essential questions

1. How are the Romantics' beliefs of optimism and individualism reflected in their writing?
2. What is Romanticism, Gothic Romanticism and Southern Gothic Romanticism? How are they similar how are they different?
3. How is the Southern Gothic movement a response to literary movements that have preceded it as well as a manipulation of Romantic literary conventions?
4. How did the American culture prompt the dark sides of Romanticism (think Gothic and Southern Gothic)?
5. How do the writings of these time periods influence the writings of today?

1. The Romantics' beliefs of optimism and individualism is reflected in their writing by the way they express a story and a theme. For example Classicism is expressed with Clarity, order and reason. Romanticism on the other hand is expressed through Nature, Human Nature, and feelings. The optimism is expressed by the love, just like Ichabod expressing his love for food for example. The individualism is expressed by the feelings, showing the different emotions of a character or even the writer. For example, each person has different feelings, and thoughts, God created us all different, thus individual.
2. Romanticism is again that love of Human Nature, Nature, and feelings. Southern Gothic is a type of literature that specifically takes place in the American South. It would be expressed more in the Setting such as with porches, and rocking chairs, and having a Grotesque. Gothic Romanicism, on the other hand, is a type of literature that combines Fiction, Horror, and Romanticism. It is romanticism; it expresses feelings, but it usually has dreary, downcast, dark, feelings. This is one way these two types of literature are different. There are numerous ways they are the same though. One way is their references to nature, though each might have a different sight of nature, they still have that reference to it. Another way would be with Romanticism and Irony. Each have it, but are expressed in different way, and different outcomes, depending on the story.
3. The southern Gothic Movement is a response to literary movements that have proceeded it. For example Sothern Gothic is just a little bit more specific than Gothic Romanticism, or just Romanticism. For example, Southern Gothic Romanticism has a specific setting, while Gothic Romanticism, usually in a Dark setting is not limited to a certain place as the American South, as Southern Gothic is. America has expanded bit by bit. For example we started with Classicism. This is reason and clarity. When then later after the age of reason, and revolutionary war, got into Romanticism, expanding our ideas. This was more nature, past, and human nature. We then added to that to create Gothic Romanticism. This has that dark side to the elements of Romanticism, as stated earlier. Finally, we come to Southern Gothic Romanticism, in times when America was separated more, this is set in the American South.
4. American culture prompted the dark side of Romanticism by expanding our ideas. People started to express their emotions a lot more when we came to Romanticism. People have a dark side, and by expressing our good emotions, there will also be bad and dark emotions as well. Either way it will (and did) as expressed by Gothic Literature.
5. The writings of this time period influenced the writings today by being able to expand on to the past, and their literature. With out these types of literature, we would be right back to the beginning, to Classicism and we may never have the same types of literature again. With other writings we are able to expand, and  maybe someday create another type of literature.