lit spring 2025 test

walt whitman (1819-1892)

-famous works: leaves of grass, song of myself, o captain my captain

-celebrated democracy, nature, love, and friendship in his poetry

-known as the father of free verse

-his work often used repetition, lists, and imagery

free verse

poetry without rhyme or meter

emily dickinson (1830-1886)

-famous works: because i could not stop for death, hope is the thing with feathers

-lived her life reclusive at home

-published poems posthumously, her originally style include slant rhymes and unusual punctuation

realism in american literature (1865-1910)

-emerged after the civil war and industrial revolution

-focused on ordinary people, real situations, and everyday lives

-character development is more important than the plot

-example writers: mark twain, bret harte

frances ellen watkins harper (1825-1911)

-known for writing about abolition, civil rights, and women’s suffrage

-published many articles and poems about freedom and equality

-worked with the underground railroad

-wrote in the romantic style with regular rhyme and meter

mark twain (1835-1910)

-famous works: adventures of tom sawyer, huckleberry finn

-known for humor and social criticism

-later works became more pessimistic due to personal tragedies

william dean howells (1837-1920)

-famous as a critic and editor, especially for the atlantic monthly

-proponet of realism, focused on social issues like race and labor

-famous works: editha

bret harte (1836-1902)

-famous works: outcasts of poker flat, the luck of roaring camp

-wrote about the west and its people, especially mexican residents and native americans

-achieved national fame as a short story writer and was the highest-paid american writer for a time

henry james (1843-1916)

-born in new york but spent most of his life in england

-focused on character development in his writing

-developed the third-person limited point of view

-famous works: the portrait of a lady

paul laurence dunbar (1872-1902)

-first african-american poet to gain national attention

-wrote poems in dialect and more serious forms

-struggled with how his dialect poems were received by white audiences, but found success

alice dunbar nelson (1875-1935)

-famous works: wrote about racism, family, work, and sexuality

-actively involved in women’s suffrage and anti-lynching campaigns

-formerly married to paul laurence dunbar