Midterm Flashcards
Who wrote “The Author to Her Book”?
Bradstreet
(The Author to Her Book - Bradstreet): What is meant with “ill-formed offspring”?
- Bradstreet’s book of poems that was published in England by her brother-in-law
- As a Puritan wife/woman, she shouldn’t be writing poems, and she shows humility by referring to her poems as “ill-formed offspring”.
What is “The Author to Her Book” (Bradstreet) about?
- The main metaphor the “ill-formed offspring” and “rambling brat”, being her collection of poems
- For her it was very important to show humility, and therefore she refers to her work very critically but in a smart way
- It might be fake humility in order to not be exiled
- The fact that she wrote this poem in the first place shows that she has mastered poetry
Who wrote “To My Dear and Loving Husband”?
Bradstreet
“I prize thy love more than whole mines gold
Or all the riches that the East doth hold.”
- Who is the author + from which poem?
- Which metaphors are used and why are they interesting?
- Bradstreet: “To My Dear and Loving Husband”
- Whole mines of gold + riches: values of capitialism are shown
- East: her family sailed to the Massachusetts Bay Colony, which was in the east of the US. And they had a lot of money + the area was well-off (?)
“My love is such that rivers cannot quench,
Nor ought but love from thee give recompense.”
- Who is the author + from which poem?
- Which metaphors are used and why are they interesting?
- Bradstreet: “To My Dear and Loving Husband”
- Rivers cannot quech: reference to stanza in Geneva Bible –> heavenly/divine sort of love
“The heavens reward thee manifold, I pray.
Then while we live, in love let’s so persever[e],
That when we live no more, we may live ever.”
- Who is the author and from which work is this quote?
- Why is this quote interesting?
- Bradstreet: “To My Dear and Loving Husband”
- Many references to heaven and a heavenly love –> shows Bradstreet’s Puritan belief
- Reward: Influence of capitalism
Which other themes are found in “To My Dear and Loving Husband” (Bradstreet)?
- A City upon the Hill (Winthrop, 1630): Bradstreet boarded the ship with Winthrop, and he explains an idealised Christian community + it’s a reference to the Bible (Quote from Jesus)
- American Exceptionalism: the Americans are the chosen ones, the rest of the world should look at us as a model for freedom
Why is Bradstreet relevant?
- First published North American (English colonist in her perspective) poet in English
- Poems reveal Puritan belief as well as day to day life of women in colonial New England
“At thy return my blushing was not small,
My rambling brat (in print) should mother call,
I cast thee by as one unfit for light,”
- Who is the author + from which poem?
- Which metaphors are used and why are they interesting?
- Bradstreet: “The Author to Her Book”
- Blushing: she is ashamed of her work, showing humility
- My rambling brat: personification of her book of poem, that her work said things that shouldn’t be said (by her)
- One unfit for light: her poems shouldn’t have been published in the first place because she is a woman who shouldn’t be writing in the first place
“I washed thy face, but more defects I saw,
And rubbing off a spot, still made a flaw.
I stretched thy joints to make thee even feet,
Yet still thou run ‘st more hobbling than is meet;”
- Who is the author + from which poem?
- Which metaphors are used and why are they interesting?
- Bradstreet: “The Author to Her Book”
- Bradstreet tries to correct her work, but it made it worse
Who wrote “In Memory of My Dear Grandchild Elizabeth Bradstreet”?
Bradstreet
“Blest babe why should I once bewail thy fate,
Or sigh the days so soon were terminate,
Sith thou art setteld in an everlasting state.”
- Who is the author + from which poem?
- Which metaphors are used and why are they interesting?
- Bradstreet: “In Memory of My Dear Grandchild Elizabeth Bradstreet”
- Blest + fate: faith is set before birth by God and be blessed by God
- Text says there is no reason to be sad because it was God’s plan + child is in heaven, but the tone is sad instead of rejoice
- It shows the contrast between her Puritan belief and her struggle as a grandmother/human being
- An everlasting state: eternity in heaven
What are broader characteristics of Bradstreet’s “In Memory of My Dear Grandchild Elizabeth Bradstreet”?
- Life is short –> poem is short
- Bradstreet doesn’t write like a typical Puritan thought, on the surface it looks like she accepts it, but between the lines there is some sorrow
Who wrote “Here Follows Some Verses Upon the Burning of Our House”?
Bradstreet
“I wakened was with thund’ring noise,
And piteous shrieks of dreadful voice.”
