the Romantics, Transcendentalists, and the Fireside Poets
p. 233
First, you must remember FIRE.
Fantasy
1.
Idealism/Imagination
Rejection of rules
Emotion/Escapism
The primary theme of American writers during the Romantic period was: ________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
2.
What misconception is there about Romantic writers? ___________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
3.
Romantics believe in _____________ over reason and ________________ over fact.
4. Romantics reveled in (loved) _____________________________.
5. The Romantic period came out of a movement that called for ____________________________
__________________________ ___________________________from ____________________________.
6. The term and some ideas for Transcendentalism came from the __________________________
named ____________________________________.
7. Buddhist thought contributed to Transcendentalism because of __________________________
8. Transcendentalists like Thoreau embraced the philosophy of _____________________________
___________________________________, and _______________________________________________.
9. Hawthorne’s masterpiece, published in 1850, is ________________________________________.
10. Herman Melville’s masterpiece, published in 1851, is ______________________________, the
story of ____________________ who chased after the __________________________________.
11. ______________________________ was known to be a recluse. Define recluse.
12. The “quintessential American Poet” is ____________________________________, most famous
for his series of poems, _______________________________________.
13. Name these men:
____________________________________________: Harvard professor and popular poet.
____________________________________________: from a hardworking Quaker family
____________________________________________: born to wealth and position
____________________________________________: poet and physician, the unofficial “laureate”
14. Many Romantics were ___________________________ writers and supported the
______________________________ in the Civil war.
15. The Romantics’ “last leaf upon the tree” was ____________________________________________.
Skip to page 256 and 264-265 to read about the fireside poets. Then, pick ONE poem to read. From
this poem, pull ONE QUOTATION that you particularly like. Create a visual that incorporates the
quotation somewhere. Use some of Mrs. Pinkerton’s colored paper if you’d like 
16. Longfellow defined music as the universal language and poetry as our ___________________
________________________________________________________________________________________.
17. Longfellow taught at ________________________________________ for _____________ years.
18. ___________________________________ inspired Longfellow’s own work.
19. Longfellow suffered great tragedy when _________________________________________________.
20. Why did Longfellow have such a long beard? ____________________________________________.
21. His famous poem, __________________________________________________, published in 1860,
gave a romanticized view of America’s early history and democratic ideals.
22. Some people see Longfellow’s poetry as too ____________________ and ____________________.
23. From where did the name “Fireside Poet” come? _________________________________________
24. Longfellow’s ______________________________________ showed his popularity, because it
was celebrated like a ______________________________.
25. William Cullen Bryant fought against ____________________________________ as a
_____________________________________ and _________________________________.
26. Bryant’s most famous poem was ____________________________, which he wrote when he
was only ________________________________________.
27. Bryant used his position in society to ___________________________________________________.
28. ____________________________________ was a descendant of _______________________________
(the famous female poet from Puritan times.)
29. Holmes got a ____________________________________ from ________________________________.
30. __________________________________ earned Holmes national recognition as a poet.
31. Although perhaps the most talented Fireside Poet, _______________________________________
was disrupted by ______________________________________.
32. Lowell wrote ___________________________ supporting ___________________________________.
33. John Greenleaf Whittier was born in _____________________________________.
34. Whittier believed in ____________________________________, _______________________________,
____________________________, ______________________________, and _______________________.
35. In 1835, Whittier was ___________________________ to the ________________________________
where, for _______________________________, he worked for the ___________________________.
36. As ________________________ captured in Whittier’s poetry ____________________________ the
___________________________________________ grew.