FIRST HARVEST Historical/Literary Notes 1. First Harvest Historical Notes

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1 FIRST HARVEST Historical/Literary Notes 1 First Harvest Historical Notes

2 FIRST HARVEST Historical/Literary Notes 2 First Harvest Introduction: pp Crevocoeur, a French man, observed the new American and saw new America as a refuge for the poor and oppressed of Europe. 1. What forces helped to develop the spirit of Nationalism? (117) a. revolution/war of 1812 c. centralized economic system b rapid industrialization d. centralized political system 2. How did America change economically during this period? (117-18) a. new, American industries (European wars cut off supplies; cities grew new factories b. wilderness frontier pushed outward 1. Louisiana Purchase c. farmers needed more roads/ canals/ steamboats/ railroads 3. What problems (besides economic) did America still have, though? (118) a communication between distances b political factions/internal divisions especially slavery 4. How did Emerson describe the union? (119) a part of the religion of this people 5. How was the drive toward cultural independence characterized? (122) It was called the spirit of nationalism There was a major shift from classicism to romanticism in literature. CLASSICISM: 6. Classicism upholds tradition often to the point of resisting change. (122) 7. Classicists emphasize human limitation. (122) Classicism = reason is the dominating characteristic of both nature and of human nature; both are governed by fixed, unchanging laws. Reason vs. imagination; social vs. personal; common vs. individual Classicism valued clarity, order, balance For a classicist, imagination needs to be restrained by reason and common sense Classicism upheld tradition

3 FIRST HARVEST Historical/Literary Notes 3 Romanticism = emotions and the individual are centrally important Romantic writers emphasized intuition, as an inner perception of truth New emphasis upon the dignity and worth of the common individual as well as social reforms Humanitarian reform (abolition of slavery, improved education) marked romanticism. This expansive spirit fit the needs of a new nation going through so many changes. e.g. highlighting the individual fits the words of the Declaration, all men are created equal. Writers wanted to express their own intuitive experiences. Certain subjects fit the needs of a Romantic writer: Nature its beauty, strangeness, mystery, constant change [Nature, to a classicist, was a system of rational laws] The Past writers gradually developed a sense of a national past and of an emerging national character Inner World of Human Nature Romantics emphasized the emotions, the intuition and the individual therefore, they explored the irrational depths of human nature. Edgar Allen Poe, especially ** Nathaniel Hawthorne = later psychological writer*** ROMANTICISM: 8. Romanticism places central importance upon the emotions and upon the individual Reason is not the only or even the surest guide to truth. (122) 9. Romantic writers emphasize intuition (independent of reason.) (122) 10. A Romantic s key to the inner world is the imagination. 11. For a Romantic, all art is the imaginary expression of the inner essence of the individual. 12. Romanticism defends the potential of the individual. 13. Romantics stress human potential for social progress and spiritual growth. (122)

4 FIRST HARVEST Historical/Literary Notes The Romantic emphasis on the individual, seen in the phrase all men are created equal from the Declaration of Independence, led to what two changes? a. new emphasis on dignity and worth of the common individual b. social reforms meant to fulfill this ideal of equality. (123) 15. Humanitarian reform is one mark of Romanticism. Two examples are: a. abolition of slavery b. improvements in education (123) 16. Romantic writers wrote about three major subjects: a. nature b. the past c. the inner world of human nature (123) 17. The classic view of nature is a system of rational laws. (123) 18. The Romantics emphasized the beauty, strangeness, and mystery of nature. 19. How did the wilderness play a part in the romantic view of nature? (124) Americans were creating a new country in the setting of the wilderness 20. Who became the spokesman for religion in nature? (124) William Cullen Bryant 21. Washington Irving used the genres of legend and folklore to highlight the natural world colored by emotion and superstition. (124) 22. Washington Irving s stories illustrated character types: old truths about human nature, and the dramatic possibilities of the American lands. (124) 23. Irving and Cooper show a direct interest in a national past. (124) a. Irving: legend, folklore Wrote an unofficial record of America s character and beliefs shared memories b. Cooper: great, historical events Revolution; border wars; especially the conquest of the wilderness