- Who is the author + from which poem?
- Which metaphors are used and why are they interesting?
- Bradstreet: “Here Follows Some Verses Upon the Burning of Our House”
- The speaker freaks out, which she shouldn’t because what happens if God’s plan
- Bradstreet is behaving in a way that makes sense to us
“And when I could no longer look,
I blest His name that gave and took,
That laid my goods now in the dust.”
- Who is the author + from which poem?
- Which metaphors are used and why are they interesting?
- Bradstreet: “Here Follows Some Verses Upon the Burning of Our House”
- This is an appropriate reaction for a good Puritan when this happens
- She is thankful for God for giving her the stuff to borrow and now God is taking it back now
“When by the ruins oft I past
My sorrowing eyes aside did cast,
And here and there the places spy
Where oft I sate and long did lie:”
- Who is the author + from which poem?
- Which metaphors are used and why are they interesting?
- Bradstreet: “Here Follows Some Verses Upon the Burning of Our House”
- The house remains are still there and she misses her possessions –> just like a normal person
“Then straight I ‘gin my heart to chide,
And did they wealth on earth abide?”
- Who is the author + from which poem?
- Which metaphors are used and why are they interesting?
- Bradstreet: “Here Follows Some Verses Upon the Burning of Our House”
- She scolds herself for caring about her material things
- Chide = scold
“Thou hast a house on high erect
Framed by that mighty Architect,
With glory richly furnished,
Stands permanent though this be fled.”
- Who is the author + from which poem?
- Which metaphors are used and why are they interesting?
- Bradstreet: “Here Follows Some Verses Upon the Burning of Our House”
- She goes to heaven anyway, so she can leave the material things on earth behind –> shows her strongest connection with faith
- Glory richly: language of capitalism, and it’s integrating in the language of religion
- Architect: God
“The world no longer let me love,
My hope and treasure lies above.”
- Who is the author + from which poem?
- Which metaphors are used and why are they interesting?
- Bradstreet: “Here Follows Some Verses Upon the Burning of Our House”
- This quote shows a sense of tranquility
- She lands on a good Puritan belief/stance
What are some main themes of Bradstreet’s poems?
- Tension between reality and an ideal manifest
- Puritan beliefs: she is part of the establishment (Branch from the Church of England, est. by King Henry VIII), wanting to share her religion
Who wrote the “Declaration of Independence?”
Jefferson
“We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with inherent and inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
- Who is the author and from which work is this quote?
- Why is this quote interesting?
- Jefferson wants to promote equality
–>* Enlightenment and Revolutionary Ideals which followed from the American Revolutionary War* - Creator instead of a God
- We control own destiny because we are all born rational
- Freedom
- As logical humans, we are all created equal so we deserve equal rights
“To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world for the truth of which we pledge a faith yet unsullied by falsehood.”
- Who is the author and from which work is this quote?
- Why is this quote interesting?
- Jefferson: “Declaration of Independence”
- The reasons to become independent from Great Brittain follow
- “for the truth of which we pledge faith yet unsullied by falsehood” –> removed from final draft.
“… in the persons of a distant people who never offended him, captivating and carrying them into slavery in another hemisphere,”
- Who is the author and from which work is this quote?
- Why is this quote interesting?
- Jefferson: “Declaration of Independence”
- Congress had slaves themselves
- Slavery is part of the Socio-economics of the US
- Ironic because they want freedowm that is incompatible with slavery
- Jefferson recognised that slavery was bad
- This quote was removed in the final draft
“… he is now exciting those very people to rise in arms among us, and to purchase that liberty of which he has deprived them, by murdering the people on whom he also obstruded them:”
- Who is the author and from which work is this quote?
- Why is this quote interesting?
- Jefferson: “Declaration of Independence”
- Implicit condemnation of the African slave trade
- Almost all founding fathers are slave owners
- This quote is removed in the final draft.
“Nor have we been wanting in attentions to our British brethren.”
- Who is the author and from which work is this quote?
- Why is this quote interesting?
- Jefferson: “Declaration of Independence”
- Before this quote, Jefferson is heavily critising the king
- After this quote, Jefferson is talking about the British people
“We must endeavor to forget our former love for them, and hold them as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war, in peace friends.”
- Who is the author and from which work is this quote?
- Why is this quote interesting?
