Theme Of Romanticism In Edgar Allan Poe And Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Throughout American literature there have been many influential writers whose common purpose involves directing readers to a certain frame of mind. Whether authors are motivated by religion, culture, or politics will coincide with the values of the era in which they are writing. The Enlightenment era which emphasized the importance of the individual, critical thinking and introduced the use of emotions in literature, inspired Romantics. The Romanticism movement focused profoundly on the emotional aspects of life. By portraying nature, death and one’s overall outlook of life throughout its work, romanticism allowed individuals to make personal connections to literature. By applying different perspectives, using imagination and extreme emotions, romanticism is able to form affluential connections to the audience and ultimately propel them to proper moral conclusions. Two influential authors from the Romanticism movement include Edgar Allen Poe and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Both Poe and Longfellow employ these distinct characteristics of romanticism but establish drastically different moods by applying divergent interpretations of these key subjects. While Longfellow offers a very inspiring and uplifting tone throughout his work, Poe expresses deep sorrow, fear and more discouraging themes.

One of the most salient aspects of Romanticism is …show more content…
Both authors explore the meaning of death and the effects it might have on individuals. Although life and death are key elements through the work of Poe and Longfellow each author offers different sentiments when coping with or experiencing death. Longfellow’s writing continuously portrays a very uplifting tone. His view of death is not gruesome or depressing but rather seen as a natural part of life that one must come to accept. Within his poem "The Village Blacksmith" Longfellow