Dark romanticism

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Edgar Allan Poe is one of the best known authors of the dark romanticism subgenre.

Dark romanticism is a literary subgenre that emerged from the Transcendental

philosophical movement popular in nineteenth-century America. Works in the dark
romantic spirit were influenced by Transcendentalism, but did not entirely embrace the
ideas of Transcendentalism. Such works are notably less optimistic than Transcendental
texts about mankind, nature, and divinity. Authors considered most representative of dark
romanticism are Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville,[1] poet Emily
Dickinson and Italian poet Ugo Foscolo.

Origin
The term dark romanticism comes from both the pessimistic nature of the subgenre's
literature and the influence it derives from the earlier Romantic literary movement. Dark
Romanticism's birth, however, was a mid-nineteenth-century reaction to the American
Transcendental movement.[2] Transcendentalism originated in New England among
intellectuals like Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Margaret Fuller and
found wide popularity from 1836 through the late 1840s. [3] The movement came to have
influence in a number of areas of American expression, including its literature, as writers
growing up in the Transcendental atmosphere of the time were affected. [4] Some, including

1
Poe, Hawthorne and Melville, found Transcendental beliefs far too optimistic and
egotistical and reacted by modifying them in their prose and poetry—works that now
comprise the subgenre that was Dark Romanticism.[5]

Characteristics
While Transcendentalism influenced individual Dark Romantic authors differently, literary
critics observe works of the subgenre to break from Transcendentalism’s tenets in a few
key ways. Firstly, Dark Romantics are much less confident about the notion that perfection
is an innate quality of mankind, as believed by Transcendentalists. Subsequently, Dark
Romantics present individuals as prone to sin and self-destruction, not as inherently
possessing divinity and wisdom. G.R. Thompson describes this disagreement, stating while
Transcendental thought conceived of a world in which divinity was imminent, "the Dark
Romantics adapted images of anthropomorphized evil in the form of Satan, devils, ghosts .
. . vampires, and ghouls."[6] Secondly, while both groups believe nature is a deeply
spiritual force, Dark Romanticism views it in a much more sinister light than does
Transcendentalism, which sees nature as a divine and universal organic mediator. For
these Dark Romantics, the natural world is dark, decaying, and mysterious; when it does
reveal truth to man, its revelations are evil and hellish. Finally, whereas Transcendentalists
advocate social reform when appropriate, works of Dark Romanticism frequently show
individuals failing in their attempts to make changes for the better. Thompson sums up the
characteristics of the subgenre, writing:

Fallen man's inability fully to comprehend haunting reminders of another,

supernatural realm that yet seemed not to exist, the constant perplexity of inexplicable
and vastly metaphysical phenomena, a propensity for seemingly perverse or evil
moral choices that had no firm or fixed measure or rule, and a sense of nameless guilt
combined with a suspicion the external world was a delusive projection of the mind--
these were major elements in the vision of man the Dark Romantics opposed to the
mainstream of Romantic thought.[7]

Relation to Gothic fiction

Popular in England during the late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-centuries, Gothic
fiction is known for its incorporation of many conventions that are also found in Dark
Romantic works. Gothic fiction originated with Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto in
1764.[8] Works of the genre commonly aim to inspire terror, including through accounts of
the macabre and supernatural, haunted structures, and the search for identity; critics often
note gothic fiction's "overly melodramatic scenarios and utterly predictable plots." [9] In

2
general, with common elements of darkness and the supernatural, and featuring characters
like maniacs and vampires, Gothic fiction is more about sheer terror than Dark
Romanticism's themes of dark mystery and skepticism regarding man. Still, the genre
came to influence later Dark Romantic works, particularly some of those produced by Poe.
[8]

Earlier British authors writing within the movement of Romanticism such as Lord Byron,
Samuel Coleridge, Mary Shelley, John Shek, and John Polidori who are frequently linked
to gothic fiction are also sometimes referred to as Dark Romantics. Their tales and poems
commonly feature outcasts from society, personal torment, and uncertainty as to whether
the nature of man will bring him salvation or destruction.[10]

Remarkable authors
Many consider American writers Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman
Melville to be the major Dark Romantic authors.[11]

"The Raven", Poe's work of dark romanticism, as illustrated by Gustave Doré

Edgar Allan Poe

Main article: Edgar Allan Poe

3
Many consider Edgar Allan Poe to be the seminal dark romantic author. Much of his
poetry and prose features his characteristic interest in exploring the psychology of
man, including the perverse and self-destructive nature of the conscious and
subconscious mind.[12] Some of Poe’s notable dark romantic works include the short
stories "Ligeia" and "The Fall of the House of Usher" and poems "The Raven" and
"Ulalume".

