1. American Literature Friday, October 10 th Quiz Free Read when finished Sample Book Talk: Rule of the Bone – http://prezi.com/cxsrbrh137fy/book-talk/ Notes Read and annotate “Fall of the House of Usher” Standard 2 & 3

2. The Romantic Hero The romantic hero was one of the most important products of the early American novel. The rational hero, like Ben Franklin, was worldly, educated, sophisticated, and bent on making a place for himself in civilization. The typical hero in American Romantic fiction was youthful, innocent, intuitive, and close to nature.

3. Characteristics of the American Romantic Hero Young or possesses youthful qualities. Innocent and pure of purpose. Has a sense of honor based not on society’s rules but on some higher principle. Has a knowledge of people and life based on deep, intuitive understanding, not on formal learning. Loves nature and avoids town life. Quests for some higher truth in the natural world.

4. Romantic Techniques Remoteness of setting in time and place. Improbable plots. Unlikely characterization. Informal writing style. Experiments in new forms. Individualized form of writing.

5. Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) Father of the American detective story. As famous for his troubled life as his literature. Defined the short story as we know it today, as well as the psychological thriller. Poetry reflects his belief in the power of sound and the impact of the death of a beautiful woman. Stories are not typically American, in that they don’t highlight American characters or settings. Works include “The Fall of the House of Usher,” “The Telltale Heart,” and “The Raven.”

6. Single Effect Poe asserted that a story should be constructed to achieve “a certain unique or single effect.” He believed that every character, incident, and detail in a story should contribute to this effect. Poe said that if a writer’s “very initial sentence tend not to the outbringing of this effect, then he has failed in his first step”

7. . Gothic – Gothic refers to the use of primitive medieval, wild, or mysterious elements in literature. Gothic elements offended eighteenth-century classical writers but appealed to the Romantic writers who followed them. Gothic novels feature places like mysterious and gloomy castles, where horrifying, supernatural events take place. Their influence on Edgar Allan Poe is evident in “The Fall of the House of Usher.” Gothic Literature includes nameless characters, mystery, mysterious characters. Grotesque – Grotesque refers to the use of bizarre, absurd, or fantastic elements in literature. The grotesque is generally characterized by distortions or striking incongruities. Grotesque characters are characters who have become ludicrous or bizarre through their obsession with an idea or value, or as a result of an emotional problem.

8. Doppleganger – a ghostly duplicate of a living person Motif – a recurrent thematic element in an artistic or literary work. It is a dominant theme or central idea.