EM 15: SURVEY OF ENLISH AND AMERICAN LITERATURE

WEEK 7: ROMANTIC TO CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE (2)

Victorian Literature

Victorian literature is literature written in England during the reign of Queen Victoria, or roughly from 1837 -
1901. It is largely characterized by the struggle of working people and the triumph of right over wrong.
Victorian literature is the body of poetry, fiction, essays, and letters produced during the reign of Queen
Victoria (1837–1901) and during the era which bears her name. It forms a link and transition between the
writers of the romantic period and the modernist literature of the twentieth century.

Victorian Prose
Arguably the most well-known Victorian writer was Charles Dickens. He wrote a lot of novels about the
struggles of the poor and the battle between right and wrong. His characters were really vivid but not terribly
nuanced, so it's pretty obvious from the get-go who's good, who's bad, who can be reformed, and who can't.
Dickens himself had to leave school early to work in a factory to support his family after his father was sent to
jail, so it's not really surprising that a lot of his works, including Oliver Twist or David Copperfield,
have protagonists who are good people that fall into bad circumstances that they don't deserve. It seems like
that's something he could really relate to personally.
The nineteenth century is often regarded as a high point in European literature and Victorian literature,
including the works of Emily and Charlotte Brontë), Robert Browning, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Lewis
Carroll, Wilkie Collins, Charles Dickens, George Eliot, Thomas Hardy, A. E. Housman, Rudyard
Kipling, Robert Louis Stevenson, Bram Stoker, Alfred Lord Tennyson, William Makepeace
Thackeray, Anthony Trollope, and Oscar Wilde remain widely popular and part of the core curricula in most
universities and secondary schools.

Children's literature
The Victorians are sometimes credited with 'inventing childhood', partly via their efforts to stop child labor and
the introduction of compulsory education. As children began to be able to read, literature for young people
became a growth industry with, not only, adult novelists producing works for children such as Dickens' A
Child's History of England but also dedicated children's authors. Writers like Lewis Carroll, R. M. Ballantyne,
and Anna Sewell wrote mainly for children, although they had an adult following, and nonsense
verse, poetry which required a child-like interest, was produced by Edward Lear among others. The subject of
school also became a rich area for books with Thomas Hughes' Tom Brown's Schooldays just one of the most
popular examples.
Poetry in a sense settled down from the upheavals of the romantic era and much of the work of the time is seen
as a bridge between this earlier era and the modernist poetry of the next century. Alfred Lord Tennyson held the
poet laureateship for over 40 years and his verse became rather stale by the end but his early work is rightly
praised. Some of the poetry highly regarded at the time such as Invictus and If— are now seen as jingoistic and
bombastic but Tennyson's Charge of the Light Brigade was a fierce criticism of a famous military blunder; a
pillar of the establishment not failing to attack the establishment.
Connotation and Denotation in Literature
Denotation is the literal definition of the word, one that basically everyone agrees on. It’s the blurb you read in
the dictionary. There isn’t a lot of debate or nuance to it.
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Connotation, on the other hand, is much more subjective, as it refers to the emotions a word evokes. While the
dictionary definition of a word like “cheap” is set, you could have a positive connotation of the word and
associate it with frugality and good value, while someone else could have a negative connotation of the word
and associate it with stinginess and poor quality.
One easy way to remember which word means what is that “denotation” and “dictionary” both begin with the
letter “d,” and denotation is the dictionary definition of a word.
Want to see more examples of connotation vs denotation? Below are four groups of words. Each group has a
similar denotation, but many of the words have very different connotations. As you read through them, think
about if your connotations of the words match what we’ve written. Because connotation is subjective, you
might have a different feeling associated with a word.

Word Group 1: Slender, Scrawny, Bony, Gaunt

Denotation: All of these words are synonyms of thin and are used to describe someone or something without
much body fat.
Connotation: Slender is often used as a way to describe someone who is both thin and attractive, while
scrawny is often associated with weakness. Bony usually conjures up images of someone who is unattractive
and hard-looking, while gaunt is often associated with hunger and malnutrition.

Word Group 2: Serene, Laid-Back, Lackadaisical, Dreamy

Denotation: These are all words to describe someone who is relaxed and not troubled by worries.
Connotation: While serene and laid-back generally have positive connotations of someone who is calm and in
control, lackadaisical and dreamy have more negative connotations of someone who is relaxed but unable to get
important things done.

Word Group 3: Home, House, Shelter

Denotation: These words all refer to a place where people live.
Connotation: House has a pretty neutral connotation, and most people just associate it with the structure of the
building. Shelter has more of a negative connotation of something that only covers basic needs and doesn’t
provide additional warmth, while home has a much more positive connotation and is often associated with
family and positive memories made in the house.

Word Group 4: Grin, Beam, Sneer, Simper

Denotation: These are all synonyms for smile.
Connotation: Both grin and beam have positive connotations and are generally associated with someone who is
genuinely happy. Sneer has a negative connotation and is usually associated with someone being cruel or
scornful, while simper also has a negative connotation, but is usually associated with someone weak or
unintelligent.

