FIRST HARVEST Historical/Literary Notes
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First
Harvest
Historical
Notes
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FIRST HARVEST Historical/Literary Notes
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First Harvest Introduction: pp. 116-125
Crevocoeur, a French man, observed the “new American” and saw
new America as a refuge for the poor and oppressed of Europe.
1. What forces helped to develop the spirit of “Nationalism?” (117)
a. revolution/War of 1812
c. centralized economic system
b rapid industrialization
d. centralized political system
2. How did America change economically during this period? (117-18)
a. new, American industries (European wars – cut off supplies;
cities grew – new factories
b. wilderness frontier pushed outward
1. Louisiana Purchase
c. farmers needed more roads/ canals/ steamboats/ railroads
3. What problems (besides economic) did America still have, though? (118)
a communication between distances
b political factions/internal divisions especially slavery
4. How did Emerson describe the union? (119)
“a part of the religion of this people”
5. How was the drive toward cultural independence characterized?
It was called the spirit of nationalism
(122)
There was a major shift from “classicism” to “romanticism” in literature.
CLASSICISM:
6. Classicism upholds tradition often to the point of resisting change. (122)
7. Classicists emphasize human limitation. (122)
Classicism =
 reason is the dominating characteristic of both nature and of
human nature; both are governed by fixed, unchanging laws.
 Reason vs. imagination; social vs. personal; common vs. individual
 Classicism valued clarity, order, balance
 For a classicist, imagination needs to be restrained by reason
and common sense
 Classicism upheld tradition
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Romanticism =
 emotions and the individual are centrally important
 Romantic writers emphasized intuition, as an inner perception of truth
 New emphasis upon the dignity and worth of the common individual
as well as social reforms
 Humanitarian reform (abolition of slavery, improved education)
marked romanticism.
This expansive spirit fit the needs of a new nation going through so many
changes.
e.g. highlighting the individual fits the words of the Declaration,
“all men are created equal.”
Writers wanted to express their own intuitive experiences.
Certain subjects “fit” the needs of a Romantic writer:
Nature – its beauty, strangeness, mystery, constant change
[Nature, to a classicist, was a system of rational laws]
The Past – writers gradually developed a sense of a national past
and of an emerging national character
Inner World of Human Nature – Romantics emphasized the emotions,
the intuition and the individual – therefore, they explored the irrational
depths of human nature. Edgar Allen Poe, especially
** Nathaniel Hawthorne = later psychological writer***
ROMANTICISM:
8. Romanticism places central importance upon the emotions and upon the
individual …Reason is not the only or even the surest guide to truth.
(122)
9. Romantic writers emphasize intuition …(independent of reason.) (122)
10. A Romantic’s key to the “inner world” is the imagination.
11. For a Romantic, all art is the imaginary expression of the inner essence
of the individual.
12. Romanticism defends the potential of the individual.
13. Romantics stress human potential for social progress and
spiritual growth. (122)
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14. The Romantic emphasis on the individual, seen in the phrase
“all men are created equal” from the Declaration of Independence,
led to what two changes?
a. new emphasis on dignity and worth of the common individual
b. social reforms meant to fulfill this ideal of equality. (123)
15. Humanitarian reform is one mark of Romanticism. Two examples are:
a. abolition of slavery
b. improvements in education (123)
16. Romantic writers wrote about three major subjects:
a. nature b. the past
c. the inner world of human nature (123)
17. The classic view of nature is a system of rational laws. (123)
18. The Romantics emphasized the beauty, strangeness, and mystery of
nature.
19. How did the wilderness play a part in the romantic view of nature? (124)
Americans were creating a new country in the setting
of the wilderness
20. Who became the spokesman for “religion in nature?” (124)
William Cullen Bryant
21. Washington Irving used the genres of legend and folklore to highlight
the natural world colored by emotion and superstition. (124)
22. Washington Irving’s stories illustrated character types:
old truths about human nature, and the dramatic possibilities
of the American lands. (124)
23. Irving and Cooper show a direct interest in a national past. (124)
a. Irving: legend, folklore
Wrote an unofficial record of America’s
character and beliefs – shared memories
b. Cooper: great, historical events
Revolution; border wars;
especially the conquest of the wilderness
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24. In what ways was Romanticism concerned with the inner world of human
behavior? (125)
exploring and expressing the writer’s most private inner being;
an interest in the irrational depths of human nature
25. How did each of the following develop this psychological literature? (125)
a.
Bryant: observed nature – then expressed his inner feelings
b.
