Washington Irving was the first among American authors to acquire general acknowledgment throughout the world. He was the first genuine literary craftsman and the classic. It is Washington Irving who has the respect of effectively building up local writings in works which despite everything possess their newness, their delicacy, and their appeal. To the motivation of local subjects, Irving owed a lot of his sufficient achievement.
Irving appreciated visiting better places and an enormous piece of his life he spent in Europe, especially England, France, Germany, and Spain. He frequently expounded on the spots he visited. Washington Irving earned his notoriety for being a significant creator by making the short stories. Later authors gained from him and molded their short stories after his works. Irving was not egotistic about his works. Rather, he had this to state, “If the tales I have furnished should prove to be bad, they will at least be found short”.
Irving’s initial works set a model for amusing composition, which later turned into a significant piece of American writing. Moreover, Irving set up a short story as well-known literature for the United States. He likewise had a method of joining legends with sentimentalism in his artistic works. His commitments assisted with making America’s sentimental literary development.
A Short Biography of Washington Irving
Washington Irving is an American short-story writer, biographer, historian, essayist, and diplomat. He was born on 3rd April 1783. He was the son of William Irving Senior. He was from Scotland. His mother was Sarah. She was from England. His parents got married in 1761. He was an officer in the British navy. When they got married Sarah gave birth to eleven children but only eight children survived in those eleven. Washington Irving was the youngest and last of the eleven children.
His family was a family of merchants and they moved to Manhattan. His mother gave him the name of George Washington, an inspiration from President George Washington. He met him in New York when he was only six years old.
Washington Irving did not take any interest in studies. He was more inclined towards drama and adventure stories. He would regularly bunk his class and go for theatres in the evenings. In 1798, when he was 5 years old, America was struck by Yellow Fever. Washington`s parents sent him to stay in Tarrytown, New York with his friend James Kirke Paulding. Here he got familiar with the Dutch customs, ghost stories, and Sleepy Hollow, New York.
When he was 19 years old, he started writing letters to the Morning Chronicles of New York. He would also send commentaries on the theatre scene and the social gatherings of the city. For these letters, he chose a pseudonym of Jonathan Oldstyle. It became one of the many pseudonyms that he employed during his writing career. These letters made Washington Irving famous in the city. The publisher of the Chronicles got so impressed with his letters that he started sending these letters to his own daughter Theodosia. Charles Brockden also made a visit to New York for recruiting Washington Irving for a literary magazine.
He did not have good health so his brothers arranged a tour for him to visit the whole of Europe from 1084-1806. This gave Washington an enormous strength and skill for writing. He went into social gatherings and tourist attractions. He developed his conversational skills in those gatherings and became a demanded guest. In Rome, he met Washington Alliston. Washington became his friend and was convinced to become a painter.
He returned from his tour and decided to study law with Judge Josiah Ogden in Hoffman, New York. He was not a talented and interested student but he passed his bar examination in 1806. After his studies, he became socialized with a group of young men, and then he started a literary magazine Salmagundi in 1807.
He started this with his friend Kirke Paulding and his own brothers. For the magazine, he chose the pseudonyms of William Wizard and Launcelot Langstaff. This made Washington famous beyond the city as well. He named the city of New York in his article as Gotham. This article was published on 11th November 1807. This word was taken from Anglo-Saxon language meaning Goat`s Town.
Washington Irving completed his first book A History of New York from the beginning of the world to the end of the Dutch Dynasty by Diedrich Knickerbocker in 1809. This was the first major satire and contemporary politics. Before publishing this book, he started a campaign by placing advertisements for missing persons in newspapers.
He placed these advertisements to seek information in Diedrich Knickerbocker. Diedrick was a historian and he was missing from his hotel in New York. For this reason, he published a bill from the hotel that Diedrich did not return to pay the bills of the hotel. He then published his left manuscript.
On 6th December 1809, he published this history of New York with the pseudonym of Knickerbocker. This made people follow this history and it gained a good reputation. After publishing this history, Washington Irving got the job of editor for Analectic Magazine. In this magazine, he would write the biographies of naval heroes.
The war of 1812 came in which the British attacked Washington D.C. He was not writing about the war but the destruction was so huge that he had to write about it. The war brought financial issues for many of the merchant families. To encounter the financial issues of his family, he went to England in 1815. He remained for almost 17 years in Europe.
In Europe, he could not get a job and his family became bankrupt. He wrote in Europe to survive for his life. Here, he met Walter Scott and developed a lifelong friendship with him. in Birmingham, while staying with his sister he wrote Rip Van Winkle. His brother searched for a job in America but Washington decided to stay in England so that he could pursue his literary career.
In 1809, Washington his brother made a few prose writings and asked him to publish them as The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. This work was published and it gave him another wave of good reputation.
