a. Applies knowledge of the concept that the theme or meaning of a selection represents a universal view or comment on life or society and provides support from the text for the identified theme.
b. Evaluates the way an author’s choice of words advances the theme or purpose of the work.
c. Applies knowledge of the concept that a text can contain more than one theme.
Essential Questions:
What is theme?
How is imagination important? Is it more important than rational thought?
Are people essentially good or evil?
Key Terms:
Romanticism - is the school of thought that emphasizes intuition over logic, and feeling over reason.
Transcendentalism
Theme
I believe that in this unit i will be learning about themes and the way we use words to influence or change the theme. We will also learn what a theme represents, and i will learn how to use multiple themes in literature.
Rip Van Winkle:
In this particuliar quote from the story, rip van winkle is using feeling and emotion over logic to figure out why he is confused.
"The strange man with a keg of liquor—
the mountain ravine—the wild retreat among the rocks—the woebegone
party at nine-pins—the flagon—“Oh! that flagon! that wicked flagon!”
thought Rip—“what excuse shall I make to Dame Van Winkle?”"There isnt any logic of why everything had changed. He is using intuition in this quote over logic. He is also explained the nature.
"The very village was altered; it was larger and
more populous. There were rows of houses which he had never seen
before, and those which had been his familiar haunts had disappeared."Thanotopsis by William Cullen Bryant
In this poem he used romanticism by explainin the nature as beautiful. He doesnt use logic explaining his sad emotions. Its also kind of vivid like you would imagine or dream, not like something that really happened.
from "nature" by Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Yet it is certain that the power to produce this delight, does not reside in nature, but in man, or in a harmony of both."
This stuck out to me because i like the view that this poet had on nature. He was saying different people see nature in different ways. Its the way you appreiciate nature. You never know what nature is going to give you, and you can never really see all of nature.
This peom used transcendentalism alot mainly by describing nature, and using imagionation. Also the poet brought up his view on god which relates to transcendatalism.
"Self reliance" Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Is it so bad, then, to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood"
This stuck out to me because i like how he used great speakers of the past as a reference. What he is saying can very well be true. Its different the way he thinks things and that also stuck out to me.
This uses Transcendentalism because he brings up souls, and nature, things you can imagine. He talks of common people that can accheive anything in todays world. He says things that you can imagine and may be true or not, but is mostly spiritual.
Wilderness:
You can apply Transcendentalism philosophy to the man in the wilderness. He uses the nature in such a way that is really remarkable. He is just an ordinary man though he can live alone in the wilderness and nature. In the video they said his spirit lives on in the cabin he built. Spirits and stuff of that nature has to do with transcendentalism.
Closing:
In this lesson i learned about romantiscism and transcendentalism. I learned the main differences in the two. I read different parts of american litterature and found the differences of themes in all of them.
