How Did The American Revolution Affected Romantic Literature?

792 Words4 Pages
The American Revolution and the French Revolution of 1789 had a great impact on literature of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. This impact can be seen throughout Romantic literature but especially in the area of new subjects. Before the 19th century authors tended to write about the aristocratic class. There was nothing written for or about the common people. There are three areas in which the discussion will focus upon in the area of new subjects. The first area will focus on the children, the second will be women, and the third will be the new attitude towards God. The Romantic period strongly emphasized the lives of children. Authors writing at that time did not just look at children playing outside but within real life situations.…show more content…
These authors also made women more human. Women, not only did they cook and clean but also they even did other things. The third area to look at when addressing new subjects is God. There were many writings that come to mind when discussing God as a new subject we between them distinguish two stories . The first is the "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" by Samuel Colleridge. In this short story we see a man on a journey. His journey starts not at the beginning of the trip to the South Pole, but it begins when he kills a bird. He shoots it with a crossbow. The symbolism behind the crossbow may mean he killed Jesus. Then when He goes through all the pains and anguish, he is forgiven for killing one of God's creatures. The next story that comes to expresses God in the area of new subjects is Frankenstein by Mary Shelly. This novel shows God in a very different light. Victor is shown as a God because he has created a creature outside of his own blood. Victor is faced with a choice whether or not to destroy or create a new creature. The Frankenstein book looked at the idea of God in a new fashion. Shelly tries to show us that our obsessions draw great light upon

More about How Did The American Revolution Affected Romantic Literature?

Open Document