English and American Literature Review

This set of vocabulary flashcards covers key periods, authors, and landmark works in English and American literature from the Anglo-Saxon period through Modernism.

Beowulf

The oldest surviving Germanic epic and the longest Old English poem.

Dream of the Rood

An Old English poem that uses a "dream vision" to narrate the death and resurrection of Christ from the perspective of the Cross.

Everyman

A Middle English work where the protagonist summons help from friends while facing Death, but only Good Deeds is able to help him.

Geoffrey Chaucer

Known as the Father of English Literature and author of The Canterbury Tales.

Miracle Plays

Religious dramas consisting of real or fictitious accounts of the life, miracles, or martyrdom of saints.

Morality Plays

Dramatized homilies or sermons that feature personified virtues such as Health and Death.

Humanism

A focus on human potential and achievements, pioneered by Francesco Petrarch, the Father of Humanism.

Sonnets

A 14-line poem in iambic pentameter that became the favorite poetic form during the Renaissance.

Christopher Marlowe

Known as the Father of English Tragedy and author of Doctor Faustus.

Edmund Spenser

Known as the Prince of Poets and author of The Faerie Queene.

Francis Bacon

Known as the Father of English Essay.

Ben Jonson

Known as the Father of English Comedy and author of Song to Celia.

Metaphysical Poetry

Poetry that is intellectual and philosophical in nature, often dealing with themes of love, religion, and mortality.

Cavalier Poetry

Lighthearted and celebratory poetry focused on love, loyalty, and the philosophy of carpe diem ("seize the day").

Richard Lovelace

A poet nicknamed "Cavalier" who wrote To Lucasta, Going to the Wars.

Neoclassicism

An 18th-century style where authors modeled their work after Greek and Roman writers.

Samuel Johnson

Known as the Father of the Modern English Dictionary.

Daniel Defoe

One of the pioneers of the modern novel and author of Robinson Crusoe.

William Wordsworth

Known as the Father of English Romanticism and author of Daffodils.

Dramatic Monologue

A long speech by an imaginary character used to expose pretense and reveal a character's inner self, famously used by Robert Browning.

Amerigo Vespucci

Italian cartographer who wrote Mundus Novus, identifying the Americas as the New World rather than Asia.

Puritanism

A 17th-century reform movement within the Church of England involving living strictly by the Bible and believing humans are "rotten to core."

Transcendentalism

The belief that truth goes beyond organized religion and that humans are naturally good.

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Known as the Master of Allegory and author of The Scarlet Letter.

Thomas Paine

Revolutionary thinker and author of the pivotal pamphlet Common Sense.

Edgar Allan Poe

Known as the Father of Short Story and explorer of the macabre (gothic literature).

Local Color

A Realism writing style that paints a vivid picture of local life.

Mark Twain

Known as the Father of American Literature and author of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Ezra Pound

The Founder of Imagism and author of Canto LXXXI.

T.S. Eliot

Known as the Father of Modernist Poetry and author of The Waste Land.