Literary Movements Overview

Literary Movements

• Romanticism: Inspired by nature's beauty, not fear of God; the universe is constantly changing.
• Rationalism: Truth found through reason; the Age of Enlightenment.
• Fireside Poets: Conventional style (meter, rhyme); easily memorized and recited; themes of domestic life, mythology, legends, history, and politics.
• Transcendentalism: A universal spirit unites us all. Part of Romanticism; emphasizes connection with nature; the individual soul equals the world soul (universal spirit); knowledge transcends senses. Against conformity.
• Dark Romanticism: Heavy symbolism, darker view of nature. Focuses on human fallibility, psychological effects of sin/guilt, madness, death, good vs. evil; distinctly American settings; mental illness. Edgar Allan Poe: Gothic fiction (medieval settings, mystery, violence).
• Realism: Based on reality as the author sees it; social class affects characters; natural speech; complex characters and relationships; plot less important than character development. Examples include Frederick Douglass's writings about slavery.
• Naturalism: Offshoot of realism; actions/events result from natural/biological/environmental forces beyond human control; humans aren't in control.
• Regionalism: Shows the specific landscape, people, values, and lifestyles of a region; part of realism; often focuses on the interactions between natives and settlers, whose purposes for writing varied greatly.

Literary Vocabulary

• Alliteration: Repetition of initial consonant sounds.
• Allusion: Reference to a well-known person, place, event.
• Analogy: Comparing one thing to another to explain.
• Assonance: Repetition of vowel sounds.
• Connotation: Suggested meaning beyond the literal definition; a feeling.
• Denotation: Literal meaning of a word.
• Dialect: Regional language variation.
• Diction: Word choice to create a particular style.
• Figurative Language: Language different from literal meaning.
• Hyperbole: Deliberate exaggeration.
• Imagery: Ability to form mental pictures.
• Metaphor: Comparing unlike things without using "like" or "as."
• Mood: General feeling created in the reader.
• Personification: Giving human qualities to inanimate objects or animals.
• Repetition: Repeated use of a word or phrase.
• Rhetorical Question: Question for effect, not answer.
• Satire: Writing that exposes flaws in society through exaggeration and humor.
• Simile: Comparing two things using "like" or "as."
• Symbolism: Using objects or actions to represent abstract ideas.
• Theme: Underlying message or idea. (e.g., "Trust yourself and others" in Finding Nemo).
• Tone: Author's attitude toward the subject.
• Voice: Author's opinion or attitude in writing.

Literary Concepts

• Oral Tradition: Anything passed down through speech.
• Archetype: Recurring character type (e.g., trickster, evil stepmother).
• Theocracy: Government by religious leaders.
• Predestination: Belief that fate is predetermined by God.
• Emotional Appeal: Language that evokes feelings.
• Logical Appeal: Language that appeals to reason.
• Lyric Poetry: Highly musical, emotional poetry.
• Free Verse: Poetry without rhyme or meter.
• Foil: Character whose traits contrast with another.
• Suspense: Feeling of anticipation or anxiety.
• Stock Characters: Stereotypical characters (e.g., "dumb blonde").

The Scarlet Letter Big Concepts

• Sin: Hester's adultery affects her appearance and outlook; Dimmesdale internalizes his sin. Chillingworth's obsession with truth becomes a twisted motive.

• Punishment: Hester wears the scarlet letter, is outcast. Dimmesdale punishes himself internally (starving, whipping). Chillingworth's punishment is his demise.

• Shame: Hester's shame is public; Dimmesdale's is private; Chillingworth's obsession becomes a punishment.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Big Concepts

• Freedom: Jim gains freedom from slavery; Huck gains freedom from societal expectations.
• Civilization: Huck struggles with imposed civilization; Twain critiques Southern society.
• Prejudice: Huck's internal conflict about helping Jim; demonstrates the pervasive prejudice of the time.