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Romanticism In Washington Irving's Rip Van Winkle

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At the time when Washington Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle” was written, a transition was occurring in the literary landscape of the post-revolutionary United States, from the rational and mimicking nature of the enlightenment to the more creative and fantastical style of romanticism, which is exemplified in Irving’s story by Rip’s journey from the civilized world of his home town into the wilderness of the Kaatskills. In “Rip Van Winkle,” the titular main character dislikes work, and abhors the idea of being productive, and in order to “escape” the “labour and clamour,” (452) of his busy home, as well as his nagging wife, he walks aimlessly into the Kaatskill forests. He brings his hunting rifle and his dog, named Wolf, whom he views as a “fellow …show more content…
As Rip helps the stranger that he meets with his load of liquor, he “marvel(s) greatly what could be the object of carrying a keg of liquor up this wild mountain” (453), but concedes that there is a beauty to not knowing, and “something strange and incomprehensible about the unknown, that inspired awe and checked familiarity” (453). During the enlightenment period, the emphasis in literature was not on the creativity and storytelling ability of the author, rather it was on the ideas put forth by the early Roman and Greek authors. This literary trend revolved heavily around the idea of emulation, and was characterized by the following of classical rules, such as order, symmetry, unity, and harmony. The romantic period focused more heavily on creativity and a lack of rules, which is what Rip is trying to transition into in this story. Rip finds something very attractive in “the unknown,” and finds the rules and responsibilities of his home life to be restricting, an idea which caused many romanticism writers, such as Irving himself, to latch onto the new trend of romanticism. Rip has a desire for the “strange and incomprehensible” (453), the same desire that affected many

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