Podcast
Questions and Answers
What is the literary device used in poetry to indicate a pause?
What is the literary device used in poetry to indicate a pause?
Who is the narrator of the novel Moby Dick?
Who is the narrator of the novel Moby Dick?
What is the purpose of life according to Longfellow?
What is the purpose of life according to Longfellow?
What strange sight does Rip Van Winkle find in the forest?
What strange sight does Rip Van Winkle find in the forest?
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Who wrote the poem 'Song of Myself'?
Who wrote the poem 'Song of Myself'?
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What is the name of the old man that meets Young Goodman Brown in the woods?
What is the name of the old man that meets Young Goodman Brown in the woods?
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What do the writers known as Transcendentalists emphasize?
What do the writers known as Transcendentalists emphasize?
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What do the last lines of Walt Whitman's poem 'Song of Myself' suggest?
What do the last lines of Walt Whitman's poem 'Song of Myself' suggest?
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What can be inferred about QueeQueg's character in 'Moby Dick'?
What can be inferred about QueeQueg's character in 'Moby Dick'?
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What does 'Dame Van Winkle' symbolize in American literature?
What does 'Dame Van Winkle' symbolize in American literature?
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What are the two potential readings of the 'master' in Emily Dickinson's poem 'My Life had stood – a Loaded Gun'?
What are the two potential readings of the 'master' in Emily Dickinson's poem 'My Life had stood – a Loaded Gun'?
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What is a major theme in the American Romanticism Movement?
What is a major theme in the American Romanticism Movement?
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What does the magnolia flower symbolize in the context?
What does the magnolia flower symbolize in the context?
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What is the meaning of Zarifah's name in the context?
What is the meaning of Zarifah's name in the context?
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According to Emerson, how do we understand Nature through language?
According to Emerson, how do we understand Nature through language?
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Who wrote the text 'What to a slave is the fourth of July'?
Who wrote the text 'What to a slave is the fourth of July'?
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What is compared to a reflection in the context of 'Fall of the House of Usher'?
What is compared to a reflection in the context of 'Fall of the House of Usher'?
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What does the name Charlotte symbolize in the context?
What does the name Charlotte symbolize in the context?
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Who wrote the quote 'I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived'?
Who wrote the quote 'I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived'?
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What is the significance of the wife's name in 'Young Goodman Brown'?
What is the significance of the wife's name in 'Young Goodman Brown'?
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What is the extended metaphor in 'The house divided'?
What is the extended metaphor in 'The house divided'?
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Who wrote 'The Fall of the House of Usher'?
Who wrote 'The Fall of the House of Usher'?
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What does the speaker describe in the quote 'He tramps from the rock to the fountain, / and thinks of the two in the low trundle-bed / far away in the cot on the mountain'?
What does the speaker describe in the quote 'He tramps from the rock to the fountain, / and thinks of the two in the low trundle-bed / far away in the cot on the mountain'?
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What is a symbol in 'The Quadroons' and what does it represent?
What is a symbol in 'The Quadroons' and what does it represent?
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Study Notes
American Literature
- Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself" can be considered an epic poem.
- Whitman wrote "A Woman Waits for Me".
- In Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown", the old man is carrying a serpent staff and is revealed to be the devil.
- Henry W. Longfellow wrote "The Cross of the Snow" in response to his wife's death in a fire.
- Longfellow's poem "The Cross of the Snow" was inspired by his wife's death, specifically her skirt catching fire.
Literary Analysis
- Whitman's "Song of Myself" explores the theme of self-identity and the contradictions within oneself.
- Henry W. Longfellow's purpose of life, according to his poetry, is to act and improve each day.
- A caesura in poetry is a pause, often represented by a dash (-).
Authors and Their Works
- Washington Irving wrote "Rip Van Winkle".
- "Rip Van Winkle" features a strange sight in the forest, where the protagonist encounters a group of dwarves bowling.
- Lydia Maria Child wrote "The Quadroon".
- Emily Dickinson wrote "Because I Could Not Stop for Death".
- Herman Melville wrote "Moby Dick", where the narrator's name is Ishmael.
- Walt Whitman wanted to be remembered as the American Bard.
Literary Devices and Themes
- Transcendentalists, a term used to describe Romantic writers, emphasize the intuitive power of the mind and connection to nature.
- Henry David Thoreau wrote "Walden".
- In "Moby Dick", the character Queequeg is covered in tattoos.
- In "Young Goodman Brown", the pink ribbon that belonged to his wife, Faith, symbolizes the loss of faith.
- The poem "A Certain Slant of Light" by Emily Dickinson explores the themes of death and the afterlife.
- The poem "My Life Had Stood a Loaded Gun" by Emily Dickinson features two potential readings: rage and religion/devotion to Christ.
American Romanticism
- Defining themes of the American Romanticism Movement include the blending of cultures, beauty and poverty, and self-respect and dignity.
- The 4 ways we understand Nature according to Emerson are:
- Commodity: how we physically use nature
- Beauty: byproduct of man channeling nature
- Language: nature is the root of all language
- Discipline: understanding of the natural world comes back to nature
Other Works
- Frederick Douglass wrote "What to a Slave is the Fourth of July?"
- Edgar Allan Poe wrote "The Fall of the House of Usher".
- Julia Ward Howe wrote "Battle Hymn of the Republic".
- The poem "The Picket Guard" features an extended metaphor of a house divided, representing the slave states and free states.
- Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address features the phrase "This nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom and that government of the people, by the people, for the people".
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Description
Test your knowledge of American literature with this quiz, covering works by famous authors such as Walt Whitman and Washington Irving. Identify quotes, characters, and stories from iconic American novels and poems. How well do you know these literary classics?
