HONORS American Lit 111LA

William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878) (early romantics)

-"Thanatopsis," which was published in 1817, was the melancholy and meditative writing of this 16-year-old -To a Waterfowl -an American romantic poet, journalist, and long-time editor of the New York Evening Post -A descendant of early Puritan immigrants

extended metaphor

-A comparison between two unlike things that continues throughout a series of sentences in a paragraph or lines in a poem -occurring frequently in or throughout a work

Conceit

-A fanciful expression -usually in the form of an extended metaphor -also in the form of a surprising analogy between seemingly dissimilar objects -clever

Apostrophe

-A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction -ex: liberty or love

Trochee

-A metrical foot consisting of one accented syllable followed by one unaccented syllable

Sermon (Colonial)

-A speech intended to provide religious instruction -a speech given as instruction in religion or morals

Aphorism

-A terse statement of known authorship which expresses a general truth or a moral principle -A brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life

Thomas Paine (1737-1809) (revolutionary)

-American Revolutionary leader and pamphleteer (born in England) who supported the American colonist's fight for independence and supported the French Revolution -wrote common sense and The American Crisis

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) (early romantics)

-American poet that was influenced somewhat by the transcendentalism occurring at the time -important in building the status of American literature -The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls -most popular American poet in the 19th century, known for such works as The Song of Hiawatha (1855) and "Paul Revere's Ride" (1863) -an abolitionist who used his poetry, and his money, to further the cause of the anti-slavery movement in the mid-nineteenth century

Washington Irving (1783-1859) (early romantics)

-American writer remembered for the stories "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," contained in The Sketch Book (1819-1820)

Folk Tale

-An account, legend, or story originating in popular culture -typically passed on by word of mouth through generations

To My Dear and Loving Husband (colonial)

-Anne Bradstreet -about married love between a man and wife -proposes that such love has a powerful effect on the two people involved: as the speaker announces in the first line, they become "one" -suggests that their love is pure and unified. -Let us continue to love one another so that we can reach heaven -primary subject of this poem is love, which is a powerful and binding force that can make two people into one -important theme is conjugal love, which in this poem is a perfect union between the speaker and her husband -other two themes of death and religion are merged into love in this poem

Verses Upon the Burning of Our House (colonial)

-Anne Bradstreet -internal struggle between one's love of people and things on Earth and one's service to God -When Bradstreet's narrator is talking to her heart, she is really talking to the part of herself that takes pleasure in and feels connected to worldly things -woke one morning to screaming on the street and realized everything was on fire -fled the house and watched as it, and all her possessions were destroyed. -speaker is at first thankful that she was saved from death by God = much more important to her than anything she lost -mourns for the physical items destroyed = goes through all the objects and experiences which are now lost to her, from chests and trunks to meals with friends -poem concludes with the speaker remembering that nothing is worth as much on earth as making one's way to heaven = that is where one's home truly is. It is a place which has no price -re-devotes herself to loving God and forgetting her past

Revolutionary Period Characteristics

-Avoided the ornate, extravagant, and the bombastic -Concerned with clear, common sense and mathematical plainness -Usually nonfiction and polemical (relating to or involving strongly critical, controversial, or disputatious writing or speech)

Anne Bradstreet (1612-1672) (Colonial)

-Born in England -Puritan -Moved to Massachusetts Bay Colony with her father and husband when she was about 18 -Poetry published without her knowledge in England by her brother-in-law -Book titled *The Tenth Muse* -Considered mother of American Poetry

Philis Wheatley (1753-1784) (revolutionary)

