ENGL 201 ESSAY 3: THE AMERICAN RENAISSANCE/ROMANTIC PERIOD GRADING RUBRIC Criteria Content Development Organization and Structure Advanced 65 to 75 points • Major points are stated clearly and are well-supported. • Content is persuasive and comprehensive. • Content and purpose of the writing are clear. • Thesis has a strong claim. • Audience is clear and appropriate for the topic. • Supportive information (if required) is strong and addresses writing focus. 65 to 75 points • Writing is well-structured, clear, and easy-to-follow. • Introduction is compelling and forecasts the topic and thesis. • Each paragraph is unified and has a clear central idea. • Transitional wording is present throughout the writing. • Conclusion is a logical end to the writing. • Word count is at least 1,200 words. Levels of Achievement Proficient Developing 51 to 64 points 1 to 50 points • Major points are addressed, • Major points are unclear but clarity or support is and/or insufficiently limited. supported. • Content is somewhat • Content is missing persuasive or essentials. comprehensive. • Content has unsatisfactory • Content is inconsistent purpose, focus, and clarity. (lack of clear purpose • Supportive information (if and/or clarity). required) is missing. • Thesis could be stronger. • Supportive information (if required) needs strengthening or does not address writing focus. 51 to 64 points 1 to 50 points • Paper is adequately • Organization and structure organized, but some areas detract from the writer’s are difficult to follow. message. • Introduction needs to • Introduction and/or provide a stronger gateway conclusion is/are incomplete into the writing. or missing. • Some paragraphs lack unity • Paragraphs are not unified and coherence. (e.g. more than 1 topic is included, missing or • Better transitions are inadequate controlling and needed to provide fluency concluding sentences). of ideas. • Conclusion is trite or barely • Transitions are missing. serves its purpose. • Conclusion, if present, fails to serve its purpose. • Word count almost meets requirement. • Word count does not meet requirement. Not Present Points Earned 0 points Not present 0 points Not present Page 1 of 2 ENGL 201 Content Grammar and Diction Advanced 65 to 75 points • The writing reflects correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling standards. • Language is accurate, appropriate, and effective. • The writing’s tone is appropriate and highly effective. Format: Current MLA/APA/ Turabian Paper Requirements 18 to 25 points • Writing correctly follows formatting guidelines. • Parenthetical and bibliographical source citations are used correctly and appropriately. • Proficient • 51 to 64 points • The writing contains some grammar, punctuation, and/or spelling errors. • Language is unclear, awkward, or inappropriate in parts. • The writing’s tone is generally appropriate and moderately effective. 10 to 17 points • Writing follows most formatting guidelines, but some flaws are detected. • Parenthetical and bibliographical source citations are incorrectly formatted or used. Developing 1 to 50 points • The writing contains many grammar, punctuation, and/or spelling errors. • Language use is largely inaccurate or inappropriate. • The writing’s tone is ineffective and/or inappropriate. Not Present Points Earned 0 points Not present 1 to 9 points • Writing lacks many elements of correct formatting. • Parenthetical and bibliographical source citations and/or references are not provided. 0 points Not present Total /250 Instructor’s Comments: Page 2 of 2 The American Renaissance or Age of Romanticism (1830-1865) • New enthusiasm about portraying a unique American literature, culture, national life/character, and discourse. • Interest in Nature and Exaltation of Emotion over reason. Historical Background • 1829-37: Election of Andrew Jackson, 7th President, resulting in end of "Virginia Dynasty" of Presidents Industrialization and Urbanization • 1838: Underground railroad established • 1840: Voting restrictions eased. Egalitarian beliefs predominant • 1849: California gold rush • 1853: Rail connection, New York to Chicago • 1858: First transatlantic cable • 1859: First commercial production of petroleum • 1861-65: Civil War Characteristics of Romanticism • Emphasis on the imagination, intuitive perception, and emotions (as opposed to reason) • Exaltation of "feeling over reason," and “free expression of emotion.” • "Natural world is a source of goodness and man's societies a source of corruption." • Intense individualism and nonconformity • Belief in mysticism, intuition, pantheism, & transcendentalism. • Belief in the so called "Oversoul," all-pervading power of goodness and source of all things. • Interest in Gothicism (horror & architecture) • Humanitarianism, democracy, populism or popular government/majority will. • Love of the land, wild nature, animals, plants, wild picturesque scenery, & rural life • More freedom in poetry: greater use of lyrics & narratives • Primitivism - belief in the superiority of the simple life and the remote in time and place • Antiquarianism: great interest in the picturesque elements of the past. Washington Irving (1783-1859) 1783: “Born the same year that the signing of Treaty of Paris ended the Revolution”; named after George Washington. 