A Growing Nation - American Lit

What did Romanticism place faith in?

Inner experience and the power of imagination

What did Romanticism seek in nature?

Unspoiled nature as a path to spirituality

Prominent authors of Romanticism

Washington Irving
Emily Dickinson
Edgar Allen Poe
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

What is the core belief of Transcendentalism?

Everything in the world, including human beings, is a reflection of the Divine Soul

How do Transcendentalists view the revelation of God's spirit?

People can use their intuition to behold God's spirit revealed in nature or in their own souls

What is the emphasis of Transcendentalism regarding authority and conformity?

Self-reliance and individualism must outweigh external authority and we shouldn't conform to that which is around us

Prominent authors of transcendentalism

Ralph Waldo Emerson
Henry David Thoreau

During what time period did Realism emerge?

Civil War times

How did Realism authors focus their writing?

On everyday life and ordinary people, less about plot and more about the characters

Prominent authors of realism

Ambrose Bierce
Kate Chopin

Notable works of realism

Spirituals -"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" and "Go down Moses"

Who wrote the poem 'A Psalm of Life'?

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

What is the main message of 'A Psalm of Life'?

To live enthusiastically, take action, and leave a mark on the world. Overcome the misfortune of the past and to live in the present, do something with your life

What is the theme of 'A Psalm of Life'?

Life and hope, seizing the day, living in the present

What is the summary of the poem 'Tide Rises, Tide Falls'?

Tells the tale of a traveler who arrives at a shore, hurries to a nearby town, and never returns the way they came. The poem serves as an extended metaphor for human life, the mystery of death, and the inevitability of death.

How does the repetition of 'the tide rises, the tide falls' contribute to the poem's theme?

Expresses the theme of the poem by symbolizing the continuous motion of the sea wiping away the past

What does the tide symbolize in 'Tide Rises, Tide Falls'?

Serves as a metaphor for both the renewal and loss of life, reflecting the cycle of life and death.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

He was the first major American literary and intellectual figure to widely explore, write seriously about, and seek to broaden the domestic audience for Asian and Middle Eastern works, giving many their first exposure to non-Western culture

What is the main theme of Emerson's 'Nature'?

Lose yourself in nature and develop a personal understanding of the universe.

Nature surrounds us everywhere, but it may seem distant and..

inaccessible

Who was Henry David Thoreau's good friend and mentor?

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Where did Henry David Thoreau live after leaving Walden?

Emerson house

What did Henry David Thoreau do while living in the Emerson house?

Took care of Emerson's family

What was Ralph Waldo Emerson doing in Europe while Thoreau lived in his house?

Building his writing career

What is the title of the book inspired by Thoreau's two-year adventure of solitude living in a small cabin near Walden pond on Emerson's 11 acres?

from Walden; while inspired by his time, there were differences, Thoreau spent two-years in "solitude" while in Walden the narrator only spends one year.

What are the themes discussed in 'from Walden'?

Self-reliance and simplicity over progress

What does Thoreau contemplate in 'from Walden'?

Life and man's role in the world

What was the condition of Thoreau's house when he first moved in near Walden Pond?

Unfinished, without insulation or inside walls that would provide protection during New England's harsh winters

What is Thoreau's basic premise in 'Civil Disobedience'?

A higher law than civil law demands the obedience of the individual, making human law and government subordinate.

According to Thoreau, what should individuals do when human law conflicts with their conscience?

Individuals must follow their conscience and, if necessary, disregard human law.

What's a reqiuem?

A service or mass to honor the souls of the dead

"Shiloh" by Herman Melville

a short, artistic, and haunting, recounting the battle's death and mayhem the day after the fight. It is a type of poem called an elegy. The form of this poem makes it more meaningful in that it reinforces the idea that this is meant to grieve the dead but also show the complexity of death that comes along with both life and war.

What's an elegy

mournful poem that laments the dead

tone of 'Shiloh'

profoundly sorrow; perhaps a touch of angry

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge was written in 1890 about a Civil War civilian's confrontation with death. It is about the thin line that separates life from death. After the war, Bierce worked as a columnist for the San Francisco Examiner, and he's known for his cynical depiction of the war.
- Can be characterized as psychological fiction because it is a close study of a human's emotions, reactions, and behaviors in a moment of extreme stress.
- Takes place in Northern Alabama
- Told from 3rd person point of view

A Pair of Silk Stockings - Kate Chopin

short story written in 1896 and published in Vogue the following year
- a woman, Mrs. Sommers gets $15 ($450 in today's time) and spends it on luxuries
- the money was supposed to be spent on clothes for her children and she was excited by how smart her kids would look in the new clothes

theme of 'A Pair of Silk Stockings'

Responsibility, escape, independence, freedom, identity, consumerism, and temptation. The desire to feel beautiful, and the desire to feel like you belong.

"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" "Go down Moses"

-The lyrics tend to use biblical imagery and allusion
- Follow a slow, deep melody.
- The lyrics express the desire for freedom, and they pay tribute and honor those who have helped slaves escape or those who have actually escaped and were free.

Spirituals

African American folk songs. They were created by communities versus an individual. These songs were sung throughout the south by slaves while they worked and during their occasional times of rest and prayer.

Romanticism went on from ____ to ____

1800 to 1860

What aspects did Romanticism value?

Feelings, intuition, idealism, and inductive reasoning

Transcendentalism (American Renaissance) went from ____ to ____

1840 to 1860

Realism went from ____ to ____

1850 to 1900

What were common themes in Realism literature?

Feelings of disillusionment, rapidly growing cities, factories replacing farmlands, poor factory workers, corrupt politicians

What is the main idea in the first part of 'Nature'?

We get excited by things in nature, like shining stars, they surround us, but it doesn't mean we can reach out and touch them to get a better look

The significance of the setting of 'Shiloh'

It was the site of one of the bloodiest conflicts of the Civil War

What inspired Longfellow to write 'A Psalm of Life'?

The death of his wife and unborn child

What mood does the poem 'Tide Rises, Tide Falls' evoke?

The mood is sad and somber, focusing on the inevitability and finality of death.

According to Emerson, what should individuals do to understand the universe?

Break away from reliance on secondhand information and become a 'transparent eyeball' in the forest.