Hawthorne, Romanticism, The Scarlet Letter, and Figurative Language Nathaniel Hawthorne Born in Salem, MA in 1804 Descendant of early Puritan settlers, including Judge Hathorne of Witch Trial infamy Ashamed of family name, so changed spelling to Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne Puritan heritage informed and haunted all of his writing Known for short stories and novels First novel: Fanshawe Other novels: The House of the Seven Gables, The Bilthedale Romance, and The Marble Faun Nathaniel Hawthorne Worked in the Boston Custom House to support writing Good friends with other American Romantics and Transcendentalists: Ralph Waldo Emerson, Herman Melville, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Married Sophia Peabody in 1846 Died in 1864 The American Romantics Stems from a break from the lack of fantastical and creative artistry of the Puritans Reflects the still innocent, pre-Civil War United States Prominent Romantics: Hawthorne, Edgar Allan Poe, Herman Melville, Washington Irving, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau The American Romantics Characteristics of Romantic work: Focus on a love of nature Focus on the individual Focus on truth as a universal concept Imaginative, fantastical settings The American Romantics Highly symbolic Features elements of the supernatural Favors emotion over intellect Development of national pride The Scarlet Letter First published in 1850 Considered Hawthorne’s strongest longer work Combines his experience in the Custom House with his Puritan heritage The Scarlet Letter Major Themes: Appearance vs. Reality Individual vs. Society Quest of Individual Expression Good vs. Evil; dark vs. light Nature vs. Civilization Need for human connection Figurative Language Hawthorne’s main device for communicating his message in The Scarlet Letter is figurative language Figurative language connects any object or character to a symbolic meaning through simile, metaphor, allusion, or personification. Figurative Language Symbol An image, thought, object, person, or action that represents something else Simile A comparison of two objects using like or as: My love is like a red, red rose Her smile was as big as a clown’s Figurative Language Metaphor A comparison of two objects stating one object is the other: The raindrops are pearls on a string. Figurative Language Allusion A reference to another literary work, historical event or culture meant to bring symbolic meaning to the text In The Scarlet Letter, many of the allusions are Biblical or references to events during the height of the Puritans’ influence in New England Figurative Language Personification Giving an inanimate object characteristics of the living; giving an inhuman object human characteristics The grain waved in the wind, as though it were the throng of a crowd, cheering for their football team
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