English romanticism review

Thanatopsis

William Cullen Bryant

William Cullen Bryant

American Romantic

“Go not like a quarry slave into night”

William Cullen Bryant

“All shall join thee in death”

William Cullen Bryant

Thanatopsis themes

Death is natural and not to be feared, nature comforts people, life should be lived fully

The Chambered Nautilus

Oliver Wendell Holmes

Oliver Wendell Holmes

American Romantic

“Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul”

Oliver Wendell Holmes

Chambered Nautilus themes

Growth, self-improvement, leaving the past behind

A Psalm of Life

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

American Romantic

“Be not like dumb driven cattle”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“Footprints on the sands of time”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Psalm of Life themes

Life has purpose, inspire others, live in the present

The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“The tide rises, the tide falls”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“The traveler returns no more”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Tide Rises themes

Nature continues on, peaceful acceptance of death

Self-Reliance

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Transcendentalist

“Imitation is suicide”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

“To be great is to be misunderstood”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Self-Reliance themes

Individualism, nonconformity, self-trust

Nature

Ralph Waldo Emerson

“In the woods we return to reason and faith”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Nature themes

Spiritual connection with nature and truth

The Rhodora

Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Beauty is its own excuse for being”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Rhodora themes

Self-reliance and natural beauty

The Fall of the House of Usher

Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe

Dark Romantic

Usher themes

Isolation, madness, fear, gloom