1. Time Periods In American Literature

2. Puritan: 1650-1750 Christian Utopia “be a city upon a hill”
Sermons, Diaries, Narratives
Reinforces the authority of the Bible and Church

3. Puritan Cont. A person’s fate is determined by God
All corrupt and must be saved by Christ
Works:
Huswifery – Edward Taylor Pg 94

4. Age of Enlightenment: 1750-1800
National Mission and American Character
Democratic Utopia
Use of Reason

5. Age of Enlight. Cont. Patriotism Grows Instill Pride
Political Pamphlets
Travel Writing
Fiction Employs Generic Plots and Characters
Fiction Often Tells The Story of How an Innocent Young Woman is Tested by a Seductive Male
Patriotism Grows
Instill Pride
Shows Differences between Americans and Europeans

6. Age of Enlightenment Cont.
Tells Readers How to Interpret What They are Reading To Encourage Revolutionary War Support
Works
Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography

7. Romanticism 1800-1855 Idealism
Focus on the Individual’s Inner Feelings
Imagination Over Reason
Literary Tales
Poetry
Transcendentalism:
principles of reality are to be discovered by the study of the processes of thought, or a philosophy emphasizing the intuitive and spiritual over scientific

8. Romanticism Cont. Emily Dickenson Gender Roles Were Defined
Allow People to Re-imagine the American Past

9. Realism

10. Realism People in Society Defined By Class
Society Corrupted By Materialism
Novels and Short Stories Become Important
Mark Twain!!!

11. Modernism: 1900-1946 Disillusion, Defiance, Discontent
People Unable to Communicate Effectively
People Dwelled On The Past
Faulkner
Porter The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
pg. 848

12. Modernism – Harlem Renaissance 1920’s
Celebrated Characteristics of African-American Life
Celebrates New Life As Americans
Used The Structure of Blues Songs In Poetry
Gave Birth to a New Form of Religious Music Called “Gospel”
Migration to Northern Urban Cities

13. Post-Modernism: 1946- Present

14. Post Modernism Cont.
People Observe Life as The Media Presents It, Rather Than Experiencing It
Pop Culture Takes Over
Fantasy Blurs Lines of Reality For The Reader

15. Post-Modernism Cont Overwhelming Technological Changes
Rise Of Youth Culture
Speeches
JFK
Martin Luther King Jr