Washington irving (1783-1859)

Washington Irving was as much a writer of the age of Reason as of Romanticism. He never surrendered his cheerful criticism and his romance is at the same time a satirical pamphlet. Irving was the first great prose stylist. He introduced Romanti­cism as a literary trend in America pointing out the way for Coop­er and later Longfellow. He was the first American writer rec­ognized in Europe.

Washington Irving was born in New York in 1783. His father was a prosperous merchant who had come to America from Scotland. Washington, the youngest of eleven children, being sickly in childhood, was not sent to school. His mother had him educated at home. He was well read in Chaucer and Spenser and the 18th-century English literature. So, amid New-World surroundings he developed a natural talent for writing in old World ways.

Washington was fond of wandering around the countryside. On the outskirts of his native city he made familiar with places famous in history and legends. Tales of voyages became his passion and he would spend hours at the port watching departing ships with longing eyes.

At fifteen, he tried his hand in writing. Some little satires on New York life were even printed in his brother's magazine. Writ­ing became his hobby, but his father wanted him to be a lawyer, and at seventeen he was sent to studying law. In 1804, a journey to Europe undertaken for the sake of his health, stimulated his interest in foreign culture. In London, at the library of the British Museum, he turned over worm-eaten volumes, reading whatever pleased him. In Paris, he studied science at the university. Later he also visited Sweden, Holland and Italy.

First Period of Writing

After two years of traveling, Washington Irving returned to the United States. Jointly with some friends he started a paper entitled "Salmagundi" or "The Whim-Whams and Opinions of Launcelot Langstaff". The very title of the paper showed it to be a humorous periodical published by the authors just for fun. Irving wrote on topics of modern America in the style of the English 18th-century essay. The paper was popular for its good humour. "We despise trouble as we do everything that is low and mean," the authors wrote in their first editorial, and the paper did not stand aloof of politics.

Another literary undertaking by Irving was his humorous his­tory of New York. It became an American classic. In the autumn of 1809 an announcement appeared in the paper "The Evening Post" that a small lively-looking old gentleman who had been lodging in a hotel in New York, went out one morning and was never heard of again. This old gentleman, whose name was Diedrich Knickerbocker, had been very curious about everything that had been going on in town. The announcement about the disappearance of Knickerbocker was a trick to awaken the interest of the public. It aroused excitement. When the history appeared, it produced a sensation. It was a parody on serious history as published at the time. The publication of this book was the first step on the road of American Romanticism. But unlike English Romantic literature, we do not find anything sentimental in it. Humour and irony are hidden behind the seri­ous tone of the writer. The story gives records of the golden reign of Wouter Van Twiller, Governor of New York in the 17th century. The policies of American leaders of Irving's time were presented as ancient history of bygone days, but the satirical resemblance of the personages described in the book to living men was clear:

Thus we see that the first period of Irving's writings was hu­morous and satirical.

In spite of his first successes Irving wrote very little during the following ten years. He served as clerk at a law-court, and he was also a partner in his father's firm. The firm was on the verge of bankruptcy. When family responsibilities were thrown upon him, Irving took to writing, in which he already had experience.