WARM UP

WORD WEB

REALISM, REGIONALISM, NATURALISM

CLOSURE

ENGLISH 11

WARM UP

What is more important, the majority or the

individual? Think about the pros and cons of focusing on each.

STUDENT OBJECTIVESUnderstand and identify the major characteristics of

Realism, Regionalism, and Naturalism.Analyze how an author makes specific choices in structuring parts of a work to contribute to overall

purpose and meaning

Word Web!

What is Realism?

Gives an accurate and detailed picture of actual life.Presents life objectively and honestly

without idealism.Focuses on middle or lower classes.

Historical Context

Slavery divides the nation. Violence between proslavery and antislavery

groups grows between the North and South.

Post Civil War American is wiser and more somber after

witnesses such a violent split among people. The nation begins focusing more on the

Declaration of Independence’s notions of liberty and equality for all.

Realism vs. Romanticism

“At 4:00 each afternoon, the sunlight cast long shadows along the frozen landscape. The

whistle of the clothing factory would blow, and the workers would stream out from the

opened doors and squint into the last light of the day.”

“In that moment of the afternoon, the sun fell upon the snow drifts in an ethereal light, and all the heavens seemed to shine down upon

the frozen fields, as if promising, one day, the ascent of spring.”

What is Regionalism?

Accurately represent the speech, manners, habits, history, and beliefs of people in a specific geographical area.

Captures life on the frontier and other regions.

Grew as a transition from Realism.

Historical Context

People began to fear that they were losing their regional identities as some were not happy with the changes beginning to develop in America. Writers attempted to capture those identities by

focusing on unique characters and perspectives specific to certain areas or lands.

What is Naturalism?

Depicts common and ordinary people, but emphasizes how instinct and environment affect human behavior.

Does nature care about the human race?

Analyze Visuals!

Determine if each visual is representative of Realism,

Regionalism, or Naturalism and why.

Transitional Time Period

The Civil War was a transitional period for writers of the day. Poets, former slaves,

famous public figures, and everyday people all contributed their ideas as they watched the

country changed.

Walt Whitman

He grew up in a crowded American city and often described scenes of city life.

He held many jobs and wrote about many occupations.

He was inspired by Emerson and nature.He was independent and optimistic, two

traits that appear in his poetry.He is the master of free verse in American

poetry.

Free Verse

Poetry that does not have regular patterns of rhyme and meter.

Lines often flow more naturally and sound more like everyday human speech.

WALT WHITMAN

PAGE 532

I Hear America Singing

CLOSURE

Modeling your poem from Whitman’s style, write a quick free verse poem on the back of your

worksheet about where you are from. For example, mine would start like this:

“I hear Newark singing, the noisy people I hear,Those of fraternities, each one singing their own as

they prefer, 1 am to 3 am.The ambulance singing its as it screeches by,

The neighbor singing his as his car dies…”

HW: Research Paper Due FRIDAY!