NAME: ___________________________________________________ BLOCK: ______ DATE: ______________________
Notes and Literary Terms:
Dark Romanticism/Anti-Transcendentalism, Gothic Literature and
“Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe
Romanticism
Before we begin, let us review some of the major tenets of Romanticism.
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_________________ is favored over _________________
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Focus on the _________________, emotional intensity, spontaneity, the _________________,
_________________, and nature as a source of escapism and spirituality
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Romantic heroes are usually “_________________” men who will often journey away from the
“_________________” of civilization and seek truth in nature
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Helped instill proper _________________ behavior for men and women
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Romantic texts often contain elements of the _________________ or mysterious (dreams, visions, ghosts,
irrational/absurd plot points with no explanation, etc.)
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Romantics believed in the natural _________________ of man; that man in a state of nature would behave well,
but is hindered by _________________
Dark Romanticism
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Dark romanticism is a literary _________________ that emerged from the Transcendental philosophical
movement popular in America from about _________________through the _________________’s. Works in the
dark romantic spirit were influenced by Transcendentalism, but did not entirely _________________ the ideas
of Transcendentalism. Dark Romantic works are notably less optimistic than Transcendental texts about
mankind, nature, and divinity. Authors considered most representative of dark romanticism are Edgar Allan Poe
(“The Raven”, Masque of the Red Death) and Nathaniel Hawthorne (The Scarlet Letter)
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The following are some basic tenets of the Dark Romantic literary movement:
1. Dark Romantics are much less confident about the notion _________________ is an innate quality of
mankind, as believed by Transcendentalists. Subsequently, Dark Romantics present individuals as prone
to _________________ and _________________, not as inherently possessing divinity and wisdom.
2. While both groups believe nature is a deeply spiritual force, Dark Romanticism views it in a much more
_________________ light than does Transcendentalism, which sees nature as a divine and universal
organic mediator. For these Dark Romantics, the natural world is _________________,
_________________, and _________________; when it does reveal truth to man, its revelations are
_________________ and hellish.
3. Whereas Transcendentalists advocate social _________________ when appropriate, works of Dark
Romanticism frequently show individuals _________________ in their attempts to make changes for the
better.
Transcendentalism
Here is a quick review of the Transcendentalist philosophy:
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Transcendentalists believed that everyone was absolutely _________________ and that each individual is a part
of _________________.
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Transcendentalists believed that people's _________________ and _________________ were the voice of God.
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Transcendentalists did not believe in institutions like _________________ because they thought the individual
human mind was the strongest _________________ in the universe.
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Transcendentalists would be concerned with _________________ such as: Are all people good? Is the voice
inside people's heads the pure voice of God?
Dark Romanticism/Anti-Transcendentalism
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The Dark Romantics were the forefathers to the modern _________________, _________________, and
_________________ stories. Poe and Hawthorne added drastically different perspectives from those of the
Transcendentalists, which is why Dark Romantics are often called Anti-Transcendentalists.
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Their views of human _________________ and strong use of _________________ made them stand apart from
Transcendentalists like Emerson and Thoreau. They examined the psychological effects of _________________
and _________________, the conflict between _________________ and _________________, and people
plagued with _________________. They agreed that human nature is not necessarily _________________.
The Dark Romantics believed that the Transcendentalists ignored the _________________ side of humanity, so they
sought to show their readers what was otherwise _________________ or _________________. They did this through
dark tales of obsession, revenge, shame, and madness. Their views and styles helped shape _________________
literature.
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The master of the _________________thriller was Edgar Allen Poe. He filled his stories with
_________________details like people buried alive, decaying mansions, strange mental illnesses, and a raven
that torments a madman. He wrote about the darkness of the human mind and characters who were plagued
with _________________ and _________________. His purpose behind his _________________ tales was to
take the reader beyond the normal, everyday, rational world and into the _________________ recesses of the
human mind.
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In "The Raven", Poe writes of a grief-stricken man who has seemed to have lost touch with reality.
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Gothic details like the rapping on the door and the raven's eerie presence set a mood of fear.
Where does Edgar Allen Poe fit in?
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Although often considered a Dark Romantic, Poe can be viewed more as a _________________ writer.
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Poe’s works strongly represent Gothic elements more so than valuing intuition over reason or examining the
natural world for God and spiritual truths.
Gothic Literature
Setting - include large, drafty old houses that have "been in the family for years."
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Atmosphere of _________________ and _________________
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A ghostly legend, an unexplainable occurrence, or a story about a horrible death or murder.
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DICTION
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Words designed to evoke _________________ of gloom and doom: dark, foreboding, forbidding,
ghostly, etc.
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Omens, _________________, and _________________ usually play a large role in the mysterious air that is
created within the story.
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_________________ events: ghosts, doors that open themselves, unexplained sounds, etc.
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Includes highly charged emotional _________________ like: terror, a feeling that one is on the brink of insanity,
anger, agitation, an exaggerated feeling of some impending doom, and obsessive love.
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Damsels in _________________ are frequent.
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Women who are _________________ and confused, wandering around lost, or dying due to a slow and
unexplainable ailment.
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Romantic themes often involve the _________________ of a man or woman in the throes of some great
_________________, the _________________ nature of a man or woman in love, or excessive
_________________ one feels upon the loss of a loved one.
Edgar Allan Poe:
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Poe was born in ____________, the son of traveling ____________. The beginnings of his unhappy life were
marked by his father's ____________ of the family, followed by the ____________ of his mother when he was
____________ years old. The orphaned Poe was taken in my ____________ and ____________ Allan of Virginia.
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After being expelled from ____________ ____________, Poe looked for work as a ____________ and wrote
literary ____________, but money was scarce. ____________ intensified his despair when his beloved wife,
____________, died following a long ____________. Deeply depressed, Poe died ____________years later after
being found on the streets of ____________, sick, delirious, and, in his doctor's words, "____________, not to
say bloated, and unwashed.“
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Many critics credit Poe with the invention of the ____________ story. His classic tales include "The Masque of
the Red Death," "The Pit and the Pendulum," "The God Bug," and "The Purloined Letter."
Imagery:
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Symbolism:
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Allegory:
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EXAMPLE:__________________________________________________________________________________________
EXAMPLE:__________________________________________________________________________________________