1. Bell Ringer
“So far as man thinks, he is free. Thought takes man out of servitude into freedom.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
What does he mean?
How does this pertain post
revolutionary America?

2. American Romanticism 1800 - 1860 & American Renaissance/Transcendentalism 1840 - 1860

3. Historical Context
Expansion of magazines, newspapers, and book publishing
Slavery debates
Industrial Revolution
“Old ways” were not working anymore

4. Major Concepts
Connection to God through nature; not necessarily through traditional Christian dogma
Nature over civilization
Imagination over science
Feeling over reason
Allowed people to re-imagine the American past

5. Style
Poetry
Short stories
Novels
Essays

6. Groups The Pessimists The Optimists - Edgar Allan Poe
- Nathaniel Hawthorne
- Herman Melville
The Optimists
William Cullen Bryant
Emily Dickinson
Walt Whitman
Robert Frost
The Transcendentalists
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
- Henry David Thoreau

7. William Cullen Bryant Poet Editor of New York Evening Post Lawyer
Spent five years translating
Homer’s The Iliad and The Odyssey
“Thanatopisis” was his first
published work.

8. Bell Ringer
Based on what we have read of “Thanatopsis,” what is Bryant’s take on death? Please support your answer. The poem is on page 191.

9. Thanotopsis
Notes Sheets
Finish poem
Discuss

10. Washington Irving Author and Historian Legitimate writer
Among first famous Am. Writers
“Legend of Sleepy Hollow”
Created “Gotham”
Created phrase “almighty dollar.”
Pseudonym: Diedrich Knickerbocker

11. Half piece of paper. Hug a tree.
Sit quietly.
November 22, 2011

12. Mood The overall feeling or atmosphere of a story, play or poem.
What is the mood of this story? Why?

13. Bell Ringer What would a Puritan’s idea of Thanksgiving be?
What about a Romantic’s idea?
Please support both answers.
Hand your homework up and over.

14. Allegory A symbolical narrative Examples: Lord of the Flies –
Discusses how culture created by man fails
Lion King -
Tells the story of Hamlet
The Devil and Tom Walker –
??? – Get into groups and figure it out…

15. Group Work
Please read the criticism. From this criticism, please discuss and write answers to the following questions on a separate sheet:
Irving’s view on culture
History surrounding the story
What could TDATW be an allegory for?
What is a criticism of TDATW?

16. Bell Ringer
Today’s author belongs to the Optimist sub-group of American Romantic writers. What can we expect from this person’s writing?

17. Emily Dickinson Introvert
Most famous poetry was published after she died
Heavily edited
Unaltered versions published in 1955
Lived in seclusion
Best writing

18. Style Short lines Typically lack titles
Unconventional capitalization and punctuation.
Specific Themes

19. Assignment (Due tomorrow)
Full Group:
“Because I could not stop for death”
Small Groups:
“If you were coming in the fall” Both versions
What are some differences brought forth by the edits?
“Apparently with no surprise”
What is the tone of this poem? Support your answer.
Individually:
“I heard a fly buzz – when I died”
What do you expect from the moment when we cannot “see to see” (last moment before death)?
Follow these prompts:
Please supply a summary (at least one sentence) for each poem.
What are common themes across all of Dickinson’s poetry?
List 2 literary devices (and examples of each) that Dickinson uses.
Do you like Dickinson’s poetry? Why or why not?

20. Bell Ringer
What are some buzz words that Emily Dickinson uses to imply her tone? Please supply three examples from yesterday’s poems. Yes, please answer in complete sentences.
Homework out, please.

21. Dickinson
Let’s chat.
Please refer to your hw.

22. Assignment (Due tomorrow)
Full Group:
“Because I could not stop for death”
Small Groups:
“If you were coming in the fall” Both versions
What are some differences brought forth by the edits?
“Apparently with no surprise”
What is the tone of this poem? Support your answer.
Individually:
“I heard a fly buzz – when I died”
What do you expect from the moment when we cannot “see to see” (last moment before death)?
Follow these prompts:
Please supply a summary (at least one sentence) for each poem.
What are common themes across all of Dickinson’s poetry?
List 2 literary devices (and examples of each) that Dickinson uses.
Do you like Dickinson’s poetry? Why or why not?

