Romanticism and the Individual: Pushkin and Whitman
This essay examines the romantic character as a literary archetype, tracing its origins in late 18th-century European culture to its manifestation in two major works: Alexander Pushkin's "The Queen of Spades" and Walt Whitman's poetry. The paper argues that while both works celebrate individualism—a core romantic value—they present contrasting visions of the romantic hero. Pushkin's Hermann emerges as a parodic figure whose pursuit of absolute knowledge is undermined by base financial motives, whereas Whitman's poetic persona transcends isolation by embodying the collective voice of humanity. Through analysis of characterization, symbolism, and thematic structure, the essay demonstrates how each author interprets romantic idealism within their specific cultural and historical contexts.
- Defining Romanticism and the Romantic Character: Romanticism origins, universal characteristics, individualism rise
- Hermann: The Parodic Romantic Hero: Hermann's alienation, social marginalization, quest for absolute
- The Queen of Spades and Romantic Elements: Symbolism, supernatural elements, dream-reality fusion, romantic parody
- Whitman's Inclusive Romantic Individual: Self-celebration, collective voice, integration with society and humanity
- Contrasting Visions of the Romantic Ideal: Comparative analysis of parodic versus grandiose romantic heroes
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What makes this paper effective
- Establishes a clear theoretical framework early: defining romanticism's characteristics (folklore, nationalism, individualism) before applying it to specific texts.
- Uses direct textual evidence and quotations to support claims about character motivation and thematic significance (the countess's dream, Hermann's madness, Whitman's cataloging of oppressed voices).
- Develops a meaningful comparative argument that goes beyond surface-level similarity—recognizing that both works engage romanticism but through fundamentally different lenses (parody vs. grandeur).
- Demonstrates close reading: the analysis of Hermann's marginalization (foreign origin, financial restraint) shows how specific details accumulate to characterize the romantic outsider.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper uses thematic synthesis to bridge literary analysis and cultural history. Rather than treating Pushkin and Whitman as isolated case studies, the writer establishes a shared conceptual vocabulary (individualism, the quest for the absolute, isolation, the supernatural) and shows how each author negotiates this vocabulary differently. This technique allows the paper to make a larger claim about romantic ideology without losing sight of textual specificity.
Structure breakdown
The essay follows a problem-solution structure: Part 1 (sections 1–3) defines the romantic hero and traces its presence in Pushkin's story, culminating in the observation that Hermann is a parody of the type. Part 2 (section 4) reframes romanticism through Whitman, showing a different—almost opposite—expression of the same values. Part 3 (section 5) synthesizes both, arguing they represent two legitimate but distinct romantic visions. This structure moves from definition → analysis → comparison → interpretation, mirroring the intellectual work of comparative literary criticism.
Defining Romanticism and the Romantic Character
Romanticism is a cultural current that manifested itself in the late 1700s and quickly swept throughout Europe. One of its defining characteristics is its universality: its field of manifestation was widespread, spanning painting, art, music, and literature. The Romantic current generally has common features that can be traced across all its areas of expression, including its sources of inspiration (generally folklore and popular art) and the nationalistic themes present in romantic works—for example, the French Romantic paintings full of such imagery.
Some Romantic works, especially the literary ones, drew upon the Middle Ages as a source of inspiration, a period that best encouraged the Romantic imagination. However, one of the most important elements of the Romantic Movement is the romantic character himself. A romantic character generally possesses several common characteristics that make him recognizable from the very beginning. One of these defining traits is individualism.
The rise of capitalism and mercantilism destabilized the old medieval patterns. The new bourgeois often refused to fit into the old order and "developed their own tastes in the arts and created new social and artistic movements alien to the old aristocracy." The direct effect this phenomenon had on art and literature was significant: if before the Church and aristocracy usually shared the same ideas and tastes, the new society presented a numerous association of individualistic people. Any artist or writer could now find a sympathetic audience willing to pay for his work. Thus, the individualism developing in society reflected itself in the arts and literature as well, and every artist could now create according to his own beliefs.
Literary heroes like Faust helped create and better define the romantic hero. Such characters either cannot find their place in everyday society or have been rejected by it. Most often, these are powerful characters that find the will to fight the misfortunes of life, change the rules, create new rules, and "self-define and self-invent" themselves. In other situations, the romantic hero appears as an inadaptable character of his times, someone who has been rejected by society and lives alone, isolated. Yet most romantic characters believe "that the best path to faith is through individual choice, the idea that government exists to serve the individuals who have created it."
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