Literature Lecture Notes Flashcards

Collection of vocabulary and concepts from literature lecture notes covering various authors, works, and literary movements.

"A Wagner Matinnee"

A work by Willa Cather featuring an aunt who put dreams aside for hushan & Crys because of regret.

"A Mystery of Heroism"

A story by Stephen Crane set during the Civil War where a man risks his life for water and people end up dropping it.

"The celebrated Jumping Frog"

A piece of Local Colorism by Mark Twain where a man makes a bet about a frog jump and loses because the other guy cheated.

Satire

A literary style used by Mark Twain in works like "A presidential canadate" and "Advice to youth."

"To build a fire"

A Jack London story focusing on natural instincts where a dog survives but the man does not.

Modernism

A literary movement featuring authors such as Langston Hughes.

"I too sing America"

A poem by Langston Hughes about a man being discriminated against and sent to the kitchen.

"Dream"

A poem by Langston Hughes advising to hold onto dreams because they give life meaning.

"Thanatopsis"

A work by William Cullen Bryant where death is inevitable and described through nature as a Death Chamber (Heaven & Hell).

"A Psalm of Life"

A poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow about living to the fullest and being happy despite the uncertainty of what comes after.

"I Hear America sing"

A poem by Walt Whitman that celebrates everyday American Workers and the unique voices of ordinary people.

"I sit and look Out"

A poem by Walt Whitman with a dark tone that observes suffering, violence, and oppression while highlighting helplessness faced with unsustice.

Realism

A literary movement including works by James Russel Lowell, Ellen Watkins Harper, and Ella Wheeler Wilcox.

"Stanzas on Freedom"

A work by James Russel Lowell questioning if the country is free with slavery and calling men "red sloves" for not standing up for freedom.

"Free labor"

A protest by Ellen Watkins Harper stating that no land is free with slaves.

"Protest"

A work by Ella Wheeler Wilcox criticizing hypocrisy in those who claim to be against slavery but wear clothes made from slaves.

Romanticism / Transcendentalism

A literary period including authors like Emerson, Thoreau, Irving, Hawthorn, Poe, and Whittier.

"Self Reliance"

A reading by Ralph Waldo Emerson stating that to be great is to be misunderstood and that one should trust their own opinions.

"Walden"

A work by Henry David Thoreau that encourages breaking social norms, habits, and routines.

"Civil Disobedience"

A work by Henry David Thoreau about peacefully resisting unJustice and how gov't power should be powered by the people.

"The Devil and Tom Walker"

A story by Washington Irving based on the Faust legend where a man sells his soul for money and is eventually taken by the Devil.

"The Ministers Black Veil"

A parabole by Nathaniel Hawthorn about a hypocritical community that judges a man for wearing a veil while he stays committed to his beliefs.

"The fall of the house of Usher"

A dark romantic story by Edgar Allan Poe that emphasizes ghosts and decay.

"Snow Bound"

A work by John Green Whittier about how a snow storm traps a family and how isolation brings them together by removing distractions.

Post Modernism

A literary period featuring authors such as Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, Gary Soto, and Pat Mora.

"Mirror"

A work by Sylvia Plath involving a mirror and a lake to explore aging, identity, and confronting truths about oneself.

"Self in 1958"

A work by Anne Sexton about feeling trapped by society's expectations and identity struggles (barbie).

"Mexicans Begin Jogging"

A work by Gary Soto exploring fear, identity, and discrimination experienced by Mexican Americas.

"Legal Alien"

A work by Pat Mora about the experience of living between two cultures and not feeling fully accepted by either.