Romantic Era Literature Study

Which Romantic-era work contrasts different leadership styles through characters such as Ahab and Bulkington

Moby-Dick

In which Romantic-era novel does a narrator named Ishmael serve as a thoughtful foil to a monomaniacal sea captain

Moby-Dick

Which Romantic-era work features a white whale that becomes a symbol of the ultimate, unknowable challenge

Moby-Dick

In which Romantic-era work does Captain Ahab embody dictatorial leadership and obsessive vengeance

Moby-Dick

Which Romantic-era novel can be read as an American allegory, portraying the nation as a ship of state on a destructive course

Moby-Dick

Which Romantic-era story follows a man into a dark forest where he witnesses the apparent corruption of his entire pious community

Young Goodman Brown

In which Romantic-era tale do pink ribbons and a nighttime forest gathering symbolize the loss of faith and innocence

Young Goodman Brown

Which Romantic-era work uses an encounter with a mysterious traveler to question whether anyone is truly righteous

Young Goodman Brown

Which Romantic-era novel explores the tension between wilderness and settlement on the early American frontier

The Pioneers

In which Romantic-era work does the conflict between hunting practices and conservation highlight humanity’s impact on nature

The Pioneers

Which Romantic-era work portrays frontier life as a negotiation among law, property, and the natural environment

The Pioneers

Which Romantic-era essay argues that individuals must trust their own inner voice rather than conform to society’s expectations

Self-Reliance

In which Romantic-era essay does the author criticize "foolish consistency" and celebrate nonconformity

Self-Reliance

Which Romantic-era work insists that imitation is suicide and that each person must discover their unique path

Self-Reliance

Which Romantic-era essay describes the speaker becoming a "transparent eyeball" while communing with the natural world

Nature

In which Romantic-era work is nature presented as a direct path to experiencing the divine, beyond organized religion

Nature

Which Romantic-era essay claims that in the woods we return to reason and faith, feeling part of something larger than ourselves

Nature

Which Romantic-era essay argues that citizens should refuse to obey unjust laws and accept the consequences

Civil Disobedience

In which Romantic-era work does the author describe government as a machine and urge individuals to be the counter-friction

Civil Disobedience

Which Romantic-era essay was inspired by the author’s refusal to pay a poll tax in protest of slavery and war

Civil Disobedience

Which Romantic-era work reflects on simple, deliberate living beside a pond in the woods

Walden

In which Romantic-era book does the author claim that "the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation"

Walden

Which Romantic-era work criticizes materialism and urges readers to simplify their lives

Walden

Which Romantic-era poem celebrates the self while also claiming a deep connection with all people and things

Song of Myself

In which Romantic-era poem does the speaker use long catalogs of people and places to express democratic equality

Song of Myself

Which Romantic-era poem presents a speaker who "contains multitudes" and refuses to be reduced to one fixed identity

Song of Myself

Which Romantic-era poem portrays mechanics, boatmen, and other workers each singing their own song of pride

I Hear America Singing

In which Romantic-era poem does the speaker present America as a chorus of individual laborers’ voices

I Hear America Singing

Which Romantic-era poem celebrates ordinary American workers as the foundation of the nation’s identity

I Hear America Singing

Which Romantic-era poem moves from sleeper to sleeper at night, imagining their dreams, fears, and suffering

The Sleepers

In which Romantic-era poem does the speaker wander spiritually among sleeping people, expressing empathy for their pain

The Sleepers

Which Romantic-era poem blurs boundaries between self and others in a visionary nighttime journey

The Sleepers

Which poem personifies hope as a small bird that "perches in the soul" and sings continuously

Hope is the Thing with Feathers

In which poem does the speaker reflect that hope never asks a crumb of her, even in the stormiest times

Hope is the Thing with Feathers

Which poem uses a bird to symbolize the persistent, selfless nature of hope

Hope is the Thing with Feathers

Which poem depicts Death as a polite carriage driver who takes the speaker on a journey beyond life

Because I Could Not Stop for Death

In which poem does the carriage ride pass a schoolyard, fields of grain, and a setting sun to represent life’s stages

Because I Could Not Stop for Death

Which poem calmly presents death and immortality as companions rather than terrifying enemies

Because I Could Not Stop for Death

Which poem describes the moment of death being interrupted by the ordinary sound of a fly

I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died

In which poem does the buzzing fly come between the dying speaker and the "light" they expect to see

I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died

Which poem contrasts the solemn atmosphere of a deathbed with a small, distracting insect

I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died

Which poem describes a winter light that feels like a "Heavenly Hurt" with no visible scar

There's a Certain Slant of Light

In which poem does a particular slant of light create a mood of spiritual oppression and despair

There's a Certain Slant of Light

Which poem links changes in light and weather to inner emotional and spiritual states

There's a Certain Slant of Light

Which poem uses extended metaphor to describe a train as if it were a powerful animal lapping miles

I Like to See It Lap the Miles

In which poem does the speaker refer to a "prodigious step" and "horrid hooting stanza" to portray a machine

I Like to See It Lap the Miles

Which poem presents industrial technology with both fascination and unease through animal-like imagery

I Like to See It Lap the Miles