Comparative study
of Romanticism and
Transcendentalism
- By Nirali Dabhi

Introduction
Name: Nirali Dabhi
Roll number: 13
Enrollment Number: 4069206420220006
Sem: 2 M.A
Paper number: 108
Paper Name: American Literature
Topic: Comparative study of Romanticism and
Transcendentalism
Submitted to: Smt S.B. Gardi, Department of English,
M.K.B.U
Email: niralidabhi95@gmail.com

Table of contents
01
04 05
02
Introduction of
Transcendentalism
Introduction of
Romanticism
Romanticism in
Movies and
Novels
Transcendentalism
in Movies and
Novels
03
06
Characteristics of
Transcendentalism
and Romanticism
Examples of
Transcendentalism and
Romanticism writers and
Poets

Introduction of Transcendentalism
● Transcendentalism was a religious, literary, and political
movement that evolved from New England Unitarianism in the
1820s and 1830s.
● It is principally associated with the work of essayist and poet
Ralph Waldo Emerson; journalist and feminist theorist Margaret
Fuller; Unitarian minister and antislavery advocate Theodore
Parker; and essayist, naturalist, and political theorist Henry David
Thoreau.(Robinson)
● Transcendentalism was known mostly as a religious
movement.(Carbone)
● Transcendentalists advocated the idea of a personal knowledge of
God, believing that no intermediary was needed for spiritual
insight.
● Ralph Waldo Emerson—essayist, minister, poet and philosopher
from New England—was the founding father of the
transcendentalist movement.

Introduction of Romanticism
● In the 19th century, “romantic” means sentimental : lyricism
and the expression of personal emotions are emphasized.
Feelings and sentiments are very much present in romantic
works.
● Robert Burns is considered the pioneer of the Romantic
Movement
● American Romanticism was the first real literary movement to
ever occur within in the United States.
● Romantic Era in the United States was largely known as the
“American Renaissance”.
● Romanticism gave birth to some of America’s greatest writers –
Walt Whitman, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Emerson, and Thoreau.
● This are some of the masterpieces of American literature, such
as Moby Dick and The Scarlet Letter.

Characteristics of Transcendentalism
1. Individualism
2. The divinity of Nature
3. Idealism
4. Spirituality

Characteristics of Romanticism
1. Imagination and Creativity
● Romantic-period writers stress the imaginative and subjective side of human
nature.
● Romantic authors don't allow facts or truths to inhibit them from expressing
imaginative ideas, especially as they relate to nature.
1. The Beauty of Nature
● Romantic literature explores the intense beauty of nature
● Romantic authors understood progress and the changing tide toward
industrialization, but they prioritized and glamorized natural beauty over
urbanization, commercialism and materialism.
● Example - Henry David Thoreau, Walden (1854)
1. Individualism
● Romanticism appeals to individualism, rather than conventional norms or
collectivism.
● Romantic authors valued independent thinking, creativity and self-reliance.

Transcendentalism in Movies and Novels
1. Moana
● she shows multiple characteristics of the
movement transcendentalism.
● She shows self- reliance, the ability to connect
and learn from nature, non-conformity, and
oversoul.
1. Into the Wild
● In the book Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer
● Chris McCandless is a transcendentalist
● He enjoys the simplicity of life and deliberate
living or living life with intentions.
1. Wild
● Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest
Trail
● By Cheryl Strayed
● 2014 American biographical adventure drama
film

Romanticism in Movies and Novels
1. The Scarlet Letter
● By Nathaniel Hawthorne
● This novel is a quintessential example of
American Romanticism.
● The novel also emphasizes the natural
world and incorporates elements of the
supernatural.
1. Moby-Dick
● By Herman Melville
● This novel is another classic example of
American Romanticism.
● The novel also incorporates elements of
the supernatural and the exotic.
3. The Tree of Life
● This experimental film tells the story of a
family in Texas in the 1950s

Examples of Transcendentalists writers and poets
Writers and Poets
● Ralph Waldo Emerson
● Henry David Thoreau
● Margaret Fuller
● Orestes Brownson
● Elizabeth Palmer Peabody
● James Freeman Clarke
● George Ripley
● Bronson Alcott
● W.E. Channing
● Emily Dickinson

Examples of Romanticism writers and Poets
Writers and Poets
● Washington Irving
● James Fenimore Cooper
● Edgar Allan Poe
● Ralph Waldo Emerson
● Henry David Thoreau
● Walt Whitman
● Herman Melville
● Nathaniel Hawthorne

Work Cited
● Biscay, Matt. “Romanticism in Arts and Literature.” SkyMinds, 12
September 2016, https://www.skyminds.net/the-19th-century-
romanticism-in-art-and-literature/. Accessed 12 March 2023.
● Carbone, Steven A. “American Transcendentalism and Analysis of Ralph
Waldo Emerson's "Self-Reliance."” Inquiries Journal, 2010,
http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1663/american-
transcendentalism-and-analysis-of-ralph-waldo-emersons-self-reliance.
Accessed 12 March 2023.
● Robinson, David M. “Transcendentalism - American Literature.” Oxford
Bibliographies, 22 February 2018,
https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/display/document/obo-
9780199827251/obo-9780199827251-0086.xml. Accessed 12 March
2023.

● Tucker, Kristine. “Characteristics of Romanticism in English
Literature.” Pen and the Pad, 2010,
https://penandthepad.com/characteristics-romanticism-english-
literature-6646393.html. Accessed 13 March 2023.
● Virts, Sharon. “American Romanticism: 19th Century Literature &
Ideology.” Sharon Virts, 18 April 2020,
https://sharonvirts.com/2020/04/18/american-romanticism-19th-
century-literature-and-ideology/. Accessed 12 March 2023.