Washington Irving was one of the “first notable fiction writers of the American romantic movement” (Keenan 970). His sketch book with tales such as “Rip Van Winkle” “made Irving the first American author to attain an international reputation” (Fender 165). Whereas Irving’s prior work, the History of New York (1809) is written in a neoclassical1 tone right in the sense the Age of Reason and Enlightenment, “The Sketch Book [...], showed that Irving had gradually become a romanticist” (cf. Callow and Reilly 76). According to the “Oxford Companion to American Literature”, Romanticism is a “term that is associated with imagination and boundlessness” (Hart 724). Furthermore, it was a movement that “elevated the individual, the passions, and the inner life. Romanticism, a reaction against neoclassicism, stressed strong emotion, imagination, freedom from classical correctness in art forms, and rebellion against social conventions”2.
The goal of this paper is to examine and explain the major romantic elements in Washington Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle”. Therefore, at first the developments and ways of thinking during the Romantic period will be described, and briefly contrasted with those of the Age of Reason and Enlightenment. Then some information will be given on Irving as a romantic writer and the background of the tale of “Rip Van Winkle”. After that several
romantic features will be highlighted within short analyses of parts of the tale. Due to the briefness of the paper, the discussed features are restricted to themes such as “Truth”,
“Individualism” and the depiction of Rip Van Winkle as a common man, as well as the function of nature within the story.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. American Romanticism 1820-1865
3. Washington Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle”
3.1 Irving as a Romantic Writer
3.2 The Background of the Story
3.3 Truth as a Theme in “Rip Van Winkle”
3.3.1 The Narrative Frame
3.3.2 “Truth” in the Embedded Tale
3.4 Individualism and the Depiction of the Common Man in “Rip Van Winkle”
3.5 The Function of Nature in “Rip Van Winkle”
4. Conclusion
Objectives and Topics
This paper examines and explains the primary romantic elements within Washington Irving’s short story “Rip Van Winkle”. It explores how the text reflects the transition from the Age of Reason to the Romantic period, focusing on the construction of the narrative frame and the depiction of the protagonist.
- Historical transition from the Age of Reason to American Romanticism.
- The role of the narrative frame in establishing themes of truth and reliability.
- Individualism and the representation of the common man.
- The function of the natural landscape as a romantic force.
Excerpt from the Book
3.3 Truth as a Theme in “Rip Van Winkle”
Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle” is an embedded narration which – by its frame text, consisting of an introduction and a final note about the source and the authenticity of the story – is depicted as a real event in history (cf. Bus 84f.). In the introductory passage, “the author disguises himself under a whimsical pseudonym” (Fender 165): it is that of Geoffrey Crayon, Irving’s literary persona of The Sketch Book (cf. Turner 7). Crayon “pretends to have got the story from a manuscript or an old legend” (Fender 165), found by Dietrich Knickerbocker, another pseudonym, under whose name Irving had published the then widely-known History of New York (Fender 165; also cf. Rubin-Dorsky, Adrift 33). According to Turner, “the layering of sources and narrators paradoxically creates the impression for the reader of eventually arriving at the bedrock, at the authentic source” (9), though the reader rather should be alarmed that the story might not contain realistic facts.
In the introduction to the embedded story of “Rip Van Winkle”, Knickerbocker is described as a person who would “ride his hobby in his own way” (Baym 449), and sometimes “kick up the dust a little in the eyes of his neighbours” (ibid.). That is exactly what Irving did with his tale as the style of his story, and of the whole sketch book, with its romantic elements was something new on the American continent.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter introduces Washington Irving’s significance within the American romantic movement and outlines the paper's goal to analyze romantic features in “Rip Van Winkle”.
2. American Romanticism 1820-1865: This section defines the American Romantic period, contrasting its focus on individual freedom and emotion with the rationalism of the preceding Age of Reason.
3. Washington Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle”: This main analytical chapter explores specific literary devices and themes, such as folklore, narrative unreliability, individualism, and nature.
4. Conclusion: The final chapter synthesizes the analysis, confirming that the story's focus on subjectivity, nature, and the common man makes it a definitive American romantic text.
Keywords
American Romanticism, Washington Irving, Rip Van Winkle, The Sketch Book, narrative frame, individualism, common man, nature, sublime, folklore, subjectivity, imagination, American history, Diedrich Knickerbocker, literary independence.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this paper?
The paper examines how Washington Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle” incorporates core elements of the American Romantic movement, such as the emphasis on imagination, the individual, and the natural world.
What period of literature does the work address?
The work addresses the American Romantic period, specifically between 1820 and 1865, as the era following the Age of Reason and Enlightenment.
What is the main goal of the research?
The goal is to explain how “Rip Van Winkle” functions as a romantic text by analyzing themes like truth, individualism, and the function of nature within the story.
Which methodology is used to analyze the story?
The author uses literary analysis, focusing on themes, narrative structure, and intertextual references to provide a reading of the story as a romantic sketch.
What key themes are explored in the main body?
The main body treats the role of the narrative frame, the questioning of "truth," the depiction of the common man, and the portrayal of the Catskill Mountains as a sublime force.
Which keywords best describe the paper?
Key terms include American Romanticism, individualism, subjectivity, narrative reliability, folklore, and the sublime.
How does the narrative frame contribute to the story's "truth"?
The frame, utilizing pseudonyms like Diedrich Knickerbocker, paradoxically suggests both authenticity and unreliability, encouraging the reader to question the reality of the events described.
Why is Rip Van Winkle considered an "outsider" figure?
Rip is described as a village type who is unable to conform to the social expectations of his wife and village, eventually retreating to the mountains and becoming a symbol of American individualism.
- Citation du texte
- Christina Gieseler (Auteur), 2007, Romantic Elements in Washington Irving’s Rip Van Winkle, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/148711
