Ame. Romanticism Study Guide Essay Example
American Romanticism (Use your Section Notes)
1. What did American Romantics celebrate?
a. Feeling over reason, imagination over science, and nature over civilization
2. What did the Transcendentalists believe?
a. Everything in the physical world is a reflection of the Divine Soul
3. What was the name of the movement that furthered American education, self-improvement, and cultural development?
a. The lyceum movement
4. Describe American Romantic writers.
a. They believed that cities are centers of corruption and ugliness
5. Why did American Romantic writers reject rationalism?
a. They believed that intuition and imagination yield greater truths.
6. What did American Romantic poets use as a literary model?
a. Poetic traditions established by European Romantics
7. What did Dark Romantics explore?
a. The psychological effects of sin and guilt as well as the conflict between good and evil
“Thanatopsis” by William Cullen Bryant
1. In the beginning of the poem, who/what does Nature speak to?
a. The person who thinks about Nature
2. According to the poem, what should people do when they feel afraid?
a. Go into Nature and listen to what Nature teaches
3. What does Nature urge the poet to find comfort in?
a. Knowledge that death joins us with all other people
4. Explain the following quote: “The oak/ Shall send his roots abroad, and pierce thy mold.”
a. Oak trees will send roots through your corpse
5. According to the last stanza, how should people regard death?
a. Calmly, with trust
6. Define imagery.
a. Language that appeals to the senses. Descriptions of people or objects stated in terms of our senses.
7. How is “Thanatopsis” a good example of Romantic poetry?
a. Nature arouses emotions and insights in the speaker
8. Define theme.
a. The main idea or underlying meaning of a literary work
9. What is the theme of “Thanatopsis”?
a. Human beings are an ongoing part of the earth itself
10. Define inversion.
a. The syntactic reversal of
1. What did American Romantics celebrate?
a. Feeling over reason, imagination over science, and nature over civilization
2. What did the Transcendentalists believe?
a. Everything in the physical world is a reflection of the Divine Soul
3. What was the name of the movement that furthered American education, self-improvement, and cultural development?
a. The lyceum movement
4. Describe American Romantic writers.
a. They believed that cities are centers of corruption and ugliness
5. Why did American Romantic writers reject rationalism?
a. They believed that intuition and imagination yield greater truths.
6. What did American Romantic poets use as a literary model?
a. Poetic traditions established by European Romantics
7. What did Dark Romantics explore?
a. The psychological effects of sin and guilt as well as the conflict between good and evil
“Thanatopsis” by William Cullen Bryant
1. In the beginning of the poem, who/what does Nature speak to?
a. The person who thinks about Nature
2. According to the poem, what should people do when they feel afraid?
a. Go into Nature and listen to what Nature teaches
3. What does Nature urge the poet to find comfort in?
a. Knowledge that death joins us with all other people
4. Explain the following quote: “The oak/ Shall send his roots abroad, and pierce thy mold.”
a. Oak trees will send roots through your corpse
5. According to the last stanza, how should people regard death?
a. Calmly, with trust
6. Define imagery.
a. Language that appeals to the senses. Descriptions of people or objects stated in terms of our senses.
7. How is “Thanatopsis” a good example of Romantic poetry?
a. Nature arouses emotions and insights in the speaker
8. Define theme.
a. The main idea or underlying meaning of a literary work
9. What is the theme of “Thanatopsis”?
a. Human beings are an ongoing part of the earth itself
10. Define inversion.
a. The syntactic reversal of