Cooper: explored the effects of the wilderness on man’s inner
feelings
c.
Poe: his stories often resembled dreams –
he extended the irrational elements, often to madness
d.
Romantics: found a new way to express their experiences as
Americans
Washington Irving: pp.126-136
26. Washington Irving’s two most famous stories were “Rip van Winkle” and
“Legend of Sleepy Hollow”
27. They were adapted from German folk tales. (126)
28. Irving did NOT share the creative belief with the later Romantics that the
“creative” artist must be original. (127)
29. This allows him to mix realistic detail with elements of the supernatural.
e.g. Rip van Winkle sleeps for 20 years, and a devil lives in a swamp
The Devil and Tom Walker” - a story of a man who sells his soul to the devil
and the consequences he suffers.
[***please be aware that in the description of the devil, Irving uses the color
“black” liberally – to refer to the soot and grime [comically funny for a
guy who lives in fire] as well as the evil of the character. There are no
racial slurs here. ***]
“The Devil and Tom Walker” is based on the German Faust legend.
Folk story characters are caricatures of moral types;
their human traits are exaggerated to make a point.
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30. What is ironic about the setting of the story? (128)
___________________________________________________________
31. What atmosphere (mood) does the setting develop?
32. How are Tom and his wife characterized?
a. Tom______________________________________________
b. his wife____________________________________________
33. What hyperbole describes the (128)
a. wife’s miserliness? _____________________________
b.
the horse ? ___________________________________
34. How is Tom and the wife’s stinginess mirrored in their home and
surroundings? [quote specific diction] (128)
a. ____________ b. __________ c. __________ d. _________________
35. What onomatopoeia is used? (128) _______________________________
36. How is the shortcut described? (128-9)
“_______________”
37. The place the devil frequents is always significant in fictional treatment of
him. Where does Tom meet the devil? (129-30)
[be detailed – quote his diction] __________ ___________ __________
__________ ___________ __________ ___________ __________
38. What does the history of the place tell you about the appropriateness of the
devil’s home?
_______________________________________________
39. Metaphorically, how is Deacon Peabody described? (130)
_________________________________________________________
40. Why is Tom not afraid of the devil? (131) __________________________
41. What is the signature of the devil? (131) ___________________________
How is this symbolic? ___________________________________________
42. Ironically, why does Tom refuse the devil’s first offer? (131)
_____________________________________________________________
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43. Why does Tom grow uneasy about his wife’s disappearance? (132)
___________________________________________________________
44. When he grabs the apron from the vulture, what is in it? _______ & _______
45. What one condition does Satan always require when he makes a deal?
(inferred, not stated) (133)
______________________________________________
46. What does the devil want Tom to do with the money he gives him? (133)
____________________________________________
47. Tom refuses. From this, what can we infer about Irving’s view of slavery?
________________________________________________________
48. What does Tom agree to do with the money? (133)
________________________________________________________
49. There is an historical allusion to a time of paper credit in the 1730’s – bad
loans, scarce money, greed for more land. Do you see a corollary with
current events, circa 2007 - 2012? Explain.
__________________________________________________________
50. What details about Tom’s mansion and the way he keeps his horse show
that, for all his wealth, he has not changed? (134)
“____________” “_____________” _________________________
51. How does the devil come for Tom? [remember Satan’s symbolic color is “black”]
_______________________________________________
52. What (ironically) happens to all of Tom’s money?
______________________________________
52a. What is the symbolic reference? ___________________
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Read the commentary on pages 135-136
53. What “genre” is “The Devil and Tom Walker” story? _________________
54. What types of characters does Irving portray?
limited development – stereotypical – used to show human motivation & behavior
55. What keeps the reader from taking the literal story seriously?
Remote in time – aka, legendary – the tone is humorous
James Fenimore Cooper – pp.137-149
By the end of this Cooper unit, students will analyze the character of
Deerslayer (Natty) as a product of two cultures (white and Indian)
in conflict on the American frontier.
56. The five books of the Leatherstocking Tales by Cooper portray
the life of Natty Bumppo (137)
57. The meeting point of wilderness and civilization is
the constantly moving frontier. (137)
58. Cooper’s subject is the effect of the wilderness on American character. (137)
59. Symbolically, the wilderness brings out the worst in human nature.
However, according to Cooper, the primeval wilderness also offers America
the opportunity to return to the natural moral law. (138)
*****This is the basis of the “noble savage” motif ****
60. Leatherstocking is the original wilderness hero in this book:
a solitary man in the presence of only Nature and God.
