Study Guide for Literary Timeline and Rhetorical Analysis_Argument Test

Anglo-Saxon Period

Literary period from c. 450-1066 AD; primary work is Beowulf and the primary language was Old English.

Middle English Period

Literary period from c. 1066-1500 AD; characterized by the blending of Old French/Old Norman and Old English, with significant works like The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer.

Neoclassical Period

Literary period from 1660-1798 emphasizing reason, order, and decorum, during which Charles II ruled.

Romantic Period

Literary period from 1789-1837 focused on nature, imagination, and individual emotion; key writers include Wordsworth, Coleridge, Shelley, Keats, and Byron.

Victorian Period

Literary period from 1837-1901 marked by industrialization and social reform; notable authors include Charles Dickens and Oscar Wilde.

Modern Period

Literary period from 1901-1945 characterized by experimentation, individualism, and disillusionment after WWI, with key authors like James Joyce and Virginia Woolf.

Postmodern Period

Literary period from 1945-Present that celebrates fragmentation, unreliable narrators, and questions grand narratives and definitive meanings.

Logos

A rhetorical appeal that uses logic, reasoning, and facts to persuade an audience.

Ethos

A rhetorical appeal that establishes the credibility of the speaker.

Pathos

A rhetorical appeal that evokes emotional responses from the audience.

Repetition

A persuasive technique used to reinforce key points by repeating words or phrases.

Analogy

A comparison that clarifies ideas by showing similarities.

Claim

The main argument or stance presented in a piece of writing.

Counterargument

An opposing viewpoint presented in an argument.

Rebuttal

A response that refutes or disproves a counterargument.

Concession

Acknowledging a valid point within the counterargument.