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ESSAY: THE AMERICAN RENAISSANCE/ROMANTIC PERIOD ASSIGNMENT
INSTRUCTIONS
OVERVIEW
Choose one of the following topics and write a polished essay of at least 1,200 words (4-5 double
spaced typed pages). The essay requires not less than 3 secondary sources in addition to your
primary sources (the literature you are analyzing). Before writing your essay, reread your notes
and assigned textbook reading(s) just to refresh your memory. Also, it might be useful to reread a
composition textbook to remind yourself of the guidelines on how to write a clearly-defined
thesis statement, well-developed paragraph(s), and an essay using the current MLA or APA or
Turabian parenthetical method of documentation for your quotations and any secondary sources
you cite. To let your instructor know which style of documentation you are using, write current
MLA, APA, or Turabian in the title of your essay as follows: Title – Citation style (e.g.,
“Christians and the Study of American Literature – APA”).
Your 3 secondary sources should be academic, peer-reviewed sources, such as articles from
scholarly journals and books, outside of our course. Websites, such as Lit Charts, Spark Notes,
Shmoop, and so on are not academic sources. Dictionaries, encyclopedias, and other professors’
notes are likely accurate, but they are not academic research. You can cite our textbook in your
paper, but it will not count toward your 3 secondary sources. If you have trouble finding
scholarly secondary sources, you can access the library’s English Research Guide.
Develop a clear thesis that is grounded in the literature and specifies the titles of the literary
works. Remember that while it is acceptable to include some biographical and historical
information for context, your focus should be on analyzing the literature.
INSTRUCTIONS
Choose one of the topics below for your Essay: The American Renaissance/Romantic Period
Assignment. Your essay must be a minimum of 1,200 words and include 3 secondary sources.
NOTE: To receive an excellent grade, a student must demonstrate a reasonable competence in
organizing an essay on a set topic; developing ideas logically and systematically; supporting
these ideas with the necessary evidence, quotations or examples; organizing a paragraph;
documenting essays (using current MLA, APA, or Turabian) style; spelling the commoner words
of the English language correctly; punctuating correctly; and writing grammatical sentences,
avoiding such common mistakes as comma splices, run-on sentences, sentence fragments, faulty
agreements, faulty references, shifts in person, number, or tense.
1. ONE Choose any one of the works/authors of the American Renaissance or Romantic Period
studied in this course and write a literary analysis of the chosen work. The focus of the essay
should be three-fold: to discuss the theme of the author/work, the major characteristics of the
period that are evident in the work, and major narrative devices the author uses to
communicate his or her message. Your essay must have a clearly-defined thesis statement,
well-developed paragraph(s), and fitting conclusion. In your thesis, assert how the author
uses narrative devices to convey the theme of the work and how the theme or narrative
ENGL 201
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devices demonstrate major characteristics of the period. Include direct quotes from the
primary sources for analysis and support.
2. Discuss Washington Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle” as an allegory—that is, as a self-sufficient
narrative that nevertheless signifies more than what is said. You may choose to focus on the
entire narrative, or on brief sections or episodes that you consider allegorical. Include direct
quotes from the “Rip Van Winkle” for analysis and support.
3. Compare and/or contrast the way in which Washington Irving, Cullen Bryant, and David
Thoreau used nature in their writing. Include direct quotes from the primary sources for
analysis and support.
4. Choose one or two poems by one of the following poets: Edgar Allan Poe, William Cullen
Bryant, or Phillis Wheatley. (The poem must be one of the assigned readings in your
textbook). Analyze the poem(s) thoroughly, considering aspects such as theme(s), verse
form(s), political, cultural, social, economic, religious, literary, and historical background,
and the thematic significance of important figures of speech. Remember to choose an
appropriate title and in your introduction an opening sentence and a clear thesis statement
that will attract the reader. After your discussion, be sure to “tie up” your essay with an
appropriate conclusion. Include direct quotes from the primary sources for analysis and
support. If you wrote on one of these authors in a previous paper for this class, you cannot
write on that same author again.
5. Imagine that someone unfamiliar with American Literature has asked you to characterize the
writing of the Age of Colonialism, Age of Reason/Revolutionary era, and American
Renaissance/Age of Romanticism. Begin by writing a brief survey (including the major
characteristics) of these periods of American Literature, indicating the major writers of each
period. Select one writer from each period and write a thumbnail description of the themes
and/or characteristics of each writer’s work(s). Include direct quotes from the primary sources
for analysis and support.
6. Choose one or two characters from either Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown”
or Herman Melville’s “Bartleby the Scrivener” and discuss the ways in which each
experiences conflict (either with self, other characters, or with the social and/or physical
environment); the ways in which each attempts to deal with it, and the relative success or
failure of each. Who receives your deepest sympathy? Why? Include direct quotes from the
primary sources for analysis and support.