- Jefferson: “Declaration of Independence”
- British people are the enemy just like the king –> condemnation of the British people
- For success of the US, trade and allies are necessary, so Congress didn’t want to cut ties with the British people, and therefore this part was removed
- Them: The British people
What are characteristics of Enlightment and Revolutionary Ideals?
- During American Revolutionary War (1775-1783)
- Humans can understand Universe through applying reason
- Evidence for logical, orderly Creator (aka religion is not rational)
- Humans born neither good nor bad; they can control their own destiny through reason
How are the characteristics of the Enlightment and Revolutionary Ideals different from the Puritan thought?
- [ER] Creator, neutral and no influence anymore now vs [P] God, everything happens because of God’s will
- [ER] Humans neither good nor bad vs [P] God decides who’s good and who’s bad
- [ER] Humans can control own destiny vs [P] God decides
- [ER] Goal is knowledge, freedom and happiness vs [P] go to heaven
- [ER] Goal of education is to learn to think rationally vs [P] education is way to God
What’s Jefferson’s literary significance?
- Decl. of Indep. reflects tension between ideals vs reality that have shaped American Literature from the beginning
- Ideals: equality - reality: 1/5 of citizens is enslaved
- Decl. of Indep. shows the important role that writing (literature) has played in defining American identity from the beginning
- Normally, etnicity/language/religion is used to define itself, but these options were not available for US so they have to write themselves into existence
Was Wheatley a slave?
She was brought to Boston as a slave (1761) but later gained freedom (1773)
What is Wheatley’s literary significance?
- Starts American literary tradition
- Starts African American women’s literary tradition
Who wrote “On Being Brought from Africa to America”?
Wheatley
” ‘Twas mercy brought me from my pagan land,
Taught my benighted soul to understand
That there’s a God, that there’s a Savior too:
Once I redemption neither sought or new.”
- Who is the author and from which work is this quote?
- Why is this quote interesting?
- Wheatley: “On Being Brought from Africa to America”
- My “pagan” land: holding a religion that is not according with the main belief
- Benighted: ignorant/dark
- It implicates that it was a good thing she was brought to the VS because she now has knowledge about God
- Expressing gratitude to enslavers because they taught her about Christianity (doesn’t explictly say that they taught her to read and write)
“Some view our sable race with scornful eye,
“Their color is a diabolic dye.”
Remember, Christians, Negroes, black as Cain,
May be refined, and join the angelic train.”
- Who is the author and from which work is this quote?
- Why is this quote interesting?
- Wheatley: “On Being Brought from Africa to America”
- She’s telling white people that black people can be Christians as well and be equals
- Rationality: accepting Saviour/God –> in charge of own destiny
- Skin colour doesn’t make you good/evil if you accept God
What Enlightment ideals are addressed in “On Being Brought from Africa to America” (Wheatley)?
- Addresses racist assumptions that white people have about black people
- In closing lines Wheatley states that black and white people are equal and that they are capable to learn about Christianity and become Christian –> so humans are neither good nor bad
- Wheatley can read and write, which shows that she is a rational human being
- Wheatley copies neoclassic forms of 18th century British poets (heoric couplets, iambic pentameter)
What are similarities between Wheatley and Bradstreet?
- They can’t boast about their accomplishments
- Are not supposed to write at all, especially not for the white males, who were the majority of the people who could read
- They are constrained in some way (Wheatley due to slavery and race and being female, Bradstreet being Puritan and female)
Who wrote: “To the Right Honorable William, Earl of Dartmouth”?
Wheatley
Why did Wheatley write to William, Earl of Dartmouth?
- He was the right hand of His Majesty
- Wheatley wanted to make a case for the colonists for freedom
“Should you, my lord, while you peruse my song,
Wonder from whence my love of Freedom sprung,”
- Who is the author and from which work is this quote?
- Why is this quote interesting?
- Wheatley: “To the Right Honorable William, Earl of Dartmouth”
- Before in the poem, Wheatley expresses how good freedom is
- Colonists want freedom, but black people are still not free
- She is interested in freedom because she doesn’t have it because she is a slave
“I, young in life, by seeming cruel fate
Was snatch’d from Afric’s fancied happy seat:”
- Who is the author and from which work is this quote?
- Why is this quote interesting?
- Wheatley: “To the Right Honorable William, Earl of Dartmouth”
- Wheatley herself is a slave
“What pangs excruciating must molest,
What sorrows labor in my parent’s breast?”
