The American Renaissance: Key Figures and Literary Movements
An American Renaissance
In the 1830s and 1840s, the frontier of American society was quickly moving westward. Following in the path of Brackenridge and Cooper, writers were beginning to look at the western frontier for ideas for a literature about American life. The feeling was that the cultures of Massachusetts and Virginia ought to be the models of national culture. At this time, Boston and its neighboring towns and villages were filled with intellectual excitement and activity.
The Transcendentalists
Among
Read MoreSatire in Scriblerian Literature: A Critical Analysis
Satire in Scriblerian Literature
The aim of this essay is to discuss the role of satire in Scriblerian literature, focusing on the satirical techniques employed by members of the Scriblerus Club. The Scriblerus Club, named after the fictional Martinus Scriblerus, was an informal association of authors formed in 1714, including Jonathan Swift, Alexander Pope, John Gay, John Arbuthnot, Henry St. John, and Thomas Parnell. They used satire to address their concerns about widespread corruption.
Alexander
Read MoreFriesian Bull by Gillian Clarke: Analysis
Friesian Bull by Gillian Clarke: An Analysis
The poem Friesian Bull is full of Clarke’s vivid imagery. Even from the first line, you get a sense of the real beast this animal is: “He blunders through the last dream of the night.” The word “blunders” sounds brash and clunky, already painting a picture of the bull for the reader. The use of verbs such as ‘blunders’ and ‘thundering’ makes the bull’s rage seem even more graphic and creates a clear picture for the reader of a large bull staggering about.
Read MoreFaber’s Role and Philosophy in Fahrenheit 451
According to Jung in his essay “The Phenomenology of the Spirit in Fairy Tales,” the old man archetype represents, on the one hand, knowledge, reflection, insight, wisdom, cleverness, and intuition. On the other hand, he represents such moral qualities as good will and readiness to help, which makes his “spiritual” character sufficiently plain. Faber displays these qualities, and he, like Clarisse, is associated with the color white, symbolic of his spiritual nature: “He [Faber] and the white plaster
Read MoreAmerican Enlightenment and Romanticism: Ideas and Literature
Key Ideas of the American Enlightenment
Tabula Rasa: John Locke used this term to describe the human mind as a blank slate at birth. According to him, all knowledge is imprinted on the mind through sensory experience, making it a very physical process.
Concept of God: Contemplations, like those of Anne Bradstreet, often involved observing nature while acknowledging the presence of God. Careful observation and detailed recording of nature were key. It was believed that through intelligent observation,
Read MoreExpository Texts: Humanistic, Scientific, and Informative
Expository Texts
Expository texts are intended to explain or make known to receptors present knowledge in an objective manner. These are texts that convey humanistic studies on individual human beings, and texts that communicate scientific knowledge that has to do with nature. Informative text addresses a subject the issuer believes receivers do not know, exposed with the intention of informing them.
Argumentation
Argumentation is an easy way of trying to convince the receiver of thoughts or beliefs.
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