American Literature: Romanticism final exam assignment Sample Final Exams 2013 mid-length essay

Hannah Wells

Mid-Length Essay: Reflections of an Anglophile

            This semester, I began to let go of the rigid, block-like picture in my head that represented Romanticism, Realism and Modernism. Admittedly, this change did not come easily, and involved some mental kicking and screaming. I have always viewed Romanticism as an historical era that took place during the years between 1798 and 1832 and, as is evident by these years, my definition of Romanticism is (shamefully) British. Although I was familiar with many American authors and their works, and have even taught American Romanticism, this course was necessary for the expansion of my mind and the genre itself. My teacher brain can now expand beyond teachable materials and encourage students to look for the influences of Romanticism across the decades.

            As I mentioned in my research project, I find the teaching of literary-historical periods to be very helpful. The characteristics of an era make for an easy checklist for students and provide topics for intelligent paragraphs as they analyze a piece. English and history departments can effectively teach the same era simultaneously and really work through the changing face of our nation. I have been lucky enough to teach Jazz Age literature while my friend the history teacher passionately discussed America in the 1920’s. Although I absolutely see the connections, it will be challenging to show students how the style of older eras is still present in the next time period. It’s hard enough to teach the tenets of Romanticism to teenagers, let alone tell them to remember those and memorize the characteristics of Realism. Nevertheless, the realization that old pieces affect new pieces can only produce better, more thorough, more mature analysis, and that is my mission in life!

            This course was most valuable for the new texts that I hadn’t read and will surely pass on. I would love to teach portions of The Last of the Mohicans because of its clearly Romantic style and the lovely American landscape that isn’t widely taught. I loved the Jewett pieces and the Porter story that I wasn’t familiar with. These pieces are essential examples of the writers who combined new and old forms. I also think the combination of modern poetry with older works was helpful, especially since the high school textbooks don’t get that far or, more likely, a standardized test takes away most of the spring and we run out of time. This strategy showed me that I could pull in a much later piece at any time to show students how Romanticism lives on.

            My midterm and research project both centered on the fantastic part of Romanticism. Our extensive work on the gothic and sublime in class, along with my continued study of the fantastic, are significant developments in my learning. Students love dark pieces, they love it when I tell them they are all sick because they get a kick out of “Murders in the Rue Morgue.” More importantly, studying the gothic and sublime requires close examination of language and images and, again, makes for mature analysis. As I mentioned in my research project, I think any extra, close, textual work that can be done with popular authors like Poe is very valuable. The fantastic genre, the language of the sublime and gothic images (all things that leap out at me now) are important bits that students can look for not only in Romantic pieces, but in the works of Faulkner, Fitzgerald and beyond.

            Lastly, this semester I learned the value of re-reading. The brain has amazing recall power when it’s seen something more than once. I found this really helpful and I feel like I know some important works intimately, which of course makes me a better teacher. As much as I enjoyed this course, I’m afraid that my heart still belongs to British lit. However, I will certainly continue to work on breaking down the walls of my beloved, rigid era system in favor of looking for past styles in the new.