Literary Focus Study Sync Quiz (Unit 2)

Writers of the Romantic period mainly celebrated ________________.

• A. multiple gods

• B. industrialism

• C. form and style

• D. human beings

American Romanticism most closely focused on _____________________.

• A. essay-writing as a way of rejecting customs of the past

• B. individualism and the role of nature as a pathway to self-discovery

• C. arguing in favor of the continued expansion of the American West

• D. the struggle for independence

The passage below (paragraph 5) adds to the development of the text mainly by __________________

.

An important branch of American Romanticism was Transcendentalism. This artistic movement developed in the late 1820s and 1830s. In the nineteenth century, New Englanders began to move away from the Puritanical ways of thinking associated with their colonial and early national past. Many began to embrace a religious movement called Unitarianism. It held a more positive view of human nature. Ralph Waldo Emerson, who is today often called the father of Transcendentalism, was a Unitarian minister. Over time, Emerson’s thinking began to break with the church. He believed that any religious authority interrupted an individual’s personal connection to God.

• A. providing an explanation of New Englanders in the late 1820s

• B. explaining the Transcendentalism movement in America and why it became popular

• C. providing the thinking behind the religious movement called Unitarianism

• D. explaining why Ralph Waldo Emerson began to break with the church

The purpose of the passage below (paragraph 7) is mainly to ________________________.

The Romantics were very interested in the power of emotions, and some important Romantic writers explored emotions through dark or supernatural themes. Gothic Romanticism, also referred to as Dark Romanticism, is a subgenre within the Romantic literary period. Gothic Romantic writing took an interest in themes such as madness, death, evil, and the destructive aspects of nature.

• A. show that not all Romantics were optimistic

• B. explain how Romanticism became dangerous

• C. suggest that subgenre is an important aspect of literary movements

• D. explain Gothic Romanticism and the themes it explored

Which of the following best explains the difference between Gothic Romanticism and Transcendentalism?

• A. Most Gothic Romantic writers wrote nature poems, while Transcendentalists mainly wrote political essays.

• B. Gothic Romantic writers were much more influenced by Edgar Allan Poe and they rejected the natural world.

• C. Transcendentalist writers held a more optimistic view of human nature than Gothic Romantic writers.

• D. Transcendentalist writers were religious and feared the Gothic Romantics.

Which passage best supports the correct answer to the previous question?

Which of the following best explains the difference between Gothic Romanticism and Transcendentalism?

• A. “Beginning roughly in the late eighteenth century in Europe, the Romantic period was a philosophical, artistic, and literary movement.”

• B. “Gothic Romanticism, also referred to as Dark Romanticism, is a subgenre within the Romantic literary period. Gothic Romantic writing took an interest in themes such as madness, death, evil, and the destructive aspects of nature.”

• C. “Yet Transcendentalist writers generally took and optimistic view of the power of human nature. Gothic Romantics, on the other hand, often explored the human tendency to make mistakes or sins.”

• D. “Some of the earliest instances of horror in American fiction can be traced back to the Gothic Romantics.”

Members of the Transcendental Club most closely believed ___________________.

• A. that nature holds the key to a deeper understanding of the world

• B. that Puritanical ways of thinking brought one closer to God

• C. in the power of emotions

• D. that focusing on wealth and material things helped an individual’s connection to nature and the true self

Which passage from the text most strongly supports the correct answer to the previous question?

• A. “Members came together to discuss ideas. They would eventually publish books of essays and a literary magazine called The Dial (1840–1844).”

• B. “In their writing, members of the group discussed that there was a part of the self that exists beyond our concrete understanding. That part of the self is very connected to nature and is capable of providing knowledge.”

• C. “They felt that a focus on material things and wealth was a negative influence.”

• D. “Famous Transcendentalist thinkers from the period include Henry David Thoreau, who was mentored by Emerson, and Margaret Fuller, an early feminist thinker.”

to support or defend a particular cause

• industrialism

• champion

an economic system built on large industries rather than on agriculture or craftsmanship

• industrialism

• meter