Test 2 Flashcards
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Fireside Poet
Enjoyable poetry that taught rich morals
Work: The Arsenal at Springfield”
Author: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Theme: Peace replaces need for weapons Stanzas 1-2: Descriptions of weapons Stanzas 3-8: Brief world history of wars Stanzas 9-12: Hope for future free of war and full of peace
“This is the Arsenal. From floor to ceiling,
like a huge organ, rise the burnished arms;”
The Arsenal at Springfield by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
“It is, O man, with such discordant noise,
With such accursed instruments as these,
Thou drownest Nature’s sweet and kindly voices,
And jarrest the celestial harmonies?”
The Arsenal at Springfield by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Where half the power, that fills the world with terror,
Were half the wealth bestowed on camps and courts,
Given to redeem the human mind from error,
There were no need of arsenals or forts:”
The Arsenal at Springfield by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Work: The Cross of Snow”
Author: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Theme: the burden of grief
Mount of the Holy Cross in the Rocky Mountains
Metaphor for the burden of grief he carries for his wife
Petrarchan sonnet
Walt Whitman
The radical poet of transcendentalism
First major modern poet
Introduced the use of free verse
What became the most influential work of modern poetry?
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
Work: O Captain! My Captain!
Author: Walt Whitman Theme: Loss of leadership Written to remember Lincoln Extended metaphor (Ship losing its captain=country losing president) Apostrophe
Emily Dickinson
Known as pioneer in modern poetry (especially as a woman poet)
Known for unconventional style: punctuation/capitalization/multiple versions of poems
Work: Tell All the Truth
Author: Emily Dickinson
Theme: Truth should be told indirectly
Use of slant rhyme
“Tell all the Truth, but tell it slant—”
Work: Because I Could Not Stop for Death”
Author: Emily Dickinson Theme: Death discussed in terms of living Personifies Death (pleasant journey) Uses stages of life Slant rhyme
Fredrick Douglass
Major abolitionist leader and famous speaker
Most influential black American of his time
Work: Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass”
Author: Frederick Douglass
Best example of a slave narrative (epitome of common characteristics and themes)
Common conventions of slave narratives
Usually begin with birth (but in vague terms)
Points out prominent events of the slave’s life
Typically ends with journey to freedom
Common slave narrative themes
Literacy (slaves saw this as the key to intellectual freedom)
Freedom (physical freedom from slavery)
Dehumanization (showed slave owners as cruel and inhuman
Separation of families (slave families were often split and sold to different owner across the country)
Where was Fredrick Douglass born?
Maryland (sent to Baltimore at age 9)
T/F: Fredrick Douglass couldn’t read until he had escaped slavery where he learned to read so he could write his book.
False: Douglass was taught to read by his owner’s wife
T/F: Fredrick Douglass was sent to a plantation at 15 but was so rebellious that he was sent to a “slave breaker” for a year.
True
Where did Fredrick Douglass escape to?
Massachusetts
T/F: Fredrick Douglass helped recruit soldiers for the Union army during the Civil War.
True
T/F: After the Civil War, Fredrick Douglas got a job as a librarian.
False: He was appointed to political office and later became the US minister to Haiti
William Lloyd Garrison, the author of the forward of Fredrick Douglass’s Narrative, described Douglass’s speaking using the word “Pathos.” What does “Pathos” mean?
invoking pity or sadness
T/F: Slave families weren’t separated, therefore the larger the slave family was, the more they were worth in trading and selling.
False: Slave families were often separated. Children of slaves were often separated from their mothers before they were even 12 months old.
