Midterm Study Guide: American Literature I

(This List of Information Is Not All Inclusive)

Literary Approaches

Age of Enlightenment1665-1815

It was a time of scientific advancement. Some of the characteristics include:

  • Autonomy: Humans should use their own reason to mature and grow. Individual freedom is important
  • Rational Thought and Objectivity
  • All Humans are Equal
  • Human History is the Story of Progress
  • Religious Beliefs Should not be Tied to the State
  • The Government Should Reflect the Populace

Romanticism-Approx. 1770-1860

This was a reaction against the age of reason. Individualism was central to Romanticism. The individual was meant to be a creator who eschewed rules and tradition. Often Romantic literature look to the past, considering the origins of nations and cultures. In Europe, there was an obsession with the medieval period. Romantic literature often privileged action over character development. The plots are often elaborate traits of Romantic literature includes:

-Sensibility/Sentimentalism

-Love of nature

-Primitivism

-Interested in the past

-Mysticism

-Individualism

-Moralizing Impulse

Gothic Literature

This is a subset of romantic literature. The goal was to evoke horror and subvert rationality, demonstrating the disturbing reality that lies beneath the veneer of civilization. Characteristics include:

-Dark and foreboding settings

-Sock characterization: damsel in distress, evil villains, powerful/ selfless hero

-Supernatural events

-Omens, visions, and prophecies

-Interrupted narratives

Terms

Puritanism

Pilgrims

Predestination

Sentimentalism

Pragmatism

Age of Exploration

Triangle Trade

Covenant of Grace

King Philip’s war Primitivism

Themes

Reason vs. Sentimentality

Religion vs Secularism

Appearances vs. Reality

Reliability of the Narrator

Nature as a force that shapes and impacts lives (Dangerous or Benevolent)

Social Class

Parental Fealty

Conformity

The Wilderness

The American Revolution

Tyranny

Reminders

  • Make sure that you review your notes for any characters, other than the main characters, who we have discussed at length.
  • The themes section of the study guide refers to both themes and ideas in the text that we explored in depth.
  • Success on this test depends on your ability to demonstrate that you have read the texts, that you understand the texts, that you have paid attend during lectures, and that you are able to connect the ideas that we have discussed to different text.

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