Summary
Denotation is the dictionary definition of a word, while connotation is the feelings associated with a word.
While the denotation of a word is pretty cut and dry, one word can have many connotations for different people,
and those connotations could be neutral, positive, or negative. One easy way to keep these two concepts straight

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is that “denotation” and “dictionary” both begin with the letter “d,” and denotation is the dictionary definition of
a word.

“Break, Break, Break” by Alfred Lord Tennyson

Break, break, break,
On thy cold gray stones, O Sea!
And I would that my tongue could utter
The thoughts that arise in me.

O, well for the fisherman's boy,

That he shouts with his sister at play!
O, well for the sailor lad,
That he sings in his boat on the bay!

And the stately ships go on

To their haven under the hill;
But O for the touch of a vanish'd hand,
And the sound of a voice that is still!

Break, break, break

At the foot of thy crags, O Sea!
But the tender grace of a day that is dead
Will never come back to me.

Summary of “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens

A mean-spirited, miserly old man named Ebenezer Scrooge sits in his counting-house on a frigid Christmas
Eve. His clerk, Bob Cratchit, shivers in the anteroom because Scrooge refuses to spend money on heating coals
for a fire. Scrooge's nephew, Fred, pays his uncle a visit and invites him to his annual Christmas party. Two
portly gentlemen also drop by and ask Scrooge for a contribution to their charity. Scrooge reacts to the holiday
visitors with bitterness and venom, spitting out an angry "Bah! Humbug!" in response to his nephew's "Merry
Christmas!"

Later that evening, after returning to his dark, cold apartment, Scrooge receives a chilling visitation from the
ghost of his dead partner, Jacob Marley. Marley, looking haggard and pallid, relates his unfortunate story. As
punishment for his greedy and self-serving life his spirit has been condemned to wander the Earth weighted
down with heavy chains. Marley hopes to save Scrooge from sharing the same fate. Marley informs Scrooge
that three spirits will visit him during each of the next three nights. After the wraith disappears, Scrooge
collapses into a deep sleep.

He wakes moments before the arrival of the Ghost of Christmas Past, a strange childlike phantom with a
brightly glowing head. The spirit escorts Scrooge on a journey into the past to previous Christmases from the
curmudgeon's earlier years. Invisible to those he watches, Scrooge revisits his childhood school days, his

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apprenticeship with a jolly merchant named Fezziwig, and his engagement to Belle, a woman who leaves
Scrooge because his lust for money eclipses his ability to love another. Scrooge, deeply moved, sheds tears of
regret before the phantom returns him to his bed.
The Ghost of Christmas Present, a majestic giant clad in a green fur robe, takes Scrooge through London to
unveil Christmas as it will happen that year. Scrooge watches the large, bustling Cratchit family prepare a
miniature feast in its meager home. He discovers Bob Cratchit's crippled son, Tiny Tim, a courageous boy
whose kindness and humility warms Scrooge's heart. The specter then zips Scrooge to his nephews to witness
the Christmas party. Scrooge finds the jovial gathering delightful and pleads with the spirit to stay until the very
end of the festivities. As the day passes, the spirit ages, becoming noticeably older. Toward the end of the day,
he shows Scrooge two starved children, Ignorance and Want, living under his coat. He vanishes instantly as
Scrooge notices a dark, hooded figure coming toward him.

The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come leads Scrooge through a sequence of mysterious scenes relating to an
unnamed man's recent death. Scrooge sees businessmen discussing the dead man's riches, some vagabonds
trading his personal effects for cash, and a poor couple expressing relief at the death of their unforgiving
creditor. Scrooge, anxious to learn the lesson of his latest visitor, begs to know the name of the dead man. After
pleading with the ghost, Scrooge finds himself in a churchyard, the spirit pointing to a grave. Scrooge looks at
the headstone and is shocked to read his own name. He desperately implores the spirit to alter his fate,
promising to renounce his insensitive, avaricious ways and to honor Christmas with all his heart. Whoosh! He
suddenly finds himself safely tucked in his bed.

Overwhelmed with joy by the chance to redeem himself and grateful that he has been returned to Christmas
Day, Scrooge rushes out onto the street hoping to share his newfound Christmas spirit. He sends a giant
Christmas turkey to the Cratchit house and attends Fred's party, to the stifled surprise of the other guests. As the
years go by, he holds true to his promise and honors Christmas with all his heart: he treats Tiny Tim as if he
were his own child, provides lavish gifts for the poor, and treats his fellow human beings with kindness,
generosity, and warmth.

WEEK 8: ROMANTIC TO CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE (3)

Classical Literature
Classical literature refers to the great masterpieces of Greek, Roman, and other ancient civilizations. The works
of Homer, Ovid, and Sophocles are all examples of classical literature. The term isn't just limited to novels. It
can also include epic, lyric, tragedy, comedy, pastoral, and other forms of writing. The study of these texts was
once considered to be a necessity for students of the humanities. Ancient Greek and Roman authors were
viewed to be of the highest quality. The study of their work was once seen as the mark of elite education. While
these books generally still find their way into high school and college English classes, they are no longer
commonly studied. The expansion of literature has offered readers and academics more to choose from.

