Romanticism/Transcendentalism/Gothicism Study Guide
Honors American Literature
R. Bennett
General Info. to Know:
Background to each of the major movements below—what facilitated them?
What was each movement about?
How is each movement distinguished from the others, and how—if they do—do they overlap?
The overall purpose/theme of each text below.
Any and all discussion from class is fair game on this test!
The following are texts we covered that will appear on your test:
Romanticism—Know how all of the texts below fit the Romantic genre
Devil and Tom Walker
Review setting and its significance towards plot, conflict, and characterization. For example, what can we
infer about these things from the description of the house?
Direct and Indirect characterization of characters (should be able to identify from quotes)
Examples of verbal and situational irony.
Rip Van Winkle
What are possible political meanings behind the symbols of Dame Van Winkle, Rip Van Winkle, and their
society?
Note characteristics of each character and his/her ideologies. (Main characters only.)
Poetry—for each of the poems below, know the poetic devices we covered in class, any imagery reviewed and
its purpose, and connections between ideas presented in each (from class discussion).
Thanatopsis
Tide Rises, Tide Falls
The First Snowfall
My Low and Humble Home
Transcendentalism
The Transcendentalist
Review your notes from our Socratic Seminar; all is fair game.
Good-By
Overall purpose, tone, and ideology from poem.
Poetic devices: use and how they enhance meaning.
from Walden
Ideology, extended metaphors, connection to other texts (as discussed in class)
Going to Walden
What is Oliver’s overall message about transcendentalism in this poem?
Self-Reliance
How does this text show similarity between, but also distinction from, Enlightenment thought?
Review Emerson’s ideal on consistency.
Consider the relationship between a person’s being “self reliant” and obedience to God.
from Civil Disobedience
What political statements are being made here?
How does some of Thoreau’s philosophy relate to Descartes’s philosophy?
What is the best government according to Thoreau, and when will it exist?
What is Thoreau’s position on the power of the individual?
Because I Could Not Stop for Death—
Know background information on Dickenson
What separated Dickenson’s poetry from her contemporaries stylistically?
Review the use of the dash…what is it’s purpose?
What is slant rhyme versus exact rhyme?
What are the concrete images with abstract meanings in Dickenson’s poem?
What is the overall tone of the poem?
Gothicism
Minister’s Black Veil—review notes from Ms. Ruttle’s discussion
The Fall of the House of Usher—know the 10 questions on your lit. discussion sheets
Annabelle Lee—review notes from class Wednesday, Feb. 16 th.
Grammar:
Parts of Speech
Identifying Prep Phrases as adjectives or adverbs
Active vs. passive voice, including usage of the verb “is”.