-Born in West Africa she was brought to America when she was about eight years old. -purchased by the Wheatley family of Boston, who gave her their name and converted her to Christianity. -Recognizing her extraordinary intelligence, the Wheatleys taught her to read and write. -Wheatley learned quickly and was soon reading the Bible, the Latin and Greek classics, and the works of the contemporary English poets -Wheatley also began writing poetry, and when she was thirteen, her first poem was published. -In 1770, when she published a poem about the death of George Whitehead, a celebrated English clergyman, Wheatley became famous. -Two years later, she accompanied the Wheatley's son on a trip to England, where she was introduced to a number of British aristocrats who were impressed by her poetry and helped to have Poems on Various Subjects: Religious and Moral -After returning to Boston in the fall of 1773, Wheatley continued to write poetry -During the Revolutionary War, she wrote several poems supporting the American cause, including a poem addressed to George Washington, the commander of the American forces. -Washington was so impressed with this poem, "To His Excellency, George Washington," he invited her to visit him at his headquarters. -Though she was freed in 1778 when John Wheatley died the last several years of Wheatley's life were filled with hardships. -She married John Peters, a free black man, but Peters had trouble maintaining a job and was eventually imprisoned for failing to pay his debts -three children, but two of them died in infancy. In addition, Wheatley fell into obscurity as a poet -she assembled a second collection of her poetry, the manuscript was lost before it could be published. -With her husband in jail and her fame having faded, Phillis Wheatley died alone and impoverished in 1784.

Rhetorical Question [hypophora]

-Consists of raising one or more questions and then proceeding to answer them, usually at some length

Colonial Period Characteristics (1607-1765)

-Differing Literatures 1. Puritan Literature has its emphases on purification, plainness, and on their Divine Mission. 2. Southern Literature has its emphases on nature, society, and entertainment.

Upon a Wasp Chilled with Cold (colonial)

-Edward Taylor -portrays his full-hearted adoration for God -describes a small, simple wasp numbed by an icy "Northern blast" to symbolize the cold, sinfulness of both his and humanity's hearts -Unable to warm herself, "she out extends [her hands] unto the Sun," which can be construed as the Son of God, as if to pray and beg for "Sol's warm breath" -Both fire, like that of the Sun, and the wind's fresh "breath," are symbols of the Holy Spirit and are likewise represented throughout the poem -While observing the wasp, he perceives even further spiritual qualities -Imagining that "her petty coat" was "lined with...fleece," Taylor connects the simple material of the "coat" with the Lamb (of God) from which the fleece came -The wasp, finally warmed, ascends to glorious flight in the "thankful gales" of the Spirit

Cross of Snow (romantics)

-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow -though the poet's wife has been dead for many years, he will never forget her or cease to think of her as the best and purest of women -shows how she was pure and how he has missed her since the day of her death -Theme: The theme of the poem is that life is short -explains how his wife's life ended so quickly in the fire after 18 years of marriage

The First Snowfall (romantics)

-James Russell Lowell -about a man who is reminded of his daughter's death and her mound by the falling snow -In order to do so, the snow, his other daughter, God, and time help him to get through his loss -lacks any true shift -All of the stanzas share a common theme of acceptance and peace -snow in a way "blankets" the speaker's grief about losing his daughter -snow is being compared to "gradual patience" and has the ability to "heal and hide the scar" of the affect of the loss of his daughter -At first it reminds him of his sorrow, but then reminds him that patience and love can aid in healing

Revolutionary Period Types of Writing

-John Locke proposed that predestination and total depravity were fictitious. He felt that the mind of the human at birth is a tabula rasa - a blank sheet, neither good nor bad -Deists - believers in a God who was more remote than the Puritan God -Deism was a movement advocating natural religion based on human reason rather than revelation, emphasizing morality, and denying the interference of the Creator with the laws of the universe -Saw God as a Clock-maker -Alexander Pope (from England) said, "Know then thyself, presume not God to scan, the proper study of mankind is man" -Polemical - vigorously argumentative work

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God (colonial)

-Jonathan Edwards -most famous sermon -to warn his congregation in particular, and presumably, by extension, his nation as a whole, that they must repent of their sinful ways and turn to God for forgiveness before it is too late - so that they can escape death by hell fire -saying that the opportunity is now to embrace and accept Jesus Christ, his message, his teachings, and his sacrifice as atonement for sins -choice must be made by those God is calling, through Jesus Christ, to either accept the call to repentance and a new life, or reject it -Rejection will result in death by hell fire -Edwards indicates that God is extending mercy by calling out to sinners

The Scarlet Letter (after colonization)

