Romanticism and Transcendentalism

1. Which of the following statements best explains why Romanticism and Transcendentalism rejected industrialism?

• Industrialism discouraged people from organized religion and faith, while Romanticism and Transcendentalism prioritized spirituality.

• Romanticism and Transcendentalism highly valued the power of nature and industrialism was a threat to the natural world.

• Industrialism was centered on rational thought and efficiency, while Romanticism and Transcendentalism privileged emotion and leisure.

• Americans created Romanticism and Transcendentalism to directly oppose the industrial movement in England.

The following passage (paragraph 3) mainly adds to the development of the text.

When Romantic ideals reached America in the early nineteenth century, the nation was caught up in a massive westward expansion and was simultaneously trying to define what it was to be American, both to itself and to the world. As American cities and towns grew, people had more time for philosophical and creative endeavors and began to write original works of fiction and poetry, as well as contemplative essays.

• describing the conditions under which Romanticism gained popularity in America

• showing that Romanticism resulted in happier and more creative individuals

• claiming that the Romantic movement inspired exploration and colonial expansion in America

• defining the basic concepts and beliefs held by Romantic artists

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What is the central idea of the following passage (paragraph 13)?

So where’s the romance? American Romanticism and Transcendentalism are not about romance, per se, but they do have something to do with love—the love of truth, the love of beauty, and the love of nature. Like romantic love, Romanticism is characterized by optimism, idealism, and intuition. Romanticism and Transcendentalism, however, direct all of this love and optimism not toward another person, but toward the natural world and the divine within ourselves. The ideals of “big R” Romanticism, as well as Transcendentalism, are woven into the fabric of the American psyche. We can see their effects in movies about people who retreat to nature to become closer to themselves or reassess their life’s purpose. We see these themes played out in stories about rugged individualists.

• Romanticism is the singular most influential social and philosophical movement in the United States.

• Romanticism has lost significance and relevance in our increasingly technology-based world.

• The principles and values of Romanticism are still present in modern America and everyday life.

• In recent years, Romantic ideas and beliefs have widely replaced traditional religious practices.

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Which of the following statements most closely summarizes the central idea of the following passage (paragraph 10)?

Whitman’s personal beliefs most closely resembled Transcendentalism and he was well versed in the work of Emerson, but he also had a broad understanding of American and European religious traditions, language, and symbolism, which he used stylistically in his poetry. He employed traditional symbols such as the stars, moon, and earth, but also created his own symbology, which included lilacs, the calamus plant, and, of course, grass. Whitman’s tone was exuberant and his diction, or word choice, is notable for its eccentricities; he used colloquial words, foreign words, technical words, and sometimes even made up his own words

• Walt Whitman was a revolutionary American poet who embodied the characteristics of the Romantic movements through his work.

• Walt Whitman’s work was very different from other poets of the time and he enjoyed experimenting with language in unusual ways.

• Walt Whitman was one of the first artists to popularize the ideas of Romanticism and Transcendentalism in Europe.

• Walt Whitman’s work was a direct rejection of popular movements within Romanticism, as he believed that they oppressed artists’ natural expression.

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Which selection from the excerpt best supports the correct answer to Question 5?

Answer choices for the above question

• . “In Romanticism and Transcendentalism, creativity was highly esteemed.”

• “... Unitarianism, which perceived God as a singular being and had an optimistic view of human nature.”

• “... he came to feel that Unitarianism was too restrictive…”

• All of the above.

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Which of the following statements about Unitarians is best supported by the text?

• They believed in adhering to strict Christian tradition, such as regular church services and male clergy.

• They claimed that art and literature distracted individuals from religious spirituality.

• They believed that the inherent sin in human nature could only be purified through the natural world.

• They were positive about the possibility of human beings

Free verse was a popular poetic form during the Romantic period mainly because.

• Romantics rejected traditional education and schooling, so they often did not know many other poetic forms.

• Walt Whitman was the most famous Romantic poet, and he wrote only in free verse.

• Romanticism rejected structure and established customs, in favor of individualism and creativity.

• it was believed that free verse best mimicked the unstructured flow and ebb of the natural world.

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Which sentence from the excerpt best supports the correct answer to Question 7?

• . “It is not surprising that free-verse poetry rose to popularity during the American Romantic period when artists sought to reject the restrictive customs of the past in order to embrace liberation, individualism, imagination, intuition, and spiritual transcendence.”

• “According to Emerson, the highest form of language was the language of nature, which incorporated symbols related to the natural world as well as synecdoche, or the use of a part to represent the whole or vice versa.”

• “Walt Whitman popularized the use of free verse, which has become one of the most frequently used forms of poetry in American literature and has been practiced, either on the whole or in part, by many American poets…”

• “Whitman’s poetry did not rhyme and did not fit into any formal category; it followed the free and energetic path of Whitman’s own mind and emotions. Today we call this informal structure free verse.”

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A relatively short piece of writing that attempts to grapple with an idea, explain something, or argue a point

• essay

• free verse

• the Dark Romantics

• Unitarianism

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Religious movement that perceived God as a singular being and had an optimistic view of human nature

• the Dark Romantics

• essay

• free verse

• Unitarianism