The writings of Benjamin Franklin show us the rationalist side of early American literature: The ever-practical Franklin focused on logic, reason, morality, and progress. Washington Irving, on the other hand, brought Romance to America—with a capital R. Literary Romanticism is a movement that began in Europe, where Irving was living and traveling while he wrote The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., the collection that contains "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." Use the slides below to review the key features of American Romanticism.
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Feeling First The Romantics valued emotions far more than logic. They placed their faith in intuition and personal experience rather than reason.
The World Within The Romantics celebrated inner truths more than outer ones: For them, the fruits of imagination were more worthwhile than economic prosperity or mechanical invention.
Noble Nature The Romantics presented a rosy, dreamy view of the natural world: Wild landscapes and unspoiled countryside were sources of both beauty and wisdom. Accordingly, simple rural folk appearing as characters in Romantic literature were more noble and spiritually in tune than their worldly city counterparts.
Youthful Innocence Just as country folk are more enlightened than city folk, to the Romantic, the natural wisdom of youth is better than the sophistication of age and education.
The Wonders of the Supernatural Romantic works of literature often focus on the supernatural realm, drawing heavily from myths and folklore. |
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Question
Based on these Romantic characteristics, what kind of story do you expect "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" will be?
