Dark Romanticism

TASK 1
I definitely fall on the transcendentalist side out of that and the dark romantics. It’s ridiculous what the dark romantics believed in my opinion. God is great and forgiving and accepting and loving. Due to that fact right there, why would he create people born evil? Why would he create a world of his own in which he would place “evil”, or “un-pure” people? To tell you the truth, if you used that logic, would you then come to believe that god is bad? If he’s PURPOSEFULLY putting all of these people that do bad things to harm someone in one way or another, wouldn’t believe that the creator is bad? It contradicts itself frontwards and backwards, but hey, who asked me? Although this is true, after doing this project, I’ve realized that the dark romantics were a whole lot more realistic with their beliefs. There is NO ONE in the world who is totally good and pure

TASK 2
I read it .

TASK 3
So this is an example of dark romanticism because they believed that the transcendentalists were crazy for thinking that everyone was pure and good. This story is kind of mocking or making fun of transcendentalists because transcendentalists, in a dark romantic’s mind, are trying to ignore the fact that there is evil. By having this prince lock everyone in his castle and party because of this disease or whatever, they are saying that the prince and his people are just going to try and ignore the disease and run away and have a party.
The real mockery in this is that by the prince and his people locking themselves in his castle, they also locked in the evil. This is the part of the transcendentalists that the romantics didn’t like the most. They are just saying that you’re trying to ignore it, but that the evil was catch up with you later. In the story, it says, “But now there were 12 strokes to be sounded by the bell of the clock; and thus it happened, perhaps that more of though crept, with more time, into the meditations of the thoughtful among those who reveled”, and then after a few non needed sentences, it states, “there were many individuals in the crowd who had found leisure to become aware of the presence of a masked figure which had arrested the attention of no single individual before”. THEN, after a lot more nonsense, it says, “his vesture, clothes, were dabbed in blood”. So anyways after all of this, the transcendentalists were totally oblivious to the fact that this thing in blood was walking around for HOURS. It wasn’t even until 12 that they realized that he was there. They didn’t think that the evil or disease would find them there.
This piece, to me, was a little bit long in the beginning with all of the details and explaining that I assume Poe felt necessary. Regardless of that factor, he definitely got his point across.

TASK 5

So this poem was actually a bit depressing to me in the way of hopelessness and depression. Poe is using a raven to symbolize his depression, the sadness, the death, the solemn attitude he feels, or whatever. He’s talking to this “raven” and is asking him all of these questions with responses that have the continuity as the way he’s feeling inside at the moment (go figure!). He keeps on getting the “nevermore” answer to the raven’s name, which to me means that this is a non detailed, non complicated thing. It’s like the raven is there, nameless, ageless, colorless, and he’s just there as blatantly as his depression. Finally through all of the other questions that Poe asks this so called raven, the last one is the most meaningful. “And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sittingOn the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreamingAnd the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadows on the floor;And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floorShall be lifted--nevermore!” He’s saying that this depression, this raven, is making this big shadow that he’s going to live in for the rest of his life, which will go away “nevermore”.
When he says, “But the Raven still beguiling all my sad soul into smiling, straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird and bust and door; then, upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore-- what this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore meant in croaking "Nevermore”, he’s sounding more insecure that mad, which goes to show that his fury and frustration with the “raven” is overpowered by his weak and sad heart. He’s asking all of these questions, but he already knows the answer somewhere in the back of his head. When he says in that last line “meant in croaking nevermore”, he’s already got an idea, but he keeps on asking questions because he’s scared. He doesn’t want this thing to be looking over him and always in his mind for the rest of his life.
This is poem is definitely anti-transcendentalist because of the specific things having to do with your intuition that it’s talking about. He’s saying that you’re not going to be happy all the time because god is NOT the person in control of your intuition and how you feel. He’s saying that you are going to feel this sadness and depression in your heart and soul regardless of god, and that it’s natural to feel like this. Going and being out with nature is not a cure for this kind of depression and hurt. The transcendentalists believed that all people were 100% good and genuine, but the dark romantics, like Poe, knew better. They knew better because they felt this not good and, in a way, evil feeling. That is what is expressed in the poem.