Author Nathaniel Hawthorne had close ties to American Transcendentalism.

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Main article: Nathaniel Hawthorne

Nathaniel Hawthorne is the dark romantic writer with the closest ties to the American
Transcendental movement. He was associated with the community in New England
and even lived at the Brook Farm Transcendentalist Utopian commune for a time
before he became troubled by the movement; his literature later became anti-
transcendental in nature.[13] Also troubled by his ancestors' participation in the Salem
witch trials, Hawthorne's short stories, including "The Minister's Black Veil",
frequently take the form of "cautionary tales about the extremes of individualism and
reliance on human beings" and hold that guilt and sin are qualities inherent in man.[14]

Herman Melville

Main article: Herman Melville

4
Best known during his lifetime for his travel books, a twentieth-century revival in the
study of Herman Melville’s works has left “Moby-Dick” and “Bartleby the Scrivener”
among his most highly regarded. Also known for writing of man's blind ambition,
cruelty, and defiance of God, his themes of madness, mystery, and the triumph of evil
over good in these two works make them notable examples of the dark romanticism
sub-genre.

Nathaniel Hawthorne is the dark romantic writer with the closest ties to the American
Transcendental movement. He was associated with the community in New England
and even lived at the Brook Farm Transcendentalist Utopian commune for a time
before he became troubled by the movement; his literature later became anti-
transcendental in nature.[13] Also troubled by his ancestors' participation in the Salem
witch trials, Hawthorne's short stories, including "The Minister's Black Veil",
frequently take the form of "cautionary tales about the extremes of individualism and
reliance on human beings" and hold that guilt and sin are qualities inherent in man.[14]

Herman Melville

Main article: Herman Melville

Best known during his lifetime for his travel books, a twentieth-century revival in the
study of Herman Melville’s works has left “Moby-Dick” and “Bartleby the Scrivener”
among his most highly regarded. Also known for writing of man's blind ambition,
cruelty, and defiance of God, his themes of madness, mystery, and the triumph of evil
over good in these two works make them notable examples of the dark romanticism
sub-genre.

Prominent examples

Elements contained within the following literary works by Dark Romantic authors
make each representative of the subgenre:

 "Tell-Tale Heart" (1843) by Edgar Allan Poe: Full text at Wikisource.

 "The Birth-Mark" (1843) by Nathaniel Hawthorne: Full text at Wikisource.
 "The Minister's Black Veil" (1843) by Nathaniel Hawthorne: Full text at
Wikisource.
 Moby-Dick (1851) by Herman Melville: Full text at Wikisource.

5
  "Bartleby the Scrivener" (1856) by Herman Melville: Full text at
Wikisource.
 "Ligeia" (1838) by Edgar Allan Poe: Full text at Wikisource.
 "The Fall of the House of Usher" (1839) by Edgar Allan Poe: Full text at
Wikisource.
 "Dream-Land" (1844) by Edgar Allan Poe: Full text at Wikisource.
 "The Raven" (1845) by Edgar Allan Poe: Full text at Wikisource.
 "Ulalume" (1847) by Edgar Allan Poe: Full text at Wikisource.

References

1. ^ Reynolds, David S. Beneath the American Renaissance: The Subversive

Imagination in the Age of Emerson and Melville. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard
University Press, 1988. ISBN 0674065654. p. 524
2. ^ "Dark Romanticism: The Ultimate Contradiction".
http://library.thinkquest.org/C0126184/ensh/litamericandark.htm.
3. ^ Galens, David, ed. Literary Movements for Students Vol. 1. Detroit: Thompson
Gale, 2002: p. 319.
4. ^ Levin, Harry. The Power of Blackness: Hawthorne, Poe, Melville. New York:
Alfred A. Knopf Inc., 1958: p. ix.
5. ^ Koster, Donald N. "Influences of Transcendentalism on American Life and
Literature." Literary Movements for Students Vol. 1. David Galens, ed. Detroit:
Thompson Gale, 2002: p. 336.
6. ^ Thompson, G.R., ed. "Introduction: Romanticism and the Gothic Tradition." Gothic
Imagination: Essays in Dark Romanticism. Pullman, WA: Washington State
University Press, 1974: p. 6.
7. ^ Thompson, G.R., ed. 1974: p. 5.
8. ^ a b
"The Romantic Period: Topics, The Gothic: Overview".
http://www2.wwnorton.com/college/english/nael/romantic/topic_2/welcome.htm.
9. ^ "The Gothic: Materials For Study, Introduction".
http://www.engl.virginia.edu/enec981/Group/general.intro.html.
10. ^ "Dark Romanticism: Byron, Coleridge, Mary Shelley, and the Pursuit of the
Supernatural". http://www2.lib.udel.edu/subj/engl/resguide/darkrweb.htm.
11. ^ "Dark Romanticism: The Ultimate Contradiction".
http://library.thinkquest.org/C0126184/english/litamericandark.htm.
12. ^ Auden, W.H. "Introduction." Nineteenth Century Literature Criticism Vol. 1.
Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1981: p. 518.

