American Lit Exam 1 Questions With
Complete Solutions
canon CORRECT ANSWERS A body of writings recognized by authority. The canon of
a national literature is a body of writings especially approved by critics or anthologists
and deemed suitable for academic study.
genre CORRECT ANSWERS type, species, or class of composition. A literary genre is
a recognizable and established category of written work employing such common
conventions as will prevent readers or audiences from mistaking it for another kind.
myth CORRECT ANSWERS A kind of story or rudimentary narrative sequence,
normally traditional and anonymous, through which a given culture ratifies its social
customs or accounts for the origins of human and natural phenomena, usually in
supernatural or boldly imaginative terms.
allegory CORRECT ANSWERS A story or visual image with a second distinct meaning
partially hidden behind its literal or visible meaning.
Core Beliefs of Puritanism CORRECT ANSWERS 1. Absolute Sovereignty
2. Human Depravity
3. Predestination
5. Individualism and Reading
Puritanism history CORRECT ANSWERS Oliver Cromwell
The Great Migration
Puritans held strict religious beliefs, which King Charles I was against
Through consistent pressure, many Puritans left for the "New World" between 1620-
1640
Winthrop's group left with 800 people in 1830
Approximately 20,000 people left England and settled in New England during this period
more Puritanism CORRECT ANSWERS -Nothing happens outside of God
-All humanity is inherently wicked
-God has chosen those who will be saved ("The Elect") already
-Individual relationship with God
-Religious beliefs that many early settlers of New England held. Typically these beliefs
were strict in morality and against the hierarchical organization of the church.
-John Winthrop
-Jonathan Edwards
metaphor CORRECT ANSWERS A feature of figural language (i.e., not literal.) A
metaphor is when one thing is referred to as another word/expression. The connection
between the seemingly different things stresses a quality shared by the two;
, meter CORRECT ANSWERS The pattern of measured sound‐units recurring more or
less regularly in lines of verse
stanza CORRECT ANSWERS A group of verse lines forming a section of a poem and
sharing the same structure as all or some of the other sections of the same poem, in
terms of the lengths of its lines, its meter, and usually its rhyme scheme
poem CORRECT ANSWERS A genre of literature that utilizes sound, meter, rhythm,
&c. to convey its meaning. As opposed to prose, poetry is typically figural and musical.
captivity narrative CORRECT ANSWERS stories of people captured by enemies whom
they generally consider "uncivilized."
(Mary Rowlandon)
autobiography CORRECT ANSWERS a narrative account of an extended period of
some person's life, written by, or presented as having been written by, that person; or
the practice of writing such works. Autobiography differs from biography not only in its
evidently more subjunctive narrative point of view but in its inconclusiveness: an
autobiographer cannot recount her or his own death, whereas a biographer will almost
always offer an account of the subject's life to the very end.
slave narrative CORRECT ANSWERS A written account by an escaped or freed slave
of his or her experiences of slavery. A special American form of autobiography, the
slave narrative appeared as an important kind of abolitionist literature in the period
preceding the Civil War.
Gothic CORRECT ANSWERS A variety of fiction widely popular in 18th-Century
England, whence it spread to the U.S. and throughout Europe. It is a combination of
medievalism, sensationalism, and supernatural horrors.
Often fixated on anti-heroes or villains. Featuring castles and historical settings.
Character CORRECT ANSWERS A personage in a narrative or dramatic work
Characterization CORRECT ANSWERS The representation of persons in narrative and
dramatic works. This may include direct methods like the attribution of qualities in
description or commentary, and indirect (or "dramatic") methods inviting readers to infer
qualities from characters' actions, speech, or appearance.
flat character CORRECT ANSWERS two-dimensional, predictable, simple
round character CORRECT ANSWERS complex, dynamic, more realistic
Type CORRECT ANSWERS A fictional character who stands as a representative of
some identifiable class or group of people
Complete Solutions
canon CORRECT ANSWERS A body of writings recognized by authority. The canon of
a national literature is a body of writings especially approved by critics or anthologists
and deemed suitable for academic study.
genre CORRECT ANSWERS type, species, or class of composition. A literary genre is
a recognizable and established category of written work employing such common
conventions as will prevent readers or audiences from mistaking it for another kind.
myth CORRECT ANSWERS A kind of story or rudimentary narrative sequence,
normally traditional and anonymous, through which a given culture ratifies its social
customs or accounts for the origins of human and natural phenomena, usually in
supernatural or boldly imaginative terms.
allegory CORRECT ANSWERS A story or visual image with a second distinct meaning
partially hidden behind its literal or visible meaning.
Core Beliefs of Puritanism CORRECT ANSWERS 1. Absolute Sovereignty
2. Human Depravity
3. Predestination
5. Individualism and Reading
Puritanism history CORRECT ANSWERS Oliver Cromwell
The Great Migration
Puritans held strict religious beliefs, which King Charles I was against
Through consistent pressure, many Puritans left for the "New World" between 1620-
1640
Winthrop's group left with 800 people in 1830
Approximately 20,000 people left England and settled in New England during this period
more Puritanism CORRECT ANSWERS -Nothing happens outside of God
-All humanity is inherently wicked
-God has chosen those who will be saved ("The Elect") already
-Individual relationship with God
-Religious beliefs that many early settlers of New England held. Typically these beliefs
were strict in morality and against the hierarchical organization of the church.
-John Winthrop
-Jonathan Edwards
metaphor CORRECT ANSWERS A feature of figural language (i.e., not literal.) A
metaphor is when one thing is referred to as another word/expression. The connection
between the seemingly different things stresses a quality shared by the two;
, meter CORRECT ANSWERS The pattern of measured sound‐units recurring more or
less regularly in lines of verse
stanza CORRECT ANSWERS A group of verse lines forming a section of a poem and
sharing the same structure as all or some of the other sections of the same poem, in
terms of the lengths of its lines, its meter, and usually its rhyme scheme
poem CORRECT ANSWERS A genre of literature that utilizes sound, meter, rhythm,
&c. to convey its meaning. As opposed to prose, poetry is typically figural and musical.
captivity narrative CORRECT ANSWERS stories of people captured by enemies whom
they generally consider "uncivilized."
(Mary Rowlandon)
autobiography CORRECT ANSWERS a narrative account of an extended period of
some person's life, written by, or presented as having been written by, that person; or
the practice of writing such works. Autobiography differs from biography not only in its
evidently more subjunctive narrative point of view but in its inconclusiveness: an
autobiographer cannot recount her or his own death, whereas a biographer will almost
always offer an account of the subject's life to the very end.
slave narrative CORRECT ANSWERS A written account by an escaped or freed slave
of his or her experiences of slavery. A special American form of autobiography, the
slave narrative appeared as an important kind of abolitionist literature in the period
preceding the Civil War.
Gothic CORRECT ANSWERS A variety of fiction widely popular in 18th-Century
England, whence it spread to the U.S. and throughout Europe. It is a combination of
medievalism, sensationalism, and supernatural horrors.
Often fixated on anti-heroes or villains. Featuring castles and historical settings.
Character CORRECT ANSWERS A personage in a narrative or dramatic work
Characterization CORRECT ANSWERS The representation of persons in narrative and
dramatic works. This may include direct methods like the attribution of qualities in
description or commentary, and indirect (or "dramatic") methods inviting readers to infer
qualities from characters' actions, speech, or appearance.
flat character CORRECT ANSWERS two-dimensional, predictable, simple
round character CORRECT ANSWERS complex, dynamic, more realistic
Type CORRECT ANSWERS A fictional character who stands as a representative of
some identifiable class or group of people