-Nathaniel Hawthorne -about what happens to a strict, tight-knit community when one of its members commits a societal taboo, and how shame functions in both the public and private realms of life -story of the adulterous but virtuous Hester Prynne; her weak, tormented lover Dimmesdale; and her vengeance-minded husband, Chillingworth, Hawthorne explores ideas about the individual versus the group and the nature of sin -A first-person, INTRODUCTORY chapter, written two hundred years after the events of the novel, indicate that the story will explore attitudes and beliefs that have evolved since the time the story's set -CHAPTER 1 introduces the main character, Hester, emerging from the prison wearing a dress marked with a scarlet letter "A," and carrying her baby, Pearl -By opening the action of the book after Hester and Dimmesdale's infidelity has already taken place, Hawthorne establishes the themes of the book as sin, guilt, and remorse, rather than forbidden passion -After introducing Hester as the book's protagonist, Hawthorne incites the central conflict of the book by bringing Hester in direct contact with her antagonist, Chillingworth, the husband she has betrayed by committing adultery -Chillingworth vows to discover the identity of Pearl's father, acting as a proxy for the reader, who at this point is equally curious who Hester's lover is and why she is so dead-set on protecting him -As the reader comes to strongly suspect Dimmesdale is the father, the tension increases, as the reader wonders if Chillingworth has made the same realization, or if Dimmesdale will keep his secret. Dimmesdale, Hester, and Chillingworth all keep their relationships to one another secret, so all three characters exist in isolation within the community, although Hester is the only one who has been officially banished -dramatic irony = reader knows each character's secret motivations, but the characters remain ignorant of each other's true feelings, amplifies the tension as well -the conflict escalates with the growing friendship and dependence between Chillingworth and Dimmesdale. Chillingworth opens Dimmesdale's shirt while he is sleeping and sees a mark, convincing him Dimmesdale is Pearl's father -Meanwhile, Hester lives in seclusion with her daughter, becoming philosophical about the nature of her crime and the role of women in society -In the book's climactic scene, the forces of repression and secrecy directly confront the human need for confession and forgiveness when Hester and Pearl join Dimmesdale on the scaffold in the middle of the night -But Dimmesdale admits he is too weak to publicly reveal himself as Pearl's father, and Hester realizes that Dimmesdale, though he has been able to remain a member of society, has possibly suffered more than she has -Unlike Hester, Dimmesdale has kept his sin a secret, and continues to wear one face in public and another in private -Hester sees how Chillingworth has added to Dimmesdale's torment, and questions whether she is at fault for having concealed Chillingworth's identity -Hester and Dimmesdale meet in the woods, Hester reveals that Chillingworth is her husband, and the couple resolves to run away together -However, all does not go as planned for the couple, as Chillingworth learns of their plans and conspires to follow them, assuring their guilt will remain active wherever they go -After preaching a final sermon, Dimmesdale reveals his identity as Pearl's father, exposes the mark on his chest, and then dies, perhaps aware that his plan for a new beginning with Hester was always doomed -Although in hounding Dimmesdale to death Chillingworth has achieved his revenge, he is frustrated by Dimmesdale's public revelation: "Thou hast he escaped me!" Chillingworth says, as Dimmesdale dies -"May God forgive thee!" Dimmesdale replies, "Thou, too, hast deeply sinned" -suggests that Chillingworth's cold-hearted pursuit of vengeance, and, by extension, the town's thirst to punish Hester, are equal if not greater sins to Hester and Dimmesdale's adultery -After Dimmesdale's death, Hester leaves the community, but returns for unknown reasons and chooses to life out her life in quiet seclusion, wearing her scarlet A by choice and acting as a confessor to other women who have violated societal norms

The Chambered Nautilus (romantics)

-Oliver Wendell Holmes -nautilus's building of its shell is an extended metaphor for the speaker's spiritual life -can be interpreted as an allegory about death and the journey toward the afterlife -he admires the "ship of pearl" and the "silent toil/That spread his lustrous coil/Still, as the spiral grew/He left the past year's dwelling for the new" -He finds in the mysterious life and death of the nautilus strong inspiration for his own life and spiritual growth

