The year 1819 produced some of the greatest literary works known today, including those written by Lord Byron, John Keats, and Percy Shelley. Although these literary experts wrote great works of literature or poetry, few have managed to survive the test of time. Some works, however, such as Washington Irving's "Rip Van Winkle", continue to thrive for generations to come due to its uncanny ability to reflect the actions of characters and depict how they have the potential to reflect the times in which these works are been written. Irving uses the main character, Rip, to criticize the idea that older generations age and therefore become obsolete to new lifestyles. Cases like that of “Rip Van Winkle” and his actions described in Irving's tale could also be brought into modern times, contributing to the immortality of these works. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Irving's short story "Rip Van Winkle" follows a man aptly named Rip through his twenty-year slumber in a new world. As the story begins, Irving is already at work describing the kind of man that not only Rip is, but also the kind of man he represents. Irving paints a picture of Rip as rather lazy, but content in life, writing that Rip “was ready to mind anyone's business but his own; but as for carrying out family duties and keeping his farm in order, he found it impossible.” Essentially, Rip isn't the kind of man who works on his own land, but he's happy to volunteer to do anything for any of his neighbors in town. Irving also illustrates the village where Rip lives, reflecting the attitude Irving suggests this generation has. As Irving says, the village was "built of small yellow bricks from Holland, with latticed windows and gabled facades... (which, truth be told, was sadly worn by time and weather)." With this description, Irving insinuates that this older generation works hard to support themselves, as seen with Rip working on his neighbors' farms, but doesn't seem to put much effort into anything else, such as their own homes for generations to come. In a way, this older generation is very similar to the authors and poets of the time writing in the present, such as Byron writing mock epics to comment on the rumors of the Incest League or, although he is certainly less well known, Polidori writing "Vampyre"" to highlight the mistreatment he received from Lord Byron. Lloyd Daigrepont's article "Rip Van Winkle and the Gnostic View of History" also explains that Rip is "near and near nature", a common idea of ​​poetry in this period of the Romantic era. Romantic poets were known to be in touch with nature and often spoke of it in their works, using themes of simplicity and naturalness in the poem. Irving includes this description of Rip which Daigrepont highlights to tie together the tale and the common idea of ​​the time. Interestingly, while having qualities of the romantic period, Rip also seems to be the opposite of society as everyone in the village seems to work hard to make amends; the fields, Rip is content simply to sleep i days passed. While the short story explains that this is a way for Rip to distance himself from his wife, Irving may be pointing to the idea that older generations were solely focused on today rather than what the future held. People of this time were much more focused on what was happening at the time, paying little attention to anything that might.