American Literary Periods

1. American Literary Periods

2. Colonial 1650-1750 • ~ The Colonial movement was • mostly instructional. ~ It was to spread the word of • God, and help the corrupted • (which was everyone). • ~ This style of writing is seen • in plain writing, in the form • of diaries, sermons, and • personal notes.

3. Examples of Writers During this Period… • Anne Bradstreet (1612-1672) • 1. First published American poet • 2. "To My Dear and Loving Husband" • 3. "If ever two were one, then surely we. If • ever man were lov'd by wife, then thee." • Jonathan Edwards (1703 – 1758) • 1. Minister • 2. "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" • 3. View of God as punitive and distant; view of man as basically evil

4. Age of Reason 1750-1800 • ~ This movement was generally in an ornate style that used • reason as opposed to faith alone (Rationalism). • ~ The work in this literary movement is also seen in persuasive • writing, political pamphlets, and travel writing. • ~ This was a good movement for America. It increased • patriotism, and it brought about a common ground on which • issues were agreed. • ~ The writing encouraged the reader to support the Revolutionary War and taught readers how to understand • what they were reading.

5. Writers During this Period… • Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) • 1. The Autobiography, is about his life, and is split into four different parts; 2. Poor Richard's Almanac ; 3. Was a symbol of success due to hard work &common sense • Thomas Paine (1737–1809) • 1. Pamphleteer ; 2. "The American Crisis" helped propel us into war; 3. Remains a model of effective propaganda; 4. "These are the times that try men's souls." • Thomas Jefferson (1743 – 1826) • 1. Declaration of Independence • 2. Considered the finest writer of the era • 3. "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal…"

6. Romanticism 1800-1855 • ~ This movement gave readers a chance to read more imaginative work, and often came in the form of short stories, or poems. • ~ There is more focus on feelings, rather than reason, and intuition over fact, which was very different from the previous literary movement (Rationalism). • ~ Though the work was feeling and imaginary based, it started important debates on slavery.

7. DarkRomanticism • Gothic Literature • ~ A sub-genre of • Romanticism~ Features the use of • the supernatural • ~ Has characters with • both evil and good • characteristics ~ Includes dark • landscapes; • depressed characters

8. Writers During this Period… • Washington Irving (1789-1851) • 1. First famous American writer; called “Father of American Lit“ • 2. Wrote short stories, travel books, satires • 3. Famous for Legend of Sleepy Hollow(which terrifiedgenerations of children), and Rip Van Winkle(which created success from failure and the antihero) • 5. "Devil and Tom Walker": encounter-with-the-devil tale • Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) • 1. Wrote about sin and guilt; consequences of pride, • selfishness, etc. • 2. The Scarlet Letter • 3. Short stories ("The Minister's Black Veil,“ “Young • Goodman Brown”)

9. Writers During this Period… • Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) • 1. Lousy childhood; substance abuse problems; reviled • in his day • 2. Created the modern short story and detective story; • 3. Poems: "The Raven", "Bells", "Annabel Lee", "Dream" • 4. Attacked two long-standing conventions: a poem has • to be long; it must teach a lesson • Herman Melville (1819-1891) • 1. Ranked as one of America's top novelists, but was • recognized by few in his own time • 2. Wrote Moby Dick which didn't sell. Only his friend • Nathaniel Hawthorne liked it. It was not reprinted • for 60 yrs. It is now considered America's greatest • prose epic

10. Transcendentalism 1840-1860 • ~ Stressed individualism, intuition, • nature, self-reliance. • ~ The purpose of this style is to find • truth through various senses and • through nature. • ~ The reader was often left with • something to contemplate. • ~ Transcendentalists believed that • society and its institutions corrupted • the purity of the individual. ~ Belief that people are at their best • when truly "self-reliant" and • independent. • ~ This style is seen in poems, and novels

11. Writers During this Period… • Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) • 1. His writings helped establish the philosophy of • individualism, an idea deeply embedded in • American culture • 2. "Nature" • 3. "Self-Reliance" • Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) • 1. Resisted materialism; chose simplicity, • individualism • 2. Wrote Walden, a guidebook for life, showing • how to live wisely in a world designed to make • wise living impossible • 3. Lived on Walden Pond for 2+ years • 4. "Civil Disobedience": a primer for nonviolent • protest

12. Realism 1865-1915 • ~ The Civil War brought about a demand for a "truer" type of • literature that didn't idealize people or places • ~ People in society were defined by "class"; materialism • ~ The ideas of Darwin (survival of the fittest) and Marx (how money • and class structure control a nation) were popular • As a result of these beliefs, Realism: • ~ Became a reaction against Romanticism; It told it like it was • ~ Focused on lives of ordinary people; rejected heroic and adventurous • ~ Was anti-materialistic; rejected the new "class" system • ~ Viewed nature as a powerful and indifferent force beyond man's • control

13. A sub-genre of Realism • ~ Like Realism but a darker view of the world • ~ The universe is unpredictable; fate is determined by chance;free will is an illusion • ~ Characters' lives shaped by forces they can't understand or control ~ Novels, short stories • ~ Often aims to change a specific social problem • ~ Dominant themes: survival, fate, violence, nature as an indifferent force

14. Writers During this Period… • Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896) • 1. The most famous woman of her day • 2. Wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin, the most influential • book of the 19th Century and first book to sell one • million copies. One of the most effective • documents of propaganda; helped fuel the Civil • War • Frederick Douglas (1817-1895) • 1. An escaped slave; one of the most effective orators of his day • 2. Influential newspaper writer; militant abolitionist; • diplomat • 3. His autobiography an instant and enduring classic tale of courage

15. Writers During this Period… • Mark Twain (1835-1910) • 1. Samuel Langhorne Clemens is believed to be the • greatest American humorist and novelist • 2. Used vernacular, exaggeration, deadpan narrator • to create humor • 3. “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras • County” (tall tale); Adventures of Tom Sawyer; • Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (one of America's • most influential novels) • Stephen Crane (1871-1900) • 1. Wrote The Red Badge of Courage2. “The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky”

16. The Moderns 1900-1950 • ~ The Modern movement • brought pride in the • American dream, often in the • form of poems, plays, and • novels. • ~ During this movement • authors strived to find an • individual style. • ~ This style brought pride in • being American, and the • country was thought of as the • land of Eden

17. Writers During this Period… • F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940) • 1. Wrote The Great Gatsby, said to be the greatest • American novel ever written Earnest Hemmingway (1899 – 1961) 1. Hemmingway’s short stories fall under this movement. • John Steinbeck (1902–1968) • 1. Wrote the Pulitzer Prize winning novel, The Grapes of Wrath

18. The Harlem Renaissance 1920s • ~ This movement was very • empowering for African • Americans, because • before this time, literature portrayed them in a very • stereotypical way. ~ In this movement African • Americans were revealed • to be complex characters. • ~ The Harlem Renaissance • is agreed to help start gospel music. • ~ Poems from this movement • are often in blues form Examples of work from this movement are Zora Neil’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, and Langston Hughes poems.

19. Post Modernism/ Contemporary 1950-Present • ~ Post Modernism and Contemporary can be thought of as two • movements, but their differences are not big enough to separate • them. • ~ Both movements blur the line between fiction and nonfiction, and • either have no heroes, or anti-heroes, respectively. • ~ One difference between the two is that Post Modernism usually • has no humor, while Contemporary may have ironic humor. • Examples of Post Modernism are Norman Mailers’ The Naked and the Dead and The Executioners Song; Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood • Examples of Contemporary works are Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain, and Orson Cards Enders Game