Justin Bryant
EN 277
Dr. Kvidera
11/24/15
The Power of Imagination American Romanticism was a literary movement in the early 1800’s. It stressed many values such as the creative mind of the individual, the importance of nature, the limits of tradition, originality and child-like curiosity. Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allan Poe were two of the most well-known writers within this literary period. Both of them placed high emphasis on the imagination in their work. They used ambiguity, and withheld a clear singular interpretation of their stories. They also used abnormal elements, and focused on the psychology of the minds of the characters. Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allan Poe used various literary techniques such as ambiguity, rare characters …show more content…
The narrator confesses, “I cannot, for my soul, remember how, when, or even precisely where I became acquainted with the lady Ligeia” (Poe pg. 692). He also admits, “I have never known the paternal name of her” (Poe pg. 692). This leaves a lot up to the reader to interpret. There is no way to get certain answers to any of these mysteries, although they can be speculated upon. However, the greater question is, how could a man not know such basic information about someone who he claims to have loved so dearly? This immediately makes him questionable as a credible source. The physical characteristics of Ligeia are also interesting. The narrator confessions to his admiration for Ligeia’s “Strangeness” (Poe pg. 694). She was tall, slender, had dark curly hair and black eyes. She did not conform to normal standards of beauty by any means. These characteristics (most notably her eye color) make her an abnormal character. She is not the type of person you would see every day, and is not what you would expect the narrator to fall for. The description of her captures the imagination of the audience. Her fate is also a mystery. The story describes her death, and tells how heart-breaking it was on the narrator. However, no explanation for her sudden illness was given, leaving the reader to ponder what may have …show more content…
“Young Goodman Brown.” The Norton Anthology of American
Literature. Ed. Reidhead. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1979. 619-628.
Poe, Edgar Allan. “Ligeia.” The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Reidhead. New
York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1979.
EN 277
Dr. Kvidera
11/24/15
The Power of Imagination American Romanticism was a literary movement in the early 1800’s. It stressed many values such as the creative mind of the individual, the importance of nature, the limits of tradition, originality and child-like curiosity. Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allan Poe were two of the most well-known writers within this literary period. Both of them placed high emphasis on the imagination in their work. They used ambiguity, and withheld a clear singular interpretation of their stories. They also used abnormal elements, and focused on the psychology of the minds of the characters. Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allan Poe used various literary techniques such as ambiguity, rare characters …show more content…
The narrator confesses, “I cannot, for my soul, remember how, when, or even precisely where I became acquainted with the lady Ligeia” (Poe pg. 692). He also admits, “I have never known the paternal name of her” (Poe pg. 692). This leaves a lot up to the reader to interpret. There is no way to get certain answers to any of these mysteries, although they can be speculated upon. However, the greater question is, how could a man not know such basic information about someone who he claims to have loved so dearly? This immediately makes him questionable as a credible source. The physical characteristics of Ligeia are also interesting. The narrator confessions to his admiration for Ligeia’s “Strangeness” (Poe pg. 694). She was tall, slender, had dark curly hair and black eyes. She did not conform to normal standards of beauty by any means. These characteristics (most notably her eye color) make her an abnormal character. She is not the type of person you would see every day, and is not what you would expect the narrator to fall for. The description of her captures the imagination of the audience. Her fate is also a mystery. The story describes her death, and tells how heart-breaking it was on the narrator. However, no explanation for her sudden illness was given, leaving the reader to ponder what may have …show more content…
“Young Goodman Brown.” The Norton Anthology of American
Literature. Ed. Reidhead. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1979. 619-628.
Poe, Edgar Allan. “Ligeia.” The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Reidhead. New
York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1979.