Literary Time Periods 2
Terms
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- What century was the Puritan time period?
- 1600s
- What century was the Revolutionary era?
- 1700s
- When was the Romanticism era?
- 1800s-1846
- When was the Transcendentalism era?
- mid 1800s
- When was the Realism era?
- 1850s-1890s
- When was the Modernism era?
- 1900s-1960s/1970s
- What were the basic Puritan beliefs?
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1. Total Depravity (original sin)
2. Unconditional Election (predestination)
3. Limited Atonement (Jesus only died for the chosen, not everyone)
4. Irresistible Grace (grace can't be earned/denied)
5. Perserverance of the Saints (those chosen by god can interpret his will and live good lives) - What was the function of Puritan writers?
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1. To transform a mysterious god
2. To make god more relevant
3. To glorify god - Describe the style of Puritan writing.
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1. Protestant (against ornateness)
2. Purposeful (all writing had a purpose)
3. Well-grounded in religion - Common Themes in Puritan Writing
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1. Idealism
2. Pragmaticism - What were common beliefs of the Revolutionary Period?
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1. Faith in natural goodness (humans born pure)
2. Perfectibility of Humans (all situations can be improved)
3. Sovereignty of Reason ("I think therefore I am")
4. Universal Benevolence (help everyone)
5. Social institutions should be modernized - Functions of Revolutionary Writers
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1. Interest in classics and Bible
2. Interest in nature
3. Interest in science or scientific experiments
4. Optimism
5. Sense of person's duty to succeed
6. Constant search for self; emphasis on individualism - What did the Deists believe?
- God created the unvierse and then disassociated himself from his creation. He can't be accessed through any organized religion, and he has no chosen people.
- What are common elements of Romanticism?
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1. Frontier (vast expanse, freedom)
2. Optimism
3. Experimentation
4. Mingling of Races
5. Growth of industrialization (N = industry, S = agriculture) - What is the subject matter during the Romanticism era?
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1. Quest for beauty
2. Interest in the past
3. Use of fear/terror, grotesque, gothic
4. Escapism
5. Interest in nature (nature as beauty, refuge, or "god" for individual) - Romantic Attitudes
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1. Imagination (suspension of disbelief)
2. Emotion over reason (optimism)
3. Subjectivity in form and meaning - Romantic Techniques
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1. Remote settings
2. Unlikely plots
3. Inadequate, unlikely characters
4. Authorial subjectivity
5. Socially "harmful morality" - What are the basic beliefs of Transcendentalists?
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1. Individual is the spiritual center of the universe
2. The universe is a duplication of the individual self
3. Nature is symbolic
4. Virtue and happiness depend on self-realization
5. Desire to become one with the world - What are the principles of Realism?
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1. Defense of the "experienced commonplace"
2. Character is more important than plot
3. Attacks romanticism
4. Emphasizes morality and examines idealism
5. Realism is a realization of democracy - What are identifying characteristics of Realism writing?
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1. Purpose is to instruct or entertain
2. Subject matter is from common, average, everyday experiences
3. Morality explores relations between people and society
4. Emphasizes scenic presentation, not authorial comment/evaluation - What are some Realism techniques?
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1. Settlings are familiar to the writer
2. Plot emphasizes daily experiences
3. Ordinary characters are studied in depth
4. Author is objective
5. The world is accurately reported - What are some attitudes of modernism?
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1. Artist is less appreciated but more sensitive/heroic than most people
2. Artist challenges tradition
3. Breaks away fro patterned responses and predictable forms - What are some themes of Modernism?
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1. Collectivism vs. Individualism
2. Impact of Russian Revolution
3. Jazz
4. 19th Amendment (women's suffrage)
5. Prohibition
6. Stock market crash / Great Depression - What were literary achievements of the Modernism era?
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1. Showed plight of women
2. Created literature for urban experience
3. Continued rural spirit
4. Continued local color