Dark Romanticism American Gothic – Dark Romanticism: Influenced by The Brothers Grimm

1. Dark RomanticismAmerican Gothic – Dark Romanticism: Influenced byThe Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales are NOT for Children

2. A review of the characteristic attitudes of Romanticism • appreciation of the beauties of nature • emotion over reason and of the senses over intellect • a turning in upon the self and a heightened examination of human personality and its moods and mental potentialities • a preoccupation with the genius, the hero, and the exceptional figure in general, and a focus on his passions and inner struggles. • an emphasis upon imagination as a gateway to transcendent experience and spiritual truth • interest in folk culture, national and ethnic cultural origins, and the medieval era • and a predilection for the exotic, the remote, the mysterious, the weird, the occult, the monstrous, the diseased, and even the satanic.

3. How do German Fairy Tales fit into American Literature? • The Romantics studied history and turned back to the Middle Ages for themes and settings. • The trend toward the irrational and the supernatural was an important component of English and German romantic literature.

4. The Gothic and Romanticism • Rooted in the German movement called Sturm und Drang -- ("Storm and Stress") • For some Romantic writers, the imagination led to the threshold of the unknown—the shadowy region where the fantastic, the demonic and the insane reside. • When the Gothic's saw the individual, they saw the potential of evil. • Gothic writers were peering into the darkness at the dark side of human nature and the supernatural.

5. Gothic Movement in American Romanticism • The Gothic Tradition was firmly in Europe before American writers had made names for themselves. • By the 19th century, Edgar Allan Poe, Nathanial Hawthorne, Washington Irving, and Herman Melville were using the Gothic elements in their writing.

6. Who are the Brothers Grimm? Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

7. Their Stories • The Grimm brothers were said to have loved a good story. • Inspired by their law professor, Friedrich von Savigny, who awakened in them an interest in history and philology(study of history and development of languages) • The brothers turned to studying medieval German literature. • Began to collect folktales in the early 1800’s.

8. More About Their Stories • Publish first collection in 1812. • Contains 86 folktales. • Two years later, a second volume is published. • Adds 70 more folktales. • In another two years, two volumes of Deutsche Sagenis published.

9. Some Of The Most Popular Stories • Cinderella • Snow White • Little Red Riding Hood • Rapunzel • Rumpelstiltskin • Hansel and Gretel • Sleeping Beauty

10. Disney VS Grimm'sEveryone knows the classic stories, but some of the stories differ drastically, while others only slightly. stayed true to the spoken legends. More morbid and grim (pun intended). Violent themes . . . Grimm's Disney • more “kid friendly”

11. The Brother’s Grimm • Leave behind the best collection of German fairy tales and folk legends of the time.

12. Bearskin • a fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, as tale no. 101. • The main character of the German version is a soldier. • The Americanized version of the story is set in rural Virginia after the Civil War with the main character being a desperate ex-Confederate soldier.  • The tale is a spin of the German Faust Legend. (We will talk about this later)

13. The Faust Legend-- Cultural Applicability • The Faust Legend-- Cultural Applicability • A tale about a man who sells his soul to the devil for earthly benefits. • Each retelling involves a person who trades his soul for experience, knowledge, or treasure. • Endings vary with the protagonist either doomed to failure or • redeemed by virtues

14. Irving and Dark Romanticism

15. Washington Irving (1783-1859)First American writer to achieve an international reputation.

16. Washington Irving • America's first international literary celebrity was born in New York City. • After writing satirical sketches and essays for his brothers‘ newspapers for some years, Irving captured the nation's attention with the fictitious A History of New York, supposedly written by a curious old gentleman named Diedrich Knickerbocker.

17. Washington Irving • In May 1815, Irving left the country for what would be a seventeen-year stay in Europe, where he worked first as an importer in Liverpool, then as an attaché (ambassador) to the American legation in Spain, and finally as secretary to the American legation in London. • While living in Europe, Irving, studied European folklore, including Faust and the Brothers Grimm. • This research influenced his writing greatly. • He, like other romantic writers, felt that folklore contained the secret and primitive dreams of the people and also intriguing elements of the supernatural.

18. Washington Irving • His diverse works: • from The Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus (1828) and The Alhambra (1832), both written during his stay in Spain • toA Tour of the Prairies (1835) and The Adventures of Captain Bonneville U.S.A. (1837), studies of the American West written on his return from Europe, • to a five-volume life of George Washington • and the famous short story The Devil and Tom Walker taken from Tales of a Traveler.

19. Washington Irving • Two of his best-known stories are “Rip Van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” both appearing in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.(1819-1820). • These stories and others like them provided American legends and helped shape an American folklore.

20. Achievements 1. Irving is the first belletrist* in American literature, writing for pleasure at a time when writing was practical and for useful purposes. 2. He is the first American literary humorist. 3. He has written the first modern short stories. 4. He is the first to write history and biography as entertainment. 5. He introduced nonfiction prose as a literary genre. **belles-lettres - writings that are valued for their elegance and aesthetic qualities rather than for any human interest or moral or instructive content

21. Narrative Method Irving’s stories are known for: • Recasting German folk tales or Spanish legends into Dutch colonial settings • picturesque color • human richness • polished style • detailed description • satire

22. The Devil and Tom Walker By Washington Irving

23. The Devil and TomWalker • Setting:  Set in New England area near Boston in the early eighteenth century (1700s). • A narrator relates a story he has heard about a local man’s dealings with the devil. • The narrator never claims that the stories are true, only that they are widely believed. • According to local legend, a treasure is buried in a dark grove on an inlet outside of Boston.

24. Definitions • FOLK TALES – stories passed down by word of mouth among the common people of a particular culture that teach a lesson or express a general truth about life; events are unrealistic and characters are stereotyped • SATIRE – Literature that exposes in order to ridicule the vices or follies of people or societies.

25. Satire in the Tall Tale • The main object of Washington Irving’s satire is greedy people, especially those whose wealth is ill-gotten or gained through the bad luck of others. • Irving pokes fun at this type of person through his exaggerated characterization of Tom and his wife.

26. The Devil and Tom Walker – Style • Allegory • Many folktales are allegories • Teach a moral lesson • In allegories, characters and actions are symbolic of larger conditions of human nature. • The character of Old Scratch personifies evil or temptation. • Tom Walker, an unscrupulous money-lender, makes a pact with the devil and only later professes religious beliefs. • Through these actions,  Tom represents hypocrisy, which Irving shows will be punished.

27. The Devil and Tom Walker – Style • Point of View • Narrated by Geoffrey Crayon, a fictional character created by Irving. • The first person narration adds to the feeling the reader has of being told a story in the oral tradition.

28. Irving Took the European literary Themes we discussed earlier, and gave them American settings: In The Devil and Tom Walker, Irving used Germany’s Faust Legend as the basis for the work.