Romantic/Anti-Romantic BACKGROUND

William Cullen Bryant

Godfather of American Romantic poetry

"Thanatopsis"

means "seeing death"; 1st important poem by William Cullen Bryant

Lyrical Ballads

volume of English Romantic poetry that greatly influenced William Cullen Bryant

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

made a splash with "Old Ironsides" in 1830

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

survived the Civil War and went on to become Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the U.S.

The Atlantic Monthly

important literary magazine edited by Oliver Wendell Holmes

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Leader of American Transcendental movement

"The American Scholar"

essay by Ralph Waldo Emerson called America's literary declaration of independence

"Nature"

1836 essay by Ralph Waldo Emerson that established his reputation as a writer and thinker

Realism

a late 19th Century literary movement to portray things as they are, unflinchingly

Modernism

an early 20th Century literary that emphasized new themes, new forms, and new techniques

Chicago Poems

volume that launched Carl Sandburg's literary career

American Songbag

collection of folk music preserved by Carl Sandburg

Carl Sandburg

the only poet we have studied to win a Grammy

Abraham Lincoln

the subject of a much praised multi-volume biography by Carl Sandburg

The Bridge

the masterwork of Hart Crane

The Wasteland

influential 20th Century poem by T.S. Eliot

The Waking

Pulitzer Prize winning volume of poetry by Theodore Roethke

Confessional poet

one who makes deeply personal experiences the focus of their poetry

Romanticism

early 19th Century movement in the arts that focused on nature and the spiritual

Theodore Roethke

represents a generation of poets who earned a living by teaching and wrote on the side

Snowbound: A Winter Idyll

important long poem by John Greenleaf Whittier

Quaker

religious tradition in which John Greenleaf Whittier was raised; inspired his activism

Abolitionism

most important social cause for John Greenleaf Whittier

"Barbara Frietchie"

famous Civil War poem by John Greenleaf Whittier

Henry David Thoreau

author of Walden

Bronson Alcott

educational reformer who "invented" recess

Louisa May Alcott

author of Little Women

Nathaniel Hawthorne

author of The Scarlet Letter

Margaret Fuller

author "Woman in the 19th Century"

Hart Crane

author of The Bridge

Didactic

intended to teach or instruct, esp. morally

Epithet

a descriptive nickname

Industrial Revolution

poor work conditions helped fuel Realism

American Civil War

huge casualties (620,000-650,00) helped fuel Realism

World War I

massive casualties (8.5-10 million) helped fuel Modernism

Spanish Flu Pandemic

unimaginable loss of life worldwide (40 million plus) helped fuel Modernism

Stock Market Crash

1929 event that caused the Great Depression

Psychology

a "new" social science that, in examining the behavior of individuals, shaped both Realism and Modernism

Sociology

a "new" social science that, in examining the behavior of groups of people, shaped both Realism and Modernism