Classic Literature

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Classic literature is a term most readers are probably familiar with. The term covers a much wider array of
works than classical literature. Older books that retain their popularity are almost always considered to be
among the classics. This means that the ancient Greek and Roman authors of classical literature fall into this
category as well. It's not just age that makes a book a classic, however. Books that have a timeless quality are
considered to be in this category. While determining if a book is well-written or not is a subjective endeavor, it
is generally agreed that classics have high-quality prose.

What Makes a Book a Classic?

While most people are referring to literary fiction when they refer to the classics, each genre and category of
literature has its own classics. For example, the average reader might not consider Steven King's novel "The
Shining," the story of a haunted hotel, to be a classic, but those who study the horror genre may. Even within
genres or literary movements, books that are considered classic are those that are well-written and/or have
cultural importance. A book that may not have the best writing but was the first book in a genre to do something
ground-breaking is a classic. For example, the first romance novel that took place in a historic setting is
culturally significant to the romance genre.

Novel Versus Short Story

Length
The length of a story is the most obvious difference between a short story and a novel. Does the story need the
room of a novel to be told properly, or is it able to be quickly wrapped up?

Word count
Broadly speaking, a short story is any work of narrative fiction from 1,000 to 10,000 words. Novels, by
contrast, tend to be around 50,000 to 70,000 words, though of course there are plenty of examples of novels that
are longer or shorter than those arbitrary guidelines. Generally speaking, though, a good short story is designed
to be read in a single sitting or a day, while a novel is meant to occupy the reader for a longer period of time,
like days, weeks, or even months.

Type of story
What really drives the length of the story? Generally speaking, a longer story requires a larger or more complex
idea to sustain that length. The story of a trip to a grandmother for dinner may make a fine subject for a short
story but unless you’re Marcel Proust, that may be hard to pull off in a novel.

Amount of time
In general, short stories tend to cover events of a shorter time period than novels. But that’s not always the case,
Chekhov, for instance, wrote many stories that feel more like compact novels, covering years of time in just a
few, tightly written pages.
Complexity
Does this story require extensive backstory to make sense to the reader? Does it revolve around a single event
or a complex series of incidents? Are there many subplots or digressions necessary to convey the full sweep of

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the story? The more information you need to convey for the story to resonate, the longer a project you’re
looking at.

· Subplots. Another way to think about the difference between stories and novels has to do with the
complexity of the story. A short story tends to take less time, following just a single thread, and rarely features
more than a single subplot. A novel, by contrast, might burst with subplots.

· Setting. Introducing the reader to a new setting can take a lot of time. In a historical time period or
building a new world or writing science fiction, there is a need write more exposition than a story that is set in
the present moment and in a familiar place.

· Number of characters. Novels often have larger casts of highly developed characters. Short stories
generally feature fewer characters or even just one main character.

· Points of view. It can be difficult as a writer (and confusing to a reader) to switch points of view over the
course of a short story. In a longer story, strategic shifts in point of view (even between first person and third
person) may be important as a way to sustain the reader’s interest—spending too many pages with the same
character or viewpoint can sometimes wear out a reader.
Summary of Silas Marner by George Eliot
Silas Marner is the weaver in the English countryside village of Raveloe in the early nineteenth century. Like
many weavers of his time, he is an outsider—the object of suspicion because of his special skills and the fact
that he has come to Raveloe from elsewhere. The villagers see Silas as especially odd because of the curious
cataleptic fits he occasionally suffers. Silas has ended up in Raveloe because the members of his religious sect
in Lantern Yard, an insular neighborhood in a larger town, falsely accused him of theft and excommunicated
him.
Much shaken after the accusation, Silas finds nothing familiar in Raveloe to reawaken his faith and falls into a
numbing routine of solitary work. His one attempt at neighborliness backfires: when an herbal remedy he
suggests for a neighbor’s illness works, he is rumored to be a sort of a witch doctor. With little else to live for,
Silas becomes infatuated with the money he earns for his work and hoards it, living off as little as possible.
Every night he pulls his gold out from its hiding place beneath his floorboards to count it. He carries on in this
way for fifteen years
Squire Cass is the wealthiest man in Raveloe, and his two eldest sons are Godfrey and Dunstan, or Dunsey.
Dunsey is greedy and cruel, and enjoys tormenting Godfrey, the eldest son. Godfrey is good-natured but weak-
willed, and, though secretly married to the opium addict Molly Farren, he is in love with Nancy Lammeter.
Dunsey talked Godfrey into the marriage and repeatedly blackmails him with threats to reveal the marriage to
their father. Godfrey gives Dunsey 100 pounds of the rent money paid to him by one of their father’s tenants.
Godfrey then finds himself in a bind when Dunsey insists that Godfrey repay the sum himself. Dunsey once
again threatens to reveal Godfrey’s marriage but, after some arguing, offers to sell Godfrey’s prize horse,
Wildfire, to repay the loan.
The next day, Dunsey meets with some friends who are hunting and negotiates the sale of the horse. Dunsey
decides to participate in the hunt before finalizing the sale, and, in doing so, he has a riding accident that kills
the horse. Knowing the rumors of Silas’s hoard, Dunsey makes plans to intimidate the weaver into lending him