23. I’ve got a fever…

24. All our times have come Here but now they're gone Seasons don't fear the reaper Nor do the wind, the sun or the rain..we can be like they are Come on baby...don't fear the reaper Baby take my hand...don't fear the reaper We'll be able to fly...don't fear the reaper Baby I'm your man... Valentine is done Here but now they're gone Romeo and Juliet Are together in eternity...Romeo and Juliet 40,000 men and women everyday...Like Romeo and Juliet 40,000 men and women everyday...Redefine happiness Another 40,000 coming everyday...We can be like they are
Come on baby...don't fear the reaper Baby take my hand...don't fear the reaper We'll be able to fly...don't fear the reaper Baby I'm your man... Love of two is one Here but now they're gone Came the last night of sadness And it was clear she couldn't go on Then the door was open and the wind appeared The candles blew then disappeared The curtains flew then he appeared...saying don't be afraid Come on baby...and she had no fear And she ran to him...then they started to fly They looked backward and said goodbye...she had become like they are She had taken his hand...she had become like they are Come on baby...don't fear the reaper

25. Bell Ringer
This is my letter to the world, That never wrote to me,— The simple news that Nature told, With tender majesty. Her message is committed To hands I cannot see -- For love of her -- sweet -- countrymen, Judge tenderly -- of me. -Emily Dickinson 1. How does this poem differ from others by Dickinson? 2. To whom is the “letter” addressed (hint in blue)? Explain. 3. What is her request of her audience (hint in red)? Explain. 4. Please read Independent Reading book upon completion.

26. Bell Ringer
“The words of my book nothing, the drift of it everything.” -Walt Whitman
What is the “drift” of a book?
How does he feel about his own literature?
Please read your IRB when you finish.

27. Walt Whitman “Father of Free Verse” “Poet of Democracy” Teacher Clerk
Volunteer Nurse during the American Civil War
Edited Leaves of Grass from 1850 to his death in 1892

28. What others have said about Whitman…
"You cannot really understand America without Walt Whitman…” “If you are American, then Walt Whitman is your imaginative father and mother, even if you have never composed a line of verse.” "America's poet... He is America.”

29. Bell Ringer
Choose an experience from your weekend. Write a stanza (4-6 lines) as if it were Whitman who experienced it and wrote about it.

30. Song of Myself 33
Character
Story

31. Definition of Poetic Device
Song of Myself 33
Poetic Device
Definition of Poetic Device
Quote
Alliteration
Imagery
Onomatopoeia
Parallel Structure

32. Half sheet of paper. Hug a tree.
Bell Ringer
Half sheet of paper. Hug a tree.

33. Bell Ringer Look back on time with kindly eyes,
He doubtless did his best;
How softly sinks his trembling sun
In human nature’s west!
Was this written by Dickinson or Whitman? What, from class discussion, helps you be sure of your answer?

34. Bell Ringer
What do you consider to be the primary difference between the writing styles of Whitman and Dickinson? What do you consider to be the primary similarity between the two?

35. Do you take good notes…? Let’s find out. Quick check for understanding
15 points
Open notes

36. Please have your homework out and be ready for discussion.
Bell Ringer
Please have your homework out and be ready for discussion.

37. Dark Romantics (Pessimists)
Man is “prone to sin and self destruct”
Often write about people’s failure to change
Guilt and suspicion
Apparent facial hair competition

38. Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864)
First works published anonymously
Reclusive
Historical Romance
Psychological Themes
Symbolism
Despised Transcendtalism

39. Education?
“I was educated (as the phrase is) at Bowdoin College. I was an idle student, negligent of college rules and the Procrustean details of academic life, rather choosing to nurse my own fancies than to dig into Greek roots and be numbered among the learned Thebans.” -Nathaniel Hawthorne

40. Bell Ringer
What are three key concepts/philosophies that can be found in most Dark Romantic Writing?

41. The Minister’s Black Veil
Groups
Discuss

42. Bell Ringer
Nathaniel Hawthorne is known for having “psychological themes” in his writings. What is a psychological theme of “The Minister’s Black Veil?” Please supply the theme and explain what it means to us, as readers. What statement is Hawthorne making about humans, in general?

43. Minister’s Black Veil Yesterday’s notes Worksheet Dark Romantic?
Symbols?
Allegory?
Worksheet

44. Bell Ringer
Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.
-Nathaniel Hawthorne
What does this quote mean? Do you agree or disagree with Hawthorne? Why or why not?

45. Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment
What do all of his friends have in common?
Discuss each character’s situation.
What is the experiment?

46. Actions After the Second Round
Character Changes?
Character
Back Story
Actions After the Second Round
Colonel Killigrew
Mr. Gascoigne
Mr. Medbourne
Widow Wycherly
Describe the scene after the third round.

47. Bell Ringer
Gothic language is an author’s use of descriptive, dark or grotesque language to paint an image for his or her reader. (Write this down somewhere) Please supply an example of gothic language from Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment.

48. Actions After the Second Round
Character Changes?
Character
Back Story
Actions After the Second Round
Colonel Killigrew
Mr. Gascoigne
Mr. Medbourne
Widow Wycherly
Describe the scene after the third round.

49. Hmmm… Allegory? Wrath Greed Sloth Pride Lust Envy Gluttony
Try to figure out how these concepts all fit into Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment.

50. Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) Master of Psychological Thriller Poor
Orphaned young
Married his 13 year old cousin – she died soon after.
Found dead at age 40 – no one knows how he died.

51. Bell Ringer
“I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity.” -Edgar Allan Poe
What is he saying?
What does it mean to be “sane?”
How do you feel about Poe’s take on sanity? Explain.

52. Pit and the Pendulum

53. Bell Ringer
At what point, during The Pit and the Pendulum, did you feel the most affected by the story? Basically, what was your “favorite” part? Why did it affect you? Once finished, read your IR book.

54. Pit and the Pendulum Go over class/homework Imagery
Poe and the Spanish Inquisition?

55. The Raven
Questions
Survey
Walken

56. Bell Ringer
Welcome Back! Please open your textbooks to pg. 298 and reacquaint yourself with “The Raven.” Please write what makes this a dark romantic work. Also, have your Raven Questions out.

57. Herman Melville (1819 - 1891) Surveyor on Erie Canal Cabin Boy Teacher
Wrote based on Experience
Good buds with Hawthorne
Best known for Moby Dick, or The Whale

58. Moby Dick
What do you know?

59. Bell Ringer
Ahab and Starbuck have a disagreement on page 332. About what is this disagreement? How does each feel about it?
*Proposals for IR projects are due Friday

60. Moby Dick
What can you infer about Ahab, as a character, when he says, “Talk not to me of blasphemy, man. I’d strike the sun if it insulted me” on page 333.
What does the whale represent?
What are some of America’s “whales”? Explain.
Explain Ahab’s metaphor, comparing visible objects to “pasteboard masks” on page 332. What does he mean when he says to “strike through the mask”?

61. Bell Ringer
“It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right.” Henry David Thoreau
What does he mean?
Do you agree? Why or why not?

62. Transcendentalists Not down with the state of society
Man and Nature are naturally good and intertwined
Politics and religion corrupt purity of individuals
Truth comes from inner spiritual or mental essence of humans

63. Henry David Thoreau (1817 – 1862)
Close Natural Observation
Personal Experience
Abolitionist
Civil Disobedience
Accused of being Anarchist

64. Walden Directions: 3 Groups
Where I Lived and What I lived for; Solitude; The Bean Fields (These are shorter)
Brute Neighbors
Conclusion
For your part(s):
Read as a group
Copy down notable quotes
Analyze the quotes
Summarize
Choose a spokesperson
*Everyone take notes. I will collect a random person’s notes from each group.

65. Bell Ringer
“I have always been regretting that I was not as wise as the day I was born.” Henry David Thoreau
How does this make any sense? What is he talking about?
Is it typical Thoreau? Why or why not?

66. Agenda Groups – Finish Assignment Discussion/Presentations
Civil Disobedience (Packet)

67. Bell Ringer
“Knowledge is knowing that we cannot know.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson What does he mean? Agree or disagree? Why or why not?

68. Thoreau and Tell
Woo!

69. Civil Disobedience
Let’s chat.

70. Bell Ringer
“Speak what you think now in hard words, and tomorrow speak what tomorrow thinks in hard words again…”
Do you agree with Emerson? Why or why not?

71. Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
Lecturer
Transcendentalist Club
America’s own writing style
Buds with Thoreau
Journal
Big on Imagery
Nature is “the impression we get from natural objects”