The Age of Romanticism in American Literature

The Age of Romanticism was a short yet meaningful period in American literature. American literature developed in dramatic ways during this age. Moving away from their European roots American writers started composing more and more articles unique to American culture. For the next two decades, American writers such as Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Walt Whitman, Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, produced scores of essays, nonfiction narratives, poems, short stories, and novels that …

…produced oodles of fiction and lighthearted stories. The writing in America had undergone a complete transformation. By rejecting European literature America had created its own style. America fashioned a style unique to America that she could be proud of. Instead of starting from scratch, America had the chance to interweave and spin their style from their heritage. This style was a rebellion of what America had not been able to escape from since colonial times.