Romanticism No Other Period in English Literature

¶ … Romanticism

No other period in English literature displays more variety in style, theme, and content than the Romantic Movement of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Furthermore, no period has been the topic of so much disagreement and confusion over its defining principles and aesthetics. Romanticism is often described as a large network of sometimes competing philosophies, agendas, and points of interest. These philosophies are often very contentious and controversial, as is the case with Walt Whitman. In England, Romanticism had its greatest influence from the end of the eighteenth century up through about 1870. Its primary vehicle of expression was in poetry, although novelists adopted many of the same themes. In America, the Romantic Movement was slightly delayed and modulated. Contrary to the English example, American literature championed the novel as the most fitting genre for Romanticism's exposition. Walt Whitman however, extensively used poetry to express sexual themes and controversial notions. Such notions as homosexuality and prostitution frequently made it into Whitman's works. Through Leaves of Grass Whitman extensively used pornographic or obscene imagery. In a broader sense however, Romanticism can be conceived a broad concept which can be applied to almost any time period. In spite of such general disagreements over usage, there are some definitive and universal statements one can make regarding the nature of the Romantic Movement in America (Reynolds, 1995)

Whitman and the Romanticism Movement

First and foremost, Romanticism is concerned with the individual more than with society. The individual consciousness and especially the individual imagination are especially fascinating for the Romantics. During this period many authors seemed to neglect the importance and power of reason, which could be reaction against the enlightenment movement which proceeding the romantic one. Nevertheless, writers became gradually more invested in social causes as the period moved forward. Walt Whitman for instance was in agreement with temperance and rarely drank alcohol. One of his earliest fictional works, the novel Franklin Evans, was a temperance novel. Thanks largely to the Industrial Revolution, English society was undergoing the most severe paradigm shifts it had seen in living memory. The response of many early Romantics was to yearn for an idealized, simpler past. In particular, English Romantic poets had a strong connection with medievalism and mythology. The tales of King Arthur were especially resonant to their imaginations. On top of this, there was a clearly mystical quality to Romantic writing that sets it apart from other literary periods. Walt Whitman, exemplified the romantic period with his unique style relative to that of the English. Walt Whitman has been claimed to be the first poet to write in a singularly American character. Whitman's work broke the boundaries of poetic form and is generally prose-like style. As mentioned earlier, Whitman also used unusual images and symbols in his poetry, including rotting leaves, tufts of straw, and debris. He also openly wrote about death and sexuality, including prostitution which, at the time, was very controversial and unusual. He is often labeled as the father of free verse (Kaplan, 1979).

How Whitman exemplifies the Romanticism Movement

Along with Emily Dickinson, Whitman is regarded as one of America's most significant nineteenth century poets. Born on Long Island, Whitman grew up in Brooklyn and received limited formal education. His occupations during his lifetime included printer, schoolteacher, reporter, and editor. Whitman's self-published Leaves of Grass was inspired in part by his travels through the American frontier and by his admiration for Ralph Waldo Emerson. This important publication underwent eight subsequent editions during his lifetime as Whitman expanded and revised the poetry and added more to the original collection of twelve poems. Emerson himself declared the first edition was "the most extraordinary piece of wit and wisdom that America has yet contributed."Whitman's Leaves of Grass was inspired through his travels through the American frontier. In Leaves of Grass, he celebrated democracy, nature, love, and friendship. This monumental work chanted praises to the body as well as to the soul, and found beauty and reassurance even in death.

Whitman is regarded as one of America's most significant nineteenth century poets. Born on Long Island, Whitman grew up in Brooklyn and received limited formal education. His occupations during his lifetime included printer, schoolteacher, reporter, and editor. Whitman's self-published Leaves of Grass was inspired in part by his travels through the American frontier and by his admiration for Ralph Waldo Emerson. This important publication underwent eight subsequent editions during his lifetime as Whitman expanded and revised the poetry and added more to the original collection of twelve poems. Emerson himself declared the first edition was "the most extraordinary piece of wit and wisdom that America has yet contributed."