Different Colors Of Darkness By Nathaniel Hawthorne And...

Callie Shipley Mrs. Carroll Literature 2326 5 October 2014 Different Hues of Darkness At first glance, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allen Poe may appear as though they are two birds of a feather. Their stories are often dark and dismal, and an enduring despair runs through the tales as a common thread. However, their inspirations originate from opposite ends of the spectrum. Hawthorne’s works are the offspring of legalistic Puritan values and beliefs; on the other hand, Poe’s stories reflect godlessness. While the characters of both authors often face a grim destination, the writers show through their unique styles that the path to hopelessness can take many different routes. These contrasting motivations first surface in the authors’ tones. Hawthorne’s solemn words hearken to the Puritan mantra of stringent moral standards and the belief of a wicked world. In â€Å"Young Goodman Brown,† the protagonist learns about the evil concealed in the hearts of people he reveres. In the same way Brown’s exposure robs him of hope and joy, Hawthorne’s themes of evil’s pervasiveness rob his stories of optimism. His disheartening opinion of humanity’s state echoes Puritan beliefs, and because of the prevalence of this belief in his stories, his tales are melancholy by necessity. In contrast to the stern Puritan perspective, Poe’s tone most resembles Gothic Romanticism. Eerie settings such as the abbey in â€Å"Ligeia† exemplify this melancholy style. Poe describes the abbey as having â€Å"gloomy andShow MoreRelatedDark Romanticism By Edgar Allen Poe1625 Words   |  7 PagesOne of the biggest literary of all times was known as dark romanticism. This kind of literature comes from the darkness inside of a person. Many people who like this style are know to be obsessed with gothic nature. Dark Romanticism is also know to come from darkness in the human soul, original sin, and a dark outlook on society. Dark Romanticism is the complete opposite of romanticism. According to what is dark romanticism â€Å" Dark Romanticism is. A sort of genre threat combines traditional love objectsRead MoreDark Romanticism As A Literary Genre Essay2034 Words   |  9 Pagesentities and over all meanings in dark romanticism. Rather than using bright colors their symbols are used in a dark perspective, for example a black rose may symbolize evil or death. Many things can be used as symbols to represent something else, it also helps to enforce a particular theme in the story.(study.com/academy/) Dark Romantic work authors tended to live in a dark world.These authors believed that the darkness in the world is not only an internal nature but they also see the external worldRead MoreAnalysis Of A Rose For Emily By William Faulkner1407 Words   |  6 PagesGoodman Brown, Nathaniel Hawthorne, uses significant symbolism to portray the protagonist’s struggle as a once religious resident of Salem Village, who abandon’s his beliefs, and chooses the road to damnation. His wife Faith’s name is symbolic of the Christian values he once honored and the conflict he now feels as he tells the figure in the forest, â€Å"Faith kept me back awhile† (Hawthorne 2). Rather than red ribbons on Faith’s cap, that would symbolize Brown’s love for his new wife, Hawthorne uses the