American Literature 1 page paper (2)

1. Enlightenment: 18th Century philosophical movement that emphasized the use of reason to scrutinize previously accepted doctrines and traditions that had brought about many humanitarian reforms.

2. Age of Reason: Era that promoted rationalism, equality, social justice, and the belief that mankind could control nature without offending God

3. Couplet: Pair of rhymed lines that sometimes forms a separate stanza of a poem; much of Anne Bradstreet’s poetry is written in couplets

4. Deism: Belief in a God who created the universe and then abandoned it, assuming no control over life, exerting no influence on natural phenomena, and giving no supernatural revelation

5. Neo-Classical: Style that is characterized by order, symmetry, and simplicity

6. Newton’s Universe: Refers to Isaac Newton’s suggestion that the universe resembled an infinitely large clock, and that people should be able to study and learn to use its workings for their benefit; popular belief among deists

7. Rationalism: Theory that the exercise of reason, rather than experience, authority, or spiritual revelation, provides the primary basis for knowledge

8. Slave Narrative: Literary genre originating from written accounts of enslaved Africans; authors: Mary Rowlandson and Olaudah Equiano; three forms: religious redemption, abolitionist struggle, progress

9. Tabula Rasa: Belief that individuals are born without built-in mental content and that their knowledge comes from experience and perception; “blank slate”