6
 13. ^ Galens, David. 2002: p. 322.
14. ^ Wayne, Tiffany K. "Nathaniel Hawthorne." Encyclopedia of Transcendentalism.
New York: Facts on File, Inc., 2006: p. 140.

General references

 Galens, David, ed. (2002) Literary Movements for Students Vol. 1.

 Koster, Donald N. (1975) Transcendentalism in America.
 Mullane, Janet and Robert T. Wilson, eds. (1989) Nineteenth Century
Literature Criticism Vols. 1, 16, 24.
 Wayne, Tiffany K. (2006) Encyclopedia of Transcendentalism.

7
 What is Dark Romanticism?

The label Dark Romanticism is used by different people in different contexts, to

describe gothic novels from the 18th century as well as pop music from the 60s and
70s.

The meaning of Dark Romanticism seems to vary. Apparently, there is no exact,

widespread and unitary definition. First, we must notice that Romanticism is not
properly defined either. Some suggest that Romanticism was a period when artists
merely praised the Christian Lord. Others suggest that Romanticism must be felt - it
can not be understood in any other way. Baudelaire, the French dark romanticist
wrote: "To say the word Romanticism is to say modern art--that is, intimacy,
spirituality, colour, aspiration towards the infinite, expressed by every means
available to the arts." Others suggest that Romanticism was a period when the market
economy for the first time influenced authors.

A dictionary might help us to find some kind of definition.

 romantic (roman'tik), a. pertaining to, of the nature of or given to romance;

imaginative, visionary, poetic, extravagant, fanciful; fantastic, unpractical,
chimerical, quixotic, sentimental (of conduct etc.); wild, picturesque,
suggestive of romance (of scenery etc.); pertaining to the movement in
literature and art tending away from the moderation, harmonious proportion
and sanity of classicism towards the unfettered expression of ideal beauty and
grandeur. n. a romantic poet, novelist etc., a romanticist; a romantic person; a
person given to sentimental thoughts or acts of love.
 dark [dahk], a. destitute of light; approaching black; shaded; swarthy, brown-
complexioned; opaque; gloomy, sombre; (fig.) blind, ignorant; obscure,
ambiguous; hidden, concealed; without spiritual or intellectual enlightenment;
wicked, evil; cheerless; sad, sullen, frowning; unknown, untried (esp. used of a
horse that has never run in public). †v.i. to become dark, to be eclipsed. v.t. to
make dark; to obscure. n. darkness; absence of light; night, nightfall; shadow,
shade; dark tint, the dark part of a picture; lack of knowledge; doubt,
uncertainty.

 romanticism [-sizm], n. the quality or state of being romantic; the reaction

from classical to mediaeval forms and to the unfettered expression of romantic

8
 ideals which originated in Germany about the middle of the 18th cent., and
reached its culmination in England and France in the first half of the 19th cent.

From the dictionary we understand that something darkly romantic might be both
sentimental and evil, visionary and blind, imaginative and hidden, gloomy and poetic,
unpractical and ignorant, unknown and extravagant, fantastic and sad. Dark
Romanticism is obviously a matter of contradicitons.

At this site, when discussed and analyzed, dark romanticisim is defined as follows
(my personal definition):

 dark romanticism [dahk romantisizm], a movement in literature, music,

movies, comics etc. towards the unfettered expression of the decadent natural
world and the obscure supernatural world.

Authors, musicians and directors use their imagination to depict decadence and
obscurity. The characters in the novels, songs and movies wander the earth alone,
abandoned by God. It is always winter and the obscure, supernatural world is far away
- hidden to the ambivalent human being. There are constant interruptions and
hesitations in maturation. I think these words by Dylan Thomas (thank you, Amanda,
for this contribution) is a suitable definition: "I hold a beast, an angel, and a madman
in me, and my enquiry is as to their working, and my problem is their subjugation and
victory, downthrow and upheaval, and my effort is their self-expression."

The origin of Dark Romanticism

"The passions which belong to self-preservation turn, on pain and danger; they are
simply painful when their causes immediately affect us; they are delightful when we
have an idea of pain and danger, without being actually in such circumstances;"

These words by Edmund Burke (Enquiry into the Origin of our Ideas of the Sublime
and Beautiful, see literature) constitutes the theoretical background of the origin of
Dark Romanticism. Burke argued that pain and danger delights us more than pleasure
when we are not immediately affected. These ideas inspired not only philosophers and
politicians, but also authors and artists. Personally I think Dark Romanticism
originated in the early 19th century, while the Gothic originated earlier. Gothic and
Dark Romanticism are not the same thing, according to me. Gothic has became a

9
subculture, with certain clothes and attitudes, Dark Romanticism has not. Read more
about this in the literature page.

