1. American Realism ( )
-the literary term applied to compositions that aim at a faithful representation of reality, interpretations of the actualities of any aspect of life
As a reaction to Romanticism:
*It is free of subjective prejudice, idealism or romance
*Often deals with representing the middle class
*Realist writers were influenced by British and Foreign writers but to a great extent the transition from Romance to Realism was indigenous
Characteristics of Realism:
Describes reality in comprehensive detail
Characters are more important than plot and action
Complex ethical choices are often the subject of the literature
Characters are related to nature, to each other, to their social class, and to their own past
This relation makes up the complexity of their temperament and motive
Class is important (usually describes the middle class)
Events are usually plausible (believable)
Diction is natural, not heightened or poetic
-The beginnings of Realism started with the realistic and detailed Frontier Literature that eventually merged into the mainstream
Some Realist Authors: Mark Twain, Walt Whitman, William Dean Howells, Rebecca Harding Davis, Henry James

2. Romanticism vs. Realism
Characters may be “larger than life”
Characters resemble ordinary people: often concerned with middle/working class
Plot contains unusual events, mystery, or high adventure -- e.g. Poe's stories
Plot is developed with ordinary events and circumstances
Ending is often happy
Ending might be unhappy
The language is often “literary” (inflated, formal, etc.)
Writer uses ordinary speech and dialect -- common vernacular (the everyday language spoken by a people)
Settings often made up; if actual settings are used, the focus is on the exotic, strange, mysterious -- Poe's gothic chambers
Settings actually exist or have actual prototypes
Writer is interested in history or legend -- Poe
Writer is interested in recent or contemporary life

3. Romanticism vs. Realism

4. Romanticism vs. Realism

5. Romanticism vs. Realism

6. Romanticism vs. Realism

7. II. Mark Twain: A) Writer
In 1861, Samuel Clemens avoided the brewing Civil War by going west. He took his first writing job as reporter at the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise.
Serious news was often mixed with “reports” that had to be taken with a grain of salt.
Soon, he began using the name Mark Twain and affixing it to sketches, reportage, and an occasional hoax.
It was a time when he first discovered his talent, his calling, and his voice.

8. B. Status and Persona
By 1900 Twain had become America’s foremost celebrity.
He was invited to attend ship launchings, anniversary gatherings, political conventions, and countless dinners.
Reporters met him at every port of call, anxious to print a new quip from the famous humorist.
To enhance his image, he took to wearing white suits and loved to stroll down the street and see people staring at him.
I thought these pictures of the river boats and Twain as a young man helped to depict that period of his life when he worked on the Mississippi River. He loved his time on the river and even used “Mark Twain” as his pen name. 8

9. C. Twain, Novelist of Controversy
Although his most famous novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, is criticized for being racist, Mark Twain never expected nor intended the controversy that arose with the publication of Huckleberry Finn.
Mark Twain was not racist, but depicted life in his times.
“I vividly remember seeing a dozen black men and women chained to one another, once, and lying in a group on the pavement, awaiting shipment to the Southern slave market. Those were the saddest faces I have ever seen.”– Mark Twain

10. "I have no color prejudices nor caste prejudices nor creed prejudices
"I have no color prejudices nor caste prejudices nor creed prejudices. All I care to know is that a man is a human being, and that is enough for me; he can't be any worse."
Pictures from

11. Definitions and Examples Handout: Comedy Ladder
III. THE COMEDY LADDER
Definitions and Examples
Handout: Comedy Ladder

12. LOW COMEDY
Laughter at this level usually involves the dirty joke, dirty gesture, or body parts or functions. This comedy often uses physical mishaps, pratfalls, slapstick, and loud collisions.

13. B. FARCE
This type of comedy is built on mistaken identities, coincidences, and mistimings. Characters are often under the influence of fate and have little control over it. Also employs coincidences, doublings, or obstacles – such as twins, busybody parents, unhappy engagements, and marriage that happen at just the wrong time. Money and class often shape the action.

14. C. COMEDY OF MANNERS
Sometimes defined as “the amorous intrigues of the aristocratic classes.” Using Clever insults, put-downs, puns, paradoxes, and epigrams this type of comedy revolves around wit and verbal banter and wordplay. Often it doesn’t hesitate to sacrifice a character’s sensitivity to the cause of witty dialogue. Characters are usually divided into 3 different groups: the true wits, the would-be wits, and the witless.

15. D. COMEDY OF IDEAS (Satire)
At this level, the characters argue about important issues like war, gender, marriage, religion, class, and government. Different views on the issues are pitted against each other in a display of wit (or lack of). The comedy looks at the foolish ideas behind an issue and ridicules the thinking and approach to the debate. Satire is a type of comedy of ideas; it is often irreverent and challenges the conventional thinking on issues.

16. SATIRE
*a work or manner that blends a censorious attitude with humor and wit for improving human institutions or humanity.
Satirists attempt through laughter, not so much to tear down, as to inspire a remodeling of oneself and society.

17. 2. Juvenalian Horatian TWO TYPES OF SATIRE darker on the attack biting
bitter
angry
points out contempt and indignation to the corruption of human beings and institutions
Horatian
gentle
smiling
lighter
usually funnier

18. Example #1: The Importance of Being Earnest
Watch the clip, determine the type of comedy, explain why it fits

19. Example #2: The Three Stooges
Watch the clip, determine the type of comedy, explain why it fits

20. Example #3: Teenage Affluenza
Watch the clip, determine the type of comedy, explain why it fits

21. Example #4: The Three Amigos (start at 1:30)
Watch the clip, determine the type of comedy, explain why it fits