5 FIRST HARVEST Historical/Literary Notes In what ways was Romanticism concerned with the inner world of human behavior? (125) exploring and expressing the writer s most private inner being; an interest in the irrational depths of human nature 25. How did each of the following develop this psychological literature? (125) a. Bryant: observed nature then expressed his inner feelings b. Cooper: explored the effects of the wilderness on man s inner feelings c. Poe: his stories often resembled dreams he extended the irrational elements, often to madness d. Romantics: found a new way to express their experiences as Americans Washington Irving: pp Washington Irving s two most famous stories were Rip van Winkle and Legend of Sleepy Hollow 27. They were adapted from German folk tales. (126) 28. Irving did NOT share the creative belief with the later Romantics that the creative artist must be original. (127) 29. This allows him to mix realistic detail with elements of the supernatural. e.g. Rip van Winkle sleeps for 20 years, and a devil lives in a swamp The Devil and Tom Walker - a story of a man who sells his soul to the devil and the consequences he suffers. [***please be aware that in the description of the devil, Irving uses the color black liberally to refer to the soot and grime [comically funny for a guy who lives in fire] as well as the evil of the character. There are no racial slurs here. ***] The Devil and Tom Walker is based on the German Faust legend. Folk story characters are caricatures of moral types; their human traits are exaggerated to make a point.

6 FIRST HARVEST Historical/Literary Notes What is ironic about the setting of the story? (128) 31. What atmosphere (mood) does the setting develop? 32. How are Tom and his wife characterized? a. Tom b. his wife 33. What hyperbole describes the (128) a. wife s miserliness? b. the horse? 34. How is Tom and the wife s stinginess mirrored in their home and surroundings? [quote specific diction] (128) a. b. c. d. 35. What onomatopoeia is used? (128) 36. How is the shortcut described? (128-9) 37. The place the devil frequents is always significant in fictional treatment of him. Where does Tom meet the devil? (129-30) [be detailed quote his diction] 38. What does the history of the place tell you about the appropriateness of the devil s home? 39. Metaphorically, how is Deacon Peabody described? (130) 40. Why is Tom not afraid of the devil? (131) 41. What is the signature of the devil? (131) How is this symbolic? 42. Ironically, why does Tom refuse the devil s first offer? (131)

7 FIRST HARVEST Historical/Literary Notes Why does Tom grow uneasy about his wife s disappearance? (132) 44. When he grabs the apron from the vulture, what is in it? & 45. What one condition does Satan always require when he makes a deal? (inferred, not stated) (133) 46. What does the devil want Tom to do with the money he gives him? (133) 47. Tom refuses. From this, what can we infer about Irving s view of slavery? 48. What does Tom agree to do with the money? (133) 49. There is an historical allusion to a time of paper credit in the 1730 s bad loans, scarce money, greed for more land. Do you see a corollary with current events, circa ? Explain. 50. What details about Tom s mansion and the way he keeps his horse show that, for all his wealth, he has not changed? (134) 51. How does the devil come for Tom? [remember Satan s symbolic color is black ] 52. What (ironically) happens to all of Tom s money? 52a. What is the symbolic reference?

8 FIRST HARVEST Historical/Literary Notes 8 Read the commentary on pages What genre is The Devil and Tom Walker story? 54. What types of characters does Irving portray? limited development stereotypical used to show human motivation & behavior 55. What keeps the reader from taking the literal story seriously? Remote in time aka, legendary the tone is humorous James Fenimore Cooper pp By the end of this Cooper unit, students will analyze the character of Deerslayer (Natty) as a product of two cultures (white and Indian) in conflict on the American frontier. 56. The five books of the Leatherstocking Tales by Cooper portray the life of Natty Bumppo (137) 57. The meeting point of wilderness and civilization is the constantly moving frontier. (137) 58. Cooper s subject is the effect of the wilderness on American character. (137) 59. Symbolically, the wilderness brings out the worst in human nature. However, according to Cooper, the primeval wilderness also offers America the opportunity to return to the natural moral law. (138) *****This is the basis of the noble savage motif **** 60. Leatherstocking is the original wilderness hero in this book: a solitary man in the presence of only Nature and God. 61. This reveals Cooper s hope for the moral renewal of American society. (138) 62. Bumppo s character is formed by the wilderness. (138) 63. From nature he has learned: a. a deep reverence for the Creator b. the wise use of Nature s gifts c. justice & truth in dealing with others