- Who is the author and from which work is this quote?
- Why is this quote interesting?
- Wheatley: “To the Right Honorable William, Earl of Dartmouth”
- Wheatley describes the extreme pain that parents have felt when she was taken away to be become a slave
“Such, such my case. And can I then but pray
Others may never feel tyrannic sway?”
- Who is the author and from which work is this quote?
- Why is this quote interesting?
- Wheatley: To the Right Honorable William, Earl of Dartmouth”
- Wheatley makes a case against slavery, but she can’t be explicit because she might be exciled
- She hopes others don’t have to feel that way
- After this stanza, she goes back to make a case for the colonists
What is the purpose of “To the Right Honorable William, Earl of Dartmouth”? (Wheatley)
- It’s not about the abolishment of slavery, but she is aware of the fact that she is a slave promoting freedom, except her own
- Wheatley shows how rational she is by following popular poem “rules”, writing a poem to someone was very popular that time
What is Poe’s literary significance?
- Contributes to development of American Romanticism
- Rejects notion that literature should be didactic
- Formulates early theories of literary criticism
What is literary criticism?
Literary criticism is the comparison, analysis, interpretation, and/or evaluation of works of literature.
What is Romanticism?
- Developed as reponse to Enlightment
- Flourished in West during first half of 19th century (starts in EU–>UK–>US)
- Emotions>reason
- Imagination>intellect
- Celebrated the individual rebelling against convention
Who wrote “The Raven”?
Poe
Why is “The Raven” written?
- Purely for entertainment from Poe’s perspective
“And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain
Thrilled me - filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating,”
- Who is the author and from which work is this quote?
- Why is this quote interesting?
- Poe: “The Raven”
- The speaker gets excited because he thinks the knocking might be Lenore
“But whose velvet violet lining with the lamplight gloating o’er,
She shall press, ah, nevermore!”
- Who is the author and from which work is this quote?
- Why is this quote interesting?
- Poe: “The Raven”
- The speaker is reminded that he will never see his love Leonore in person again
Who wrote “The Philosophy of Composition” and what was its purpose?
- Poe
- It explains how he wrote the Raven, but it is unclear if he actually uses these theories
“Truth, in fact, demands a precision, and Passion, a homeliness (the truly passionate will comprehend me), which are absolutely antagonistic to that Beauty which, I maintain, is the excitement or pleasureable elevation of the soul.”
- Who is the author and from which work is this quote?
- Why is this quote interesting?
- Poe: “The Philosophy of Composition”
- Passion and Beauty are opposites
“Melachony is thus the most legitimate of all the poetical tones.”
- Who is the author and from which work is this quote?
- Why is this quote interesting?
- Poe: “The Philosophy of Composition”
- This tone continues throughout “The Raven”
What is the Unity of Effect explained in “The Philosophy of Composition” (Poe)?
- Novel and vivid effect by ordinary incident and peculiar tone or both peculiar incident and tone
- In “The Raven”: both peculiar incident and tone –> the Raven tapping on the window at midnight
What is the Method of Composition explained in “The Philosophy of Composition” (Poe)?
- The composition of a literary work has to be thought out beforehand to ensure the desired effect
- In “The Raven”: its composition is the work proceeded step by step, to its completion, with the precision and rigid consequences of a mathematical problem
What is meant with the Length of a work explained in “The Philosophy of Composition” (Poe)?
- Length of a poem should be considered, e.g. is one-sitting reading necessary for desired effect
- Poem can never be too long to be considered a good poem
- In “The Raven”: 108 lines
What is meant with Most poetical tone in “The Philosophy of Composition” (Poe)?
- “Melachony is thus the most legitimate of all the peotical tones”
- In “The Raven”: Poe chose Beauty to be the effect and true Beauty excites the soul in tears –> tone: melachony
What is meant with Most poetical topic in “The Philosophy of Composition” (Poe)?
- A topic which fits the given guidelines stated by Poe
- In “The Raven”: Poe chose the death of a beautiful woman because that is the most melancholy poetical topic
Who wrote “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July”?
Douglass
What was the main criticism of Douglass in “What to the Slave Is Fourth of July”?
Douglass states that positive statements about perceived American values, such as liberty, citizenship, and freedom, were an offense to the enslaved population of the United States because they lacked those rights.
“But, such is not the state of the case. I say it with a sad sense of the disparity between us. I am not included within the pale of this glorious anniversary!”