61. This reveals Cooper’s hope for the moral renewal of American society. (138)
62. Bumppo’s character is formed by the wilderness. (138)
63. From nature he has learned:
a. a deep reverence for the Creator
b. the wise use of Nature’s gifts
c. justice & truth in dealing with others
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64. What is the pattern for the writing of the five novels? (138)
a. The Pioneers, 1st book: Natty is an old man
b. The Prairie, 3rd book:
Natty dies
c. The Deerslayer, the 5th book: Natty is on a reverse journey –
he is at his youngest and most innocent
65. This represents Cooper’s conception of young America:
a. America was born/began “old,” formed by European values/ideas
b. The wilderness environment made American “young,” a new land/a second chance
c. This is the most cherished myth about the American wilderness
66. Natty Bumppo is the idealized wilderness hero; his life enacts the
basic myth of a return to innocence and eternal youth. (end of 138)
The Deerslayer
67. This portion of the story shows Natty Bumppo’s passage from
adolescent hunter to full wilderness warrior. (139)
68. From his Delaware Indian upbringing, he has learned (139)
a. forest skills
b. physical courage
c. a strict code of honor [contributes to noble savage motif]
69. His self-definition also tests his white civilization feelings about
white heritage, marriage and family as the fundamental relationships of
social existence. (139)
70. Natty Bumppo believes Providence has meant him to live single in the
wilderness and bridge the white and Indian worlds. (139)
71. As this portion of the story begins, Natty Bumppo has been captured by the
enemy Hurons and sent on a mission by them. By honor, he must return to
them; however, once he fulfills his mission, he is free to escape by any
means.
72. As Deerslayer walks into the awaiting Huron tribe, Cooper describes the
scene as “imposing.” [Nature]
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73. How is the natural setting given religious significance as Natty first
approaches the gathered Hurons?
“Gothic tracery and churchly hues” from Nature
74. What is the metaphor that introduces Cooper’s motif or theme?
Metaphor ____________
Theme = _________ vs. ____________
75. (141) The co-chiefs who are introduced are Rivenoak and le Panthère
list their different qualities of leadership:
a. Rivenoak _______________________________________________
b. le Panthère_______________________________________________
76. Why has Deerslayer been summoned to stand trial?
__________________________________________________________
77. How is Deerslayer perceived at first by the Hurons? (142-43) i.e. his character
__________________________________________________________
78. (141) Which of the Hurons is Deerslayer’s foremost supporter? __________
79. Why does Deerslayer not try to escape? (143-44)
___________________________________________________________
80. Who, besides the chiefs, is included in the consultations? (144)
____________________________
81. What offer of conciliation is made by the Huron chief? (144)
___________________________________________________________
82. How does le Panthère receive his death wound? (gnarly…)
__________________________________________________________
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83. Where does Deerslayer head after leaving the woods?
________________________________________
84. Natty, in his escape, cannot hope to simply outrun so many pursuers.
a. What tricks show his wilderness skills?
____________________________
_______________________
b. What particular trick fails to fool the Hurons?
________________________________________________
85. Return your brain to John Smith, early explorer, whose attitude toward the
Indians showed qualities he liked as well as qualities he disliked. Is there a
similar ambivalence in Cooper’s presentation of the Hurons? Explain
__________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
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William Cullen Bryant – pp 150-157
1794-1878:
When Bryant was born, there were 15 Atlantic states
(agrarian) – when he died, there were 38 industrialized, post-Civil War
states spanning the continent from east to west.
Bryant was a Unitarian - An adherent of Unitarian Universalism;
A monotheist who is not a Christian; A Christian who is not a
Trinitarian; one who holds a strong belief in a supernatural power
or powers that control human destiny
86. Bryant worked as the editor of the New York Evening Post
87. Some of the causes he supported that typify the humanitarian concern of the
Romantic period were:
a. abolition of slavery
b. freedom of speech
c. freedom of religion
d. the right to unionize
e. repeal laws to imprison debtors
f. the election of Jackson & Lincoln
88. Who or what influenced his life/career? (150)
the English Romantic poets (Wordsworth, Coleridge)
his father, a doctor and naturalist
89. Bryant turned to nature as a reflection of the human spirit and a potential
answer to humanity’s most searching questions about human nature.
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Thomas Cole, founder of the Hudson River School of painting, and
Bryant were close friends. Both were inspired by nature.