9 FIRST HARVEST Historical/Literary Notes What is the pattern for the writing of the five novels? (138) a. The Pioneers, 1 st book: Natty is an old man b. The Prairie, 3 rd book: Natty dies c. The Deerslayer, the 5 th book: Natty is on a reverse journey he is at his youngest and most innocent 65. This represents Cooper s conception of young America: a. America was born/began old, formed by European values/ideas b. The wilderness environment made American young, - a new land/a second chance c. This is the most cherished myth about the American wilderness 66. Natty Bumppo is the idealized wilderness hero; his life enacts the basic myth of a return to innocence and eternal youth. (end of 138) The Deerslayer 67. This portion of the story shows Natty Bumppo s passage from adolescent hunter to full wilderness warrior. (139) 68. From his Delaware Indian upbringing, he has learned (139) a. forest skills b. physical courage c. a strict code of honor [contributes to noble savage motif] 69. His self-definition also tests his white civilization feelings about white heritage, marriage and family as the fundamental relationships of social existence. (139) 70. Natty Bumppo believes Providence has meant him to live single in the wilderness and bridge the white and Indian worlds. (139) 71. As this portion of the story begins, Natty Bumppo has been captured by the enemy Hurons and sent on a mission by them. By honor, he must return to them; however, once he fulfills his mission, he is free to escape by any means. 72. As Deerslayer walks into the awaiting Huron tribe, Cooper describes the scene as imposing. [Nature]

10 FIRST HARVEST Historical/Literary Notes How is the natural setting given religious significance as Natty first approaches the gathered Hurons? Gothic tracery and churchly hues from Nature 74. What is the metaphor that introduces Cooper s motif or theme? Metaphor Theme = vs. 75. (141) The co-chiefs who are introduced are Rivenoak and le Panthère list their different qualities of leadership: a. Rivenoak b. le Panthère 76. Why has Deerslayer been summoned to stand trial? 77. How is Deerslayer perceived at first by the Hurons? (142-43) i.e. his character 78. (141) Which of the Hurons is Deerslayer s foremost supporter? 79. Why does Deerslayer not try to escape? (143-44) 80. Who, besides the chiefs, is included in the consultations? (144) 81. What offer of conciliation is made by the Huron chief? (144) 82. How does le Panthère receive his death wound? (gnarly )

11 FIRST HARVEST Historical/Literary Notes Where does Deerslayer head after leaving the woods? 84. Natty, in his escape, cannot hope to simply outrun so many pursuers. a. What tricks show his wilderness skills? b. What particular trick fails to fool the Hurons? 85. Return your brain to John Smith, early explorer, whose attitude toward the Indians showed qualities he liked as well as qualities he disliked. Is there a similar ambivalence in Cooper s presentation of the Hurons? Explain

12 FIRST HARVEST Historical/Literary Notes 12 William Cullen Bryant pp : When Bryant was born, there were 15 Atlantic states (agrarian) when he died, there were 38 industrialized, post-civil War states spanning the continent from east to west. Bryant was a Unitarian - An adherent of Unitarian Universalism; A monotheist who is not a Christian; A Christian who is not a Trinitarian; one who holds a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny 86. Bryant worked as the editor of the New York Evening Post 87. Some of the causes he supported that typify the humanitarian concern of the Romantic period were: a. abolition of slavery b. freedom of speech c. freedom of religion d. the right to unionize e. repeal laws to imprison debtors f. the election of Jackson & Lincoln 88. Who or what influenced his life/career? (150) the English Romantic poets (Wordsworth, Coleridge) his father, a doctor and naturalist 89. Bryant turned to nature as a reflection of the human spirit and a potential answer to humanity s most searching questions about human nature.

