A Dark Romanticism and Slave Narrative / Realism Flashcards
(16 cards)
American Romanticism vs. Dark Romanticism
American Romanticism:
- emphasis on experiencing something directly and individually
- beauty and relevance of nature/the natural world
- stresses the unions of God, humanity and nature
Dark Romanticism:
- concerned with the complexity and the perverseness in human nature; on a larger scale, with great “flaw in the universe”
- has comparatively little to do with the devine
- is concerned with the grotesque as well as the sublime, and the battle between the two within the individual (good vs. evil)
- believes in an inherent darkness in human nature, as well as an inherent ligth
Elements of a Short Story (Poe)
- a narrative to be read at one sitting within 1-2 hours
- a narrative creating a certain unique or single effect in readers to move them
-> unity of effect: in order to scare the reader, elements like darkness are used - usually explores one incident and only a few protagonists to create the unity of effect
“The Fall of the House of Usher”
Edgar Allan Poe
plot
The unnamed narrator visits his old friend Roderick Usher, who lives in a dark, decaying mansion with his twin sister Madeline. Roderick is mentally and emotionally disturbed, and the house itself seems to reflect this — it’s eerie, crumbling, and filled with a sense of doom.
Madeline is ill and soon appears to die. Roderick insists on entombing her body in a vault beneath the house rather than burying her immediately. But over time, the narrator notices Roderick becoming even more anxious and unstable.
Eventually, it is revealed that Madeline was buried alive. She escapes her tomb, reappears in a terrifying, bloody state, and collapses dead onto Roderick — who then also dies from shock and terror.
As the narrator flees the house in horror, the entire mansion collapses into the tarn (a dark, still lake), symbolically ending the Usher family line and the house itself.
“The Fall of the House of Usher”
infos
- told from the perspective of a first person narrator whose name is not given
- gothic tale: a haunted house, dreary landscape, mysterious sickness and doubled personality
- unreliable narrator
- doppelganger motive: the reflection of the house; house is mirrored in the water
“The Fall of the House of Usher”
Why is it a gothic short story?
- the narrator is unnamed and unreliable
- mental state not stable: indications that he is depressed
- 1st person narrator: preveives everything negatively
- might be hallucinating
-> use of negative adjectives that suck the life out of the picture
-> the reference to autumn in which everything dies in nature
-> the buliding falling apart
gothic elements:
- dark, black, no light
- intense emotion
- decayence as a theme
- illness, mental illness, incest
- vampires
“The Fall of the House of Usher”
Opening Sequence
function:
- introduces the setting (not a safe place, rather creepy), the vibe, the mood
- creates an immediate sense of dread and foreboding
- introduces the theme such as isolation and madness
- foreshadowing: hints at the ultimate collapse of both the house and the Usher family
presentation of nature:
- negative adjectives are used
- the opposite of Romanticism; nature is dead, no animals, no birds, etc.
- sickening
presentation of the house:
- narrator observes a crack in the mansion upon his arrival ( -> symbolizes the relationship between madeline and her brother)
- bad state of the house symbolises the fall of the family and their mental states
- destruction of the family that is torn apart
atmosphere:
- unsetteling, unease, terror
- “dull, dark and soundless”: oppressive mood
- the house itself is depicted as decaying and ancient, with “vacant eye-like windows” and an overall sense of breakdown and abandonment
“The Fall of the House of Usher”
“The Haunted Place”
- a poem in the text!
**- the inserted lyric of the poem foreshadows the fall of the Usher dynasty -> from glorious past to decay “laugh - but smile no more” - function of the peom: reflection of the family’s situation**
- the Haunted Place symbolizes the mind of Roderick Usher
- intertextuality
Young Goodman Brown
Nathaniel Hawthorne
plot
Young Goodman Brown is a Puritan man who leaves his wife, Faith, one night to journey into the forest for mysterious reasons. There, he encounters a stranger who seems to represent the Devil and witnesses a bizarre, dark ceremony involving respected members of his community — including religious leaders, townspeople, and even Faith herself.
Brown is horrified and unsure whether the experience was real or a dream, but afterward, he becomes a deeply distrustful and bitter man, unable to see goodness in anyone around him.
Young Goodman Brown
infos
setting:
- Salem, 17th century, in the village and in the woods
- at night and the next morning
characters:
- pious Puritans vs. sinners - Young Goodman Brown, Faith, minister, catechism teacher, deacon and the Devil
-> blur into one another and lose their distinction: good and evil in everyone
- darkness of mankind reflected in darkness of the forest, forest as a symbold of the unknowm, shadows
American Realism
features of literature
- focus on everyday/mundane life, inlcuding graphic details
- ordinary people of the middle- and working class -> showing life accurately
- verisimilitude (plausibility): appearance of being true, resemblance of truth; reality or fact
- depiction of regional differences in america
The Slave Narrative
Slavery
1619: first slaves arrive in Virginia
1808: Congress bans the importation of slaves from Africa
1820: the Missouri Compromise bans slavery north of the southern bpundary of Missouri (Mason-Dixon-Line)
Civil War Era
1865: End of Civil War
- slavery is effectively ended with 250.00 slaves hearing the news of the end of the civil war two months earlier
- 13th Amendment is ratified: prohibition of slavery
- 1870: 15th amendment is ratified, giving black men right to vote
Slave Narrative
- at the time Douglass was writing (1845) slavery was still legal in the US
- neither government nor society recognized African Americans as full human beings
-> slaves had to write themselves into existence
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass
- Frederick Douglass was formerly enslaved, he escaped slavery in 1838 and became one of the leading African American intellectuals and activists until his death
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
preface
- written by a famous white abolitionist (who fought for abolition of slavery)
function: authentication of account for readers, asserts that Douglass and the Narrative that follows can be trusted
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Douglass’ description of Mrs. Auld and how does it change
- “a woman of the kindest heart and the finest feeling”
- “sweet accord” -> “harsh and horrid discord”
- “heavenly” smile, “angelic” face -> “demon”
-> slavery changes people; white people are not bad by nature; consequence of the institution of slavery
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
his fight with Covey
- the fight symbolizes Douglass’s refusal to accept the dehumanizing treatment he endured as a slave and his determination to assert his dignity and humanity
- the fight empowered Douglass both physically and psychologically, marking a turning point in his life
- after standing up to Covey, Douglass gained a newfound confidence in his ability to resist and escape the bonds of slavery
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
Harriet Jacobs
plot
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is a powerful autobiographical narrative by Harriet Jacobs, detailing her life as a Black woman born into slavery in North Carolina. Writing under the name Linda Brent, Jacobs exposes the unique horrors faced by enslaved women, particularly sexual exploitation, loss of motherhood, and the struggle for dignity and freedom.
