Comparing Romanticism In Young Goodman Brown And Tell-Tale Heart

Early American literature genres have been cemented in time for many aspects ranging from outlandish hypotheticals to groundbreaking revelations. Forms such as romanticism, satire, and realism were popular for their outlook on society and individualism with prominent writers coming from every type. Twain paved the road for future satirists such as Kurt Vonnegut, while Hawthorne and Poe laid the groundwork for many romanticism hopefuls in the early 19th century and Ambrose Bierce established a solid position in realistic literature. Despite all peaking in roughly the same time period, each genre manages to distinguish itself through the respective ways their main idea is presented to the readers, albeit in a grandiose manner or a blunt one.

Both Hawthorne and Poe exemplify the fluidity of romanticism through pieces such as “Young Goodman Brown” and “The Tell-Tale Heart” which spin convoluted stories around a base moral while delivering many detailed descriptions. The amount of imagery in these respective short stories is abundant to the point of nearing ludicrous, but still contain purpose with each and every line. With romanticism, Hawthorne is able to write about the congregation of evil spirits occurring in the woods and Poe is able to write of the bloody heart beating below floorboards when in reality, none of this is possible in any way, shape, or form. In Hawthorne’s story, there is no doubt that the serpentine staff is a figment of imagination. In Poe’s story, no reader ever stops to ponder if a man’s pale blue eyes are a justifiable reason for death. A story of this genre is never sugarcoated and instead will be extravagantly presented with unconventional situations. Romanticism allows both the author and reader to imagine life unrealistically with no repercussions and there are no limits when it comes to writing. Romantics take a moral or lesson and weave complex images to skirt around the main topic, but ultimately get the job done in the

Ambrose Bierce’s “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” tells a straightforward story of a man who will be hanged due to an unfortunate trick. Bierce does not go to lengths to tell of some abstract backstory, but instead chooses to parody romanticism within this piece as the man fantasizes of an elaborate escape plan but is brought back to reality when the noose takes away his life. To Bierce, romanticism is a complex fallacy that only exists within our mind and the real life that surrounds us on a day to day basis is one that cannot be escaped from. Realism deals with life lessons as something concrete and infallible, unlike romanticism which likes to bend the rules and jump through loopholes. The genre of realism gets straight to the point and is usually more direct. While it is to be noted that realism is not as intricate as romanticism, that is not to say that it cannot have vast amounts of detail as well. Authors of realism do incorporate many details into their stories, but they just might not be as vivid as their romantic