Romanticism Basics
This is the approximate time period when Romanticism occurred in American literature
Early to mid-1800s (approximately 1820s-1860s)
The word "Thanatopsis" means this in Greek
Meditation on death (or view of death)
This is what happens to the traveler in "The Tide Rises"
He dies/never returns
These are the two Usher siblings in the story
Roderick and Madeline
What is Tom Walker's primary motivation in making the deal?
Romantics valued THIS over reason and logic
Emotion/feelings/intuition
Who wrote "Thanatopsis"?
William Cullen Bryant
What kind of person does the author want us to be, according to "A Psalm of Life"?
a hero/"heroes in the strife"/someone who acts rather than waits
This physical feature of the house symbolizes the family's corruption and impending doom
The crack/fissure in the house
How is Tom's wife's fate situational irony?
We expect her to make a deal with the devil, but he kills her instead.
This literary movement came before Romanticism (two options)
Puritanism, Neoclassical
According to this poem, what happens to us when we die? Give specifics
We join humanity/kings, patriots, wise men, and the powerful/everyone who has ever lived in a vast tomb/resting place.
The repeating tide symbolizes this about nature
Nature's permanence/eternal cycles/indifference to human life
What is the climax of this story?
Madeline returns from the grave to confront/attack Roderick
Tom ends up in this profession.
Moneylender/usurer
This term describes the awe-inspiring, overwhelming power of nature in Romantic literature
The sublime
What does Bryant say happens to our physical bodies after death? Be specific
They decay/decompose and mix with the earth/elements/soil/rocks and rivers/become one with nature/are taken in by tree roots
The two poems share this metaphor
Footprints in sand
These three things all fall/collapse simultaneously at the end
Roderick dies, Madeline dies, and the house collapses into the lake
Tom tries this strategy to escape damnation
He becomes outwardly religious/carries a Bible/attends church (religious hypocrisy)
Explain how this unit is fundamentally different from our previous unit on Colonial Literature (Puritanism and Neoclassicism). Give two ways.
Answers may vary.
Describe how Bryant's view of death is different from Puritan views of death.
Natural, comforting, peaceful, part of the cycle of nature
This is how "The Tide Rises" contrasts with Longfellow's other poem "A Psalm of Life"
"Psalm" is optimistic/active while "Tide" shows human insignificance/nature's indifference; "Psalm" encourages leaving a legacy while "Tide" shows traces being erased
These Dark Romantic elements are present throughout the story (must give at least 3)
Decay, death, terror, psychological horror, supernatural elements, madness, isolation, Gothic atmosphere
The trees with names carved on them symbolize this
Wealthy/prominent people who made deals with the devil or are morally corrupt and doomed