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) (after colonial)

-Originally a transcendentalist; later rejected them and became a leading anti-transcendentalist -descendant of Puritan settlers -The Scarlet Letter shows the hypocrisy and insensitivity of New England puritans by showing their cruelty to a woman who has committed adultery and is forced to wear a scarlet "A" -American novelist, dark romantic, and short story writer -works often focus on history, morality, and religion -born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts

Speech in the Virginia Convention (revolutionary)

-Patrick Henry -"Give me Liberty or Give me Death" -freedom and slavery, God and divine right, and courage and endurance -Freedom and slavery: Patrick Henry stresses the American colony's choice between remaining subservient to Britain or seizing independence -to convince the delegates to secede from Britain; moreover, to fight back against them -antagonizes Britain by imputing every hardships they faced to Britain

On Being Brought from Africa (revolutionary)

-Phillis Wheatley -speaker argues that Christian teachings have led her to reject racism on the grounds that all people are equal in the eyes of God -After Cain was punished by God for this offense, God then showed mercy by offering Cain protection from his own untimely death -describes Wheatley's experience as a young girl who was enslaved and brought to the American colonies in 1761 -As the first African American woman to publish a book of poetry, Wheatley uses this poem to argue that all people, regardless of race, are capable of finding salvation through Christianity -By tapping into the common humanity that lies at the heart of Christian doctrine, Wheatley poses a gentle but powerful challenge to racism in America

To His Excellency, General Washington (revolutionary)

-Phillis Wheatley -written addressing General Washington who was the commander in chief of North America army before the revolutionary war against Britain for independence -main idea was of the poem is to describe the struggle of colonists for the independence against the British -pursue the colonists to continue the righteous fight for their independence and gave an indication for the revolutionary war -central theme or idea of the poem was reason of freedom from Britain -used several phrases in the poem to describe the desire of freedom -uses the 'Celestial Choir' as a poetical muse, which inspires the poet's (Wheatley's) writing -provides a description of the 'goddess of Freedom' -goddess comes down from heaven for the purpose of involving herself in the revolutionary war between the colonists and Britain -referred olive tree as the symbol of peace -central idea of the poem is the pursuing freedom from Britain

Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894) (early romantics)

-The Chambered Nautilus, Old Ironsides -aroused public sentiment against destruction of the USS Constitution, an American fighting ship from the War of 1812 -American physician, poet, and humorist notable for his medical research and teaching

James Russel Lowell (1819-1891) (early romantics)

-The First Snowfall -American Romantic poet, critic, editor, and diplomat -associated with the Fireside Poets, a group of New England writers who were among the first American poets that rivaled the popularity of British poets

Deism (revolutionary periods)

-The religion of the Enlightenment (1700s) -Followers believed that God existed and had created the world, but that afterwards He left it to run by its own natural laws (clock-maker) -Denied that God communicated to man or in any way influenced his life

The Crisis (revolutionary)

-Thomas Paine -that of political nature -mixed feelings of the control of Britain over the colonies -objective = to persuade the colonists to gather all together to get revenge against Great Britain by retaliating -to inspire Americans to fight for independence from British rule - viewed British rule in the American colonies as tyrannical

Early Romantic Period Characterics

-Values imagination over reason -Values intuition and feeling over fact -Places faith in inner experience and the power of the imagination -Shuns the artificiality of civilization and seeks unspoiled nature Views nature as a source of inspiration and emotional healing -Contemplates nature's beauty as a path to spiritual and moral development -Prefers youthful innocence to educated sophistication -Champions individual freedom and the worth of the individual -Looks backward to the wisdom of the past and distrusts progress -Finds beauty and truth in exotic locales, supernatural realm, and inner world of imagination -Finds inspiration in myth, legend, and folk culture -Accentuates the fantastic aspects of human experience

Rip Van Winkle (romantics)

