Hawthorne, Brown and Poe Essay

The mediaeval component of the American amative Period of 1800-1860 produced several eerie and gothic works by talented literary minds. Three such pieces, The tell-tale heart, The Birthmark, and Wieland were written 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 romanticist theme of reacting against reason. These authors also adhered further to the Romantic notion of elevating the human spirit as persons in need not of repurchase but of being aroused to a unfeignedr relationship with the self.Thesis The main characters of each story defy the conventions of the time through gothic settings, anti-religious demonstrations and revolutionary mental insights that lead to a better understanding 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 Amer ican Romantic Period3. Strong psychological state of female 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 workings of the unsound mind3. Takes the reader into uncharted territory4. bank clerk an exercise in self-knowledge5. Death of a beautiful womanC. The Birthmark by Nathaniel Hawthorne1. Death of a beautiful woman2. Gothic tradition of tail 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, demonstrate 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 taste to bring humans into such contact with the self so that elevation and improvement of the mind and spirit can come about through a thorough knowledge of the self and its functions.