Neoclassical Era Overview and Key Beliefs
60 Questions
100 Views

Choose a study mode

Play Quiz
Study Flashcards
Spaced Repetition
Chat to lesson

Podcast

Play an AI-generated podcast conversation about this lesson

Questions and Answers

Who is known as the Poet of the American Revolution?

  • Walt Whitman
  • Philip Freneau (correct)
  • Timothy Dwight
  • John Milton
  • Which poet represents Neoclassical Thought?

    Philip Freneau

    What poem in this section is a satire on false religions?

    'The Smooth Divine' (Timothy Dwight)

    What poem criticizes new preachers and their style of preaching?

    <p>'The Smooth Divine' (Timothy Dwight)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What poem epitomizes the idea that the Puritan God of wrath is being replaced by a gentler God?

    <p>'The Smooth Divine' (Timothy Dwight)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What lines begin with 'There smiled the smooth Divine, unused to wound'?

    <p>'The Smooth Divine' (Timothy Dwight)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What lines describe 'His Christ and Bible placed at good remove'?

    <p>'The Smooth Divine' (Timothy Dwight)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What lines state, 'Twas best, he said, mankind should cease to sin'?

    <p>'The Smooth Divine' (Timothy Dwight)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What lines mention 'Yet from their churches saw his brethren driven'?

    <p>'The Smooth Divine' (Timothy Dwight)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What lines express, 'Let fools,' he cried, 'starve on, while prudent I'?

    <p>'The Smooth Divine' (Timothy Dwight)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the Neoclassic Period also known as?

    <p>the Early National Period</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The literary period which emphasized clarity, plainness, rationalism, and didactism?

    <p>the Neoclassic Period (Early National Period or Neoclassical Era)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What did the Neoclassical Era/Neoclassic Period emphasize?

    <p>Clarity, plainness, rationalism, didactism</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The literary era in which there was a shift from the Puritan God of the Bible and a focus on man and his mind?

    <p>the Neoclassical Era</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are other names for the Neoclassical Era? (Select all that apply)

    <p>Age of Reason</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What did the writers of the Neoclassical Era place above theology?

    <p>Science</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What did the writers of the Neoclassical Era place above authority?

    <p>Skepticism</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What did the writers of the Neoclassical Era place above faith?

    <p>Reason</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What belief did the writers of the Neoclassical Era emphasize?

    <p>Rationalism</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In the Neoclassical belief that science is above theology, where did the writers believe that proof of God can be found?

    <p>Proof of God is found in nature</p> Signup and view all the answers

    According to the Neoclassical belief that reason is more important than faith, what kind of God did the Neoclassical writers write of?

    <p>No longer the Puritan God of wrath, but a gentler God of natural philosophy</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Did the Neoclassics view God as the Puritans did?

    <p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

    List the 6 literary characteristics of the Neoclassical Era.

    <p>Clarity, rationality, progress, perfectibility of man/institutions, efficacy of reason, beneficence of God, patriotism</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The 4 genres of the Neoclassical Era?

    <p>Political Essays / Pamphlets, Scientific Writing, Poetry, Novel</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Name two poets of the Neoclassical Era.

    <p>Wheatley, Freneau</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Who was known as the epitome of Neoclassicism?

    <p>Benjamin Franklin</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Was Benjamin Franklin a deist?

    <p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

    According to class notes, how do we know Benjamin Franklin was not a deist?

    <p>He appealed to prayer at the Constitutional Convention and believed that 'God governs in the affairs of men'</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The belief that teaches that reason can discover all truth, that the world is progressing, and that man is perfectible?

    <p>Rationalism</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the false religion that developed from rationalism? (Select all that apply)

    <p>Deism</p> Signup and view all the answers

    From what false belief was the religion of deism developed?

    <p>rationalism</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Who was the American known as the epitome of Neoclassicism?

    <p>Benjamin Franklin</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are the two works written by Benjamin Franklin that are presented in this class?

    <p>The Way to Wealth (preface to Poor Richard's Almanac), The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The Way to Wealth, by Benjamin Franklin, was the preface to which work?

    <p>Poor Richard's Almanac</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Who is the author of The Way to Wealth?

    <p>Benjamin Franklin</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What was Poor Richard's Almanac renamed in 1748?

    <p>Poor Richard Improved</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Who wrote Letters from an American Farmer?

    <p>J.Hector St.John de Crevecoeur</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the THEME of Letters from an American Farmer (Letter III)?

    <p>What is an American? - A new race, A new man</p> Signup and view all the answers

    According to Letters from an American Farmer, how is the new man rewarded?

    <p>He is 'rewarded by ample substance'</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What do the following lines from Letters of an American Farmer talk about? 'Here individuals of all nations are melted into a new race of men, whose labors and posterity will one day cause great changes in the world.'

    <p>They are a prophecy, they talk about a new man</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does de Crevecoeur focus on in his work 'What is an American?' from Letters from an American Farmer?

    <p>He focuses on the reward</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Who was the second American woman to publish a book of poems?

    <p>Phillis Wheatley</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Who wrote the poem 'On Being Brought from Africa to America'?

    <p>Phillis Wheatley</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Who wrote 'A Funeral Poem on the Death of C.E., an Infant of Twelve Months'?

    <p>Phillis Wheatley</p> Signup and view all the answers

    THEME of 'On Being Brought from Africa to America'?

