Characteristics Of Romanticism In Rip Van Winkle
1. Introduction This research paper deals with Washington Irving's most famous short story Rip Van Winkle, which tells the story of a man, who falls into a magical sleep during the English colonial time and wakes up twenty years later as a citizen of the United States of America. It will be looked into the characteristics that make Rip Van Winkle a Romantic piece of literature and how Washington Irving's intentions are reflected in his writing. Hereby Washington Irving’s life itself will be taken into consideration together with the Romantic period to demonstrate how these two domains are combined in Rip Van Winkle. 2. Washington Irving: A short insight into his life Irving was born in New York City on April 3 1783. He studied the English literature already in the early stages of his life, publishing his first satirical essay 1802. "Irving regularly addressed darker and more complex themes of historical transformation and personal dislocation. His innovative travel …show more content…
Setting out to reclaim his Americanness, Irving proclaimed his love for his country […].“ (Norton Anthology 468) 3. Characteristics of Romantic Literature Romanticism in America can be determined by the time after the War of 1802 (1802-1805) and through the Civil War (1861-1865). By defeating Britain, a vast feeling of nationalism was formed throughout the population of America and thus motivated many writers to express their emotions of American nationalism, creating literature that tried to distinct itself from European traditions, instead shaped by “[…] radical individualism and a total commitment to social reform, religious freethinking and the most conventional pieties, artistic experiment and self-conscious imitation.“ (Habich 3) It was a time of “increased readership, availability of print materials and, very important, evolution of critical opinion.“ (Habich 6) 4.1 Historical
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456 Words | 2 PagesImagery is defined as the use of “figurative language to represent objects, actions, and ideas” in a way to “appeal to our physical senses” (LiteraryDevices Editors). Washington Irving is an American author during the early ages of an independent America. Taking place before and after the American Revolution, Irving offers offers a unique perspective on small American towns. Throughout his short story Rip Van Winkle, Irving incorporates the element of imagery to connect the audience to the setting, relate the character to the audience, and enhance the reader's experience. Irving writes as the main character, Rip Van Winkle.
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How Does Rip Van Winkle Characterize The Great American Dream
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Character Alikeness In Rip Van Winkle And The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow
1927 Words | 8 PagesIrving’s Character Alikeness Biographical and short story writer, Washington Irving is known for his works “Rip Van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” However, he does have additional short stories. Between 1819 and 1820, Washington Irving published The Sketch Book, which was made up of approximately 30 short stories. Within those works were characters such as John Bull, Rip Van Winkle, Ichabod Crane, the Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow, and several other unnamed characters. Now, the nameless characters in Washington Irving’s tales had just as deep impacts in their stories as named characters; from those deep impacts came about noticeable character resemblances between those characters.
Literary Analysis Of Rip Van Winkle
952 Words | 4 PagesThe approach of Irving to the creation of national literary icons which will be accepted and read by every new generation could not be estimated. The activity of Irving in this direction almost always makes him different from the other authors. In “Rip Van Winkle” among the features which could be able to attract the attention of the reader we can point out the tone of the story. Indicating
Examples Of Romanticism In The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow
462 Words | 2 Pages“A drowsy, dreamy influence seems to hang over the land, and to pervade the very atmosphere. Some say that the place was bewitched by a high German doctor, during the early days of the settlement; others, that an old Indian chief, the prophet or wizard of his tribe, held his powwows there before the country was discovered by Master Hendrick Hudson.” Washington Irving wrote The Legend of Sleepy Hollow in 1820. It is about a teacher, Ichabod Crane, who is chased away by the headless horseman.
Similarities Between The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow And Rip Van Winkle
493 Words | 2 PagesWashington Irving’s, The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. is a collection of thirty-four of his essays and short stories. Attributed to the fictional Dutch historian character, Diedrich Knickerbocker, are two of Irving’s most popular stories, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle. Rip Van Winkle is the story of a Dutch villager, living at the foot of the Catskill mountains before and after the American Revolutionary War. Van Winkle is genuinely loved by the people of his village, especially by the children whom he tells ghost stories to, plays with, and gives toys. However, this simple, easy-going man has one great error in his character: he is incredibly lazy, despising work in all forms.
Romanticism In Washington Irving's The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow
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Analysis Of Washington Irving's The Spectre Bridegroom
965 Words | 4 PagesHugh S. Dawson also added some thoughts to the ideas of Young, Fetterley and Fiedler about Rip Van Winkle that Rip Van Winkle being Gothic story once more shows the advantage of marriage to avoid from wasting life in impenetrable forest [6, 14/08/2015]. Another bestseller work of Washington Irving is “The Spectre Bridegroom” that also included in “The Sketch Book by Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.”. If Irving in “Rip Van Winkle” headed to mix the physical and metaphorical dream reflecting the sigh of freedom in colony, in this work he brought the new American breath to the old Europe. Unlike other works, Irving described the happened events in Germany. All these hinted at that Irving wanted to ruin the old fences around Europe that formulated for many years.
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