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LITR 4328: American Renaissance  |
Final Exam Essays 2015 Sample answers
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Karin Cooper
5/5/15
A1.
When I look back over the semester, and try to pick out the most
important things I have learned two things stand out to me. The first is the
history that I learned in this course. The second the amount I learned about
poetry. This almost seems to encompass the entire class, but over the course of
the paper I will narrow it down for you. In this paper I will argue why the
history, and poetry were the most relevant things that I learned this semester.
History and literature move in many of the same circles. What I mean by
this is that to accurately study literature one cannot ignore the time period in
which it was written. The time period effects the language used, and the content
written about. Since history plays such an important part in literature you
would think that as a literature major I would have more interest in it. This is
not the case. For whatever reason history does not really stick in my head. I
typically learn it for a test, and then completely forget about it the next day.
After reading Jennifer Robles midterm essay, "Mundane America Reexamined" I can
see that I am not alone in my feelings towards history. She felt the same way,
saying that this course really enriches what we have been taught already in
history classes. The texts studied in this course are landmarks for me. I can
think of The Last of the Mohicans,
and recall what was going on in the country at that time. That level of
recollection is something that certainly does not happen when someone shouts out
"1826"! I do think it is important to know the history of the country in which
you live so knowing more about the 1820s-1860s is something I am glad to have
gleaned from this class. I also never would have thought about the poetry that
was being written during that time. However now knowing about the poets Emily
Dickinson, Edgar Allan Poe, and Walt Whitman I think my knowledge of this
historical time period is more well rounded.
The second most important thing I learned in this class is how to talk
about poetry, and some important terms used for such discussion. I have taken a
poetry class before, but while it was interesting I felt more talked at as
opposed to being talked with about the poetry which we read. I do not feel I
learned as much in that class as I did in this one. Many terms that were assumed
that I already knew in the other class were openly discussed, and explained in
this one. Poetry has a lot going on, and sometimes after reading poetry it is
difficult to even know where to begin a discussion. The guided questions gave
things to focus on while reading so that discussion came easily. Now when I read
poetry I can read with those general questions in mind, so I can focus on what
is going on in the poem.
The poets we discussed while being admittedly famous were chosen very
well in as far as how much I learned about the different styles of poetry. Using
Whitman, Poe, and Dickinson to show the difference between free, and formal
verse was very effective. It was effective to use Dickinson as a go between for
the two styles. With Poe I learned more about the romantic term Gothic than I
ever wanted. Reading Whitman taught me about what made free verse poetry rather
prose. I have studied Whitman before, and did not catch that information so that
was very helpful. Studying Dickinson taught me that there is something that is
not just free, or formal verse. Comparing the three poets I learned so much
about terms, and styles of poetry that I feel will stick in my brain.
I think the durability of information that I will be able to apply in
other classes is the most important take away of the class. If I do well on
exams, but retain none of the information what is the point? This course on
American Renaissance Literature enriched the dates, and names that I had already
learned about history. The readings made the history of this country more
tangible, and rich for me. The terms in poetry, and the tool of being able to
discuss poetry beyond, "This is what I feel when I read Poe" are definitely
things that I will be able to use in future classes, and when I teach my son
about this great time period in American History.
Works Cited
Jennifer Robles- "Mundane America Reexamined"
http://coursesite.uhcl.edu/HSH/Whitec/LITR/4232/models4/midterms/4328mt15/1LgEs/1Robles.htm
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