American Timeline Flashcards
Age of faith Context
Puritans and pilgrims
Who were puritans and pilgrims
Separated from Anglican church of England;
Religion dominated their lives and writings
Puritan work ethic
Believed in hard work and simple lving
Age of faith genre
A) sermons, diaries, narratives
B) instructive
C) plain style
3 age of faith authors
A) Anne Bradstreet
B) Edward Taylor
C) Jonathan Edwards
Anne Bradstreet
A) first published American poet
B) “To My Dear and Loving Husband”
Edward Taylor
A) minister; considered finest Puritan poet
B) “Huswifery”
Jonathan Edwards
A) minister
B) “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”
Age of Reason historical context
A) American revolution; patriotism grows
B) development of American character
B) Use of reason as opposed to faith alone
Age of reason genre
A) political pamphlets
B) instructive values
Age of reason major writers
A) Ben Franklin
B) Thomas Jefferson
C) Thomas Paine
Benjamin Franklin
A) autobiography and almanac
B) symbol of success gained by hard work and common sense
Thomas Jefferson
A) Declaration of Independence
B) considered the finest writer of the era
Thomas Paine
A) Pamphleteer
B) “The American Crisis helped propel us into war
C) remains a model of effective propaganda
D) “these are the times that try men’s souls.”
Romanticism historical context
A) expansion of book publishing, magazines, and newspapers
B) industrial Revolution
C) abolitionist movement
Romanticism genre/style
A) Short stories, novels, poetry
B) imagination over reason
C) focused on the fantastic human experience
E) focus on inner feelings
2 ways romanticism can be interpreted
Surface and in depth
Gothic literature
A) use of the supernatural
B) characters with both evil and good characteristics
C) dark landscapes; depressed characters
Major writers of romanticism
Washington Irving;
Nathaniel Hawthorne;
Edgar Allen Poe;
Herman Melville
Washington Irving
1) first famous American writer
2) called “father of American lit”
3) wrote short stories, travel books
4) “Legend of Sleepy Hollow”
5) “Rip Van Winkle”
Nathaniel Hawthorne
1) wrote about sin and guilt; consequences of pride, selfishness etc.
2) Scarlet Letter
3) Short Stories
Edgar Allen Poe
1) Lousy Childhood
2) Created the modern short story and detective story
Herman Melville
1) ranked as one of America’s top novelists, but recognized by few in his own time
2) Moby Dick
a) didn’t sell, not reprinted for 60 years
Transcendentalism
Stressed individualism, intuition, nature, self-reliance