In England, he came across a problem that many of his sketches were reprinted without his name and permission. He requested Walter Scott to introduce him to a trusted publisher. He was then introduced to the London Powerhouse. The Sketch Book was printed in England and afterwards, he published all his works simultaneously in America and England to have the copyrights. For the next few years, Washington Irving enjoyed his life as a literary giant for his writings and would visit Paris and England.
In 1821, he was depressed by the death of his brother. He worked slowly. But he completed his next major work and submitted his manuscript to the publisher in March 1822. The book was published in June 1822 under the title of Bracebridge Hall, of The Humorists, A Medley.
This book had more than fifty loosely connected stories. This book was very well treated by readers and critics. He then moved to Germany to live in Dresden in 1822. In Dresden, he got attracted to Emily. She was the daughter of Mrs. Amelia Foster. In 1823, Emily was only 18 years old and she refused his marriage proposal. This depressed him and he moved to Paris.
In Paris, he started collaborating with John Howard Payne to translate French plays into English. Under the pseudonym of Geoffrey Crayon, he published a collection of short stories, Tales of a Traveller. This collection contained his very famous short story The Devil and Tom Walker. This book was not well received by the critics and he got depressed for his finances.
In 1826, he received a letter from Alexander Hill Everett. He was an American Minister to Spain. He asked Washington to join him in Madrid. He was moved by this offer and went for Span. Here he got full access to the library. Washington started several books at once. In 1828, he published ‘’A History of the Life’’ and ‘’Voyages of Christopher Columbus’’. This book got famous soon and 175 editions of this book were published. He published this book with his real name rather than a pseudonym. In 1829, he published ‘’Chronicle to the Conquest of Granada’’. In 1831, he published another work under the title of Voyages and Discoveries of the Companions of Columbus.
In 1829, he returned to England. In London, he joined American Minster Louis McLane to work with his staff. He was assigned the role of aide-de-camp by Minster Louis. He worked hard and came up with a trade agreement between the British West Indies and the United States. This deal was signed in August 1830.
In 1830, he was honored with a medal by the Royal Society of Literature. In 1831, Oxford awarded him an honorary degree of doctorate in Civil law. In 1831, he was asked to return to America to serve as Secretary of Treasure. He was asked by McLane to return. In 1832, he published Tales of Alhambra.
In 1833, he published A Tour on the Prairies. He published Astoria in 1836. In 1837, he published another work under the title of The Adventure of Captain Bonneville. It was based on the maps and materials of Benjamin Bonneville. He was elected in the National Academy of Design in 1842 as an Honorary Academician.
In 1842, he was appointed as a Minister to Spain by President John Taylor.
Washington Irving arrived in the United States in 1846. In 1846, he worked on Author`s Revised Edition for George Palmer Putnam. He published the biographies of Oliver Goldsmith and Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in 1848 and 1849 respectively. He produced Wolfert’s Roost in 1855. He then published five volumes of the biography of President George Washington between 1855 and 1859.
On 28th November 1859, at the age of 76, he died of a heart attack in his own house. His last words were “Well, I must arrange my pillows for another night. When will this end? He was buried on 1st December in Sleepy Hollow cemetery.
Washington Irving’s Writing Style
Imagery and Symbolism
The two most important things in his writing style are the use of imagery and symbolism. Washington Irving utilizes imagery since he needs to show his readers the issues he has with the world. He has used imagery and symbolism is to urge the readers to be imaginative and think about various perspectives for the text. Washington Irving utilizes symbolism so his readers can perceive what Irving is envisioning with his words. Symbolism and imagery are the two primary things that make Washington Irving’s composing styles so great and novel. One can see imagery and symbolism in the story “Rip Van Winkle”.
Irving’s employment of symbolism identifies with what he found, in his real life. When Irving was full of youth his parents made him move to Tarrytown, New York. It was on the grounds that there was an awful breakout of yellow fever in his old neighborhood. This was the place he got to experience superb perspectives on the Catskill Mountains.
Irving portrays the perspectives on the Catskill Mountains in his works and he says, “every change of season, every change of weather, indeed, every hour of the day, produces some change in the magical hues and shapes of these mountains…. they are clothed in blue and purple and print their bold outlines on the clear evening sky.” This depiction enables the readers to picture the mountain as far as they could tell as they read.
Comical Tone
Irving`s tone in his short stories identifies with his comical inclination. Irving likes to joke a little since authors in those days were not kidding about everything. That is the reason Irving decided to compose anecdotal short stories. In “Rip Van Winkle”, Irving utilizes stodgy language, advanced words, and incongruity to ridicule his characters. In the story Irving states that a turbulent person’s spouse may in some regard be viewed as a middle of the road favoring; and provided that this is true, Rip Van Winkle was threefold honored. This sort of statement shows the tone of Irving’s comical inclination and mockery.
