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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. First vice president and second president. Member of the First and Second Continental Congresses. Helped draft the Declaration of Independence. Husband of Abigail Adams.






2. (Colonial Period) First writer of American Literature. Wrote 'The Generall Historie of Virginia - New England - and The Summer Isles.' Archetypal American.






3. Wrote gold-rush stories like 'The Luck of Roaring Camp' and 'The Outcasts of Poker Flat'; never matched up to his previous fame local colorist






4. Ezra Pound and T.S Eliot






5. Wrote Catcher in the Rye






6. Writings portray the lives of poor - oppressed black women in the early 1900s.






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






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






9. Wrote 'The House of Mirth -' and 'The Age of Innocence' most famous for 'Ethan Frome' Noted use of indirection and allusion. First women to win a Pulitzer for 'The Age of Innocence' Main themes were upper-class life and the constraints it placed on b






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






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






12. Wrote 'The Invisible Man' - Considered a landmark achievement in American literature






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






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






15. 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.






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






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






18. An organization of the leading transcendentalists living around Boston. They were interested in new developments in theology - philosophy - and literature. Major writers: Ripley - Emerson - Alcott - Fuller - Hawthorne - Thoreau - Channing - Hedge - P






19. Created the first American adventure story. First successful American novelist. 'Father of the American novel.' Very litigious - cranky and vain. Most famous for the 'Leatherstocking Tales': A series of five novels about the frontiersman - Natty Bump






20. A group of lines in a poem. - Lines of poems are grouped into _______s - just as sentences of prose are grouped into paragraphs.






21. A piece of literature intended to be performed in front of an audience.






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






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






24. (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






25. The beat or rhythm of a poem - created by a pattern of stressed an unstressed syllables.






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






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






28. 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.






29. Local Colorist Wrote 'The Awakening' Writing is memorable for its : Vivid and economical style - Rich Local Dialect - and Penetrating view of the culture of South Louisiana.






30. 'The Old Man and the Sea -' 'The Sun Also Rises -' 'A Farewell to Arms -' and 'For Whom the Bell Tolls.' Writing style emphasizes: Short sentences - brief paragraphs - active verbs - authenticity - compression - clarity - and immediacy. Produced some






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






32. 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.






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






34. Anne Bradstreet - Michael Wigglesworth - Edward Taylor






35. Coined the term 'Beat Generation' - Wrote 'On the Road' - All of his books are Autobiographical






36. 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






37. 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






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






39. Recluse - agoraphobic - Didn't title her poems. All are designated by numbers. Paved the way for the Imagist movement of the 1920s. Considered on of the founders of Modern American Poetry. Concrete imagery - forceful language - and unique style usher






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






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






42. Wrote 'Grapes of Wrath -' 'Of Mice and Men -' and 'East of Eden -' and 'Winter of Our Discontent.' Awarded Nobel Prize for Literature - Pulitzer and and the National Book Award.






43. A 14-line poem with a set rhythm and rhyme scheme.






44. Wrote 'My Antonia' and 'Death Comes for the Archbishop' Won a Pulitzer for her novel 'One of Ours'






45. Famous for writing - marriages - divorces and media hype. Wrote 'The Executioner's Song.'






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






47. Words that carry a strong emotional overtones.






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






49. In the 1920s - became the symbol of the liberated woman for her wit and independence. Known for her caustic and clever poems and short stories.






50. (Colonial Period) Stands in direct opposition to the principles - personalities and literary styles of William Bradford and John Winthrop. Did not come to settle the land and establish God's Kingdom - but to trade beaver pelts and live pleasantly. Es