Rationalism:

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Rationalism

• Writers of the Revolutionary War

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Characteristics of Rationalism/Revolutionary Lit.

• Political in nature, dealt with the Revolutionary
  War
• Differs from Puritans in that the lit.produced
  was public and political, not private and
  religious
• Persuasive writing
• Newspapers, magazines, pamphlets, speeches, some
  poetry (political in nature)

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Important Writers and Their Work

• The Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin
• The Declaration of Independence by Thomas
  Jefferson
• The Crisis by Thomas Paine
• Speech in the Virginia Convention by Patrick
  Henry
• The Constitution
• The Federalist Essays by Alexander Hamilton,
  James Madison, John Jay

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Olaudah Equiano
Phillis Wheatley
Patrick Henry
Thomas Paine
Michel de Crevecoeur
Ben Franklin
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Colonial Culture and Art

• America began to establish its own cultural
  identity
• Theaters are built all throughout the colonies
  (although the plays are just imitations of
  British dramas)
• Colleges are established (ex University of
  Tennessee and Chapel Hill, NC)
• Painters and musicians create works that are
  political and patriotic

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Deism (as opposed to Puritanism)My mind is my
church." - Thomas Paine

• Deists believe that
• One cannot access God through organized religion.
• 2. God has not selected a chosen people.3. Jesus
  is a teacher, philosopher, not the Son of God.4.
  Do not believe in miracles.5. Deists pray, but
  only to express their appreciation to God for his
  works. They generally do not ask for special
  privileges, or try to assess the will of God
  through prayer.
• Our definition

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American Literature up to the 19th Century

• A small body of national literature was produced
  up to the 19th century
• Still no American novel, play of importance, or
  short story produced
• The American wilderness was yet to be settled
• America stood on the threshold of territory and
  population expansion
• This would greatly change the nature of and
  greatly increase the amount of the literature of
  the 19th century

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Oratorical Strategies

• Rhetoric - the ability to use language
  effectively to persuade (often in speeches)
• Repetition - the repeated use of the same word or
  word pattern as a rhetorical device
• Parallelism - It refers to any structure which
  brings together parallel elements, be these
  nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, or larger
  structures Ex. of the people, for the people,
  by the people

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• Logical and emotional appeals Statements meant
  to persuade by appealing to ones emotions or
  sense of logic (Pathos, Logos, Ethos)
• Figurative Language
• Metaphor A comparison made between two
  dissimilar things
• Personification applying human attributes to a
  non-human object or animal
• Simile a direct comparison between two things
  using like or as
• Symbol - something used for or regarded as
  representing something else
• Hyperbole An extreme exaggeration

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Final terms

• Allusion When a reference is made to a known
  element from history, religion, literature, etc.
  inside another text
• Rhetorical Question - a question asked solely to
  produce an effect or to make an assertion and not
  to elicit a reply
• Aphorism A brief witty statement that makes a
  wise, observation about life.