Gothic Literature
Literary Terms
Henry David Thoreau
Walden
More Literary Terms
100

Define somnambulism.

Sleepwalking

100

A comparison between two unlike things not using "like" or "as."

Metaphor

100

This is where Thoreau decided to live two years of his life.

Cabin he built himself in the middle of the woods near Walden pond.

100

At the beginning of Walden, what was Thoreau pretending to be?

A real estate broker

100

A comparison between two unlike things using "like" or "as."

Simile

200

What does "the revenant" refer to in Gothic literature?

The dead returning upon the living.

200

A repetition of beginning sounds. (She sells seashells by the seashore)

Alliteration

200

During his younger years, Thoreau lived with and learned from this Transcendentalist.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

200

This is why Thoreau wanted to buy the Hollowell farm.

He wanted to buy it before the farmer could make any of his "improvements," such as fixing the fences, cutting down old trees, and planting crops in neat rows.  Thoreau wanted to buy it so that he could just leave it alone.

200

Literature that details real-life events.

Nonfiction

300

How did Hawthorne portray the Puritans in "The Minister's Black Veil?"  Why did he portray them in this way?

He portrayed them as hypocritical, judgmental people; he portrayed them this way due to his distaste/dislike for the Puritans (his ancestor was a judge in the Salem witch trials).

300

An extreme exaggeration in literature is called a __________.

Hyperbole

300

This is how Thoreau felt about commitment.

You should never make a commitment; if you are committed to anything, you might as well be committed to the jail.

300

To what animal did Thoreau compare himself? (HINT: this animal makes sounds that might be really annoying to the average human.)

A chanticleer (or rooster)

300

A type of literature is called a ___________.

Genre

400

Describe Aminidab's character in "The Birthmark." What did he represent?

He was hairy, short, and "earthy."  He represents Earth or Nature because he laughs at the end of the story. In a sense, Nature is laughing at Aylmer's attempt to perfect her/him/it.

400

DOUBLE JEOPARDY!!! When one work of literature refers to another work of literature, history, mythology, or art, we call this _____________.

Allusion

400

This was Thoreau's masterwork.

Walden

400

Name one way Thoreau thought we should simplify our lives.

Eat one meal a day instead of three. Keep our "accounts on our thumbnail."  Stop trying to build the railroad to heaven; instead, stay home and mind your own business.

400

Rhyming words at the ends of lines demonstrates _________ _____________.

End rhyme

500

Give three examples of the grotesque from Gothic literature we have studied in class.

1) Georgiana's birthmark, 2)Roderick Usher's description, 3) The House of Usher, 4) Aminidab

500

The feeling that a reader gets from a piece of literature is called . . .

Mood

500

This is why Thoreau chose to live in the woods without any modern conveniences or comforts for two years.

He wanted to "live deliberately" or truly know what it means to live.

500

This is what Thoreau believed about poverty.

You should cultivate it.

500

When literature addresses an entity that is not physically there, it is using _____________.

Apostrophe

M
e
n
u