Irving’s Romanticism
Washington Irving, the first American writer achieves fame in Romantic literature, through legendary stories such as “The Devil and Tom Walker” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” Irving captivates his readers with his ability to twist minds by teaching valuable lessons through Romantic fiction. His spooky story about a “Headless Horseman” and the characters in the story demonstrations the movement of Romanticism. Romanticism is when a treatment of a subject is emotional rather than rational, spontaneous rather than analytic. An interest in the supernatural / mysticism, humble life, and concern for hidden truth make (Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”) Romantic literature.
In “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” …show more content…
Many people enter Sleepy Hollow not aware of the many negatives consternation that lingers there. Even though Crane’s avarice and greed shows heavily in the story, it opens the readers to view a person versus his imaginative ways. Also, further in the story Ichabod Crane makes himself the best example of this situation by falling into the whispers and rumors about the “Headless Horseman,” becoming the butt of the local humor and more so the natural target for the foolishness spreading throughout the town. In the story imagination helps one discover the truth that reason cannot reach, which shows when the “Headless Horseman” begin to hunt Ichabod down. The chase exposes Ichabod to the reality of Sleepy Hollow’s malicious ways and soon knocks some sense that imbibes him to leave the town. The “Headless Horseman” apparently is nothing but a legend or an image of one’s imagination, but living in Sleepy Hollow reveals different people and how they can either be conjectural or factual thinkers. A conjectural dreamer will believe “a cannon-ball, in some nameless battle during the Revolutionary War” blows a trooper’s head off and his ghost transforms into the “Headless Horseman” on a search for his head (Irving 12). Whereas a factual scholar will only believe what they see and what is known before depending on somebody’s information. In this famous short story Irving divulges that intuition speaks a nobler truth than that of logic, fact or present reality. This Romanticism indicates emotion rather than rationalism. For an example, at the end when the “Headless Horseman” chases Ichabod, he states “If I can but reach that bridge” thinking then he is safe (Irving 43). This is significant because Ichabod believes at the moment of desperation, those few stories people mention about their interactions while dealing with the “Headless Horseman.” Without doubt, it becomes intuition
Washington Irving, the first American writer achieves fame in Romantic literature, through legendary stories such as “The Devil and Tom Walker” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” Irving captivates his readers with his ability to twist minds by teaching valuable lessons through Romantic fiction. His spooky story about a “Headless Horseman” and the characters in the story demonstrations the movement of Romanticism. Romanticism is when a treatment of a subject is emotional rather than rational, spontaneous rather than analytic. An interest in the supernatural / mysticism, humble life, and concern for hidden truth make (Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”) Romantic literature.
In “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” …show more content…
Many people enter Sleepy Hollow not aware of the many negatives consternation that lingers there. Even though Crane’s avarice and greed shows heavily in the story, it opens the readers to view a person versus his imaginative ways. Also, further in the story Ichabod Crane makes himself the best example of this situation by falling into the whispers and rumors about the “Headless Horseman,” becoming the butt of the local humor and more so the natural target for the foolishness spreading throughout the town. In the story imagination helps one discover the truth that reason cannot reach, which shows when the “Headless Horseman” begin to hunt Ichabod down. The chase exposes Ichabod to the reality of Sleepy Hollow’s malicious ways and soon knocks some sense that imbibes him to leave the town. The “Headless Horseman” apparently is nothing but a legend or an image of one’s imagination, but living in Sleepy Hollow reveals different people and how they can either be conjectural or factual thinkers. A conjectural dreamer will believe “a cannon-ball, in some nameless battle during the Revolutionary War” blows a trooper’s head off and his ghost transforms into the “Headless Horseman” on a search for his head (Irving 12). Whereas a factual scholar will only believe what they see and what is known before depending on somebody’s information. In this famous short story Irving divulges that intuition speaks a nobler truth than that of logic, fact or present reality. This Romanticism indicates emotion rather than rationalism. For an example, at the end when the “Headless Horseman” chases Ichabod, he states “If I can but reach that bridge” thinking then he is safe (Irving 43). This is significant because Ichabod believes at the moment of desperation, those few stories people mention about their interactions while dealing with the “Headless Horseman.” Without doubt, it becomes intuition