13 FIRST HARVEST Historical/Literary Notes 13 Thomas Cole, founder of the Hudson River School of painting, and Bryant were close friends. Both were inspired by nature. TO COLE, THE PAINTER, DEPARTING FOR EUROPE 1829 Thine eyes shall see the light of distant skies; Yet, Cole! Thy heart shall bear [take you] to Europe's strand A living image of our own bright land, 3 Such as upon thy glorious canvas lies; Lone lakes- savannas where the bison roves- 5 Rocks rich with summer garlands- solemn streams- Skies, where the desert eagle wheels and screams- 7 Spring bloom and autumn blaze of boundless groves. 8 Fair scenes shall greet thee where thou goest- fair, But different- everywhere the trace of men, 10 Paths, homes, graves, ruins, from the lowest glen To where life shrinks from the fierce Alpine air. 12 Gaze on them, till the tears shall dim thy sight, But keep that earlier, wilder image bright How does Bryant picture America in the poem To Cole? 91. What specific diction adds to the feeling of freedom and vastness of the wilderness? a. (l.5) c. (l.7) b. (l.6) d. (l.8) 92. How does Bryant picture Europe? (l.10) 93. What phrases convey that feeling? (l.11) a. c. b. d.

14 FIRST HARVEST Historical/Literary Notes How does the opening quatrain prepare you (Cole) for the final couplet? (ll.1-4) (ll.13-14) 95. Why is it appropriate that the only animals in the poem appear in the American description and they are the bison and the eagle? 96. What poetic device is used in line 7? 97. What poetic device is used in line 8? 98. Scansion, is scanning a poem for rhythm and rhyme. Metered syllables are marked as feet. (157) 99. Define the following: a. foot 2-3 syllables 1 stressed b. iamb unstressed/stressed (tadá) c. meter rhythmic pattern d. iambic pentameter 5 sets of iambs***** e. blank verse unrhymed iambic pentameter***** f. free verse irregular rhythm & varied line length***** g. couplet 2 rhyming lines with 1 thought*****

15 FIRST HARVEST Historical/Literary Notes 15 Bryant s best-known poem is "Thanatopsis" (literally, Greek for meditation on death). Perhaps the most remarkable feature of "Thanatopsis" is its anti-christian, stoical view of death. There is no heaven or hell beyond the grave; death ends life, and that is all: "Thine individual being, shalt thou go/ To mix forever with the elements,/ To be a brother to the insensible rock/ And to the sluggish clod" Thanatopsis" pp Read the commentary on pp , and literary elements on p For what reasons were the Romantics concerned with death? a. An interest in ancient past & earlier civilizations made them aware that many human societies have disappeared (155) b. the earth is the great tomb of man c. Romantics celebrated individualism & power of self. Death is the final restriction on self and its powers 101. According to Romantics, every living thing fulfills its appointed life cycle. The beauty of nature will be renewed for other eyes, but people must all pass from the scene - aka die 102. Bryant s Thanatopsis avoids sentimentalizing death Summarize the three parts of the poem. a. lines 1-30: acknowledge the support Nature offers for our needs voice of gladness (l. ) healing sympathy (l. ) darker miserys (l. ) b. lines our consciousness of TIME is a human attribute that sets us apart from other Nature [fear of death] c. lines the poem moves toward trust a release from fear/bitterness 104. Who is addressed in this poem? What literary device is being used? 105. Poetically, how is death presented in the first two stanzas? a. line 9 b. lines c. lines d. lines e. lines f. lines 24-27

16 FIRST HARVEST Historical/Literary Notes What is personified in the first lines of the poem? 107. How does Nature show her gentleness? [line # + short quotes] 108. How does Nature show her strength? [line # + short quotes] 109. What rhythmic poetry device is found in lines 31-35? [see # 99] 110. What two consolations does Bryant offer about death? (lines 60 66) a. b In his other poem To a Waterfowl, Bryant presents a view that there is a god or a power that guides man thru life. Thanatopsis presents no such view, but rather a deistic/unitarian view of death. What descriptions of death show this lack of God s presence? [line # & brief quotes] 112. According to Bryant, how should one approach death? (final stanza) 113. Death is compared metaphorically to what two images? a. lines 57,66,80-81 b. lines What poetic device is in lines 80-81?

