American Literary periods and primary authors

1. American Literary periods and primary authors

2. Colonial Puritan Period 1620-1750

3. Colonial / Puritan • Newly arrived colonists were settling and establishing new governments. • The literature of the period reflects the religious influence of the Puritans. • Writing focuses on historical events, daily life, moral attitudes, political unrest.

4. Colonial / Puritanprimary authors • William Bradford • Anne Bradstreet • Jonathan Edwards • Ben Franklin

5. Revolutionary1750-1815 • British rule caused rebellion in the states. Persuasive and political writing ruled the day. • After the Revolution, American patriotism and nationalism became the focus.

6. RevolutionaryPrimaryAuthors • Thomas Paine • Ben Franklin • Thomas Jefferson • Patrick Henry

7. Romanticism & Transcendentalism1800-1855 • Both philosophical movements • Writers celebrated individualism, nature, imagination, creativity, and emotions.

8. Elements of Romanticism and Primary Authors • Use of the imagination • Filled with emotion • Revels in nature Primary authors: • Washington Irving • Edgar Allan Poe (dark) • Nathaniel Hawthorne (dark) • Herman Melville (dark)

9. Elements of Transcendentalism & Primary Authors • Stressed respect for the individual • Intuition • Connection of the human spirit with • Self Governed versus Big Government Primary authors • Ralph Waldo Emerson • Henry David Thoreau • Walt Whitman

10. Realism1850-1900 • This period includes the Civil War, significant industrial invention, and westward expansion. • Realism articulated tensions and complex events of the time (reality) • Characters reflected real people with flaws struggling to overcome the difficulties of war, family , natural disasters and human frailties

11. Realism1850-1900 Primary authors: • Ambrose Bierce • Stephen Crane • Willa Cather • Emily Dickinson • Mark Twain

12. Naturalism1880-1940 • Overlaps with realism • Writers focused on grim reality • Focused on natural laws that govern human lives. • Characters are often helpless victims of nature, the environment , and heritage. • Primary authors: Theodore Dreiser, James T. Farrell, Jack London, Frank Norris

13. Modern Period1900-1950 • The first half of the twentieth century in the U.S. was marked by wars, economic prosperity, depression, commercialism, and increased population. • Writers explored themes of alienation and change and confronted people’s fears and disillusionments.

14. Modern Period1900-1950 • Other writing groups included those of the Harlem Renaissance and The Jazz Age. Characteristics of the Modern period: • Use of symbolism, irony. • Writers experimented with new techniques, trying to right the social wrongs of the day. Primary authors: • T.S. Eliot, William Faulkner, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston

15. Post-Modern Period 1950-Present • Period includes prosperity, the Civil Rights movement, and the women’s rights movement Characteristics of the movement: • Blurring the lines of reality creating non-traditional works • No traditional structure • Writings were cynical and ironic • Focused on absurdity of daily life

16. Postmodern Period1950-present • Addresses social issues related to gender and race. Primary authors: • James Thurber • Alice Walker • Kurt Vonnegut • J.K. Rowling