1801: Attended law school 1802: Brother established Morning Chronicle newspaper that Irving contributed to. Wrote satirical pieces called “Letters of Jonathan Oldstyle, Gent.” 1804: Traveled to England for further studies. 1806: Returned to United States, completed law school, admitted to the bar, established new magazine called Salmagundi, and continued to write satirical pieces 1808: Collapse of Salmagundi 1809: Wrote A History of New York, in which he adopted the popular character called Diedrich Knickerbocker. 1814: Served as colonel in New York State militia 1815: Traveled to England and lived there for 17 years. Wrote The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. (1819), which included his two most popular short stories, “Rip Van Winkle” and “Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” 1832: Returned to America and wrote about “American scenes and subjects” in works such as A Tour on the Prairies (1835) and The Rocky Mountains; or, Scenes, Incidents, and Adventures in the Far West (1837) 1850s: Wrote five-volume biography of George Washington 1859: Death Major Romantic characteristics of Irving's writing (“Rip Van Winkle”): a. Emphasis on American regional setting and character types (literary nationalism) b. Use of the picturesque and picaresque c. Escape from commonplace realities to the shadowy grandeur of the past d. Use of supernatural, Gothic suspense, and horror e. Exploitation of folklore and legends “Rip Van Winkle's” persistent appeal rests upon deep-seated folk themes appropriated from the German romantic source, Otmar's tale of "Peter Klaus" in the Voltssagen (1800). Irving however reconstructs this folk tale and Americanizes it by adopting ethnic American regional setting and satirical political themes. He satirizes political follies; the story can therefore be described as an allegory - that is, as a self-sufficient narrative that nevertheless signifies more than what is said. One may choose to discuss the entire narrative, or brief sections or characters or episodes as allegorical, such as the following: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. The sporting Rip Dame van Winkle The little men Intoxicating draught The long slumber Rip the returnee The changed society Rip returns to The lonely and confused Rip Concluding Thoughts and Questions Irving once said: "I consider a story merely as a frame on which to stretch my materials." He adds that he sought to be "continually piquant," and that he aimed at the presentation of a "sound moral." What morals and piquancy are evident in Irving's stories? In what ways do the stories provide frames upon which he stretched materials? What does Irving satirize in the new America to which Rip returns? William Cullen Bryant (1794- 1878) According to Poe, Bryant’s “poetic reputation, both at home and abroad, is greater than that of any other American.” • • Initially a Puritan. (His graduation poem expressed religious views of orthodox Puritanism) 1825: Left New England for New York. Discarded his a) Federalist convictions to become a Jeffersonian Democrat b) Literary neoclassicism to become a romantic Romantic characteristics of Bryant's poetry • Nature Poet: a) Uses the vast panorama/landscape to show the immensity of nature and the insignificance of man b) Uses the American natural scene to convey his philosophical views/ideas • Primitivism: advocates outdoor worship • Preference for themes of death, the past, and freedom • Emphasis on individual feeling and imagination • Poetry divorced from the hurly-burly of everyday existence • Uses free verse/rules that departed from neoclassicism Poems "Thanatopsis" • His most famous poem; written when he was 17 • Word Thanatopsis means "a view of death." The question is “why a youth of 17 will write on such a subject—a view of Death.” The best way to answer this question is to consider the ideas developed in the poem's various parts. Lines 1-8: Opens with what Bryant calls nature's "various language": • Gladness • Beauty • Sympathy • Consolation Lines 9-17: The poet suggests what one should do when s/he is oppressed by thoughts of death. Lines 17-57: Nature offers comfort to the person facing death. Lines 58-72: Dying unmourned is not important, according to the speaker of the poem Lines 73-81: What is important is becoming one with nature In "Thanatopsis," Bryant uses archaic words, such as thee, thou, list, and couldst. These archaic words enhance the moral tone and the seriousness of the poem. "To A Waterfowl" Celebrates Divine Providence - God cares even for the affairs/life of a Waterfowl! (See stanza 4) Concluding Thoughts and Questions What "lesson" does the Waterfowl impress on the heart of the poem's speaker/poet? (See last two stanzas) Do you find the ideas expressed in "Thanatopsis" consoling or disturbing? Explain your answer. ENGL 201 ESSAY 3: AMERICAN RENAISSANCE/ROMANTIC PERIOD INSTRUCTIONS Choose ONE of the following topics and write a polished essay of at least 1,200 words (4-5 double spaced typed pages). The essay requires not less than 3 secondary sources. Before writing your essay, reread your notes and assigned textbook reading(s) just to refresh your memory. Also, it might be useful to reread a composition textbook to remind yourself of the guidelines on how to write a clearly-defined thesis statement, well-developed paragraph(s), and an essay using the MLA or APA or Turabian parenthetical method of documentation for your quotations and any secondary sources you cite. To let your instructor know which style of documentation you are using, write MLA, APA, or Turabian in the title of your essay as follows: Title – Citation style (e.g., “Christians and the Study of American Literature – APA”). NOTE: To receive an excellent grade, a student must demonstrate a reasonable competence in organizing an essay on a set topic; developing ideas logically and systematically; supporting these ideas with the necessary evidence, quotations or examples; organizing a paragraph; documenting essays (using MLA, APA, or Turabian) style; spelling the commoner words of the English language correctly; punctuating correctly; and writing grammatical sentences, avoiding such common mistakes as comma splices, run-on sentences, sentence fragments, faulty agreements, faulty references, shifts in person, number, or tense. 1. Choose any ONE of the works/authors of the American Renaissance or Romantic Period studied in this course and write a literary analysis of the chosen work. The focus of the essay should be threefold: to discuss the theme of the author/work, the major characteristics of the period that are evident in the work, and major narrative devices the author uses to communicate his or her message. Your essay must have a clearly-defined thesis statement, well-developed paragraph(s), and fitting conclusion. 2. Discuss Washington Irving's “Rip Van Winkle” as an allegory - that is, as a self-sufficient narrative that nevertheless signifies more than what is said. You may choose to focus on the entire narrative, or on brief sections or episodes that you consider allegorical. 3. Compare and/or contrast the way in which Washington Irving, Cullen Bryant, and David Thoreau used nature in their writing. 4. Choose ONE OR TWO poems by ONE of the following poets: Edgar Allan Poe, William Cullen Bryant, or Phillis Wheatley. (The poem MUST be one of the assigned readings in your textbook). Analyze the poem(s) thoroughly, considering aspects such as theme(s), verse form(s), political, cultural, social, economic, religious, literary, and historical background, and the thematic significance of important figures of speech. Remember to choose an appropriate title and in your introduction an opening sentence and a clear thesis statement that will attract the reader. After your discussion, be sure to "tie up" your essay with an appropriate conclusion. 5. Imagine that someone unfamiliar with American Literature has asked you to characterize the writing of the Age of Colonialism, Age of Reason/Revolutionary era, and American Renaissance/Age of Romanticism. Begin by writing a brief survey (including the major characteristics) of these periods of American Literature, indicating the major writers of each period. Select ONE writer from each ENGL 201 period and write a thumbnail description of the themes and/or characteristics of each writer's work(s). 6. Choose one or two characters from either Nathaniel Hawthorne's “Young Goodman Brown” or Herman Melville’s “Bartleby the Scrivener” and discuss the ways in which each experiences conflict (either with self, other characters, or with the social and/or physical environment); the ways in which each attempts to deal with it, and the relative success or failure of each. Who receives your deepest sympathy? Why? Your outline is due by 11:59pm (ET) Monday of module/week 6. Your essay is due by 11:59pm (ET) Monday of module/week 7.
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