- Who is the author and from which work is this quote?
- Why is this quote interesting?
- Douglass: “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July”
- Douglass states that the celebration of freedom is for the white people, but there are still people enslaved
“By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down. Yea! we wept when we remebered Zion”
- Who is the author and from which work is this quote?
- Why is this quote interesting?
- Douglass: “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July”
- Douglass refers to living in a repressive society and longing for freedom
- Zion: the heavenly city
Is Douglass critical about or praising the founding fathers in his speech “What to the Slaves Is the Fourth of July”?
In spite of his praise of the Founding Fathers, he maintains that slaves owe nothing to and have no positive feelings towards the founding of the United States. He faults America for utter hypocrisy and betrayal of those values in maintaining the institution of slavery.
What is the tension between ideals and reality described in Douglass’ speech “What to the Slaves Is the Fourth of July”?
- He talks about how Americans are proud of their country and their religion and how they rejoice in the name of freedom and liberty and yet they do not offer those things to millions of their country’s residents.
- He also attempts to demonstrate the irony of their inability to sympathize with the Black people they oppressed in cruel ways that the forefathers they valorized never experienced.
- America is built on the idea of liberty and freedom, but Douglass tells his audience that more than anything, it is built on inconsistencies and hypocrisies that have been overlooked for so long they appear to be truths
What was Harper and Douglass’ main goal of writing before the Civil war (1861-1865)?
- To motivate the white people in the Northern states to take action against the slavery problem in the Southern states (they don’t have to tell them how bad slavery is since they can see it themselves)
Was Harper a slave herself?
No, Wheatley and Douglass were slaves but Harper wasn’t a slave. However she was raised by her uncle, who was an abolitionist
What is the central message of “The Slave Mother”?
The profound pain of a mother’s separation from her child under the cruelity of slavery
Who wrote “The Slave Mother”?
Harper
What is the situation of the speaker in “The Slave Mother” (Harper)?
- The speaker is a witness at the slave auction
- Goal: telling the Northern white people what happens at a slave auction, because for them it is a distant problem
“Heard you that shriek? It rose
So wildly on the air,
It seem’d as if a burden’d heart
Was breaking in despair.”
- Who is the author and from which work is this quote?
- Why is this quote interesting?
- Harper: “The Slave Mother”
- Shriek: expressing overwhelming pain and despair
- Location: slave auction and mother and son are sold seperately and therefore have to part ways
“Saw you those hands so sadly clasped-
The bowed and feeble head-
The shuddering of that fragile form-
That look of grief and dread?”
- Who is the author and from which work is this quote?
- Why is this quote interesting?
- Harper: “The Slave Mother”
- Reflecting deep sorrow and fear
How are Harper’s references to race in “The Slave Mother” different than Wheatley’s in “On Being Brought from Africa to America”?
- Harper: no references to race, but is more explicit against slavery, since it was written during the abolitionist movement
- Wheatley: way more references to race; is not able to very explicit against slavery because she was a slave herself during that time
Who wrote “The Fugitive’s Wife”?
Harper
What is “The Fugitive’s Wife” (Harper) about?
The husband is going to escape enslavement by running away to the Northern state, and therefore becomes a fugitive
Who is the speaker in “The Fugitive’s Wife” (Harper)?
- The speaker is the wife
- She doesn’t say: don’t go/stay/take me with you because she loves him so much that she wants him to run away
Who was the target audience of “The Fugitive’s Wife” (Harper)?
- Directed to white women, because they are able to influence their husbands and children
- The one’s who could read were educated and have the resources to help in the abolitionist movement
What are some characteristics of Whitman’s poetry?
- Whitman was a pioneer in free verse: varying line lengths, lack of traditional meter and non-rhyming lines
- Use of other poetic conventions, such as repetition
- Celebrates individual and personal experience
- Celebrates role of human mind and spirit
- The “I” in Whitman’s poems isn’t him oftentimes
- Creates speakers who are like prophets sharing their message with the world (the theme of the poem, or main insight about the topic)
Who wrote “I Hear America Singing”?
Whitman
What is “I Hear America Singing” (Whitman) about?
- It celebrates the working class who take pride in their work
- Take-away message: Americans are hard-working and happy
“Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else”
- Who is the author and from which work is this quote?
- Why is this quote interesting?
- Whitman: “I Hear America Singing”
- Celebration for the American work-ethic and working class
- Focusses on the individual worker
