Initially influenced by European literature, American writers rose to prominence between 1830 and 1865. It was during this period, known as The American Renaissance, that writers Nathaniel Hawthorne and Walt Whitman wrote about the birth of fresh ideas, political issues, American values, American landscapes, and a new and uniquely American language and writing style.
Beginning with Hawthorne, the most valuable example of American genius. Hawthorne incorporated many elements of transcendentalism into his writing, god is everywhere and in everything. The European Romantic Movement influenced The American Romantic Movement. His short story, “Young Goodman Brown” fits into a subgenre of American Romanticism, gothic or dark romance. This genre was created to move readers to fear and questions their surroundings. In this short story, Goodman brown encounters the devil in a night journey and battles the evil within him. Hawthorne uses an allegory to say Goodman Brown is walking with the devil and not just an old man. He says, “But the only thing about him, that could be fixed upon as remarkable, was his staff, which bore the likeness of a
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He makes historical references to slavery, in stanza 15 he says “The quadroon girl is sold at the auction-stand, the drunkard nods by the bar-room stove”. In stanza 38, he makes a philosophical reference to the crucifixion of Jesus Crist, “That I could look with a separate look on my own crucifixion and bloody crowning”. Another historical reference, Whitman makes is to the Mexican-American war in stanza 34, “Tis the tale of the murder in cold blood of four hundred and twelve young men”. In stanzas 41 and 42 he makes references towards world religions, including; Greek myth, Islam, Christianity, Native American Religions, Puritanism, Hinduism, etc. Whitman uses many other references like Emerson, The Alamo, Mount Vernon, and others. He takes us on a journey through America’s