-Washington Irving -conveys the theme of freedom versus tyranny throughout the story -Rip Van Winkle seeks nothing more than the freedom to be his kind, simple self and to live the idle life he wants to live -His freedom and good nature endear him to his fellow villagers, whom he is happy to help and to pass the time with -tyranny vs freedom: the tyranny of marriage, the tyranny of day-to-day responsibilities, and the more literal tyranny of King George III of Britain over his American subjects / can maintain our freedom in face of these tyrannies -active vs passive resistance: Rip cannot be said to actively fight for his freedom / responds to his wife by throwing up his hands, shaking his head, and looking up at the sky -truth, history, and storytelling: framed story, in which a fictional storyteller (historian Diedrich Knickerbocker) is said to have collected it and in so doing establishes the story's status as a credible historical account / have reason to doubt its status as such / Knickerbocker does not research using historical texts / instead collects his stories straight from the mouths of Dutch families / historical "research" consists of oral storytelling -labor vs productivity: distinguishes between labor on its own and productive labor, or that which is profitable / Rip is the most obvious example of someone who labors without profit -change vs stasis: dynamic tension in "Rip Van Winkle" between change and stasis (and by extension past and future) / Rip wakes up on the mountain he returns to discover that everything has changed = town is bigger and more populous, his children are grown, his wife is gone, and he now has a grandson / the Unites States of America is now an independent free nation and Rip is no longer a subject of England

Of Plymouth Plantation (colonial)

-William Bradford -the English Separatist interpretation of Christianity that, in recent times, is usually referred to as Puritanism (although Bradford considers this term insulting) -God favors those who are just. He will punish those who are boastful -also gets the point across that the Lord has given the Puritans the gift of grace -has given his power to help them on their journey as well as their new lives

To a Waterfowl (romantics)

-William Cullen Bryant -Romanticism -a supernatural power is guiding the bird -just like the same power (God) is going to guide us in our lives, synecdoche, personification, celebration of beauty and mystery of nature as teacher and nature as refuge and nature as reflection of God or evil

Thanatopsis (romantics)

-William Cullen Bryant -View of death = opia-sight -romantic poem of encouragement and the appreciation of life and the comfort of death -Written in blank verse, Bryant writes in three sections regarding the inevitable death, how it shouldn't be feared, but rather live life and treat death as a final rest

Tabula Rasa (revolutionary periods)

-a blank sheet, neither good nor bad -proposed by John Locked -mind of humans at birth

Metaphor

-a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable -not using like or as

stanza

-a group of lines forming the basic recurring metrical unit in a poem -a verse

Patrick Henry (1736-1799) (revolutionary)

-a leader of the American Revolution and a famous orator who spoke out against British rule of the American colonies -speech in Virginia convention -"Give me liberty of give me death"

Idyll

-a lyric poem or passage that describes a kind of ideal life or place -an extremely happy, peaceful, or picturesque episode or scene, typically an idealized or unsustainable one

Tract (Colonial)

-a pamphlet -argumentative document on a religious or political topic

Elegy (colonial)

-a poem of serious reflection, typically a lament for the dead -sorrowful poem/speech -a sustained and formal poem setting forth poet's meditation on death or another solemn theme

Myth

-a traditional story presenting supernatural characters and episodes that help explain natural events -usually revolving Gods, heroes, etc

Allusion

-an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference -A reference to a well-known person, place, event, literary work, or work of art

Rhetorical Question [erotesis]

-differs from hypophora in that it is not answered by the writer because its answer is obvious or obviously desired, and usually just a yes or no answer would suffice -used for effect, emphasis, or provocation, or for drawing a conclusionary statement from the fact at hand -Ex. Do you not see, then, that change in yourself is the same order, and no less necessary to Nature?

