1. Literary Movements in America

2. Literary Movements in the US:
A literary movement is a style of literary writing shared in common among groups of authors bonded by common philosophy, geography, or time period.
Nearly ALL writing will possess elements of different literary movements; authors, though, tend to adopt a predominant style that we can attempt to categorize.

3. 1. Romanticism
Romanticism was a literary movement popular in the 18th and 19th centuries.1
Romantic authors write about larger-than-life characters and demonstrate an idealized view of the world.
Romantic writing is often sentimental, and presents a clear meaning or lesson; everything happens for a reason in romantic literature.
Romantic does not mean “love,” nor does it need to be cheery; in fact, it’s characters usually suffer great travails, but all toward a greater purpose.
1http://classics.lifetips.com/cat/58436/understanding-literary-movements/

4. 2. Realism
In the U.S., Realism came into prominence after the Civil War (the 1850s).
The point of realism, of course, is to show things as they really are. Realistic authors are likely to write as observers who watch and document the actions of characters.
Realism is all about the details--realistic authors will strive to faithfully reproduce sensory details, dialects, and cultural tidbits in order to achieve authenticity.
Realistic writers favor the “common man” and write about the ordinary, as opposed to extraordinary, details of life.

5. 3. Naturalism
Naturalism flourished in the early 20th Century in the U.S., and especially focused on the lives of the urban poor (Jack London is a notable exception).
Naturalistic writers view humans as essentially powerless figures at the mercy of natural forces much larger than themselves.
Naturalism is informed by sciences such as genetics, biology, and psychology. Humans are viewed as just another organism among many, rather than as a creature separate and apart from the rest of the animal kingdom.
Control is an illusion; we have no influence over our destinies.

6. Literary Movements on a Continuum Think of the three literary movements along a sliding scale--authors on the left will tend to be idealistic, sentimental, and look for a guiding force in the world. Authors on the right will have a cynical view of the word, have a low opinion of humans in general, and see the world as an uncontrollable force of nature that cares nothing for us.
Romanticism
•Optimistic
•The world has order
•Everything happens
for a reason
•Extraordinary
things happen to
extraordinary
people
•has faith in
humanity.
Realism
Naturalism
•Pessimistic
•The world is
chaotic
•Life is ruled by
chance and
dumb luck.
•People are
insignificant
victims of a cold
world
•Puts little faith in
humanity.

7. Lit. Movements after “the big three.”
We place modernism, primarily, in the first half of the 20th century. Modernists re-examined traditional modes of thought and culture , and sought to “throw out” antiquated ideas that they felt held back human progress. This movement puts great faith in humankind’s ability to improve itself and its circumstances, especially through the application of new advances in science and technology, and seeks to advance new and progressive ideas. To a modernist, change is good, and the present is the most important time.
Postmodernism arose after WWII, and is essentially a rejection of modernism’s tenets. Postmodernists reject unified ideas, see the world as a highly complex and ambiguous place, and frequently present life as absurd and contradictory. Postmodernists frequently work to undermine accepted truths and traditions and show them as useless.
Supermodernists, like modernists, look to the present as the most important time, but rejects history more forcefully--change is so rapid, and the world so radically different, that the past is unreliable. Supermodernists don’t look for any “supreme truth,” but instead choose information based on its usefulness and interconnectivity. This puts great faith in the convergence of technology and the biological sciences to improve ourselves individually, as well as general quality of life. This is the literary movement of globalism, MySpace, Google,and the iPhone.

9. Why Should We Care?
We need to understand the worldviews of authors to fully appreciate their work.
More often than not, our world views are a product of our times. You can generally match up the relative optimism or pessimism of each movement to historical circumstances such as war, economic depression, advances in quality of life, or growth in prosperity.
These are lenses through which to view literature. The boundaries are probably artificial, but our attempt to categorize deepens our understanding.
Think-Pair-Share: Where are we now? How should this influence our art and literature?

10. Paired Activity
Look at the photograph as inspiration, then compose a short (one-page) narrative in which you write in either a romantic, realistic, or naturalitic style.

11. Classroom Activity: Think/Pair/Share
Place yourself on the romantic-naturalistic continuum. To help you orient yourself, consider the following:
1. Do you believe in a higher power that influences our fates? Does
everything happen for a reason?
2. Do you believe that you are in charge of your own destiny? Is all the
goodness and suffering that we see the result of choices that humans
make?
3. Do you believe that the world is ruled by pure chance? Are we
simply victims of forces larger than ourselves? Is the world
essentially a cold and uncaring toward us?
Pair up and talk through these points; then share out with the rest of the classroom.