American Literature from Puritanism to Romanticism

American Literature from Puritanism to Romanticism Comparison of Puritanism, the Age of Reason, and Romanticism. Puritanism hard times God-centered (look for answers from God)> unknown is defined as God Salem witch trials Puritanism>mysticism>orderly way of life extremism
Age of Reason>easier times>human-centered>logical analysis of the environment (look for answers in human intellect and reasoning ability—result is an emotional emptiness; nothing to explain why there is evil or happiness)> unknown is only that which reason hadn’t discovered)> American Independence Age of Reason mysticism out> God on vacation science the new king everything could be known Romanticism> times of growth and change> imagination (mind or soul)-centered (soul is human’s emotional center, that inner self that causes humans to act and react emotionally)> Search for answers in the unknown (Unknown is what can’t be explained—no God and reason and science can’t explain can’t explain everything; grew also out of the physical wilderness, unexplored territory of the West—including Louisiana territory. The geographical wilderness causes humans to reflect on the spiritual wilderness)>analysis of emotions and unconscious (although pre-Freud, there was a sense that there was a deeper consciousness> Civil War Romanticism> mysticism back in> God is in nature, if he exists> emphasis on imagination, not religion The Age of Romanticism begins when the United States has established itself as a nation and has time to think romantically. A. The nation has settled into statehood with a Constitution and an established elected government. B.
Suppression, war, and even mere survival are not problems that force people to look for answers from God or from a practical, logical look at the world around them. C. Thus, people have time to turn to their imaginations to analyze their situations. 1. Instead of the need for instantaneous answers, there is a time for reflection on why things are the way they are. 2. People are looking for a way to understand their world, the supernatural, and their relationship to the supernatural. 3. The search in this instance is internal. D. What people learned from the Age of Reason is that reason couldn’t answer all the questions, define all the unknowns, such as evil, madness, and magic.