Romanticism And Modernism In Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness

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Register to read the introduction… Not only is it used in Romanticism, it is used in other era’s and movements. There are many current book series that have Byronic Heroes as characters; Artemis Fowl II in the Artemis Fowl series, Severus Snape from the Harry Potter series, Lestat in Interview with a Vampire, Edward Cullen in the Twilight series. Not only these more modern period books but also Erik/The Phantom from The Phantom of the Opera, Grendel of Beowulf, Heathcliff of Wuthering Heights, Mr. Rochester in Jane Eyre. Each of these characters are the dark hero that is the Byronic Hero. Each having a personality with different combinations of the tormented soul that is of Lord Byron and his works. So clearly, elements from one period are carried into others. Once something has been proven to be great it will be reworked and used by authors and poets to come. And years from now such Byronic Heroes will still be in literature, film, and …show more content…
In colleges and high schools, Joseph Conrad is being taught as such to students of all ages. Dr. Brannon, Professor of British Literature at Jacksonville University, states, “It is an intersection of late Victorian and early Modernist, romantic and anti-romantic, conservative and subversive elements” (BlackBoard). Conrad’s “Modernist” works seem to be a combination of various different types of movements. Conrad’s work includes the elements of romanticism such as featuring nature as a setting or backdrop. Romanticism works often have beautiful language when describing nature. Conrad’s descriptions of settings within Heart of Darkness have such beauty that one momentarily forgets the horror of the events happening in the Congo. Conrad writes, “The sea and sky welded together without a joint,” and, “The day was ending in a serenity of still and exquisite brilliance. The sky without a speck was a benign immensity of unstained light” (Heart of Darkness, eBook). With such beautiful descriptions of nature, it makes the darkness and evil acts more bearable for the reader. It is nature that is glorious and shines light on the darkness of man that is revealed within the evils of Imperialism which are revealed within Conrad’s …show more content…
Each time period takes the bits and pieces that they feel conform to the needs of the people of that time. Each novel will have the same set of Archetypes; the Hero, the Anti-Hero or Byronic Hero, the Mother, the Witch, and so on. There will be bildungsroman novels in each literary movement. Each movement uses the elements of the past and adapts them for their current period and the needs of the community. The Byronic Hero will go from a brooding rich man to a brooding rich vampire, the witch will change from the ugly witch in the candy house in Hansel and Gretel to Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter. Each author learns from the great authors and movements of the past. But nothing is ever new. It is reworked for the people’s

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