American Literary Periods and Their Characteristics

Puritanism Historical Context A person’s fate is determined by God (predestination) All people are corrupt and must be saved by Christ (Original Sin) Covenant of Grace and Covenant of Works debate

Puritanism Genre/Style Sermons Diaries Personal narratives Written in plain style

Puritanism Instructive Reinforces authority of the Bible and church

Puritanism Examples Bradford's Of Plymouth Plantation Rowlandson's "A Narrative of the Captivity” Edward's "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” Though not written during Puritan times, The Crucible & The Scarlet Letter depict life during the time when Puritan theocracy prevailed.

Rationalism Historical Context Tells readers how to interpret what they are reading Meant to encourage Revolutionary War support Instructive in values

Rationalism Genre/Style Political pamphlets Travel writing Highly ornate style Persuasive writing

Rationalism Effect/Aspects Patriotism grows, Instills pride Creates common agreement about issues National mission and the American character

Rationalism Examples Writings of Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine- “Common Sense” Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanac and "The Autobiography"

Romanticism Historical Context Expansion of magazines, newspapers, and book publishing Slavery debates Industrial revolution brings ideas that the "old ways" of doing things are now irrelevant

Romanticism Genre/Style Essays Stories Poems Novels Focus on –Nature –Emotion –Imagination –Intuition

Gothicism Considered Romantics but explored the darker side of human existence Awareness for human capacity and evil Probing of the inner life of the characters and the mysterious forces that shape human behavior Grotesque characters, bizarre situations, and violent events

Gothicism Edgar Allan Poe Pioneer of the detective story First major author of science fiction and fantasy “The Raven,” “The Fall of the House of Usher,” “The Cask of Amontillado ” Herman Melville Mostly adventure stories set in the South Pacific Explores issues such as madness and the conflict of good and evil Moby Dick

Nathaniel Hawthorne Examined the darker facets of the human soul Agreed with the romantic ideals of emotion and the individual Many of Hawthorne’s stories are set in Puritan America The Scarlett Letter, “The Minister’s Black Veil”

Transcendentalists Came from “Transcendent” – knowledge that exists beyond reason or experience Emphasized living a simple life and celebrating the truth found in nature Favored personal emotion and imagination Believed people were inherently good

Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson is considered to be a founding writer and philosopher within the American romantic movement. Emerson is perhaps best known for his essays, from which emerge the grounding notions of Transcendentalism. “Self-Reliance,” “Nature”

Henry David Thoreau Wrote about living as one with nature and being self-reliant Thoreau presents an exploration of self- discipline and self-discovery which resonates significantly through American literature. Considered one of the first environmentalists “Civil Disobedience,” “Walden”

Realism 1855-Civil War & Post War period Historical Context Civil War brings demand for a "truer" type of literature that does not idealize people or places Battlefield Photography

Realism 1855-Civil War & Post War period Genre/Style Novels and short stories Objective narrator Does not tell reader how to interpret story Dialogue includes voices from around the country

Realism 1855-Civil War & Post War period Effect/Aspects Social realism: aims to change a specific social problem –Frederick Douglass –Slave narratives

Realism 1855-Civil War & Post War period Examples Writings of Mark Twain, Ambrose Bierce, Stephen Crane The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (some say 1st modern novel) Regional works like: The Awakening. Ethan Frome, and My Antonia (some say modern)

Regionalism was a literary movement in which authors would write a story about specific geographical areas. Writers in this time not only tried to show the region they wrote about to their readers, but they also made an attempt at a sophisticated sociological or anthropological treatment of the culture of the region. By writing about regions, the authors explore the culture of that area including its- Languages Customs Beliefs history Authors of Regionalism Willa Cather William Faulkner Kate Chopin Frank Norris Mark Twain

 Trend rather than a movement; never formalized nor dominated by the influence of a single writer  A more extreme, intensified version of realism  Shows more unpleasant, ugly, shocking aspects of life  Objective picture of reality viewed with scientific detachment  Determinism – man’s life is dominated by the forces he cannot control: biological instincts, social environment  No free will, no place for moral judgment  Pessimism  Struggle of an individual to adopt to the environment

The Moderns Historical Context Writers reflect the ideas of Darwin (survival of the fittest), Karl Marx (how money and class structure control a nation), and Sigmund Freud (the power of the subconscious) Overwhelming technological changes of the 20th Century Rise of the youth culture WWI and WWII

The Moderns Genre/Style Novels Plays Poetry (a great resurgence after deaths of Whitman & Dickinson) Highly experimental as writers seek a unique style Use of interior monologue & stream of consciousness

In Pursuit of the American Dream— Admiration for America as land of Eden Optimism Importance of the Individual The Moderns Effect/Aspect

The Moderns Examples Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby Poetry of Jeffers, Williams, Cummings, Frost, Eliot, Sandburg, Pound, Robinson, Stevens Rand's Anthem Short stories and novels of Steinbeck, Hemingway, Thurber, Welty, and Faulkner Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun & Wright's Native Son (an outgrowth of Harlem Renaissance-- see below) Miller's The Death of a Salesman (some consider Postmodern)

Harlem Renaissance (parallel to Modernism) 1920s Historical Context Mass African-American migration to Northern urban centers African-Americans have more access to media and publishing outlets after they move north

Harlem Renaissance (parallel to Modernism) 1920s Genre/Style Allusions to African- American spirituals Uses structure of blues songs in poetry (repetition) Superficial stereotypes revealed to be complex characters

Harlem Renaissance (parallel to Modernism) 1920s Effect/Aspects Gave birth to "gospel music" Blues and jazz transmitted across American via radio and phonographs

Harlem Renaissance (parallel to Modernism) 1920s Examples Essays & Poetry of W.E.B. DuBois Poetry of McKay, Toomer, Cullen Poetry, short stories and novels of Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes Their Eyes Were Watching God

Postmodernism 1950-present Post-World War II prosperity Media culture interprets values Disillusionment Resistance to easily recognizable themes or morals in a story Insists that values are not permanent but only "local" or "historical"

Postmodernism 1950-present Genre/Style Mixing of fantasy with nonfiction; blurs lines of reality for reader No heroes Concern with individual in isolation Social issues as writers align with feminist & ethnic groups Usually humorless Narratives Metafiction Present tense Magic realism

Postmodernism 1950-present Examples Mailer's The Naked and the Dead and The Executioner's Song Feminist & Social Issue poets: Plath, Rich, Sexton, Levertov, Baraka, Cleaver, Morrison, Walker & Giovanni Miller's The Death of a Salesman & The Crucible (some consider Modern) Lawrence & Lee's Inherit the Wind Capote's In Cold Blood Stories & novels of Vonnegut Salinger's Catcher in the Rye Beat Poets: Kerouac, Burroughs, & Ginsberg Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest