During the nineteenth century, two paralleling movements, Romanticism and Gothicism, intrigued many authors, leading them to use these styles in their works. An author named, Washington Irving, reflected both of these movements in his writing with a strong focus on the Romantic style. “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “Rip Van Winkle” were two of his most famous works, which portrayed the romantic ideas of this period. The description of the beauty of the natural world and a belief in the goodness of humanity were key romantic themes that make up large elements of both stories.
Through the main figurative elements of Figurative Language, Point of View and Imagery, Washington Irving portrays the Romantic style in his pair of works. element present in Romantic writing, but one of the largest elements used by Washington Irving. Both stories use this element as a descriptive method that became stylistically similar for Irving’s stories. In his first piece, “Rip Van Winkle”, Irving uses Figurative Language to add character to the setting and further describe its appearance to the reader, following the common Romantic pattern.
He describes, “a mountain stream [that] was ow foaming down it, leaping from rock to rock, and filling the glen with babbling murmurs” (Irving, “Rip Van Winkle, 19). Irving personifies the stream as a child in this instance, describing the stream to have human qualities that are typical of young children. In addition, he uses the sensory details of hearing to allow the reader to feel as if they were in the setting. Because a river cannot jump between rocks, or speak like a human, the In general, Figurative Language is a large element of personification allows the author to use the connection between the two to make a happy mood.
Based upon the positive connotation associated with children, readers look favorably and warmly upon the small stream. Another variation of this in Irving’s writing is shown in his story, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”, the author describes a “spring of the softest and sweetest water, in a little well formed of a barrel... [That] then stole sparkling away through the grass, to a neighboring brook, that babbled along among the Alders and Dwarf willows” (Irving, 1).
In addition to being an example of figurative language, Irving uses small instances of alliteration to urther color his writing, which helps the reader notice the Figurative language that is being used. Similarly to the previous personification, Irving personifies the stream as a person, however uses hyperboles in the beginning of the sentence, exaggerating the beauty of the stream to make it almost appear magical. Both stories use Figurative Language in multiple instances to describe the setting, as well as create the same positive mood to the same effect.
This allows for the reader to visualize the setting through descriptions that do not detract from the meaning of the story. Description with the use of Figurative language creates a more vivid story with descriptions that allow the audience to see the setting and characters. Narration in the third person point of view describes the story from the onlookers perspective, which allows the author to control the story and figurative elements from an onlooker’s perspective. This allows for a technique of elevated language that differs from the vernacular used in simple conversation.
In both of his stories, Irving uses the omniscient point of view, which allows him to explain the characters in greater detail, for the understanding of the audience. Also, commentary can be provided by the author to mention details that present information needed for the comprehension of the stories. An example of the effect of this is in Irving’s story “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” where he describes “an old farmer who had been down to New York on a visit several years after, and from whom this account of the ghostly adventure was received… that Ichabod Crane… ad left the neighborhood partly through fear” (Irving, 32).
Irving is able to describe the events in a shorter period of writing which is crucial for a short story. By being able o speak to the reader, Irving shows the context for the main plot of the story, in addition to round characters that are fully developed. The author is able to present the reader with a ‘bird’s eye view’ of the characters. In his second story, “Rip Van Winkle”, Washington Irving describes how “Poor Rip was last reduced to almost despair; and his only alternative, to escape from the labor” (13).
In this feature, the author had the ability to present the reader with understanding, and detail of how the character would have felt, and looked based upon his emotions. The author is quickly able to describe how the individual is eeling without needing to spend a section of the piece showing how the reader looked or felt. In both cases, Irving uses the same attempt to describe his stories to the audience. Using the Third Person Point of view, Washington Irving has the ability to give the reader a large amount of descriptive information by directly speaking to the readers.
If the previous elements, Irving is able to use Imagery to include the colorful themes of the Romantic period. Washington Irving used the natural world as the setting for many of his compositions, including the two that brought him such fame. Both short stories have vibrant descriptions that also allow the reader to visualize the setting of the worlds created in the stories. The inclusion of the beauty of the natural surroundings was used to present the setting, in addition to developing a mood or tone of the piece.
Irving uses Imagery to describe the beauty of the surroundings before they took a sinister appearance in the “Legend of Sleepy Hollow” where he speaks to the audience in a conversational dialogue. Irving uses the description: “a fine autumnal day; the sky was clear and serene, and nature wore that rich and golden livery which we always In combination with both associate with the idea of abundance. The forests had put on their sober brown and yellow, while some trees of the tenderer kind had been nipped by the frosts into brilliant dyes of orange, purple, and scarlet. (“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, 9).
The images that are being created show the beauty of a seasonal forest, which allows the reader to see the year as it changes, and the surroundings of the forest that are described here. This allows for a more personal connection to the story with the reader, because they feel as if they are standing among the argins of the page, seeing the story unfold. This feeling has a large influence on the mood as well, because a change throughout the story is the effect of the descriptive imagery.
Irving is able to control the theme and mood by altering what the reader sees while they are reading. Irving engages his readers through a description of the weather from the beginning of “Rip Van Winkle”, show a country, where the mountains: “are clothed in blue and purple, and print their bold outlines on the clear evening sky; but sometimes, when the rest of the landscape is cloudless, they will gather a hood of gray apors about their summits, which, in the last rays of the setting sun, will glow and light up like a crown of glory” (7-8).
Both examples set a comfortable, relaxed mood upon the reader because it shows the natural beauty of the surroundings. Which allows Irving to create contrast with these ideas, if the surroundings turn dark and sinister, because it would signal to the reader a shift in the setting. Washington Irving uses Imagery to make his descriptions eloquent and expressive. his two compositions, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”, and “Rip Van Winkle”, Washington Irving uses the similar features of Figurative Language, Point of View, and Imagery to creates colorful Romantic stories.
Similar techniques of Figurative Language, such as Personification were typical of both stories. His style of omniscient point of view allowed for descriptions of the story that included the natural surroundings in Irving’s stories. His writings were created during the period of writing where strong writing allowed for the unique style with flourishing description. The Romantic period was embodied in the Romantic period writing during the 19th century, which became one of the largest influences on modern day storytelling.
