Puritanism And Romanticism And Literary Movements In American Literature

Progression of Literature

American literature plays an important role in how our country develops, and its values contribute to society 's standards. Literature progresses in a series of religious, artistic, and philosophical movements.The writing of a movement greatly influences its time period and defines its era’s traits. Each movement responds to preceding ideas and challenges its beliefs.

Two movements in American literature that are contradictory are Puritanism and Rationalism. Puritanism was a rigid religious movement practiced by early American settlers in which the writing was strongly impacted by the belief that God had control over everything. For example, poet Anne Bradstreet describes her opinion after her possessions were turned

The ideas of Romanticism were a response to the scientific reasoning of Rationalism. The basics of this artistic change are: the belief that some things can not be proven by science but still exist; experience supercedes rational thought; a belief in a connection between God, nature, and humans; and trust in intuition. The idea of a common man’s place in society and individualism adds to the spiritual beliefs of this concept. Transcendentalism has the same values as Romanticism, but places an emphasis on a relationship with nature and the idea that transcendence is received through intuition. William Cullen Bryant shows the connection of human and nature in his poem “Thanatopsis” when he states “Thine individual being, shalt thou go/ To mix forever with the elements” (1). Bryant describes the human body becoming part of the earth, and the soul joining nature. This greatness can be achieved through relying on instinct. In addition, the self-dependency of Romanticism is shown through “Self-Reliance”, an essay by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Emerson states “What I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think”(365). Romanticists often wrote about instinct being the key to greatness and guiding you to success. “Self-Reliance” demonstrates that opinions and decisions should not be influenced or swayed by others, but purely your own. Furthermore, in the essay “Civil Disobedience”, Henry David Thoreau explains that “The mass of men serve thus, not as men mainly, but as machines, with their bodies”(372). Thoreau expresses that men who do not think for themselves have no moral sense, and put themselves in danger. He suggests that serving with conscience results in the best outcome because control over the body and mind lets men do what they believe is right. Romanticism and Transcendentalism display new concepts that changed