Romanticism in Young Goodman Brown Essay example -- essays research pa

Romanticism and Young Goodman BrownRomanticism was a literary movement that occurred in the late eighteenth century to the middle nineteenth century which shifted the focus of literature from puritan works, to works which revolved around imagination, the beauty of nature, the individual, and the value of emotion over intellect. The ideas of the movement were quite extremist as earlier literature was inhibited by the need to focus on society and the rational world it effected. Romanticism allowed writers to be more fanciful with there stories and to explore an irrational world which before, would have been at the very least frowned upon if not outright rejected. The short story, Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne is an face of a romantic work because it showcases the individual over society, exalts emotion and intuition over reason, and keeps a strong focus on nature throughout the story. A romantic work focuses on the individual and his inner struggles as well as his ex ternal conflict. Young Goodman Brown accomplished this through the title character whose journey is followed over the course of the story. Though Young Goodman Brown meets many others on his trip, the focus never wavers from him and his internal struggle. For instance, when Goodman Brown witnesses the minister and deacon ride into the wilderness, the story immediately cuts to his reaction to them, Young Goodman Brown caught hold...