Paul Revere's Ride By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Romantic Period in American Literature

The romantic period in American literature is all about people - our feelings, our senses, our relationships, how we view the world. This era is characterized mainly by works detailing human emotions, both positive and negative. Americans moved away from having God as the main subject of their writing, and created a new genre centered around the complexity of humanity and individuals.
A lot of the work during this time period focused on showing positive human emotions, such as valor and kindness. One example of this type of writing is “Paul Revere’s Ride” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Longfellow emphasizes Revere’s courage and determination in warning the people of Massachusetts about Britain’s invasion. Although the poem is not entirely factual, the descriptions in the poem are excellent examples of romantic literature. “A cry of defiance, and not of fear, A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door, And a word that shall echo forevermore!” Longfellow wrote of Revere’s ride. This poem, like many works in the romantic period, show the positive side of humanity, the greatness that human beings can achieve. Henry David Thoreau’s essay “Civil Disobedience,” though far more critical of society, also praises people’s ability to take action and make a difference.

Many romantic works explored the relationship between man and nature, as they tried to determine man’s place and purpose in the world. In his essay “Nature,” Ralph Waldo Emerson writes “Yet it is certain that the power to produce this delight, does not reside in nature, but in man, or in a harmony of both.” Emerson believes that a strong relationship with the natural world is essential for human beings to thrive and understand themselves better. If people have better relationships with their environment, they can gain better control and knowledge of