Unit 3: Romantic Period
Literary Period 4: Romanticism
1800-1860
Fireside Poets
• Despite following
European poetic forms,
the introduced unique
American subject matter
– American folk themes
– Descriptions of the
American landscape
– Abolitionist issues
– American Indian culture
– Celebrations of American
people, places and events
Read with a purpose:
Look for about what happens after life:
So live, that when thy summons comes to join
The innumerable caravan which moves
To that mysterious realm where each shall take
His chamber in the silent halls of death,
Thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night,
Scourged by his dungeon; but, sustain'd and soothed
By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave,
Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch
About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams.
from “Thanatopsis”
“Thanatopsis”
by William Cullen Bryant (171)
Concrete Subject - What is it about?
Audience – To whom is the author
speaking?
Abstract Subject
What deeper issues are being discussed?
Tone - What is the author’s attitude?
THEME - What is the author’s message about human experience?
The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 1807–1882
The tide rises, the tide falls,
The twilight darkens, the curlew calls;
Along the sea-sands damp and brown
The traveller hastens toward the town,
And the tide rises, the tide falls.
Darkness settles on roofs and walls,
But the sea, the sea in the darkness calls;
The little waves, with their soft, white hands,
Efface the footprints in the sands,
And the tide rises, the tide falls.
The morning breaks; the steeds in their stalls
Stamp and neigh, as the hostler calls;
The day returns, but nevermore
Returns the traveller to the shore,
And the tide rises, the tide falls.
“The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls”
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (177)
Concrete Subject - What is it about?
Audience – To whom is the author
speaking?
Abstract Subject
What deeper issues are being discussed?
Tone - What is the author’s attitude?
THEME - What is the author’s message about human experience?
Create a Thesis Statement
• Prompt: Identify and discuss the theme of the
poem.
• Your thesis statement should include two parts:
WHAT (author and title) and WHY/HOW (your
analysis of the poem’s significance)
Template Ideas:
By looking at “_______(Title)________” by ____(author)_________
one can see his ideas on _______(theme)_________________ which is
important because _________________________________ .
Through his use of __(literary technique)____________, __(author)_’s
_____(Title)____ suggests that to _______________________, one
must _____________________________________.
___(author)______’s use of __(literary device)________ in
“_____(title)______” ultimately suggests to the reader the
idea that ___(theme)________________.
The use of ________________ in “______(title)_________”
illustrates the _______(theme)_____________________
that ____(author)___________ expresses throughout the
poem.
In “__(title)____," ____(author)_________________ plays
with the idea of _____________(theme) ______________ with _________________, ______________, and
____________________________.
Homework
• Choose another Romantic poem pg. 173-193
– “Thanatopsis” by Bryant (171)
– “The Cross of Snow” by Longfellow (178)
– “Snow-Bound” by Whittier (182)
– “The Chambered Nautilus” by Holmes (189)
• Complete a poetry square and thesis
statement analyzing the theme of the
poem.