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money. His walk home takes him by Silas’s cottage, and, finding the cottage empty, Dunsey steals the money
instead.
Silas returns from an errand to find his money gone. Overwhelmed by the loss, he runs to the local tavern for
help and announces the theft to a sympathetic audience of tavern regulars. The theft becomes the talk of the
village, and a theory arises that the thief might have been a peddler who came through the village some time
before. Godfrey, meanwhile, is distracted by thoughts of Dunsey, who has not returned home. After hearing that
Wildfire has been found dead, Godfrey decides to tell his father about the money, though not about his
marriage. The Squire flies into a rage at the news, but does not do anything drastic to punish Godfrey.
Silas is utterly disconsolate at the loss of his gold and numbly continues his weaving. Some of the townspeople
stop by to offer their condolences and advice. Among these visitors, Dolly Winthrop stands out. Like many of
the others, she encourages Silas to go to church—something he has not done since he was banished from
Lantern Yard—but she is also gentler and more genuinely sympathetic.
Nancy Lammeter arrives at Squire Cass’s famed New Year’s dance resolved to reject Godfrey’s advances
because of his unsound character. However, Godfrey is more direct and insistent than he has been in a long
time, and Nancy finds herself exhilarated by the evening in spite of her resolution. Meanwhile, Molly,
Godfrey’s secret wife, is making her way to the Casses’ house to reveal the secret marriage. She has their
daughter, a toddler, in her arms. Tiring after her long walk, Molly takes a draft of opium and passes out by the
road. Seeing Silas’s cottage and drawn by the light of the fire, Molly’s little girl wanders through the open door
and falls asleep at Silas’s hearth.
Silas is having one of his fits at the time and does not notice the little girl enter his cottage. When he comes to,
he sees her already asleep on his hearth, and is as stunned by her appearance as he was by the disappearance of
his money. A while later, Silas traces the girl’s footsteps outside and finds Molly’s body lying in the snow. Silas
goes to the Squire’s house to find the doctor, and causes a stir at the dance when he arrives with the baby girl in
his arms. Godfrey, recognizing his daughter, accompanies the doctor to Silas’s cottage. When the doctor
declares that Molly is dead, Godfrey realizes that his secret is safe. He does not claim his daughter, and Silas
adopts her.
Silas grows increasingly attached to the child and names her Eppie, after his mother and sister. With Dolly
Winthrop’s help, Silas raises the child lovingly. Eppie begins to serve as a bridge between Silas and the rest of
the villagers, who offer him help and advice and have come to think of him as an exemplary person because of
what he has done. Eppie also brings Silas out of the benumbed state he fell into after the loss of his gold. In his
newfound happiness, Silas begins to explore the memories of his past that he has long repressed.
The novel jumps ahead sixteen years. Godfrey has married Nancy and Squire Cass has died. Godfrey has
inherited his father’s house, but he and Nancy have no children. Their one daughter died at birth, and Nancy has
refused to adopt. Eppie has grown into a pretty and spirited young woman, and Silas a contented father. The
stone-pit behind Silas’s cottage is drained to water neighboring fields, and Dunsey’s skeleton is found at the
bottom, along with Silas’s gold. The discovery frightens Godfrey, who becomes convinced that his own secrets
are destined to be uncovered as well. He confesses the truth to Nancy about his marriage to Molly and fathering
of Eppie. Nancy is not angry but regretful, saying that they could have adopted Eppie legitimately if Godfrey
had told her earlier.
That evening, Godfrey and Nancy decide to visit Silas’s cottage to confess the truth of Eppie’s lineage and
claim her as their daughter. However, after hearing Godfrey and Nancy’s story, Eppie tells them she would
rather stay with Silas than live with her biological father. Godfrey and Nancy leave, resigning themselves to
helping Eppie from afar. The next day, Silas decides to visit Lantern Yard to see if he was ever cleared of the
theft of which he was accused years before. The town has changed almost beyond recognition, though, and
Silas’s old chapel has been torn down to make way for a new factory. Silas realizes that his questions will never
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be answered, but he is content with the sense of faith he has regained through his life with Eppie. That summer
Eppie is married to Aaron Winthrop, Dolly’s son. Aaron comes to live in Silas’ cottage, which has been
expanded and refurbished at Godfrey’s expense.
WEEK 9: ROMANTIC TO CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE (4)
Romantic and Transcendental Movements
The Romantic movement, which originated in Germany but quickly spread to England, France, and beyond,
reached America around the year 1820, some twenty years after William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor
Coleridge had revolutionized English poetry by publishing Lyrical Ballads. In America as in Europe, fresh new
vision electrified artistic and intellectual circles. Yet there was an important difference: Romanticism in America
coincided with the period of national expansion and the discovery of a distinctive American voice. The
solidification of a national identity and the surging idealism and passion of Romanticism nurtured the
masterpieces of “the American Renaissance.”
Romantic ideas centered around art as inspiration, the spiritual and aesthetic dimension of nature, and
metaphors of organic growth. Art, rather than science, Romantics argued, could best express universal truth. The
Romantics underscored the importance of expressive art for the individual and society. In his essay “The Poet”
(1844), Ralph Waldo Emerson, perhaps the most influential writer of the Romantic era, asserts:
For all men live by truth, and stand in need of expression. In love, in art, in avarice, in politics, in labor,
in games, we study to utter our painful secret. The man is only half himself, the other half is his
expression.
Self-development became a major theme; self-awareness a primary method. If, according to Romantic theory,
self and nature were one, self-awareness was not a selfish dead end but a mode of knowledge opening up the
universe. If one’s self were one with all humanity, then the individual had a moral duty to reform social
inequalities and relieve human suffering. The idea of “self”—which suggested selfishness to earlier
generations—was redefined. New compound words with positive meanings emerged: “self-realization,”
“self-expression,” “self-reliance.”

