The American Tradition in Literature Puritanism to Realism Honors English 11 Niedziela

“These are the Gardens of the Desert, these The unshorn fields, boundless and beautiful, For which the speech of England has no name...” ---William Cullen Bryant

The Beginnings of American Literature  Early writers, like writers of today, have a desire to convey the unique land and lifestyle that is America, the New World.  Writings of explorers  Oral literature of Native American peoples

Puritanism  Believed people’s feelings could only be changed through grace, the miracle by which God grants people the ability to be cleansed to love God truly.  Valued plainness, especially in religion  Convinced that they were on a divine mission to bring true Christianity to the New World.  Unique to New England

Puritan Literature  Spiritual autobiography  Histories  Sermons  Poetry  Written for instruction or inspiration  Plain style versus ornate style

Awakening in South  Dominant religion was Church of England, the one the Puritans were escaping  Ideal of conduct was generous, self- controlled gentleman  Southern literature turns outward to society and nature  Wrote for amusement or diversion, loved theatre.

The Age of Reason  Reason connected to freedom –Freedom of speech –Freedom from arbitrary rules and laws –Freedom to experiment –Freedom to improve quality of life  Writers concerned themselves with life on earth –Science –Ethics –Government  These ideas set the stage for the American Revolution

The American Revolution  Literature helped fight the war –Pamphlets –Essays –Songs –Poems –Speeches

Classicism  Reason is the dominating characteristic both of nature and of human nature in fixed laws  Emphasized reason over the imagination.  Literature’s function was clarity, order and balance  Upheld tradition and formality at all costs  Nature is a system of rational laws

Romanticism  Value placed on emotions and the individual  Emphasis on inner perception of truth  Focus on imagination  Inspired humanitarian reform – abolition of slavery to improvements in education

Romanticism  Emphasized the beauty, strangeness, and mystery of nature; exotic  Emphasized emotion, superstition and supernatural; mysterious and gothic  New interest in the American past; love of country  Exploration and expression of the writer’s inner being  Focus on self and the individual  Deep rooted idealism

The New England Renaissance  Transcendentalism  The darker vision  The fireside poets

Transcendentalism  Fundamental truths can only be reached by going beyond the world of the senses.  Knowledge comes from intuition – the “highest power of the soul”  Nature is divine and alive  Individualism  Democratic and society reforming  Moral enthusiasm

The Darker Vision  Universe is a dark and confusing place  Human nature is obstinate  Nature is ambiguous, hard to read and interpret  Dark gloomy view of world

The Fireside Poets  Neither transcendental nor gloomy and bleak  Concerned with ordinary people, history and values  Easy to read  Made poetry popular

Realism  Reaction against romanticism  Emphasis on ordinary, slice of life  Middle and lower class people were the subjects  Finds the drama and tension of ordinary life  Use of vernacular dialogue, often regional

“Why should not we also enjoy an original relation to the universe?... America is a poem in our eyes...” ---Ralph Waldo Emerson

Works Cited  Adventures in American Literature. Chicago: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers,  American Literature. Mission Hills California: Glencoe,  Ruland, Richard and Malcolm Bradbury. From Puritanism to Postmodernism: A History of American Literature. New York: Penguin Books, 1992.