Native Grounds (Romantic Movement) Study Guide
1. Reread all of the stories, the author information, and the unit introduction/ “Native Grounds” handout.
2. Carefully study your lecture notes/ Power Points.
3. Know the six Romantic elements and how to apply them to the stories. You will be asked to give
“Romantic” examples from the stories; i.e., “The Raven” = supernatural because the black bird is a
demon from Hades who claims the narrator’s soul.
4. Know and be able to recognize the following: Internal rhyme, alliteration, and onomatopoeia (see your
lecture notes for “The Raven” if you have questions or concerns).
5. Study (know the definitions) the footnotes for Poe’s poems; i.e., “seraphim,” “nepenthe,” “Plutonian,”
“Psyche,” etc.
6. Know what happens to the narrator at the end of “The Raven.”
7. How old was Bryant when he composed “Thanatopsis” & what was he before he became a journalist?
8. Know what Classicism means, where it originated, and how the Romantics opposed it – see the Native
Grounds handout and my lecture notes.
9. The exam will include the following: multiple choice, short answer, and passage recognition.
10. What does “sepulcher” mean?
11. “The Devil and Tom Walker” is based upon what legend?
12. Why does Tom first refuse the Devil’s offer?
13. To what does Poe compare Helen?
14. Why is “Alone” considered a Romantic poem?
15. What is the first violent act that the narrator does to the cat in “The Black Cat”?
16. What image is on the second cat’s chest in “The Black Cat”
17. What is the definition of “sagacious”?
18. How do the police discover the wife’s corpse in “The Black Cat”?