Romanticism Washington Irvin
Romanticism - Washington IrvinRomanticism is a literary and artistic movement of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that placed value on emotion or imagination over reason, on the imagination over society. Some sources say Romanticism started in reaction to neo-classicism, or the Enlightenment. The most important result of romanticism was the emphasis laid upon the supernatural. Some writers during this time period were Mary Shelley with Frankenstein, Edgar Allen Poe with various poems and selections, such as The Raven, The TellTale Heart, and The Pit and The Pendulum. One person who had a great effect on the Romantic era was Washington Irving. Some called Irving the first real American writer.
Washington Irving was born April 3, 1783, in New York City. He was the eleventh child of Sarah William Irving. His father was a strict man, a merchant and deacon in the Presbyterian Church. He started school at the age of four, but he never took it seriously. Even when he was older, he did not really care for school. He did not impress any of his teachers as outstanding. It was out of school where his real interests developed. His interests were more into reading books of adventure and travel. He was very good at writing, though. He loved the theater. His fascination with the arts grew and was encouraged by one of her sister's boyfriends (Myers 64). His interests in the arts and in the theater were obvious in his works.
Irving did not wish to go to college. Though he had great interests in the theater and the arts, his father expected each of his sons to support himself, so Washington decided to be an apprentice in a law office. His employer was Ogden Hoffman and Irving fell in love with his daughter. He also wrote articles for his brother's paper, the Morning Chronicle. He signed...
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