Art works

Outline

INTRODUCTION : The gothic component of the American Romantic Period of 1800-1860 produced several eerie and gothic works by talented literary minds . Three such pieces , The tell-tale heart ' The Birthmark and Wieland were written by Edgar Allan Poe , Nathaniel Hawthorne and Charles Brockden Brown . These works of fiction delve into the minds of seemingly unstable protagonists , and in so doing participated in the general Romantic theme of reacting against reason . These authors also adhered further to the Romantic notion of elevating the human spirit as persons in need not of salvation

but of being aroused to a truer relationship with the self

THESIS : The main characters of each story defy the conventions of the time through gothic settings , anti-religious demonstrations and revolutionary psychological insights that lead to a better understanding of the dark side of human capabilities

A . Wieland by Charles Brockden Brown

1 . Wrote extensively on an array of s

2 . Ushered in the ideas of the American Romantic Period

3 . Strong psychological state of female character

4 . Weak psychological state of male characters

5 . External force having the power to awaken his true character

B . The tell-tale heart ' by Edgar Allan Poe

1 . Psychologically challenged character

2 . More insight into the inner workings of the unsound mind

3 . Takes the reader into uncharted territory

4 . Narrator an exercise in self-knowledge

5 . Death of a beautiful woman

C . The Birthmark ' by Nathaniel Hawthorne

1 . Death of a beautiful woman

2 . Gothic tradition of darkness and mystery

3 . Puritanical hypocrisy

4 . Salvation through self knowledge

CONCLUSION : The three authors Brown , Poe , and Hawthorne , along with their works Wieland , The tell-tale heart ' and The Birthmark demonstrate several aspects of the American Romantic Period in which they were written . They display the gothic preoccupation with the ghostly and /or mysterious qualities of the unknown . They also delve into the psychological mysteries of the mind and demonstrate the moral weaknesses of humans . Finally , they seek to bring humans into such contact with the self so that elevation and improvement of the mind and spirit can come about through a thorough knowledge of the self and its functions The gothic component of the American Romantic Period of 1800-1860 produced several eerie and gothic works by talented literary minds Three such pieces , The tell-tale heart ' The Birthmark ' and Wieland were written by Edgar Allan Poe , Nathaniel Hawthorne and Charles Brockden Brown . These works of fiction delve into the minds of seemingly unstable protagonists , and in so doing participated in the general Romantic theme of reacting against reason . These authors also adhered further to the Romantic notion of elevating the human spirit as persons in need not of salvation but of being aroused to a truer relationship with the self . The main characters of each story defy the conventions of the time through gothic settings , anti-religious demonstrations and revolutionary psychological insights that lead to a better understanding of the dark side of human capabilities

Charles Brockden Brown , before he became a novelist , wrote extensively on such...