The Imaginative Psyche – Dark Romantics
Vocabulary
As a part of the readings in this topic, you will be looking at some essential vocabulary. You may have already seen these terms in the module overview, but you will see these again in the following excerpts by Dark Romantic writers. If you need to review the meanings of these terms, be sure to access the glossary.
- averted
- imperceptible
- insuperable
- lethargy
- lucid
- ponders
- potent
- prostrate
- proximity
- tumultuous
Dark Romanticism
Ralph Waldo Emerson and his Transcendentalist views were widely popular, but not everyone of the time agreed whole-heartedly with him. And yes, at first glance the views and ideas of the world found in the writings of Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Herman Melville do appear to be in direct opposition with the optimism of the Transcendentalists. However, a deeper examination finds that the Dark Romantics actually have much in common with the Transcendentalists as both schools of thought sprang forth from the ideals of Romanticism. Of course, the one point where the two schools of thought do diverge is quite significant.
Like the Romantics and Transcendentalists, the Dark Romantics valued intuition and emotion over reason and logic. Like the Puritans, all three groups believed there were signs and symbols and spiritual significance all around them and in all events. And like Emerson, the Dark Romantics believed that one could find truth—spiritual truth—beyond nature, the physical world, and the human experience. However, unlike Emerson and the Transcendentalists, the Dark Romantics did not believe that these truths were always good or harmless. These writers believed that there existed an innate sense of wickedness in all humans and that some people were born evil or predisposed to evil.
The stories and poetry of the Dark Romantic writers sought to explore the conflict between good and evil and the psychological effects of guilt and sin on the human mind. They believed that madness and evil lurked behind the countenance of every person. Every human wears a mask of social respectability to hide the horror of his or her true nature.
It is from this belief in innate human wickedness that many modern genres were born and live on still today. Without the Dark Romantic writers, the Hollywood film industry would not have been able to produce the horrifying and deeply disturbing horror and psychological thrillers that movie-goers flock to year after year. Movies and stories like Saw, The Exorcist, Poltergeist, and The Shining draw in audiences faithfully year after year.
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe is one of America's most famous authors, and most people have read at least one of his short stories or poems at some point.
He was born Edgar Poe in Boston, Massachusetts in 1809. Abandoned by his father at the age of two, Poe was left as an orphan at the age of three when his mother died of tuberculosis. He was informally adopted by the Allan family who, after five years in England, raised him in Richmond, Virginia. After a tumultuous relationship with his foster parents and issues with gambling debts while studying at the University of Virginia, Poe entered the military and soon after published Tamerlane and Other Poems while living in Boston. His eventual dismissal from the military widened the rift with his adoptive father. Poe spent the rest of his life at the edge of poverty writing poems, short stories, and literary criticisms in New York, Richmond, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. He suffered from bouts of depression and possible drug abuse.
In 1836, Poe married his cousin, Virginia, but she died at the very young age of twenty-four. He was never the same again and continued to struggle for the rest of his life to overcome poverty. He was found seriously ill in an alleyway in Baltimore in 1849 and died a few days later. Though still maligned by some critics for stylistic choices, Poe has posthumously become one of America's most popular authors. His exploration of the dark side of humanity still fascinates readers today, and he is considered the father of the detective story, horror, and the psychological thriller.
Access and read Poe's shorty story "The Pit and the Pendulum." This story is set in Spain in the early 1800s during the Spanish Inquisition. The Inquisition was a religious tribunal established by the Spanish monarchy. The purpose was to investigate accusations of noncompliance with religious and royal authority and punish those deemed guilty. Think of it like the Salem Witch Trials, but on a larger, more heinous scale.
As you read the story, consider the following questions:
- What comment do you think Poe is making about power and abuse of authority?
- Is this a political, religious, or social commentary?
- What do you make of General Lasalle's timely arrival? Is this too convenient?
- Does the rescue actually save the prisoner or condemn him to a lifetime of hell on earth?
Access and read Poe's narrative poem "The Raven." This poem tells the story of a narrator lamenting the loss of his love named Lenore. The poem follows the narrator on a journey from regret and grief until he ultimately passes into a kind of frenzied madness.
As you read the poem, consider the following questions:
- What is the theme of this poem?
- Do you believe this is an autobiographical event from Poe's own life and loss?
- Could this be Poe's lament over his wife or the many people lost from his life?
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Though perhaps not as widely read today as Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne is another of the great American Dark Romantic writers. Hawthorne and Herman Melville, another New England writer of the time, are considered Anti-Transcendentalists. Hawthorne was a contemporary of Emerson and is said to have greatly admired Emerson's ideas. However, Hawthorne and Melville believed that selfishness and evil were the dominant forces of the world.
Hawthorne came from a Puritan family and was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts. Though Hawthorne was born over one hundred years after the Salem Witch Trials in which an ancestor named John Hawthorne had played a large role, he was haunted by the severity of the early Puritans and by the violence that had once reigned in his hometown. His own personal guilt and torment is portrayed onto the protagonists and antagonists in his stories.
Hawthorne graduated from Bowdoin College and spent several years honing his writing skills. Later he married, started a family, and moved to Concord, Massachusetts where he spent time with Emerson and Thoreau. In 1850, Hawthorne wrote one of his most famous pieces, a novel called The Scarlet Letter. He continued to write and travel while working for the government until he died in his sleep in 1864.
Access and read Hawthorne's story "The Minister's Black Veil." This story is considered a parable because Hawthorne obviously meant for it to teach a lesson. Mr. Hooper is a highly respected minister in a small Puritan town who begins wearing a black veil one day with no explanation. The veil has a powerful effect on the parishioners, who are stunned and too afraid to ask him directly about it. The only person that demands an explanation is his fiancée, Elizabeth. When Mr. Hooper refuses to give a reason, even she recoils and breaks off the engagement. Despite Mr. Hooper's appearance, or perhaps because of it, he becomes a highly effective preacher, but personally he is shunned.
After reading the story, consider the following question: Do you think this story would be more or less effective if Hawthorne had revealed the exact reason why Mr. Hooper wore the veil?
Characteristics of Dark Romanticism
Hawthorne's writing is less macabre than Poe's, but his characters are just as tormented and his themes are just as melancholy. Hawthorne also uses less of the supernatural in his writings. His characters are more obviously defined by society, but they all experience psychological torment in foreboding settings.
What Hawthorne and Poe share in common is their American Gothic style. Their stories, and that of most of the Dark Romantics, center around four main characteristics:
- Stories are set in a remote location (usually bleak and foreboding).
- Plots include violent incidents.
- Characters are in psychological and/or physical torment.
- A supernatural or otherworldly presence is often present.
These points mirror the light Transcendentalists in that these writers told fantastic tales in which highly stylized characters learn a deeper lesson, except these stories do not end happily with any redemption for the main character. They are almost a mix of Romantic styles infused with the drama of a Greek tragedy. In some senses, these stories reveal even more of human nature through the stark bleakness of the plot.
Dark Romanticism Review
Now that you have explored the beliefs of the Dark Romantic writers, review your knowledge in this non-graded activity. Read each question, then check the box or boxes next to the correct answer or answers. Click on the player button to get started.