“TO COLE, THE PAINTER, DEPARTING FOR EUROPE “
1829
Thine eyes shall see the light of distant skies;
Yet, Cole! Thy heart shall bear [take you] to Europe's strand
A living image of our own bright land,
3
Such as upon thy glorious canvas lies;
Lone lakes- savannas where the bison roves-
5
Rocks rich with summer garlands- solemn streamsSkies, where the desert eagle wheels and screams-
7
Spring bloom and autumn blaze of boundless groves.
8
Fair scenes shall greet thee where thou goest- fair,
But different- everywhere the trace of men,
10
Paths, homes, graves, ruins, from the lowest glen
To where life shrinks from the fierce Alpine air.
12
Gaze on them, till the tears shall dim thy sight,
But keep that earlier, wilder image bright. - -
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90. How does Bryant picture America in the poem “To Cole…?”
______________________________________________________
91. What specific diction adds to the feeling of freedom and vastness of the
wilderness?
a. (l.5) ___________________
c. (l.7) _________________________
b. (l.6) ___________________
d. (l.8) _________________________
92. How does Bryant picture Europe?
(l.10) ________________________________________________
93. What phrases convey that feeling? (l.11)
a. ___________________
c. _________________________
b. ___________________
d. _________________________
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94. How does the opening quatrain prepare you (Cole) for the final couplet?
(ll.1- 4)____________________________ (ll.13-14)____________________________
95. Why is it appropriate that the only animals in the poem appear in the
American description – and they are the bison and the eagle?
_________________________________________________________
96. What poetic device is used in line 7? _________________________
97. What poetic device is used in line 8? _____________
____________
98. Scansion, is scanning a poem for rhythm and rhyme. Metered syllables are
marked as feet. (157)
99. Define the following:
a. foot
2-3 syllables – 1 stressed
b. iamb
unstressed/stressed (tadá)
c. meter
rhythmic pattern
d. iambic pentameter 5 sets of iambs*****
e. blank verse unrhymed iambic pentameter*****
f. free verse irregular rhythm & varied line length*****
g. couplet
2 rhyming lines with 1 thought*****
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Bryant’s best-known poem is "Thanatopsis" (literally, Greek for meditation
on death).
Perhaps the most remarkable feature of "Thanatopsis" is its anti-Christian,
stoical view of death. There is no heaven or hell beyond the grave; death
ends life, and that is all:
"Thine individual being, shalt thou go/ To mix forever with the elements,/ To be a brother
to the insensible rock/ And to the sluggish clod"
“Thanatopsis" pp.153-154
Read the commentary on pp 155-156, and literary elements on p 157
100. For what reasons were the Romantics concerned with death?
a. An interest in ancient past & earlier civilizations made them aware that
many human societies have disappeared (155)
b. the earth is the “great tomb of man”
c. Romantics celebrated individualism & power of self. Death is the final
restriction on self and its powers
101. According to Romantics, every living thing fulfills its appointed life cycle.
The beauty of nature will be renewed for other eyes, but people must all
pass from the scene - aka die
102. Bryant’s “Thanatopsis” avoids sentimentalizing death.
103. Summarize the three parts of the poem.
a. lines 1-30: acknowledge the support Nature offers for our needs
“voice of gladness” (l. ) “healing sympathy” (l. ) “darker miserys” (l. )
b. lines 31-72 our consciousness of TIME is a human attribute that sets us
apart from other Nature [fear of death]
c. lines 73-81 the poem moves toward trust – a release from fear/bitterness
104. Who is addressed in this poem? ________________________
What literary device is being used? ____________________
105. Poetically, how is death presented in the first two stanzas?
a. line 9
___________________________________________
b. lines 10-12 ___________________________________________
c. lines 18-19 ___________________________________________
d. lines 19-20 ___________________________________________
e. lines 22-23 ___________________________________________
f. lines 24-27 ___________________________________________
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106. What is personified in the first lines of the poem? _________________
107. How does Nature show her gentleness? [line # + short quotes]
_________________ __________________ ___________________
_________________ __________________ ___________________
108. How does Nature show her strength? [line # + short quotes]
_________________ __________________ ___________________
109. What rhythmic poetry device is found in lines 31-35? [see # 99]
____________________________________________________
110. What two consolations does Bryant offer about death? (lines 60 – 66)
a. ____________________________________________________
b. ___________________________________________________
111. In his other poem “To a Waterfowl,” Bryant presents a view that there is a god
or a power that guides man thru life. “Thanatopsis” presents no such view,
but rather a deistic/unitarian view of death. What descriptions of death show
this lack of God’s presence? [line # & brief quotes]
___________________________________________________________
112. According to Bryant, how should one approach death? (final stanza)
_________________ __________________ ___________________
113. Death is compared metaphorically to what two images?
a. lines 57,66,80-81____________________________________
b. lines 73-74 _________________________________________
114. What poetic device is in lines 80-81? _______________________
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“To a Waterfowl” p.151
A few years later, Bryant modified his attitude toward death in his poem
"To a Waterfowl," in which a "Power" (God? / Nature?) is omnipresent and
beneficent.
