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CLEP American Literature

Subjects : clep, literature
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
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  • Match each statement with the correct term.
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This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. Famous Poet and Novelist - 'I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings'






2. A story in poetic form. Has plot. characters and theme.






3. (Colonial Period) Primarily written to set forth orthodox Calvinist Christianity. Not considered the best representation of poetry during the whole period. Rarely approached excellence of English models. Too much of an emphasis on heavenly values and






4. A group of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry.






5. Wrote 'The Red Badge of Courage' and 'Maggie: A Girl of the Streets -' and 'The Open Boat.' Red Badge of Courage is considered the first modern war novel. Work is celebrated for its images and symbolism. Work is often described as impressionist due t






6. Brief - musical poems that convey a speaker's feelings.






7. Wrote 'Daddy' and 'The Bell Jar' - Confessional Poet






8. Wrote 'Native Son -' and 'Black Boy' - First Black Best-Seller - Staunch Communist : Believed it was black America's best hope for equality.






9. A line or group of lines repeated at the end of a poem or song. Refrains reinforce the main point and create musical effects.






10. Wrote 'Portnoy's Complaint.' Work reflects the changing attitude of Jews living in post-World War II America.






11. Created new poetic forms and subjects to fashion a distinctly American type of poetic expression. Rejected conventional themes - traditional literary references - allusions - and rhymes. Used long lines to capture rhythms of natural speech - free ver






12. First great writer of psychological fiction; obsessed with sin and guilt. 'The Scarlet Letter' - 'Young Goodman Brown' - Claimed his work was romance and therefore not required to be realistic.






13. People who are best adapted to survive are chosen through the process of natural selection.






14. Third US President Referred to as the 'Sage of Monticello'Drafted the Declaration of Independence.






15. (Colonial Period) Began 'The History of New England' aboard the Arbella in 1630. Lead 2 -000 English emigrant to Massachusetts Bay. Made daily journal-style entries until his death. Intended it to be an account of his long governorship. Style is pla






16. Used to describe literature that was pandered to the polite - refined - and delicate elements of society. Denied the unsavory underbelly of life.






17. Characterized by: Ordinary Language - Free Verse - Concentrated Word Pictures - Very specific words and phrases - Advanced by Ezra Pound and Amy Lowell; also utilized by Robert Frost






18. A literary mask a writer assumes for the purpose of creating a character in a poem.






19. Naturalist - Wrote 'McTeague - a Story of San Francisco'






20. She holds a unique place in American history as both the wife of one president and the mother of another. In her own right - she was an ardent American patriot. Her perseverance during the American Revolution kept her family together and enabled her






21. A literary argument that aims to change public opinion rather than entertain.






22. A story told in song form. Ballads often tell stories of adventure and love.






23. Well-known humorists.






24. Literary movement of the 19th century Presented the details of ordinary life in art. Realists rejected the heroic and adventurous and concentrated on pessimistic views of poverty - prostitution and pain. Reaction to Romanticism.






25. Story in which the characters - setting and action represent abstract concepts apart from their literal meaning.






26. That America's unique identity transcends ethnic - cultural - or religious backgrounds. Idea given by St. Jean de Crevecoeur






27. The idea that there is something different - unique and special about Americans.






28. First Black woman to win the Nobel Prize for literature. Novel focus on black cultural identity in contemporary America. Wrote 'The Bluest Eye -' 'Tar Baby -' and 'Beloved'






29. Won the Pulitzer and Nobel Prize - Works focused on the South - Wrote 'As I Lay Dying -' 'Sanctuary -' and 'The sound and the Fury.' Experimented with Stream of Consciousness writing. Considered the most innovative novelist of his time.






30. A social and artistic movement of the 1950's stressing unrestrained literary self expression and nonconformity with the mainstream culture






31. Clever - memorable sayings.






32. A philosophy pioneered by Ralph Waldo Emerson in the 1830's and 1840's - in which each person has direct communication with God and Nature - and there is no need for organized churches. It incorporated the ideas that mind goes beyond matter - intuiti






33. The process of reading a poem to figure out it's meter.






34. Produces ribald - exuberant - feminist poems - novels and essays. Most famous novel is 'Fear of Flying.'






35. Ben Franklin paid his passage to America. First Pamphlet was Common Sense : credited with getting the colonists to see the 'advantage - necessity - and obligation' of breaking with Britain. Followed by a series of pamphlets - collectively called 'An






36. Produced a number of sketches - poems - and a one-act pay titled 'Cane.'






37. The reappearance in an individual of characteristics of some distant ancestor that have not been present in intervening generations - such as hand like a hairy paw.






38. Wrote 'Howl -' ' Empty Mirror -' and 'Kaddish and Other Poems' - Poet






39. Greatest poet of American colonial period. Influenced T.S Elliot - Ezra Pound - and other modern-day metaphysical poets. Defined 'American'






40. A false science that argued tat different human races possessed distinguishing traits that determined their particular behavior and achievement in society.






41. Writings interweave sexual and racial concerns; what it means to be black and homosexual in America in the 2nd half of the 20th Century.






42. Wrote Catcher in the Rye






43. Imagist Poet - Wrote 'In a Station of the Metro -' ' The Pisan Cantos -' 'Hugh Selwyn Mauberly -' and 'Mauberly.' Modeled 'Cantos' after Whitman's 'Leaves of Grass' - Infamous traitor; Staunch supporter of Mussolini during WWII. Didn't speak for the






44. (Colonial Period) Wrote Of Plymouth Plantation (First Thanksgiving) - Chronicled the Pilgrim experience from the religious considerations that caused them to leave England for Holland and then for America.Style is dignified and Grave - and events are






45. Prose - Poetry - Drama






46. America's most popular humorist in the 30s and 40s. Frequently explored the battle of the sexes. Wrote 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.'






47. The primacy of science over religious - mythical - or spiritual interpretations of life.






48. Chicago School - Wrote 'Lucinda Matlock' - Created 'Spoon River Anthology' - Spoon River poems are characterized by: An unpoetic - colloquial style - frank descriptions of sex - a very critical view of small town life - and a description of he inner






49. (Colonial Period) 1. God is King and Ruler. 2. Our duty in this world is to see that God's will prevails.3. Man is depraved from birth. 4. Few will be saved. Damned are damned despite their best efforts. Belief in Covenant Theology : God's covenant w






50. Autobiography is considered the one of the greatest ever written. Wrote Poor Richard's Alamanac