Focus: Political and Revolutionary Writing (1765–1789)
This test explores how American writers contributed to the Revolutionary cause through pamphlets, essays, speeches, and letters. It features authors like Thomas Paine, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Phillis Wheatley, and others who shaped literary and ideological responses to independence and liberty.
1. Who wrote Common Sense in 1776?
A. Benjamin Franklin
B. Thomas Jefferson
C. Thomas Paine ✔️
D. John Adams
2. What was the main goal of Common Sense?
A. Promote monarchy
B. Support British Parliament
C. Argue for independence ✔️
D. Defend Native rights
3. Which literary genre did Common Sense represent?
A. Fiction
B. Sermon
C. Political pamphlet ✔️
D. Travelogue
4. Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography emphasizes:
A. Military valor
B. Rational self-improvement ✔️
C. Christian mysticism
D. Gothic themes
5. What Enlightenment value dominates Franklin’s writings?
A. Emotion
B. Divine revelation
C. Reason ✔️
D. Predestination
6. Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?
A. Thomas Jefferson ✔️
B. James Madison
C. Alexander Hamilton
D. Benjamin Franklin
7. The Declaration of Independence is best categorized as:
A. Fiction
B. Philosophical essay
C. Political manifesto ✔️
D. Religious tract
8. The style of the Declaration is mainly:
A. Humorous
B. Rhetorical and persuasive ✔️
C. Scientific
D. Romantic
9. Which of these ideas is central to Jefferson’s political writing?
A. Monarchy
B. Rational theism ✔️
C. Calvinism
D. Social hierarchy
10. Phillis Wheatley was:
A. A preacher
B. A poet ✔️
C. A political theorist
D. A dramatist
11. Phillis Wheatley’s poetry often combined:
A. Romanticism and comedy
B. Satire and Gothic horror
C. Neoclassicism and Christian piety ✔️
D. Nature and rebellion
12. Wheatley’s work was revolutionary because:
A. It criticized Puritanism
B. It included maps
C. She was an enslaved African American woman ✔️
D. It had Gothic themes
13. What genre is Wheatley’s To His Excellency General Washington?
A. Satirical essay
B. Political tract
C. Public ode ✔️
D. Journal
14. Which Enlightenment value shaped revolutionary literature?
A. Inherited authority
B. Mystical vision
C. Human reason ✔️
D. Total theocracy
15. What rhetorical technique did Paine use most?
A. Personal narrative
B. Analogy and repetition ✔️
C. Parable
D. Imagery
16. Paine’s The Crisis series was designed to:
A. Entertain
B. Encourage revolutionary morale ✔️
C. Promote religious reform
D. Satirize monarchy
17. “These are the times that try men’s souls” comes from:
A. The Federalist Papers
B. Common Sense
C. The Crisis ✔️
D. Poor Richard’s Almanack
18. Which values are found in Franklin’s almanacs?
A. Scientific theory
B. Ethical maxims ✔️
C. Spiritual visions
D. Romantic oaths
19. Franklin’s style is best described as:
A. Ornate
B. Humorous and didactic ✔️
C. Poetic and symbolic
D. Fragmented
20. What unites most Revolutionary writers stylistically?
A. Plainness and persuasion ✔️
B. Mystical allegory
C. Gothic tone
D. Fragmented syntax
21. Which writer viewed liberty as a moral and rational right?
A. Anne Bradstreet
B. Cotton Mather
C. Thomas Jefferson ✔️
D. Edward Taylor
22. What term best describes Wheatley’s poetic form?
A. Free verse
B. Heroic couplets ✔️
C. Blank verse
D. Satirical stanzas
23. What genre were The Federalist Papers?
A. Fiction
B. Prophetic prose
C. Political essays ✔️
D. Scientific articles
24. Who co-authored The Federalist Papers?
A. Jefferson and Madison
B. Franklin and Paine
C. Hamilton, Madison, Jay ✔️
D. Adams and Jefferson
25. The tone of The Federalist Papers was:
A. Informal
B. Ironic
C. Logical and analytical ✔️
D. Emotional
26. Thomas Paine argued that government should:
A. Uphold monarchy
B. Derive from the people ✔️
C. Be church-controlled
D. Be inherited
27. Jefferson’s writing reflects influence from:
A. Enlightenment rationalism ✔️
B. Puritan mysticism
C. Romantic individualism
D. Gothic terror
28. What is NOT a feature of Revolutionary writing?
A. Call to action
B. Appeals to logic
C. Symbolism of gothic horror ✔️
D. Defense of liberty
29. Revolutionary pamphlets were aimed at:
A. Academic elites
B. European monarchs
C. Common colonial readers ✔️
D. Religious institutions
30. Franklin used what format to deliver moral wisdom?
A. Allegory
B. Almanac proverbs ✔️
C. Sermon
D. Political satire
31. The Enlightenment’s influence led American writers to favor:
A. Passion over thought
B. Order, clarity, balance ✔️
C. Mystery and fear
D. Hierarchical expression
32. Wheatley’s neoclassical tone showed mastery of:
A. Biblical Hebrew
B. Classical form and reason ✔️
C. Satirical Greek drama
D. Romantic prose
33. Which writer is linked with both science and politics?
A. Edward Taylor
B. Cotton Mather
C. Benjamin Franklin ✔️
D. Jonathan Edwards
34. What distinguishes Jefferson’s literary voice?
A. Emotional rhetoric
B. Measured logic and idealism ✔️
C. Sensationalism
D. Verse and meter
35. The main goal of Revolutionary literature was to:
A. Preserve aristocracy
B. Critique Puritanism
C. Inspire political action ✔️
D. Explore dreams
36. What metaphor did Paine use for monarchy?
A. A glowing torch
B. A serpent ✔️
C. A bird
D. A flood
37. What defines Franklin’s Autobiography structure?
A. Fictional dialogues
B. Chronological self-reflection ✔️
C. Dreamlike shifts
D. Biblical allusion
38. Who emphasized virtue through practical habits?
A. Thomas Jefferson
B. Phillis Wheatley
C. Benjamin Franklin ✔️
D. John Adams
39. The Declaration uses a tone that is:
A. Apologetic
B. Joyful
C. Formal and assertive ✔️
D. Romantic
40. What does Wheatley suggest about African identity? It ?
A. prevents grace
B. conflicts with reason
C. holds spiritual dignity ✔️
D. must be erased
41. Political essays of the Revolution valued:
A. Poetic beauty
B. Emotional catharsis
C. Logical persuasion ✔️
D. Religious mysticism
42. The literary audience during the Revolution was:
A. British scholars
B. The enslaved
C. The general colonial public ✔️
D. Only elites
43. Which of these is a typical feature of Revolutionary pamphlets?
A. Long verses
B. Personal mysticism
C. Direct address to the reader ✔️
D. Fragmented form
44. Which African American poet was recognized by George Washington?
A. Jupiter Hammon
B. Olaudah Equiano
C. Phillis Wheatley ✔️
D. Frederick Douglass
45. Paine believed government should:
A. Mirror divine law
B. Enforce religious conformity
C. Serve people’s liberty ✔️
D. Be inherited
46. Which style element dominates Franklin’s writing?
A. Irony
B. Allegory
C. Aphorism ✔️
D. Dialogue
47. What theme united most Revolutionary authors?
A. Loyalty to crown
B. Search for mystery
C. Freedom and civic virtue ✔️
D. Escapism
48. Which best describes Jefferson’s prose style?
A. Emotional
B. Analytical and idealistic ✔️
C. Fragmented
D. Poetic
49. What was Wheatley’s primary literary influence?
A. Gothic novels
B. Classical Greek poets
C. English neoclassical poetry ✔️
D. Native oral myths
50. Revolutionary American literature aimed to create:
A. Artistic fantasy
B. Political and moral unity ✔️
C. European mimicry
D. Feudal nostalgia
Quiz Test-4 The History of American Literature: https://americanlit.englishlitnotes.com/early-american-literary-genres-quiz-4/
Notes on English Literature: http://englishlitnotes.com