17 FIRST HARVEST Historical/Literary Notes 17 To a Waterfowl p.151 A few years later, Bryant modified his attitude toward death in his poem "To a Waterfowl," in which a "Power" (God? / Nature?) is omnipresent and beneficent. The solitary bird is symbolic of an individual traveler on the journey of life What does the question in the first stanza about the bird s destination suggest to you about the speaker s mood or state of mind? (adjectives) 116. Migrating birds usually travel in flocks. What effect is conveyed by the focus on a solitary bird? 117. Who is the second person to observe the bird? (l. ) a. how does he differ from the speaker? 118. In stanza 6, the speaker imagines a homecoming of rest, fellowship, and shelter for the bird. Why is this important to the speaker? 119. What message do you think Bryant is trying to convey in this poem? 120. What is the phrase that states the theme of his poem. (ll.13-14) 121. The lesson of this experience touches the speaker s heart. What inner assurance does he gain from the bird s departure into the heavens? 122. What is the rhyme scheme of the poem?

18 FIRST HARVEST Historical/Literary Notes 18 EDGAR ALLEN POE PP Explain the Poe myth. 2. How would you characterize Poe s childhood? 3. The function of the imagination for Poe is to us from the world of ordinary in order to the inner, often world of the human. (159) 4. Along with Nathaniel Hawthorne, Poe developed the genre of the. 5. It is for Poe s of the dark side of our experience that Poe s writing is important. (159) POE S POETRY: To Helen p 180 Read literary elements on page 180 as well as the italicized notes. 6. Poe makes allusions to two famous mythological women: Helen: goddess of and Helen of [kidnapped by, prince of ] 7. Naiads were 8. Psyche was 9. A Nicéan bark is 10. Why can t the poem be about an actual woman? 11. What 3 poetic devices are used in stanza 1? (l. ) (l. ) (l. ) 12. To what is Helen s beauty compared? 13. What is the effect of this comparison of her beauty to something from the remote past? 14. In line 4 the wanderer is an allusion to which famous epic hero?

19 FIRST HARVEST Historical/Literary Notes In stanza 2, the wanderer comes home to two great ages of history and imagines the glory and grandeur of those periods. Name them. and 16. In stanza 3, Helen is present, standing in a window recess. What is the effect of seeing her statue-like and holding an agate lamp? [in ancient times, lamps made of agate were associated with immortality.] 17. How is this poem an apostrophe? The Bells pp Read literary elements on p Define onomatopoeia: 19. Define assonance: 20. Define alliteration: Note: The word tintinnabulation was coined by Poe (see l.11). A tintinnabulum is a Latin word for small bell. 21. What are the four types of bells described in The Bells? a. b. c. d. 22. What is the metal of each bell? a. b. c. d. 23. What sounds does each bell make? a. b. c. d. 24. Which bells are pleasant?

20 FIRST HARVEST Historical/Literary Notes Which bells are disturbing? 26. What is the tone or world of the first stanza? 27. What is the tone or world of the second stanza? 28. What is the tone or world of the third stanza? 29. What is the tone or world of the fourth stanza? 30. How does the rhythm change in the fourth stanza? 31. What vowels are associated with each stanza? I. II. III. IV. 32. Give examples [w/ line numbers] of poetic devices used in the poem. (see #1-3) a. b. c. 33. Describe the progression of the stanzas: I. II. III. IV.

American Romanticism

American Romanticism 1800-1860 Historical Background Optimism o Successful revolt against English rule o Room to grow Frontier o Vast expanse o Freedom o No geographic limitations Historical Background