Threads of Change
This unit is intended to expose students to the highest quality literature of
19th century America through the study of significant influences and movements
of that period: Romanticism, transcendentalism, feminism, industrialism,
and abolitionism. The ?isms? are investigated as change agents in American
life through the study of key writings of the period. Speeches, essays,
short stories, poems, and novels have been selected to illustrate the principles
of those five influences on the thinking of writers of the time. Writing
assignments, oral communication, and language study evolve from an understanding
of key works of the period. Students also explore an issue of significance
from this literary period.
The 19th century provides a rich and important literary landscape to
study. Short stories gave form and meaning to 19th century American
literature for the first time through the works of Poe and Hawthorne. A
unique form of American poetry was developed by Dickinson, and the earliest
known American work about the underclass was written by Rebecca Harding
Davis. Additionally, the novels of Hawthorne, Melville, and Twain gained
international reputations during this unique literary time period.
19th century America through the study of significant influences and movements
of that period: Romanticism, transcendentalism, feminism, industrialism,
and abolitionism. The ?isms? are investigated as change agents in American
life through the study of key writings of the period. Speeches, essays,
short stories, poems, and novels have been selected to illustrate the principles
of those five influences on the thinking of writers of the time. Writing
assignments, oral communication, and language study evolve from an understanding
of key works of the period. Students also explore an issue of significance
from this literary period.
The 19th century provides a rich and important literary landscape to
study. Short stories gave form and meaning to 19th century American
literature for the first time through the works of Poe and Hawthorne. A
unique form of American poetry was developed by Dickinson, and the earliest
known American work about the underclass was written by Rebecca Harding
Davis. Additionally, the novels of Hawthorne, Melville, and Twain gained
international reputations during this unique literary time period.