The solitary bird is symbolic of an individual traveler on the journey of life.
115. What does the question in the first stanza about the bird’s destination
suggest to you about the speaker’s mood or state of mind? (adjectives)
_______________________________________________________
116. Migrating birds usually travel in flocks. What effect is conveyed by the
focus on a solitary bird?
______________________________________________________
117. Who is the second person to observe the bird? (l.
)_________________
a. how does he differ from the speaker? __________________________
118. In stanza 6, the speaker imagines a homecoming of rest, fellowship, and
shelter for the bird. Why is this important to the speaker?
_________________ __________________ ___________________
119. What message do you think Bryant is trying to convey in this poem?
__________________________
______________________________
120. What is the phrase that states the theme of his poem. (ll.13-14)
_______________________________________________________
121. The “lesson” of this experience touches the speaker’s heart. What inner
assurance does he gain from the bird’s departure into the heavens?
__________________________________________________________
122. What is the rhyme scheme of the poem? __________________________
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EDGAR ALLEN POE – PP 158-175
1. Explain the “Poe myth.” ______________________________
2. How would you characterize Poe’s childhood? _____________
3. The function of the imagination for Poe is to ____________ us from the
______________ world of ordinary ____________ in order to
___________ the inner, often ____________ world of the human
________ . (159)
4. Along with Nathaniel Hawthorne, Poe developed the genre of the
_________ ________.
5. It is for Poe’s _______________ of the dark side of our ________ experience
that Poe’s writing is important. (159)
POE’S POETRY:
“To Helen” p 180
Read “literary elements” on page 180 as well as the italicized notes.
6. Poe makes allusions to two famous mythological women:
Helen: goddess of ________________ and
Helen of ________ [kidnapped by __________, prince of ____]
7. Naiads were _____________________________________
8. Psyche was _____________________________________
9. A Nicéan bark is __________________________________
10. Why can’t the poem be about an actual woman? ________
___________________________________
11. What 3 poetic devices are used in stanza 1? __________(l. )
______________(l. ) ________________ (l. )
12. To what is Helen’s beauty compared? ____________________
13. What is the effect of this comparison of her beauty to something from the
remote past? _____________________________
14. In line 4 the “wanderer” is an allusion to which famous epic hero?
______________
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15. In stanza 2, the wanderer comes “home” to two great ages of history and
imagines the glory and grandeur of those periods. Name them.
______________ and _____________________
16. In stanza 3, Helen is present, standing in a window recess. What is the
effect of seeing her “statue-like” and holding an “agate lamp?” [in ancient
times, lamps made of agate were associated with immortality.]
____________________________________
17. How is this poem an apostrophe? ________________________
“The Bells” pp187-192
Read “literary elements” on p 192.
18. Define onomatopoeia: ________________________________
19. Define assonance: ____________________________________
20. Define alliteration: ____________________________________
Note:
The word “tintinnabulation” was coined by Poe – (see l.11).
A tintinnabulum is a Latin word for “small bell.”
21. What are the four types of bells described in “The Bells?”
a. _____________
b. ____________________
c. _____________
d. ____________________
22. What is the metal of each bell?
a. _____________
b. ____________________
c. _____________
d. ____________________
23. What sounds does each bell make?
a. _____________
b. ____________________
c. _____________
d. ____________________
24. Which bells are pleasant? ______________________________
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25. Which bells are disturbing? __________________________
26. What is the tone or “world” of the first stanza? ______________
27. What is the tone or “world” of the second stanza? ____________
28. What is the tone or “world” of the third stanza? ______________
29. What is the tone or “world” of the fourth stanza? _____________
30. How does the rhythm change in the fourth stanza?
____________________________________
31. What vowels are associated with each stanza?
I. _____________
II. ____________________
III. _____________
IV. ____________________
32. Give examples [w/ line numbers] of poetic devices used in the poem. (see
#1-3)
a. _________________________
b. _________________________
c. _________________________
33. Describe the progression of the stanzas:
I.
________________________________
II.
________________________________
III.
________________________________
IV.
________________________________
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