Important American Writers

Literary Renaissance Transcendentalism New England writers and philosophers Urged people to transcend (overcome) the limits of their minds and let their souls reach out to embrace the beauty of the universe B/l truth can be found beyond the physical world B/l all humans share in the spiritual unity of creation.

Writers Ralph Waldo Emerson Margaret Fuller Leader of the Transcendentalism movement Wrote that those who wanted fulfillment should work for communion with the natural world Margaret Fuller Organized groups of Boston women to promote their education Argued for equal rights for women

Writers Henry David Thoreau Washington Irving B/l individuals must fight the pressure to conform “Walden” – live separate from society Washington Irving “Legend of Sleepy Hollow” One of the first prominent American writers

Writers James Fenimore Cooper Nathaniel Hawthorne “Last of the Mohicans” Romanticized Native Americans and the frontier explorers Nathaniel Hawthorne “The Scarlet Letter” Explored the persecution and psychological suffering that results from sin

Writers Herman Melville Edgar Allan Poe “Moby Dick” – based stories on his experiences in the US Navy Adventures of a wandering sailor, confronts class and social status, good and evil, a man’s place in the world Edgar Allan Poe Poem and short story writer Achieved fame as a writer of terror and mystery The Tell-Tale Heart, The Raven

Writers Walt Whitman Noah Webster Perhaps the most important poet of the era “Leaves of Grass” – collection of poetry Loved nature, the common people, and American democracy Noah Webster 1st American dictionary of the English Language

Writers Emily Dickinson A recluse wrote love poems Best remembered female poet of the era Wrote very sad, simple, personal, deeply emotional poetry