Hawthorne, Brown and Poe Essay

The gothic component of the American Romantic Period of 1800-1860 produced several eerie and gothic works by talented literary minds. Three such pieces, The tell-tale spunk, The Birthmark, and Wieland were compose by Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Charles Brockden Brown. These works of fiction delve into the minds of seemingly unstable protagonists, and in so doing participated in the general Romantic theme of reacting against reason. These authors also adhered supercharge to the Romantic notion of elevating the human spirit as persons in neediness not of salvation but of being aroused to a truer consanguinity with the self.Thesis The main characters of each story defy the conventions of the time by gothic settings, anti-religious demonstrations and revolutionary psychological insights that lead to a better judgment of the dark side of human capabilities.A. Wieland by Charles Brockden Brown1. Wrote extensively on an array of topics2. Ushered in the ideas of the Am erican Romantic Period3. Strong psychological state of fe potent character4. Weak psychological state of male characters5. External force having the power to awaken his true characterB. The tell-tale heart by Edgar Allan Poe1. Psychologically challenged character2. More insight into the inner kit and boodle of the unsound mind3. Takes the reader into uncharted territory4. Narrator an purpose in self- noesis5. Death of a beautiful womanC. The Birthmark by Nathaniel Hawthorne1. Death of a beautiful woman2. Gothic tradition of evil and mystery3. Puritanical hypocrisy4. Salvation through self knowledgeConclusion The three authors Brown, Poe, and Hawthorne, along with their works Wieland, The tell-tale heart, and The Birthmark, examine several aspects of the American Romantic Period in which they were written. They display the gothic preoccupation with the ghostly and/or mysterious qualities of the unknown. They also delve into the psychological mysteries of the mind and demonstrate the moral weaknesses of humans. Finally, they seek to bring humans into such contact with the self so that elevation and improvement of the mind and spirit can go about through a thorough knowledge of the self and its functions.