Manifest destiny, the idea that God purposefully had set out the unexplored frontier in the West specifically for the United States to claim, fed into both the Enlightenment and romanticism, invoking optimism and the spirit of adventure within the American people. Moreover, plenty immigrants who sought to achieve the “American Dream” were coming to the United States, bringing new ideas and perspectives from their culture. Consequently, incorporating all these ideas together — newfound freedom, fantasies of the great frontier, the start of the “great American mixing pot” ultimately shaped the Romantic movement, urging people to

Romanticism also consisted of numerous sub-genres and plot elements that might’ve been thought of as taboo in earlier times, such as horror elements, slave narratives, or a female as the “protagonist” of a story. Overall, recurring themes of this period were romance, self discovery, and naturalism.

Stylistically speaking, romanticism popularized and introduced platforms of writing. Although poetry had been something people had used before to convey thoughts, it became more prominent as an outlet for romantic writing. In this era, authors had the ability to create their own style and syntax in writing, which would later inspire others to write by imitating their style. The romantic era truly served as a sandbox that would pave the way for future authors, pushing the boundaries of what the colonial era had defined as literature.

Romanticism is a very important time period to study because, in my opinion, it is the origins of creative writing. Once bold authors pushed aside the ideals of writing implemented in colonial America, they were able to tell wondrous and deep stories that have still stuck with us today. Through their pieces, we have found a way to cope with sorrow, explore the world, and question the norms, able to push these limits as they did from our homes — though to us, it doesn’t truly feel like we’re still in our bedroom as we read, but in a land crafted by those