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The Evolution of American Literature
A comparative study of the literature and the history of America
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Eras of American Literature
I. Pre-Columbian: ? to 1607 II. Colonial: III. Revolutionary: IV. Romantic: V. Transcendental: VI. Realist: VII. Modern: present
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I. Pre-Columbian America
An Oral literature and mythology Characteristics No phonetic written language Oral literature passed down through generations Most stories are in form of poems which often had rhythm, rhyme and chants Topics included the creation of world, a great flood, and the stories of the many tribes
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II. Colonial Literature
Puritan/New England Southern Literature Diversion /Amusement Recording of events and business affairs More sophisticated diction Humorous, more relaxed tone Little/ no mention of God Journals and Diaries Literature of ideas: theological, moral, historical, political Topic often has reference to God Simple, direct diction Devout, religious, inspirational tone Instructional, not aesthetic purpose Diaries, Journals, Religious Poetry
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Examples of Colonial Literature
History of Plymouth Plantation Bay Psalm Book “To My Dear and Loving Husband” “Upon the Burning of my House” General History of Virginia History of the Dividing Line “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”
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III. Revolutionary Literature
Equivalent to Neoclassical Period in Europe Literature of Reason, Persuasion, Rhetoric, Propaganda Balance, Logic, Reason, Order, and Control Logos, Pathos, and Ethos = Persuasion Politics and Ideas to inspire an direct people’s actions Writers of the Revolutionary Period: Benjamin Franklin Thomas Paine Patrick Henry Thomas Jefferson John Adams George Washington Alexander Hamilton James Madison
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IV. Romantic Literature
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Romantic Literature Influences include-
Nationalism European Heritage Reaction to Neoclassical thought First period of true American Literature/ fiction
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Romantic Period Love of Nature
Strong sense of the beauty of the world, especially in nature and human emotion Search for an ideal/perfect world, where one can be in communion with nature
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Romantic Literature Continued
Common person placed in an extraordinary situation Deep sympathy and concern for the humble, underprivileged, or obscure common folk Vivid imagination – writers creating fantastic dream worlds (allowing for willing suspension of disbelief)
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Even More Romantic Characteristics
Interest in ancient legends and tradition Distant times and places as settings for the stories; gothic settings Strong sense of supernatural and mystery Strong passionate emotion, often inhibited and not accepted by society
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Would you believe? Yes, More.
Subjectivity – feelings and opinions are more important or effective than fact or reason Nonconformity to society – the needs of the individual are more important than the needs of society Freedom from restraint and rebellion against limitations – especially those imposed by society Strong conflict between science and nature
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The Romantic Writers Washington Irving James Fenimore Cooper
Edgar Allen Poe William Cullen Bryant Nathaniel Hawthorne Herman Melville
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V. Transcendentalist Movement and the Golden Years
Ralph Waldo Emerson Henry David Thoreau
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Transcendentalist Movement
Truths that go beyond, or transcend, proof Truths that are known to the heart and not necessarily to the mind Truths that are felt emotionally, but cannot be proven logically Values lie in the realm of instinct and intuition Great men are they who see that spiritual is stronger than any material force, that thoughts rule the world
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Time is but the stream I go a-fishin in
Henry David Thoreau
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The Fireside Poets Can you match the poet to the poem?
The Authors Their Poems Henry Wadsworth Longfellow James Russell Lowell Oliver Wendell Holmes John Greenleaf Whittier “The First Snowfall” “Snow-Bound” “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere” “Old Ironsides”
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VI. Realism
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Romanticism versus Realism
Writers’ goal is to explore the conversion of the human heart Writers see possibility and hope as well as the darker side of the human spirit Writers want to explore the psychological and emotional aspects of human life Distant time and place as setting Supernatural, mystery, inexplicable intuition and instinct Emotion- paramount Nature, common people, the ordinary in extraordinary situations serve as topics Writers’ goal is to tell the truth Writers see more pain and humility and a new roughness. Writers take a closer look at the aspects of human life. Current time and place as settings Lack of supernatural or divine intervention Practicality and eventuality supersede emotion Cities, Industrial Age, Politics, Immorality of greed and disenfranchisement serve as topics
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Naturalism – an offshoot of Realism –well, sort of
Developed post Civil War, as did Realism More private and less public struggle as conflict Less hope and more despair Both realism and naturalism continued into the 20th Century, and even into the modern era.
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Naturalism – Key Elements
1. Survival, determinism, and violence are key themes. 2. Nature as an indifferent force acting on the lives of human beings 3. The forces of heredity and environment as they affect--and afflict--individual lives.
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The “brute within” each individual is comprised of strong and often warring emotions
Passions, such as lust, greed, or the desire for dominance or pleasure; the fight for survival in an amoral, indifferent universe; The conflict in naturalistic novels is often “man against nature” or “man against himself” as characters struggle to retain a “veneer of civilization” despite external pressures that threaten to release the “brute within.”
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Finally, for the naturalistic viewpoint:
An indifferent, deterministic universe. Naturalistic texts often describe the futile attempts of human beings to exercise free will, often ironically, in this universe that reveals free will as an illusion.
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Realism versus Naturalism
Writers’ goal is to tell the truth Writers see more pain and humility and a new roughness. Writers take a closer look at the aspects of human life. Free will can still be exercised All 5 major conflicts can be faced Reality versus illusion often as main thematic idea Practicality and eventuality supersede emotion Cities, Industrial Age, Politics, Immorality of greed and disenfranchisement serve as topics Writer’s goal is still to tell the truth Writers see more pain and futility Free will is an illusion; determinism and fatalism are more evident Man vs. nature and man vs. himself are dominant conflicts Forces of environment and heredity replace any optimism of illusion ever coming to fruition A character and his/her personal struggles serve as main topic
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