Daniel Degutis

Essay 2

Reading the works of Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allen Poe give a great foundation
for what Romantic writing of the 18th and 19th centuries was like. Poe and Hawthorne both
were able to take writing and portray a different type of message to the reader, aside from logic
and reason. They believed that writing could be more expressive and tell us about the
individualistic characteristics of the human being. Both writers are able to pull from the
imagination of the reader and instill a view on human behavior from their works. Mostly due to
their style of writing and story being told, Poe and Hawthorne exhibit fine examples of Romantic
writing.

Edgar Allen Poe is very effective in delivering a scene through text. He can draw from
the imagination of the readers and take their minds to a greater extent not reached before.
Romanticism is all about rejecting the rationality of nature due to science in the enlightenment
period. In writings such as The Raven and The Cask of Amontillado Poe uses his style to
reel in the reader and create a fantasy situation. Throughout the poem, the narrator of The
Raven is descriptive and repetitive, creating that sense of creepiness and fear that a thrilling
horror movie would give you. "That I scarce was sure I heard you - here I opened wide the door;
darkness there and nothing more (638)". This scene depicts darkness and the curiosity of the
narrator; two things that, to a person nowadays, would end badly. Its complicated to think that
before writers like Poe, the imagination of civilization was much untapped. Poe reaches into
peoples imagination and soul to garner images that come from this place previously untouched.
Writing before Poe and through the enlightenment was not designed to entertain a reader. Poes
dark and gloomy scenery can be seen as a metaphor to this as humans are dreary, yet
suspenseful individuals living their lives. Trying to explain human nature with reason will not
account for all that a mind has to offer. Making the brain work to explore within itself is better. In
The Cask of Amontillado there is some inferring and concluding that goes on that in non-
Romantic writing would otherwise go unwritten. Towards the end as the narrator is walking
away he hears the bells of the man he had just buried alive ringing. One can contemplate this
scenario over and over and come up with metaphors that suit their fancy.

Hawthorne takes the romantic approach a different way. While still creating images in
the mind of the reader like Poe, he focused more on individualism and an even stronger
approach against the enlightenment. In The Ministers Black Veil, Hawthorne uses an entire
town of characters to better represent his view of society as a whole against individuals. The
main character, the minister changes his appearance for an unknown reason and is hated for it.
Hawthorne uses the Minister as his symbol of individualism, by showing how humans react to
change and difference in the people around them. There is no reason or logic that can predict
the kind of emotions driven by the human mind. It grieved him, to the very depth of his kind
heart, to observe how the children fled from his approach, breaking up their merriest sports,
while his melancholy figure was yet afar off (415). Even as children, the mind can separate
people and things into categories of good and bad with no background. The Birth Mark takes a
similar route as the scientists wife is viewed as imperfect. Here a mix of individualism and
science is brought together. Hawthorne portrays how science cannot fix even what it wants
fixed. In this case, the narrators wifes appearance. In trying to mix science with natural human
behavior, the scientist caused more trouble than good, in killing his wife. Hawthorne took a very
direct approach against enlightenment thought in this story while still exploring the imagination
and scenery that Poe excelled in.