NOTES and assignments MON 10 31 11

The Noise of the Street by early 20th century Italian painter Umberto Boccioni

10^th :  Vocab Quiz 5 tomorrow

Romanticism as a world view

• Exaggeration and oversimplification of characters and ideas—‘larger than life’ events, excitements, etc.
• Nature vs. society theme—society as a corrupting influence; nature as pure and good
• Emotion vs. Reason—passion as the guide to truth or right action; over-rational approach restricts the soul
• Imagination vs. reason—creative forces in the human soul that reason alone can’t equal or account for
• Imagination vs. ‘reality’—the power to shape ‘facts’ to new forms;
• ‘Simple man’, ‘noble savage’, and ‘common hero’ stereotypes

Romantic Hero—diagnostic characteristics

• orphaned (or separated from society in some way—an outsider, lonely, a castawy, handicapped or ‘troubled’)—Spiderman, Superman, Hunchback of Notre Dame
• ‘Nature boy’ figure—special relationship with nature, or raised in some exotic setting or circumstances—Tarzan, Mowgli,
• Unusual abilities—from ‘superpowers’ to simply a high level of skill—Luke Skywalker
• Caught up in good v. evil struggle—or, in some cases, torn by an internal struggle
• Fights prevailing order—a rebel
• nobility of character
• exotic encounters—blood brothers with the Comanche
• Double life

While the Romantic world view as we’re familiar with it today began to take shape in the late 1700’s, and was clearly defined by about 1800, elements of it can be found in Shakespeare, in Medieval European poetry and literature—particularly in the King Arthur tales and in Troubador poetry—and even in classical and ancient myths, where heroes are often orphans who endure tremendous emotional struggles. We also find profoundly Romantic themes and myths in India, China, and other non-western cultural contexts.

11/12 We’ll be workshopping your essays over the next couple of days. Think REVISE AND EDIT!

8^th: VOCAB QUIZ TOMORROW. Turn the two lists assigned Friday into two paragraphs. I know there’s some information missing—do the best you can.

9^th: VOCAB QUIZ TOMORROW. Know the definition of ‘classical literature’ as we’ll be using the term in this class. Prepare to understand and explain in writing the basic history of the Trojan war.