As the unique, the subjective self was deemed important, so did the realm of psychology. Exceptional
artistic effects and techniques were developed to evoke heightened psychological states. The “sublime”—an
effect of beauty in grandeur (for example, a view from a mountaintop)—produced feelings of awe, reverence,
vastness, and a power beyond human comprehension.
Transcendentalism
The Transcendentalist movement was a reaction against 18th century rationalism and a manifestation of the
general humanitarian trend of nineteenth century thought. The movement was based on a fundamental belief
in the unity of the world and God. The soul of each individual was thought to be identical with the world—a
microcosm of the world itself. The doctrine of self-reliance and individualism developed through the belief in
the identification of the individual soul with God.
Transcendentalists valued individualism and self-reliance

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Transcendentalism, which lasted from about 1830 to 1860, was a vital part of the Romantic movement. Ralph
Waldo Emerson was its putative leader. Henry David Thoreau and Margaret Fuller were among the principals of
the movement.

The Transcendentalists believed there is a divine spirit in nature and in every living soul. Through individualism
and self-reliance human beings could reunite with God. A significant part of Transcendentalists’ intellectual
foundation was Immanuel Kant’s concept that all knowledge is concerned with ways of knowing objects, not
with objects themselves — that is, all knowledge is transcendental.

Emerson’s influential essay Nature (1836) explains Transcendentalism’s main tenets. In Walden (1854),
Thoreau explains how to live the good life and be at one with nature. His celebrated essay Civil
Disobedience (1849) lauds the benefits of peaceful resistance.

Walt Whitman, who wrote toward the end of the movement, advocated accepting human’s animal nature and
reuniting with God through the natural world. His Leaves of Grass (1855) and other poems celebrate freedom,
independence, and the value of nonconformity.

“The Doll’s House” by Katherine Mansfield

In this excellent short story by Katherine Mansfield, we are presented with the Burnell sisters, called Isabel,
Lottie and Kezia, who are given a large doll's house, a marvellous toy that delights them and dazzles their
schoolmates. The Burnells are a wealthy family who live in a rural area of New Zealand where all the children
from the area attend the same school, regardless of the social status of their families. The Burnell children
rejoice in the status that possessing the doll's house gives them, and invite all of their friends at school to see the
house one by one, except Else and Lil Kelvey, with whom they are forbidden even to speak. At school, the
Kelvey sisters are mercilessly mocked because of their poverty and low social status and they are made fun of
with the accusation that their absent father is actually in prison.

However, one day, the youngest Burnell sister, Kezia, sees Else and Lil passing by her house and she invites
them in to see the doll's house. They come in but are interrupted by a very fierce Aunt Beryl, who tells of Kezia
for inviting them in and throws out the Kelveys. Still, Else Kelvey is deeply moved by seeing the doll's house
and in particular by her glimpse of the little lamp, which can be said to symbolise the warmth of human
kindness.
God’s Gift by Alfred Noyes

There is but one gift that all our dead desire,

One gift that men can give and that’s a dream.

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Unless we, too, can burn with that same fire
Of sacrifice; die to the things that see;
Die to the little hatred; die to greed;
Die to the old ignoble selves we knew;
Die to the base contempts of sect and creed,
And rise again, like these, with souls as true.
Nay (since these died before their tasks were finished);
Attempt new heights, bring even their dreams to birth;
Build us that better world, O, not diminished
By one true splendor that they planned on earth.
And that’s not done by sword, or tongue, or pen.
There’s but one way: God make us better men.

WEEK 10: EARLY AMERICAN LITERATURE (1)

