The American Romantic Period is clearly represented in the literature of Washington Irving's "The Devil and Tom Walker." The rural setting displayed in this story shows how the piece can be distinctively placed into American Romantic literature. Tom Walker and his wife lived in a forlorn-looking house that stood alone and had an air of starvation. This shows that Irving had placed a rural setting in the story. Irving then goes on to say that Tom and his wife had very non-social attitudes and they seemed to prefer solitude. The house and its inmates had altogether a bad name. This statement, made by Irving, not only reinforces the rural setting, but shows the great dissent of the characters as in calling Tom and his wife inmates in their own house. No one ventured, however, to interfere between them. The lonely wayfarer shrunk within himself at the horrid clamor...