Lesson 3: A Nation is Born (1750–1800)
Objectives
After successfully completing this lesson, you will be able to
- generally describe the historical background of American literature during the Revolutionary War era (1750–1800).
- identify and discuss the characteristics of autobiographies and aphorisms.
- identify and discuss the purpose and elements of persuasive writing, including appeals to reason and emotion.
- identify and discuss the features of poems of praise with particular emphasis on the poetic technique of personification.
- distinguish between the three major types of speeches: political, address, and sermon.
- identify and discuss the five types of rhetorical devices used in speeches.
- distinguish between private and public letters (epistles), identifying their differing characteristics.