    <p>GOD'S MERCY - on her, - on her race</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Name two Neoclassical Poets.

    <p>Phillis Wheatley, Freneau</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The tone/mood of the child in 'A Funeral Poem on the Death of C.E., an Infant of Twelve Months'?

    <p>Thankful</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The tone/mood of the parents in 'A Funeral Poem on the Death of C.E., an Infant of Twelve Months'?

    <p>sorrowful</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The tone/mood of the poet in 'A Funeral Poem on the Death of C.E., an Infant of Twelve Months'?

    <p>hopeful</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the poet turn the reader's attention to in the following lines of 'A Funeral Poem on the Death of C.E., an Infant of Twelve Months'?

    <p>Turns attention to the hope</p> Signup and view all the answers

    A formal and sustained poem meditating on the death of a particular person or of man in general?

    <p>elegy</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Who was known as the 'Poet of the American Revolution'?

    <p>Philip Freneau</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Who wrote the poem 'The Wild Honey Suckle'?

    <p>Philip Freneau</p> Signup and view all the answers

    THEME of 'The Wild Honey Suckle'?

    <p>Temporary, transient things of nature</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the theme expressed in the lines 'Thus quietly thy summer goes, Thy days declining to repose.'?

    <p>the passage of time</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What do the lines 'Smit with those charms, that must decay, I grieve to see your future doom' suggest?

    <p>the impermanence of beauty</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What do the lines 'Unpitying frosts, and Autumn's power, Shall leave no vestige of this flower.' indicate?

    <p>the end of life</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is expressed in the following lines: 'If nothing once, you nothing lose, For when you die you are the same; The space between is but an hour, The frail duration of a flower.'?

    <p>the fleeting nature of existence</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Who was the grandson of Jonathan Edwards and wrote Triumph of Infidelity?

    <p>Timothy Dwight</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Who wrote 'The Smooth Divine'?

    <p>Timothy Dwight</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Study Notes

    Neoclassical Era Overview

    • Also known as the Early National Period, Enlightenment, Age of Reason, or Age of Science.
    • Emphasized clarity, plainness, rationalism, and didacticism in literature.

    Key Beliefs of the Neoclassical Era

    • Priored science over theology, skepticism over authority, and reason over faith.
    • Rationalism was a dominant belief, asserting that reason could uncover all truth and that humanity was reasonable and perfectible.
    • Writers transitioned from a Puritan view of God to a focus on a gentler, philosophical interpretation of God, finding proof of God in nature.

    Literary Characteristics

    • Notable traits include clarity, rationality, progress, the perfectibility of man and institutions, efficacy of reason, beneficence of God, and patriotism.
    • The period produced four main genres: political essays, scientific writing, poetry, and the developing novel.

    Prominent Figures

    • Benjamin Franklin, known as the epitome of Neoclassicism, was a scientist, inventor, thinker, author, and politician.
    • Philip Freneau, recognized as the "Poet of the American Revolution," contributed significantly to Neoclassical thought through his poetry.
    • Phillis Wheatley, the second American woman to publish a book of poems, emphasized God's mercy in her works.

    Major Works

    • Franklin's notable works include The Way to Wealth and The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, focusing on themes of self-improvement and moral perfection.
    • J. Hector St. John de Crevecoeur's Letters from an American Farmer explores identity and the concept of the "new man" in America.
    • Philip Freneau's poetry, like The Wild Honey Suckle, addresses themes of transience in nature.

    Satire in the Neoclassical Era

    • Satirical elements are present in works like Timothy Dwight's The Smooth Divine, critiquing false religions and preaching styles.
    • Satire is defined as the ridicule of human folly or vice with the intent of correction.

    Poetic Themes and Tones

    • Wheatley's A Funeral Poem on the Death of C.E., an Infant of Twelve Months reflects a hopeful tone, contrasting with the sorrowful mood of parents.
    • Freneau's The Wild Honey Suckle encapsulates the ephemeral nature of life and beauty.

    Personal and Philosophical Growth

    • Franklin's journey included attempts at improving his reputation, writing skills, and moral behavior, epitomizing the Neoclassical ideal of self-perfection.
    • He emphasized the importance of order, humility, and the continuous endeavor toward moral excellence.

    Cultural Impact

    • The Neoclassical Era influenced the understanding of American identity and values, paving the way for future literary movements.
    • The period's focus on rationalism signified a shift in societal perspectives toward human understanding and governance, moving away from strict theological constraints.

    Studying That Suits You

    Use AI to generate personalized quizzes and flashcards to suit your learning preferences.

    Quiz Team

    Description

    Explore the Neoclassical Era, also known as the Early National Period. This quiz covers key beliefs that emphasize rationalism and the transition of literary characteristics, focusing on clarity and the perfectibility of man. Delve into the significant figures, including Benjamin Franklin, who shaped this influential period.

    More Like This

    Neoclassical Literature Quiz
    5 questions

    Neoclassical Literature Quiz

    ConscientiousUvarovite avatar
    ConscientiousUvarovite
    Neoclassical Literature
    5 questions

    Neoclassical Literature

    FelicitousDragon avatar
    FelicitousDragon
    Neoclassical Literature Flashcards
    11 questions
    Neoclassical Period in Literature and Art
    8 questions
    Use Quizgecko on...
    Browser
    Browser