Revolutionary Period Beliefs

-emphasized self-knowledge, self-control, rationalism, discipline, and the rule of law, order, and decorum in public and private life -celebrated reason, the scientific method, and human beings' ability to perfect themselves and their society -faith in human rationality and the existence of discoverable and universally valid principles governing human being, nature, and society -believed that the State is the proper instrument of progress -preoccupied with worldly values: commerce, social well-being, individual rights, and political grievances -Men set a high value on free inquiry and the application of test and reason -America is no longer a New Jerusalem or New Eden; it is a New Athens or New Rome

Dactyl

-one accented syllable followed by two unaccented syllables (ex. mér-ři-ly˘ )

Oratory

-public speaking that is formal, persuasive, and emotionally appealing -marked by pompous rhetoric

Personification

-the attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something nonhuman -the representation of an abstract quality in human form

rhyme scheme

-the ordered pattern of rhymes at the ends of the lines of a poem or verse

Autobiography (Colonial)

-the story of a person's life written by that person

Parallelism

-the use of successive verbal constructions in poetry or prose that correspond in grammatical structure, sound, meter, meaning, etc -similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses

Couplet

-two lines of verse, usually in the same meter and joined by rhyme, that form a unit.

Iamb

-unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable

Polemical Work (Revolutionary)

-vigorously argumentative work -relating to or involving strongly critical, controversial, or disputatious writing or speech

Imagery

-visually descriptive or figurative language, especially in a literary work -Description that appeals to the senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste)

Colonial Period PEOPLE (1607-1765)

1) Native Americans Usually greeted the Europeans as friends Instructed settlers in agriculture and woodcraft Respect for nature runs throughout their literature Literature a. Oral tradition b. Myths (origin myths)/Legends c. Pictographs 2) The Puritans (North) Were English Protestants who had struggled for years to "purify" the church of England from within, to make "the churches of God revert to their ancient purity and recover their primitive order, liberty and beauty" (William Bradford). Separatists wanted to break from the Church of England and were called Pilgrims. Influences on Puritans and Pilgrims: a. Martin Luther - believed that men are essentially wicked and God is all-powerful b. John Calvin - believed in predestination. Seeming conflicts of Calvinism a) believed in stability and order, yet b) established the colonies as an act of dissent (able to do this because they believed man's final responsibility was to God, not to earthly authority). This is the origin of today's dilemma: private conscience vs. laws Believed in Original Sin and the consequent sinfulness of all mankind. Viewed hard, productive labor as a heavenly virtue. Believed in the awesome power of God in Whose hands rested everyone's fate (divine providence), both in life and in eternity. 3) The Planters (South) 1. Had a concern for nature. Their climate differed from the North's and affected the development of the South differently, including the type of settlements: plantations 2. Had a concern for society. They were well-versed in the classics in literature, which led them to be involved in early government and politics. 3. Did not settle for religious reasons - brought over with them the Church of England (Anglican Church). 4. Did concern themselves, though, with formal codes of behavior—"Southern Gentleman"/chivalry. 5. Interested in distraction/entertainment. First theater in the U.S. was in the South.

Reasons for English settlement in America

1. Tobacco crop in Virginia (South). 2. America was an asylum - convicted criminals signed on with shipping companies to avoid hanging (South). 3. Religious motives (North): a) wanted to plant a model community of the faithful in the new hemisphere; b) wanted to spread the Gospel of Christ; c) wanted to expand the ranks of Christians by converting the heathen. 4. These reasons are the origins of three important "Americanisms": business drive, pursuit of liberty, and religious zeal.

trimeter

3 feet per line

tetrameter

4 feet per line

quatrain

4 line stanza

pentameter

5 feet in a line

sestet

6 line stanza

octave

8 line stanza

Romantic Period Beliefs

A. Romantics rejected rationalism, neoclassicism, and society B. Romantics exalted nature (to the point of pantheism - the belief that God is nature; God is everything and everything is God), the primitive man, individualism, and optimism. C. Held a moral enthusiasm, a faith in the value of the individual and in intuition. D. Believed the natural world is a source of goodness while man's societies are sources of evil. E. An age based on a paradox: spiritual dreams vs. the realities of growing materialism.