4.1 Early American Literature
Like other national literatures, American literature was shaped by the history of the country that produced it.
For almost a century and a half, America was merely a group of colonies scattered along the eastern seaboard of
the North American continent—colonies from which a few hardy souls tentatively ventured westward. After a
successful rebellion against the motherland, America became the United States, a nation.
This history of American literature begins with the arrival of English-speaking Europeans in what would
become the United States. At first, American literature was naturally a colonial literature by authors who were
Englishmen and who thought and wrote as such. John Smith, a soldier of fortune, is credited with initiating
American literature. His chief books included A True Relation of…Virginia…(1608) and The Generall Historie
of Virginia, New England, and the Summer Isles (1624). Although these volumes often glorified their author,
they were avowedly written to explain colonizing opportunities to Englishmen. In time, each colony was
similarly described: Daniel Denton’s Brief Description of New York (1670), William Penn’s Brief Account of
the Province of Pennsylvania (1682), and Thomas Ashe’s Carolina (1682) were only a few of many works
praising America as a land of economic promise.
In America in the early years of the 18th century, some writers, such as Cotton Mather, carried on the older
traditions. His huge history and biography of Puritan New England, Magnalia Christi Americana, in 1702, and
his vigorous Manuductio ad Ministerium, or introduction to the ministry, in 1726, were defenses of ancient
Puritan convictions. Jonathan Edwards, initiator of the Great Awakening, a religious revival that stirred the
eastern seacoast for many years, eloquently defended his burning belief in Calvinistic doctrine— of the concept
that man, born totally depraved, could attain virtue and salvation only through God’s grace— in his powerful
sermons and most notably in the philosophical treatise Freedom of Will (1754). He supported his claims by
relating them to a complex metaphysical system and by reasoning brilliantly in clear and often beautiful prose.
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The wrench of the American Revolution emphasized differences that had been growing between American and
British political concepts. As the colonists moved to the belief that rebellion was inevitable, fought the bitter
war, and worked to found the new nation’s government, they were influenced by a number of very effective
political writers, such as Samuel Adams and John Dickinson, both of whom favored the colonists, and loyalist
Joseph Galloway. But two figures loomed above these—Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Paine.
4.2 Franklin and His Poor Richard Almanac
Franklin, born in 1706, had started to publish his writings in his brother’s newspaper, the New England Courant,
as early as 1722. This newspaper championed the cause of the “Leather Apron” man and the farmer and
appealed by using easily understood language and practical arguments. The idea that common sense was a good
guide was clear in both the popular Poor Richard’s almanac, which Franklin edited between 1732 and 1757 and
filled with prudent and witty aphorisms purportedly written by uneducated but experienced Richard Saunders,
and in the author’s Autobiography, written between 1771 and 1788, a record of his rise from humble
circumstances that offered worldly wise suggestions for future success.

Poor Richard's Almanac

Title page for Poor Richard's Almanac for 1739, written, printed, and sold by Benjamin Franklin. Rare Book
and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
On December 19, 1732, Benjamin Franklin of Philadelphia first published Poor Richard’s Almanack. The book,
filled with proverbs preaching industry and prudence, was published continuously for 25 years and became one
of the most popular publications in colonial America, selling an average of 10,000 copies a year.
Ten (10) Poor Richard's Almanack Quotes
“Lost Time is never found again.”
“If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write things worth reading, or do
things worth writing.”
“The way to see by faith is to shut the eye of reason.”
“Speak little, do much.”
“Clean your Finger, before you point at my Spots.”
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“Content makes poor men rich; discontent makes rich men poor.”
“Search others for their virtues, thyself for thy vices.”
“There are three faithful friends, an old wife, an old dog, and ready money.”
“Praise to the undeserving is severe satire.”
“The Proud hate Pride – in others.”
4.3 The Gettysburg Address Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
November 19, 1863
On June 1, 1865, Senator Charles Sumner referred to the most famous speech ever given by President
Abraham Lincoln. In his eulogy on the slain president, he called the Gettysburg Address a "monumental act."
He said Lincoln was mistaken that "the world will little note, nor long remember what we say here." Rather, the
Bostonian remarked, "The world noted at once what he said, and will never cease to remember it. The battle
itself was less important than the speech."
Bliss Copy
Ever since Lincoln wrote it in 1864, this version has been the most often reproduced, notably on the walls of the
Lincoln Memorial in Washington. It is named after Colonel Alexander Bliss, stepson of historian George
Bancroft. Bancroft asked President Lincoln for a copy to use as a fundraiser for soldiers (see "Bancroft Copy"
below). However, because Lincoln wrote on both sides of the paper, the speech could not be reprinted, so
Lincoln made another copy at Bliss's request. It is the last known copy written by Lincoln and the only one
signed and dated by him. Today it is on display at the Lincoln Room of the White House.
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty,
and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so
dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of
that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether
fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate -- we cannot consecrate -- we cannot hallow -- this ground. The brave
men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The
world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for
us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so
nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these
honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion --
that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a
new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from
the earth.
Abraham Lincoln
November 19, 1863

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O Captain! My Captain!
BY WALT WHITMAN
O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done,
The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won,
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting, While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and
daring;
But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.
O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills,
For you bouquets and ribbon’d wreaths—for you the shores a-crowding, For you they call, the swaying mass,
their eager faces turning; Here Captain! dear father! This arm beneath your head! It is some dream that on the
deck, You’ve fallen cold and dead.
My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still,
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will,
The ship is anchor’d safe and sound, its voyage closed and done, From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with
object won; Exult O shores, and ring O bells! But I with mournful tread, Walk the deck my Captain lies, Fallen
cold and dead.
Walt Whitman (/ˈhwɪtmən/; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist, and journalist.
A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in
his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free
verse.[1] His work was controversial in its time, particularly his poetry collection Leaves of Grass, which was
described as obscene for its overt sensuality. Whitman's own life came under scrutiny for his presumed
homosexuality.
Whitman’s poetry often focused on both loss and healing. Two of his well-known poems, "O Captain! My
Captain!" and "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd", were written on the death of Abraham Lincoln.
After a stroke towards the end of his life, Whitman moved to Camden, New Jersey, where his health further
declined. When he died at age 72, his funeral was a public event.