Romanticism in his Writing
American romantics have customarily tried to move out of time into space. Time implies history, and history signifies hints of men and society, which is decisively what intrigued and invigorated Irving. Rip Van Winkle is a sentimental book since it manages the beautiful past, a subject that Irving was abundantly keen on. Washington Irving composed in a romantic style.
His romanticism was mixed with slight touches of gothic elements and this blend attracted his readers to his works. The story Rip Van Winkles happens when the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783) settled despite everything being administered by the British Crown, by George III. He governed in Britain from 1760-1801. Blankenship makes reference that Irving looked for the sentimental in the distant and quiet in the past and not in the normal subjects of regular daily existence or in hot tumult for another request for things.
Moreover, Hancock keeps up that Irving’s strength was in the antiquated: the fantasy and legend of what had gone previously, not in what was to come. So this use of gothic, legend, and myth with the mixed experience of daily life makes Washington the writer of sentiments and romantic elements.
Narrative Style and Simple Prose
Irving’s style mixes simple writing, a real tone, and a questionable storyteller to make a story that is among truth and fiction. In Rip Van Winkle, Irving utilizes the storyteller, Geoffrey Crayon, to share the account of Rip Van Winkle. However, Irving includes another layer with the presentation of the antiquarian Diedrich Knickerbocker. Knickerbocker is one more level of partition from Rip Van Winkle, who purportedly encountered the occasions.
Irving utilizes this isolated story style in his other short stories inside The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. The history and real truth of Rip Van Winkle is hazy, despite the fact that it is credited to obviously reasonable sources. The account goes about as a multi-sourced story, requesting that readers accept its fact since it has numerous creators.
These layers of portrayal place the focal story into an edge. Rip’s story starts with a citation and an extract clarifying Diedrich Knickerbocker’s discoveries. It closes with an excerpt about Native American legend and a postscript by Diedrich Knickerbocker. This confining diminishes the unwavering quality of the account. Diedrich Knickerbocker’s passages should add truth and foundation to Rip’s story.
The sensational citation gives the story a false gallant starting. This sensationalizes Irving’s basic composition and the occasionally silly story of Rip Van Winkle. The option of the Native American legend includes an authentic and remarkably American component. Rip Van Winkle, nonetheless, overlooks the effects of imperialism and the American Revolution on Native Americans.
Irving’s straightforward writing is an enormous factor in his story style. Rip’s supernatural excursion is introduced genuinely. This clear composing permits the story to be open to most readers. It causes readers to get a handle on the odd and possibly troublesome pieces of the story. Irving’s account style in general joins craziness with reality.
For instance, Rip meanders into the woodland and experiences mystical spirits. These spirits are seriously playing ninepins, a bowling-style game. The seriousness of the men, who are playing a pleasurable game and drinking lager, confounds Rip Van Winkle. Their carefree activities don’t coordinate their quietness or their lifeless faces, giving them a brutal quality.
Themes
Washington Irving’s short stories look at different sorts of oppressive forces. It includes the oppression of marriage, the oppression of everyday duties, and the more strict oppression of King George III of Britain over his American subjects. His stories offer different conversation starters about how we can keep up our opportunity in the face of these oppressive regimes. By augmentation, the stories likewise prompt us to think about what opportunity from oppression implies, what a despot truly is. He also deals with how America and its residents are particularly in need of answers to these inquiries.
His stories are framed stories, wherein an anecdotal narrator is said to have gathered it and in this manner sets up the story’s status as a believable authentic record. However, we have the motivation to question its status. For example, Knickerbocker doesn’t look into utilizing chronicled writings. He rather gathers his accounts directly from the mouths of Dutch families.
His historical perspective comprises oral narrating. Also, the story incorporates clearly fanciful and supernatural figures, the peculiar creatures that frequent the Catskill Mountains. The story opens with a sonnet about truth; however, in the primary passage, Knickerbocker takes note of the supernatural excellence of the Catskills. There is the prompt recommendation that truth isn’t equivalent to authentic certainty.
His stories recognize labor work and beneficial work which is gainful. For example, Rip is the most evident case of somebody who works without benefit. He is glad to help in nurseries and ranches that are not his own. He will chase squirrels or fish throughout the day, regardless of whether he realizes he will have little to demonstrate for it. Despite the fact that he is occupied, he isn’t profitable.
Also, Derrick Van Bummel, the exceptionally astute schoolmaster who has sincere conversations about long outdated papers with others at the old motel, is strikingly involving himself with an at last unessential exercise. Knickerbocker himself is likewise liable to work without profitability. He sweats over his historical records however they are accepted by most to be fundamentally immaterial.
