Howell Eglin

Mrs. Pritchard
English II-American Literature
November 19, 2015

Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote short stories and
poems that used literary tactics and tied to dark romanticism. Two
literary pieces written by Edgar Allan Poe in which I identified many
specific dark romantic tactics include Eldorado and The Premature
Burial. Hawthorne also wrote a short story named Dr. Heideggers
Experiment. Eldorado was a poem written by Edgar Allan Poe, and it
consisted of many symbols, other literary devices, and elements of
dark romanticism.
Eldorado consists of many symbols. These symbols included the
Valley of the Shadow, (Poe 1, 21) and the pilgrim shadow, (Poe 1,
15-16). Both of these excerpts from Poes Eldorado symbolize
darkness in the shadows. The repetition of the word shadow shows the
darkness in the poem. This repetition reflects directly to the entire dark
romantic period as a whole as well. The element then reflects dark
romanticism because there is a strong belief in the supernatural in dark
romanticism. The imagery in this poem consists of the visualization of
the physical journey that the main character went on. However, the

spiritual and intellectual journey was also described rather vividly. In

Dark Romanticism, the story usually consists of a journey of the man
usually failing, and Eldorado shows this. Poe used some figurative
language in this poem, which is specifically shown in that the shadow
is a metaphor for darkness. The poem shows alliteration in the excerpt,
Ride, boldly ride, The shade replied, If you seek for Eldorado! (Poe
1, 22-24). The consonant sounds of r and s are repeated in these lines
and shows alliteration. Poe enjoys using dark metaphors in his works,
and usually just dark descriptions in general. The theme of this poem
would be that life is a physical, mental, and spiritual journey full of ups
and downs, but mainly low points. In Dark Romanticism, it is believed
that individuals are prone to sin and self- destruction that is shown in
the low points of the man in this poem. There were five to six
references in this poem about the darkness while there was only one
about sunshine. This shows the natural unbalance of greater darkness
than light. Thus, the tone of this poem would be gloomy due to the
immense shadows, sadness, and darkness. Dark Romanticism usually
shows individuals failing while they try to make things better. For Dark
Romantics, the world is naturally dark.
Nathaniel Hawthornes short story, Dr. Heideggers Experiment
also had somewhat of a dark undertone to it. There were many
symbols in this short story. The rose in this story symbolizes false hope
and false happiness. This connects to Dark Romanticism because it

shows that the promise for happiness is not actually true. The rose
symbolizes this because the rose blooms again when Dr. Heidegger
poured the water on it from the Fountain of Youth. This symbolized
false hope because the people who wanted the water did not know
that they could only turn young again for a short period of time. The
rose shows that the doctor had failed on his way to try and make
things better, which is a connection to Eldorado and Dark Romanticism
as a whole. This also symbolizes false happiness because youth was
the one thing that would have made the old men and woman happy
again. The rose both gave them false hope and happiness. In addition
to the rose, the Bust of Hippocrates symbolizes the intelligence and
competence of Dr. Heidegger. Over the central bookcase was a bronze
bust of Hippocrates, with which, according to some authorities, Dr.
Heidegger was accustomed to hold consultations, in all difficult cases
of his practice. (Hawthorne 1) The Bust was able to do this because
Hippocrates was an intelligent man who was the first to unite medicine
and philosophy. The bust makes me wonder what kind of doctor that
Dr. Heidegger really is. The portrait of Dr. Heideggers deceased fianc
shows imagery. The natural darkness here expresses the Dark
Romantic times. The description of her is rather dark, but it creates a
picture of what she could have been like if she had not died. Like Edgar
Allan Poe, Hawthorne also provided very vivid imagery. An example of
figurative language includes, Colonel Killigrew, whose eyes had been

fixed upon her face while the shadow of age were fitting from it like
darkness from the crimson daybreak. (Hawthorne 6) This selection of
figurative language is a similie. The comparison is the shadow of age
and darkness from the crimson daybreak. The repeated use of shadow
and darkness by these authors all connects to the theme of Dark
Romanticism in that they believed the world was dark and decaying.
The story presented a theme of false happiness and showed the failure
of Dr. Heidegger while he was trying to work for the greater good. This
is a prime element of Dark Romanticism.
The Premature Burial is a short story written by Edgar Allan
Poe, and it contains many of the same literary elements as the
previous two works. For the symbols, the coffin symbolized death and
darkness. This story connects to Dr. Heideggers Experiment and
Eldorado through the use of the words, darkness and shadow. The
coffin is also used to symbolize isolation when the man or woman is
buried alive with no one but himself or herself. Isolation is shown in
He heard the footsteps of the crowd overhead and endeavored to make
himself heard in turn. (Poe 2, 2) This quote helps show that when
someone is buried alive, no one can help them, and they are all alone.
This presents the theme of Dark Romanticism that the individual was
fighting to get out, but he came short and failed. The imagery in this
story was also extremely vivid, as I was able to visualize being trapped
in a coffin all by myself with the constant details of darkness. The

repetition of the darkness also helped create a deeper feeling because

the thought was constantly in my mind, which is the ideal of the Dark
Romantics. Intense imagery was also shown in the midst of a
dissection. A rough gash was made, and a wire hastily brought in
contact, when the patient, with a hurried but quiet unconvulsive
movement arose from the table, stepped into the middle of the floor,
gazed about him uneasily for a few seconds, and then spoke. (Poe 2, 3
)I was able to visualize the man springing up mid-dissection and being
in a state of total horror. This situation was described perfectly by Poe.
Poe also uses figurative language in this short story, as he used many
different literary elements. The theme of this story was isolation and
failure. I felt like this is the theme because nothing is lonelier than
being buried alive all alone. The theme would also be failure because
when some of the people woke up, they were not able to escape. The
tone of this story would be melancholy and horrific. These would be the
tones because the act of being buried alive is sad and horrifying at the
same time. Dark Romanticism is evident in this short story written by
Poe. I could tell from the from the use of darkness in the world of this
work. The use of failure also connects to the previous literary works
mentioned.
These two authors of the Dark Romantic Age were able to utilize
Dark Romanticism in their stories, and it is pretty evident with the
repeated use of darkness in their writing. These two authors were great

American authors and they wrote in the Dark Romanticism theme.

Dark Romanticism is truly powerful.