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






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






3. Won the Nobel Prize - Novels concentrate on the turmoil of modern Jewish life.






4. Won 4 Pulitzers - Top 20th Century Poet - Wrote 'The Road Not Taken -' ' Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening -' and 'Mending Wall'






5. Considered the voice of the Twenties. Wrote 'The Great Gatsby' - Heavy drinking problem.






6. Wished to return to more primitive principles - to simplicity - sobriety - religious earnestness - and personal self-control. Aim was to purify church of England from 'Popery' - Persecuted harshly by Charles I and Archbishop of Canterbury William Lau






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






8. (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






9. Local Colorist Great Niece of Harriet Beecher Stowe. Wrote 'The Yellow Wallpaper'






10. Prose - Poetry - Drama






11. Famous Poet and Novelist - 'I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings'






12. Best-known and most influential early Naturalist. Rougon-Marcquart






13. A pattern of stressed unstressed syllables that create a beat - as in music.






14. Confessional Poet - Wrote 'Lord Weary's Castle' and 'In Life Studies'






15. Resisted materialism and chose a life of simplicity - close to nature. Walden is a guidebook for life - showing the reader how to live wisely in a world designed to make wise living impossible. 'On the Duty of Civil Disobedience' has become a primer






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






17. (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






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






19. Friedrich Nitezche's belief in the 'will to power' as the primary force of society and the individual.






20. Words that carry a strong emotional overtones.






21. Written by Cottonn Mather - to justify the execution of 19 women during the Salem Witch Trials.






22. Considered the greatest humorist of 19th century American Literature. Wrote 'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer' and 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.' Master of 'Local Color' writing. Used vernacular - exaggeration and deadpan narrator to create humor.






23. Anne Bradstreet - Michael Wigglesworth - Edward Taylor






24. Wrote 'The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass.' Escaped slave that became one o f the most effective orators of his day - an influential newspaper writer - a militant abolitionist - and a famous diplomat.






25. Chicago School : Verses often concern ordinary - everyday people; realistic poems and dramatic emphasis attract a large audience. Wrote 'Chicago -' and a biography of Abraham Lincoln. Poems describe everyday Americans - have a positive tone - use sim






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






27. Use of medieval - wild - or mysterious elements in literature. Features gloomy settings and horrifying events. Edgar Allen Poe is regarded as the American Master of Gothic writing.






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. All written work that is not poetry - drama or song. Articles - autobiographies - biographies - essays - novels and editorials are prose.






30. Book of feline poems - 'Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats -' formed the basis of the Broadway hit 'Cats.' Wrote 'The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock - Published 'The Waste-Land' which became the most famous poem of the first half of the 20th Centur






31. (Colonial Period) Best-known Southern colonial writer. Famous for 'The History of the Dividing Line' and 'The Secret Diary of William Byrd of Westover'






32. A long narrative that represents characters in a high position who take part in a series of adventures of significance.






33. American novelist - essayist - social critic - painter and spoken performer. Most of his works are autobiographical. Frequently experimented with drugs. He wrote the 'Naked Lunch' and the 'Cities of Red Night'






34. Wrote 'Songs of Jamaica' - Poetry and 'Harlem Shadows' (first great literary achievement of the Harlem Renaissance. Much of his poetry evokes the rich heritage of Jamaica.






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






36. 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






37. Wrote 'The Call of the Wild -' 'White Fang -' ' Sea Wolf -' and 'To Build a Fire.' Socialist. Naturalist






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






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






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






41. Stylistic Elements Parallel Structure: repeated used of phrases - clauses - or sentences that are similar in structure. Rhythm - Forceful and Direct Language






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






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






44. Written by Michael Wigglesworth - the most famous poem of 17th Century - proceeds from judgement day to hell and then to paradise. First American Best Seller.






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






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






47. Wrote 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' - first American novel to sell a million copies. The most influential book of the 19th century. Credited with starting the Civil War. Most famous American woman of her day.






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






49. Pattern of five feet (groups of syllables) - each having one unstressed syllable and one stressed syllable.






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