Romanticism In The Late 1800s

Romanticism: 1830-1865 The Romanticism era of American Literature, as a stand alone era that took place from 1830 to 1865, and not only in America but it was also occurring world wide. The era of Romanticism took place during the end of the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution took place from 1790 to 1850 and was a period of time where America evolved to have more technology and urbanized cities rather than focusing mainly on agriculture. Inventions such as the telegraph (1836) and the steam locomotive (1828) came into the picture during this time as America grew into a more industrialized society. Also, during this period, America was beginning to fight back against slavery and organizations such as the American Anti-Slavery Society

Writers focused on the concept of social differences and because of this, literature is thought to have a large impact on tying the country back together after the war. Similar to the Romanticism era, writers liked to showcase the beauty of nature through their work, creating in depth and detailed settings in nature. As a result of highlighting cultural differences though the work, often the characters were portrayed as common people of rural areas, and because the writing was aimed at a more urban audience the narrator often worked as a mediator, creating a relatable yet interesting point of view for the readers. The technique of writing a “frame story” was often used in this era where the narrator is told about events and cultures that happen in a certain region, creating a the mediator position for the narrator

Modernism existed during World War I and once the war came to an end, the Great Depression began in America and lasted until the 1930s. World War II also occurred during the literary era of Modernism (1939-1945) and American women were granted suffrage in 1920. Many of America and the world’s most historical events occurred during the eras of Modernism, causing them to turn out the way they did and have such a large effect on American Literature as it is today (Hodgins). Modernism existed in a time of wars and depressions, which seems to have played role in influencing the writing of authors at the time. Common themes in Modern literature is loss, death, and family destruction, which all correlate to the events occurring in the period. The characters were often not given a physical description and were instead described with adjectives such as “outcast”. The setting was less detailed than past eras and sometimes even seemed to have no setting at all. Incorrect grammar was often used in a way to express the dialect of a speaker, perhaps to distinguish their social class or where they are from. Authority figures in Modernist works often were corrupt and untrustworthy, sometimes causing a source of conflict in the stories. Postmodernism continues to carry on most of the traits of Modernism, as it is a smaller part of the era