WEEK 11: EARLY AMERICAN LITERATURE (2)

Themes in Poetry

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The theme of a poem lies in the meaning of the story it tells. It is tempting to think of a theme as the subject of
the poem, but this is not always the case. Many poems have more than one theme, and they are closely related
to the feelings the poet is trying to convey. For this reason, themes in poetry are as varied as the ups and downs
we experience in life.
Love and Attachment
Love may possibly be the most popular theme in poetry because love is a complex emotion that resonates with
readers. Love is usually coupled with another theme of the poem, such as love lost, true love, the love of a
parent or even the love of a certain type of food or animal. The love of nature is a theme seen in many of Henry
David Thoreau's poems, including one titled "I am the Autumnal Sun": "Sometimes a mortal feels in himself
Nature -- not his Father but his Mother stirs within him, and he becomes immortal with her immortality." Love
is a topic that any aspiring or professional poet can write about because we all have experienced it in one form
or another.
Tragedy and Loss
Poems sometimes tell a story, and they aren't always stories with happy endings. In fact, many are quite the
opposite. Tragedy and loss are types of themes in poetry. The subjects of these poems may be war, divorce,
heartbreak, a friend moving away or even death. One of the most famous poems about death is Emily
Dickinson's "Because I Could Not Stop For Death," in which she describes her grave:
God and Spirituality
God, heaven and spirituality are common themes in poems. In fact, the Bible holds some of the world's most
famous poems. Spirituality is a very personal thing, and that is why many poets find it a good theme for their
poetry. Such themes may touch on what happens during or after death, the meaning of fate, free will versus
destiny, and deities. In the first stanza of "Batter My Heart, Three Person'd God (Holy Sonnet 14)," John Donne
makes a plea to God: "Batter my heart, three-personed God, for you As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek
to mend; That I may rise, and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend Your force to break, blow, burn, and make me
new."
Milestones and Memories
Some poems are about the events and memories that make life so poignant, such as a baby's first birthday, a
special holiday, a favorite season or simply the passing of time. Other themes in this category might include
lessons learned from historical events -- whether major world events or simply something in the poet's own
history, like the time he hit a home run at the championship game, or even the time he lost one shoe. Poems are
not always solemn, and humorous poems are always fun to analyze. Jack Prelutsky is an American writer
known for his humorous children's poems. One of his most popular poems is about a nose: "Be glad your nose
is on your face, not pasted on some other place, for if it were where it is not, you might dislike your nose a lot."
12 STYLES OF POETRY
When you’re talking about styles or types of poetry, you’re probably talking about either form or mode. Form
has a relatively strict definition It’s the shape of a poem — the way the content is organized in the time,
imagination or page space it occupies.
1. Narrative- seeks to tell a story. Examples are diverse, including everything from Santoka’s oeuvre of first-
person haiku to James Tate’s prose poetry to the ancient epics.
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2. Lyrical - (in the contemporary sense) is when the “I” comes to the forefront. There’s also typically an
element of musicality: rhyme, meter. From a grammar perspective, you can presume there’s some element of
lyric when you hear first-person or second person pronouns (outside of dialogue). The lyrical style typically
highlights experience, expression and emotion from the point of view of the speaker of the poem — as opposed
to taking an observational stance, that is. Some of the most famous lyrical poetry is me-to-you or me-to-
everyone love poetry — Sappho’s work and Shakespeare’s love
3. Persona - spoken or written by a character. The poet does this by occupying the target viewpoint, saying
what that character would say. It’s basically literary acting. This is a complication on the lyrical mode since the
speaker of the poem — that is, the perspective from which the poem is delivered — is overtly not the poet but
rather a different poet created by the poet.
4. Confessional - tries to provide a direct channel for personal experience. Like persona poetry, it’s a type of
lyric. Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton form your textbook confessional power duo. Confessional poems often
focus on things that most people would keep private — the type of topics you might expect to save for a priest
or a psychologist. Therefore, it’s a requirement that the speaker of the poem is the poet — unless the poet is
having a persona confess, that is. Basically: Don’t trust poets.
5. Descriptive - takes many forms. Some poets might communicate an idea of city life by describing what
happens as they go to meet their friends. Some might describe a lover’s eyes by comparing them to a kind of
shellfish. Descriptive passages also use a variety of literary techniques and poetic devices to get their points
across.
Epic poetry is presented in a narrative mode, but it also often has a good range of descriptive technique. Homer
listed basically every person in the Achaean army and also compared an assumedly high-humidity dawn sky to
ruby-colored fingers. Both of these are examples of description, even though they’re very different.
6. Imagism - was a big 20th-century approach. This poetic mode focuses on or consists entirely of moments
designed to present an emotional and sensual reaction, to paraphrase Ezra Pound.
These poems are not truly descriptive in a prosaic sense, in that they don’t usually contain a lot of details about
a scene. Rather than tell the whole story, the imagist would aim to reduce experiences to their essence to
stimulate the imagination.
7. Ekphrastic - expressions of the act of the poet’s appreciation of art. One of the key features of ekphrasis is
some description of or reference to the work. It’s different than a review, especially in the sense that overt
critique of the art is usually absent. Basically, this mode is a way to share the aesthetic experience.
8. Persuasion - the darling of advertising writers everywhere — typically uses metaphor, rhetoric, rhythm,
description and rhyme to bring audiences to a specific emotional state. Many persuasive poems are also lyrical
— love poems, for example.
9. Comic - tends to use a variety of techniques — irregular rhyme or meter, forced punchlines, misappropriated
forms, imperfect logic, litotes, hyperbole, cyclical construction or quirky observations, for example — with an
express purpose of getting a chuckle or exposing some human failing.
10. Occasional - geared more toward the for-a-special-occasion than the every-once-in-a-while sense of the
word. Poets might be called upon or personally motivated to write poems for births, funerals and basically
everything in between. One of the interesting things about this mode, from a craft perspective, is that a poet