Early Romantics Social Landscape

A. Westward expansion, increasing gravity of the slavery question, sectionalism in the South/reform on the North B. The "Virginia Dynasty" of presidents ends when Andrew Jackson, a frontier hero, became the seventh president. C. Industrialization and urbanization on the rise D. Became a land of contrasting riches and poverty E. Mass circulation of knowledge increased (schools became mandatory and the press duplicate mass quantities of material). F. Became America's first great creative period

Transcendentalism (romantics)

A. a philosophical movement that exalted feeling over reason and individual expression over law and custom; a subset of Romanticism; it grew out of the New England region. Involves a concept known as the "Oversoul," the absolute reality conceived as a spiritual being in which the ideal nature in human beings is perfectly realized

Romanticism (romantics)

A. the predominance of imagination over reason and formal rules, and over the sense of fact or the actual. The individual is at the very center of all life and experience (therefore, at the center of art), making literature most valuable as an expression of unique feelings and particular attitudes. Intuition and imagination speak a "nobler" truth: nobler than fact or logic

Revolutionary Period aka

Age of Reason/Neoclassical Period/The Enlightenment

Mood

Feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for the reader

TPFASTT

T- Title P-Paraphrase F-Figures of Speech A-Attitude S-Shift T-Title T-Theme

Diary (Colonial Period)

a day by day chronicle of events

sonnet

a poem of fourteen lines using any of a number of formal rhyme schemes, in English typically having ten syllables per line

Almanac (colonial)

a storehouse of useful, general information

Plain Style (colonial)

a way of writing that emphasizes simple sentences and the use of every day words from common speech

Gothic Style

fiction using desolate or remote settings and macabre, mysterious, and violent incidents; the terrifying, dark, intricate, ferocious, yet elevated and revered; supernatural/preternatural events

Inversion

inverted order of words in a sentence (variation of the subject-verb-object order)

apocalyptic pronouncement (colonial)

literature that predicts the ultimate destiny (destruction) of the world

Devotional Poem (Colonial)

poem characterized by brief worship

trochaic

stressed, unstressed

Allegory (Colonial)

the story in which people, things, and happenings have hidden or symbolic meanings

Blank Verse

unrhymed iambic pentameter

Anapest

unstressed, unstressed, stressed

Anapestic

unstressed, unstressed, stressed

Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) (colonial)

· Entered Yale to become a minister at age 13 · One of the beginners of The Great Awakening o Revival marked with so many conversions so emotional that it resulted in waves of mass hysteria · Extremist pastor o Often accused prominent church members of relapsing into sin · "The last Puritan" - so extreme dismissed from the church in 1750

Edward Taylor (1642-1729) (colonial)

· Puritan author born in England · Lost a teaching position due religious beliefs · 1668 - leaves for Boston o carried letters of introduction written for him to established Colonial leaders such as Cotton Mather o studied at Harvard to become a minister · only book of poetry owned was Anne Bradstreet's book, The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America · Considered the best Puritan poet · poetry finally published in 1939, over two centuries after his death

William Bradford (1590-1657) (colonial)

· Son of prosperous farmer in Yorkshire, England · Educated to be a farmer · At age 12, began attending meetings of Nonconformist religious group o An illegal act that was denounced by his parents o Went to Holland with the group in 1608 · 1620 - sailed for America with funding by London profiteers and merchants · After landing in America, wife jumped off boat and committed suicide while Bradford was on scouting mission · Elected governor of Plymouth Colony more than 30 times Of Plymouth Plantation o 1630 - began to write this account of the Plymouth settlement o wrote to inspire future generations to carry on the Pilgrims' ideals

Huswifery (colonial)

• Edward Taylor -lyric poem -title = "housekeeping," to examine God's relationship to humans (the care and management of a household) • Weaving metaphor -(2nd stanza) compares the speaker of the poem to a loom, on which the thread or yarn is turned into cloth -God appears now as a weaver meshing the threads into cloth [the Web] -Once the cloth is woven, it is to be cleansed by such sacraments or ordinances as communion [the Fulling Mills], dyed, and decorated -(last stanza) Taylor asks that the colorful material be fashioned into beautiful robes to clothe his thoughts, feelings, and behavior -If God will thus glorify the speaker, say the final lines of the poem, the speaker will be able to glorify God through the beauty of his being -Taylor expresses a key Puritan belief -Grace is a miraculous transformation of oneself from coarse imperfections to shining purity, a transformation as total and dramatic as turning fuzzy wool into majestic robes