Untersuchung der Merkmale der amerikanischen Romantik am Beispiel der Kurzgeschichten Poes und Hawthornes. Analysiert werden die Geschichten "Ligeia" und "Morella" von Poe sowie "The Birthmark" und "The Artist of the Beautiful" von Hawthorne.
Table of Contents
0. Introduction
1. American Romanticism
2. Gothic Horror and Lost Love in Poe’s “Ligeia” and “Morella”
3. Nature and Science in Hawthorne’s “The Artist of the Beautiful” and “The Birthmark”
4. Conclusion: Poe and Hawthorne Compared
Research Objectives and Core Themes
This paper examines specific aspects of American Romanticism by analyzing selected short stories of Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne. It aims to demonstrate how these authors, while both writing within the Romantic tradition, emphasize distinct thematic concerns such as the conflict between science and nature, the obsession with lost love, and the darker dimensions of the human imagination.
- The historical and cultural context of the American Renaissance.
- Gothic elements and the portrayal of death and identity in Poe’s work.
- The clash between scientific pursuit and the preservation of nature in Hawthorne’s tales.
- The separation of intellect and emotion as a central Romantic struggle.
- A comparative analysis of how both authors approach the ideal versus the real.
Excerpt from the Book
0. Introduction
Few writers exist outside of the currents of the times in which they live, and Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne are no exceptions. They are clearly products of their time, which in terms of literature, is called the Romantic Era. The Romantic Movement was one which began in Germany, moved through all of Europe and Russia, and, almost simultaneously, changed the entire course of American literature. Among England’s great Romantic writers are William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, John Keats, Lord Byron, Percy Shelley, and Sir Walter Scott. Romantic writers in America who were contemporaries of Poe and Hawthorne include Herman Melville, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
Hence, Poe and Hawthorne became key figures in the nineteenth-century flourishing of American letters and literature. Famed twentieth-century literary critic F.O. Matthiessen named this period the American Renaissance. He argued that nineteenth-century writers like Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne, Poe, Melville and Whitman crafted a distinctly American literature that attempts to escape from the long shadow of the British literary tradition. These writers wrote in a Romantic vein, with a marked emphasis on subjectivity and an interest in scenes of early American life and pristine American landscapes. Yet, most of these writers in different ways also exhibited the darker tones of Romanticism when dealing with American life.
Chapter Summaries
0. Introduction: This chapter provides the historical and literary framework of the Romantic Era and introduces Poe and Hawthorne as key figures of the American Renaissance.
1. American Romanticism: This section defines the cultural and literary movement of American Romanticism, highlighting its divergence from European traditions and its emphasis on individualism and emotion.
2. Gothic Horror and Lost Love in Poe’s “Ligeia” and “Morella”: This chapter explores how Poe blends the Gothic with the theme of lost love to investigate the nature of identity and the supernatural.
3. Nature and Science in Hawthorne’s “The Artist of the Beautiful” and “The Birthmark”: This section analyzes Hawthorne's critique of scientific obsession and the destructive consequences of attempting to control nature.
4. Conclusion: Poe and Hawthorne Compared: This chapter synthesizes the findings, contrasting the two authors’ unique approaches to Romanticism and their shared exploration of human obsession and perfection.
Keywords
American Romanticism, American Renaissance, Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Gothic, Grotesque, Nature, Science, Identity, Intellect, Emotion, Symbolism, Puritanism, Transcendentalism, Short Story
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fundamental focus of this research paper?
The paper focuses on identifying and analyzing key aspects of American Romanticism as reflected in the short stories of Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne.
What are the central thematic areas covered in the study?
The central themes include the Gothic imagination, the nature of evil, the conflict between science and nature, and the struggle to reconcile the ideal with the real.
What is the primary research goal of this work?
The goal is to analyze how both authors, despite being part of the same literary movement, utilize different motifs and narrative styles to explore themes like obsession, loss, and intellectual separation from the heart.
Which scientific methodology does the author apply?
The author applies a comparative literary analysis, examining specific primary texts against the backdrop of the cultural and historical definitions of the American Renaissance.
What topics are discussed in the main body of the work?
The main body covers the definition of American Romanticism, an investigation into Poe's "Ligeia" and "Morella" regarding Gothic horror, and an examination of Hawthorne’s "The Birthmark" and "The Artist of the Beautiful" concerning science and nature.
Which keywords define the scope of this study?
Key terms include American Romanticism, Gothic, Grotesque, nature versus science, obsession, and identity.
How does Poe's view of "the perfect art form" influence his writing in "Ligeia"?
Poe emphasizes vagueness and indefiniteness in his narratives, believing these qualities are essential to creating an ethereal effect that removes the reader from the mundane world.
What does Hawthorne’s "The Birthmark" suggest about the pursuit of scientific perfection?
The story serves as a cautionary tale, illustrating that the obsessive pursuit of perfection and the attempt to manipulate nature through science are ultimately self-destructive.
In what way does the author relate "The Artist of the Beautiful" to the Industrial Age?
The author discusses Owen Warland's struggle to create beauty in a world dominated by utilitarian values and practical industry, highlighting the tension between the artist and society.
- Citation du texte
- Sirinya Pakditawan (Auteur), 2004, Aspects of American Romanticism in Short Stories by Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/186202