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usually has a specific audience in mind when writing it: the people at, affected by or involved in the event. As
such, the poem usually focuses on a shared emotion, or at least one the poet thinks should be shared.
11. Invective - a hate poetry. Social media has basically taken over this literary mode, and journalism before it,
but once upon a time, people actually wrote a lot of nasty poems about other people. They typically were short
and had strong rhyme, making them easier to remember and repeat — to the detriment of the poet’s enemies.
12. Signifying - a literary mode characterized by situational re-assignation of semantic content on a contextual,
cultural or wordplay basis. Like the oldest existing examples of English lit, signifying poetry is highly
metaphorical, exhibiting condensed, often-ironic statements for sending messages or eliciting emotional
outcomes to/in the audience’s in-groups.

Themes in Essay:
One of the beauties of a good essay is how much an author can imply or suggest about the theme without
directly stating it. This can be done in all kinds of ways. For example:
· Through descriptions using certain words, objects, colors, images or ideas, the author can bring out
connections with other parts of the essay. This can be a surprisingly deep way to develop a theme. For example,
by describing a sunrise the author can suggest ideas of rebirth, new life, new beginnings and so on.
· Through telling a story the author can show how different people react to the same experience, idea or
object, again bringing out different aspects of the theme or making connections to other parts of the essay.
· Through presenting new facts or information about a topic, the results of research, the author can present
different insights, aspects of the theme, ways of thinking about the theme, unexpected issues or problems or
possibilities.
One of the main purposes of a good essay is to explore or develop a theme, much the same way that a piece of
music might develop a theme, starting off with a simple statement of the melody, then going off into all sorts of
complications and variations, then coming back to the simple melody at the end, but now with a sense of the
possibilities it contains. An essay looks at its theme(s) from many angles, giving us lots to think about and
helping us see more depths than we might have otherwise. In short, the author states or suggests many different
things about the basic theme, and analyzing the essay means bringing out some of those things.
These questions will help you dig deeper into the theme. Often the answer is not stated directly but implied by
the story, the description, the facts presented.
· What causes it?
· What does it cause (what effects does it have)?
· What different forms can it take?
· Does it affect everyone in the same way?
· If not, how is it different for different people?
· What does it mean for our lives?
· How is this example different from other examples elsewhere in the essay?

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Annabel Lee
BY EDGAR ALLAN POE

It was many and many a year ago, In a kingdom by the sea,

That a maiden there lived whom you may know By the name of Annabel Lee;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought Than to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child, In this kingdom by the sea,
But we loved with a love that was more than love— I and my Annabel Lee—
With a love that the wingèd seraphs of Heaven Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago, In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her highborn kinsmen came And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre In this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in Heaven, Went envying her and me—
Yes! - that was the reason (as all men know, In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of the cloud by night, Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love Of those who were older than we—
Of many far wiser than we—
And neither the angels in Heaven above Nor the demons down under the sea
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side Of my darling—my darling—my life and my bride, In her
sepulchre there by the sea—
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In her tomb by the sounding sea.

Summary of Emerson’s “Self-Reliance

Published first in 1841 in Essays and then in the 1847 revised edition of Essays, "Self-Reliance" took shape
over a long period of time. Throughout his life, Emerson kept detailed journals of his thoughts and actions, and
he returned to them as a source for many of his essays. Such is the case with "Self- Reliance," which includes
materials from journal entries dating as far back as 1832. In addition to his journals, Emerson drew on various
lectures he delivered between 1836 and 1839.
The first edition of the essay bore three epigraphs: a Latin line, meaning "Do not seek outside yourself"; a six-
line stanza from Beaumont and Fletcher's Honest Man's Fortune; and a four-line stanza that Emerson himself
wrote. Emerson dropped his stanza from the revised edition of the essay, but modern editors have since restored
it. All three epigraphs stress the necessity of relying on oneself for knowledge and guidance.
The essay has three major divisions: the importance of self-reliance (paragraphs 1-17), self- reliance and the
individual (paragraphs 18-32), and self-reliance and society (paragraphs 33-50). As a whole, it promotes self-
reliance as an ideal, even a virtue, and contrasts it with various modes of dependence or conformity. Because the
essay does not have internally marked divisions delineating its three major sections, readers should number each
paragraph in pencil as this discussion will make reference to them.

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