11th grade American Literature
Graded Assignment
Unit Test 2, Part 2
Answer the questions fully, using examples from the reading selections to support your answers. You may refer to your Journeys anthology to answer these questions. When you are finished, submit this assignment to your teacher by the due date for full credit.
1. Three central beliefs of Romanticism are its view of nature as a source of truth, the importance of the individual over society and social institutions, and the disregard for rules and authority. How do the poems of Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman display these beliefs in general? Give a specific example from one of the poet’s poems for each trait.
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2. You learned a lot about Whitman and Dickinson’s writing styles during this unit. Although they both broke stylistic boundaries, their styles are different, and the effects of their stylistic choices differ, too. Using support from Whitman’s poems, explain the effect of his repetition and parallelism and of the way he varies line length. Using support from Dickinson’s poem, explain the effect of her capitalization and punctuation and of her use of slant rhyme.
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3. Now that you have explored the general Romantic traits of Whitman’s and Dickinson’s poems and considered their styles, focus on a subject about which both poets had something to say: death. For each poet, answer these questions: What does the poet suggest death is—or isn’t? What are the realities of death, and how can understanding these realities help readers when they must deal with death? Use the poems, as always, to support your response.
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