Mrs. League’s Final Exam Review—American Lit 111A
Vocabulary: Know the definitions for each of the words below and be able to use the word in a sentence.
Unit 1 / Unit 2 / Unit 3 / Unit 4acquisitive / Animadversion / Cavort / Atrophy
banal / brackish / Credence / Concord
carping / devious / Dissemble / Consummate
congeal / halcyon / Distraught / Disarray
encomium / histrionic / Evince / Frenetic
germane / maelstrom / Exhume / Glean
intransigent / overt / Murky / Grouse
largesse / pejorative / Piquant / Incarcerate
substantiate / sacrilege / Propinquity / Incumbent
taciturn / suppliant / substantive / pecuniary
Unit 5 / Unit 6 / Unit 7 / Unit 8
Depraved / Effigy / Counterpart / Allege
Enervate / Inane / Effrontery / Conciliate
Fecund / Indictment / Embellish / Echelon
Fiat / Intermittent / Felicitous / Exacerbate
Hallow / Moot / Garish / Fatuous
Ignominy / Motif / Indigent / Irrefutable
Nuance / Neophyte / Jettison / Juggernaut
Penchant / Plenary / Pertinacious / Lackadaisical
Reputed / Sylvan / Picayune / Litany
Sophistry / Testy / raiment / Slough
Literary Characters: Given a character from a literary work, identify the work and explain his or her significance within the work.
- Arthur Dimmesdale
- Ellen Sewell
- Henry Thoreau
- Hester Prynne
- Holden Caulfield
- Frederick Douglass
- Mr. Covey
- Mr. Antolini
- Roger Chillingworth
- Sam Staples
- Tom Walker
- Rip Van Winkle
- Pearl
Literary Terms: Define the following literary terms and give an example of each.
- allusion
- almanac
- anaphora
- anecdote
- antithesis
- aphorism
- apostrophe
- autobiography
- epistrophe
- conceit
- concession/refutation
- couplet
- cumulative sentence
- ethos
- expressionism
- feminine rhyme
- folk tale
- imagery
- inversion
- logos
- masculine rhyme
- metaphor
- meter
- oratory
- ornate
- paradox
- parallelism
- periodic sentence
- pathos
- personification
- Puritan Plain Style
- quatrain
- repetition
- restatement
- rhetorical question
- rhetorical triangle
- sermon
- symbol
- synecdoche
- telegraphic sentence
Literary Periods: Be able to identify characteristics of each literary period.
Colonial Period
Revolutionary Period
Romantic Period/Transcendentalism
Author identification and background: Know basic background information for each author and be able to name their significant writings.
William Bradford
Anne Bradstreet
Phillis Wheatley
Ben Franklin
Patrick Henry
Thomas Paine
William Cullen Bryant
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Oliver Wendell Holmes
James Russell Lowell
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Henry David Thoreau
Text familiarity: Know the main focus of each selection below.
Colonial Period
from Of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford
“To My Dear and Loving Husband” by Anne Bradstreet
“Upon the Burning of Our House”
from Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God by Jonathan Edwards
Excerpt from The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano
“Huswifery” by Edward Taylor
Revolutionary Period
from The Autobiography by Ben Franklin
from Poor Richard’s Almanack by Ben Franklin
from Speech in the Virginia Convention by Patrick Henry
from The Crisis by Thomas Paine
“On Being Brought from Africa to America”by Phillis Wheatley
Romantic Period and Transcendentalism
“To a Waterfowl” by William Cullen Bryant
“Thanatopsis” by William Cullen Bryant
“The First Snowfall” by James Russell Lowell
“The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
“A Psalm of Life” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
“Old Ironsides” by Oliver Wendell Holmes
from Nature by Ralph Waldo Emerson
from Self Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson
from Civil Disobedienceby Henry David Thoreau
Parallel ReadingsOutline the plot (use 10 significant points from beginning to end) of the novels or dramas read.
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
The Scarlet Letter
The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail
Critical Reading—Answer questions on a selection not covered in class that is from the time period studied.
FORMAT OF THE EXAM: Approximately 125-150 multiple choice questions.