Fred Botting: "...a darker current within the Romantic imagination's visions of unity
and transcendence...The darker, agonized aspect of Romantic writing has heroes in
the Gothic mould: gloomy, isolated and sovereign, they are wanderers, outcasts and
rebels condemned to roam the borders of social worlds, bearers of a dark truth or
horrible knowledge, like Coleridge's Ancient Mariner. Milton's Satan or Prometheus
are transgressors who represent the extremes of individual passions and
consciousness. Blake's mythical creations, the tyrant Urizen and the suffering Los,
inhabit a violent world of fire and struggle. Drawing on the anti-rational and mystical
powers associated with a bardic romance tradition, Blake's poetic mythology values
liberty, especially of the imagination, above any restraint, particularly of religious
and political institutions. Byron's heroes, and his own impersonation of the Byronic
hero, passes the defiant energy of a Gothic villain."

Dark Romanticism is often defined as a historical, literary phenomenon. In the late

18th century, authors reacted against the Age of Enlightenment and it's blind
materialism and faith in reason. The artists reacted against classicism and preached -
in contrast to the Age of Enlightenment - feeling and, imagination. In between the
Age of Enlightenment and the Romantic era, Burke wrote the famous words. Horror
and terror tales became popular. Authors reacted against both classicism and the
gothic novels. They wrote about the tragic dimension of human life. The genre Dark
Romanticism was born. Famous names are Blake, Baudelaire, Poe and Stoker.

Dark Romanticism today

According to me, the Darkly Romantic era didn't end in the 19th century. Dark
Romanticism have been developing ever since and I therefore believe that the
discussion should be widened. From being a purely literary phenomenon in the
19th century it has spread to other artistic fields in the 20th century as movies in
the 20s (Nosferatu), comics in the 30s (Batman) and music in the 60s (Walker,
Cohen).

Changing features, emphases and meanings disclose Dark Romantic writing as a

mode that exceeds genre and categories, restricted neither to a literary school nor to a
historical period. The problem (and one of the reasons for this site) is that the Darkly

10
Romantic movement is harder to distinguish today. Successors are harder to find then
predecessors. For several reasons.

First, Dark Romanticism has developed more as a movement then as a delimited

subculture. Gothic, on the other hand, has developed to a club scene, for example.
Dark Romanticism is a movement in art - not a subculture. Gothic and Dark
Romanticism are sometimes supposed to be synonymous. According to me, they
shouldn't. Gothic horror stories surely constitutes an essential, influencing part of the
darkly romantic dawn - but still there are many other, perhaps more important parts.

Second, the world is under constant change. Dark Romanticism originated in a time
dominated by wide-spread conceptions of beauty. Similar conceptions exists today but
surely different or perhaps contradicting those 200 years ago. This is one reason why
some artistic movements are delimited to historic periods. But I think they shouldn't:
artists expressing modern romantic ideals, perhaps far from those in the
Romantic era, still belong in the same artistic movement, according to me. And
artists expressing romantic ideals that appear obscure belong in the Dark Romantic
movement.

Third, Dark Romanticism hides within other movements. Modern artists often express
the need for something more than the reality they know - the lack of imagination in
the world outside them torments them. Longing for the obscure and the fantastic hides
within the sad tales of a bleak reality. Artists expressing decadence have been
apprehended as romantic and even visionary. A striking example is the French
musician Serge Gainsbourg (in interviews he always said that women knew who he
really was). Within such contrasting relationships, Dark Romanticism dwells.

"Pity would be no more

If we did not make somebody poor
And mercy no more could be
If all were as happy as we"

William Blake

11
 What is dark romantic
literature?

Romantic literature is literature that is very emotional, artists during the Romantic
Movement tried to evoke emotion through their creation. In a way, the artists focused
more on the human condition--love, hate, vengeance, guilt, shame, passion, etc.
instead of religion, the Pious self, and the events of the Bible (which prevailed for a
long time before this). Romanticism is closely related to the Enlightenment movement
as well.

Dark romantic literature probably refers to gothic romanticism. Think Edgar Allen
Poe...or Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights. Both are gothic/dark because they're
tragic, deeply psychological, even somewhat disturbing. Not happy stories, no happy
endings. They're also considered romantic because of the're rooted in the Romantic
era/principles, and in the case of Wuthering Heights, quite melodramatic (emotions
are exaggerated, extreme).

12