Similarities Between Transcendentalism And Dark Romanticism

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In literature, a person usually learns about Romanticism which as to categories: Transcendentalism and Dark Romanticism. Transcendentalism is a philosophy which says that thought and spiritual things are more real than ordinary human experience and material things. Opposite to transcendentalism, there is dark romanticism. Dark Romanticism tends to be engaged with the idea of darkness in the human soul, the concept of original sin, or a certain dark outlook on society in general. In both Transcendentalism and Dark Romanticism texts, people can find elements of Romanticism such as the “feeling” of the scene, removed from society, and outcasts. Even though there are minor similarities between transcendentalism and dark romanticism, they shouldn’t continue to teach them together in schools.
In addition, the …show more content…

For example, it states “ It seemed to me that I never had heard the town clock strike before, nor the evening sounds of the village”. For Thoreau it’s like going to a whole different place. This quote demonstrates that Thoreau is an outcast not because he has be rejected from society, but because he lived outside of society. In contrast to transcendentalism, in Irving’s dark romantic short story, “The Devil and Tom Walker”, the main character is an outcast because the people reject him from society. For example, it states “‘You have made so much money out of me,’ said the speculator”. This quote demonstrates that the people rejected Tom Walker because he had such high interest rates that made his client's “ dry as a sponge”. Tom was highly liked by the people because all he cared about was himself. Another element, the “feeling” of the scene, which is a description the author gives so the reader can have a sense of what the author is writing about. In the Thoreau’s essay, he is in jail and describes jail as an apartment. For example, it states “I heard the sound of their steps returning into the