1. Romantic Works Washington Irving Henry Wadsworth Longfellow William Cullen Bryant

2. Washington Irving • First American writer to achieve an international reputation. • He wrote satirical essays using the pen name, Jonathan Oldstyle; as well as a magazine that carried humorous sketches and essays about New York society. • His first major work, A History of New York From the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty, a humorous look at New York during colonial times, was well received and made him famous.

3. He lived in Europe from 1815-1832 where he learned about European customs, traditions, and folklore. • This inspired him to write two of his most famous stories, “ The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “Rip Van Winkle.” • His story, “The Devil and Tom Walker” was part of a book called Tales of a Traveler; and it was well-timed because of the shift from Puritanism to a more materialistic and self satisfying way of life that was taking place back home in New England.

4. Literary Analysis • Omniscient Point of View- when an all-knowing narrator relates the events of a story. • Stories using this perspective have the following characteristics: • A narrator who stands outside the action. • Details about the thoughts and feelings of all the characters. • The narrator’s commentary about the events of the story.

5. Literary Element • Characterization- how the author reveals the personality traits of his/her characters. • Direct Characterization- when the narrator directly tells the reader what the character is like. • Indirect Characterization- when personality traits are revealed through the words, thoughts, and actions of the characters.

6. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow • Became the first American poet to reach a wide audience and create a national interest in poetry. • His poetry has been called overly optimistic and sentimental. • His popular anthology , The Poets and Poetry of Europe, accomplished his goal of bringing non-English poetry to the ordinary American reader. • He translated foreign literature into English. • Experimented with adapting traditional European verse forms and themes to uniquely American subjects.

7. William Cullen Bryant • First American poet to win world-wide acclaim • He was a journalist and political activist who fought to ensure that industrialization did not obscure America’s democratic values • He practiced law for ten years while he wrote poetry; and he used his position as an influential journalist to defend human rights and personal freedoms.

8. Literary Analysis • Meter- (in poetry) a systematic arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables • Foot- the basic unit of a meter; usually consists of one stressed and one or more unstressed syllables • Iamb-the most frequently used foot in American verse; has one unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable

9. Literary Element • Mood- or atmosphere, is the feeling created in a reader by a literary work. • Setting, tone, subject, or word choice can influence mood.