Historic Context
This is the year the Romantic period began and ended in America.
What is 1820 to 1865?
This emphasis of American Romantic writing depicted all the flora and fauna of the world because they saw it as a way for God to reveal Himself.
What is the emphasis of NATURE?
This 17th-century Protestant reform movement, primarily based in New England, sought to "purify" the Church of England of Catholic practices. It emphasized strict Calvinist theology (predestination), personal piety, covenant theology, and a moral, austere lifestyle designed to create a model "city upon a hill."
What is Puritanism?
This group of writers turned New York into America's literary capital and included Washington Irving and William Cullen Bryant among others.
Who are the KNICKERBOCKERS?
William Cullen Bryant uses a metaphor to describe this concept as "the last bitter hour."
What is DEATH?
Marking the beginning of the Romantic period, his publication of the Sketch Book, included tales of a sleepy guy named Rip and a superstitious fellow named Ichabod.
Who was Washington Irving?
This cornerstone of the Romantic movement included unique settings and time periods.
What is an emphasis on the DISTANT?
This protest against Puritanism maintained that the solution to the problems of man lies in his reason, not in supernatural revelation.
What is DEISM?
This group of poets was the first to rival their English counterparts and described scenes from American domestic life.
Who were the FIRESIDE POETS?
What is PERSONIFICATION?
This positive outlook characterized the Romantic age in America, unlike the pessimistic view of the Puritans.
What is OPTIMISM?
This idea, closely linked to emotion over reason, used creativity to experiment with past structures to create a more uniquely American form of writing.
What is IMAGINATION?
This was not exactly a religious movement, but it did teach the belief of an Over-Soul which pervaded all parts of the universe.
What is TRANSCENDENTALISM?
The writers in this sub movement wrote about the psychological effects of guilt and sin and explored the dark side of man and the world.
Who are the DARK ROMANTICS?
When Longfellow describes his late wife's life as "benedight" and says that her portrait was encircled in "a halo of pale light," he is emphasizing this trait in her.
What is her purity and goodness/saintly qualities, etc.?
This is one of two big issues undermining national optimism.
What is sectionalism? OR What is cultural provincialism?
This emphasis of Romanticism, which rebelled against God's view of man, reflected the belief that man, inherently good, could fulfill his full potential without supernatural regeneration.
What is INDIVIDUALISM?
This movement pushed against the negative trends of Romanticism and reaffirmed the belief in the absolute authority of Scripture.
What is THE SECOND GREAT AWAKENING?
His description of a demonic feathered creature and a vengeful maniac earned him much fame.
Who is Edgar Allan Poe?
Whitman uses this DEVICE to list all the different types of workers singing in America.
What is CATALOG?
This is ONE of two factors hindering the growth of American writing.
What was the absence of copywright law? OR What is the limited perspective/narrow mindedness of American readers?
This "brother's war" brought about the end of the American Romantic movement.
What is the American Civil War? also called
What is the War Between the States?
This religious movement branching off from Puritanism rejected the belief in the Holy Trinity AND stressed Jesus' role as a great teacher while denying his deity.
What is UNITARIANISM?
His work developed refined short fiction's characters and setting.
Who is WASHINGTON IRVING?
Whitman uses an extended metaphor to compare a captain and a ship to this leader and war.
Who is ABRAHAM LINCOLN & the CIVIL WAR?