Romanticism

            During the 19th century war had changed how many Americans felt about themselves and their ideas. Now that America had found physical independence, there was a shift in the style of writing. During this period feelings and imagination were upheld over reason and fact and literature had emerged. This was called the period of Romanticism. Romanticism showed life as people might have imagined it or how people thought it should have been. Many writers of this period urged people to bring forth the spirit of the individual, or to take interest in the unknown. There are many writers who used Romanticism in their writing to shift away from classic style of literature.
             An example of someone who used Romantic literature is Edgar Allen Poe. Poe was a writer who contributed to America by helping to introduce fictional forms of writing. In his short stories and tales such as "The Raven" and "The Pit and the Pendulum" he shifted away from the classic style of writing most people were accustomed to. He had used much more imagination and imagery then most other writers of his time. Poe was very freethinking and unique and it was reflected in his stories. Poe was excellent at establishing a gothic mood in his writing. In "The Pit and the Pendulum" he says "The blackness of eternal light encompassed me. I struggled for breath. The intensity of the darkness seemed to oppress and stifle me. The atmosphere was intolerably close."(Poe 255) as he establishes a dreadful deathlike mood for the story. He had been one of the first writers of his time to go beyond the limits of classical writing and bring forth his own personal and individual style. Many people thought he was crazy for writing in such a deathlike style.
             Another author named Ralph Waldo Emerson was a writer of the period of Romanticism. He wrote during transcendentalism which was an intellectual movement during his time period. Emerson believed one should follow their own instincts wherever it might lead them.