1. American Literary Periods and Their Characteristics

2. Puritanism 1650-1750 Historical Context A person’s fate is determined by God (predestination) All people are corrupt and must be saved by Christ (Original Sin) Covenant of Grace and Covenant of Works debate

3. Puritanism 1650-1750 Genre/Style Sermons Diaries Personal narratives Written in plain style

4. Puritanism Instructive Reinforces authority of the Bible and church

5. Puritanism 1650-1750 Examples Bradford's Of Plymouth Plantation Rowlandson's "A Narrative of the Captivity” Edward's "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” Though not written during Puritan times, The Crucible & The Scarlet Letter depict life during the time when Puritan theocracy prevailed.

6. Rationalism 1750-1800 Historical Context Tells readers how to interpret what they are reading Meant to encourage Revolutionary War support Instructive in values

7. Rationalism 1750-1800 Genre/Style Political pamphlets Travel writing Highly ornate style Persuasive writing

8. Rationalism 1750-1800 Effect/Aspects Patriotism grows, Instills pride Creates common agreement about issues National mission and the American character

9. Rationalism 1750-1800 Examples Writings of Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine- “Common Sense” Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanac and "The Autobiography"

10. Romanticism 1800-1860 Historical Context Expansion of magazines, newspapers, and book publishing Slavery debates Industrial revolution brings ideas that the "old ways" of doing things are now irrelevant

11. Romanticism 1800-1860 Genre/Style Essays Stories Poems Novels Focus on –Nature –Emotion –Imagination –Intuition

12. Gothicism Considered Romantics but explored the darker side of human existence Awareness for human capacity and evil Probing of the inner life of the characters and the mysterious forces that shape human behavior Grotesque characters, bizarre situations, and violent events

13. Gothicism Edgar Allan Poe Pioneer of the detective story First major author of science fiction and fantasy “The Raven,” “The Fall of the House of Usher,” “The Cask of Amontillado ” Herman Melville Mostly adventure stories set in the South Pacific Explores issues such as madness and the conflict of good and evil Moby Dick

14. Nathaniel Hawthorne Examined the darker facets of the human soul Agreed with the romantic ideals of emotion and the individual Many of Hawthorne’s stories are set in Puritan America The Scarlett Letter, “The Minister’s Black Veil”

15. Transcendentalists Came from “Transcendent” – knowledge that exists beyond reason or experience Emphasized living a simple life and celebrating the truth found in nature Favored personal emotion and imagination Believed people were inherently good

16. Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson is considered to be a founding writer and philosopher within the American romantic movement. Emerson is perhaps best known for his essays, from which emerge the grounding notions of Transcendentalism. “Self-Reliance,” “Nature”

17. Henry David Thoreau Wrote about living as one with nature and being self-reliant Thoreau presents an exploration of self- discipline and self-discovery which resonates significantly through American literature. Considered one of the first environmentalists “Civil Disobedience,” “Walden”

18. Realism 1855-Civil War & Post War period Historical Context Civil War brings demand for a "truer" type of literature that does not idealize people or places Battlefield Photography

19. Realism 1855-Civil War & Post War period Genre/Style Novels and short stories Objective narrator Does not tell reader how to interpret story Dialogue includes voices from around the country

20. Realism 1855-Civil War & Post War period Effect/Aspects Social realism: aims to change a specific social problem –Frederick Douglass –Slave narratives

21. Realism 1855-Civil War & Post War period Examples Writings of Mark Twain, Ambrose Bierce, Stephen Crane The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (some say 1st modern novel) Regional works like: The Awakening. Ethan Frome, and My Antonia (some say modern)

22. Regionalism was a literary movement in which authors would write a story about specific geographical areas. Writers in this time not only tried to show the region they wrote about to their readers, but they also made an attempt at a sophisticated sociological or anthropological treatment of the culture of the region. By writing about regions, the authors explore the culture of that area including its- Languages Customs Beliefs history Authors of Regionalism Willa Cather William Faulkner Kate Chopin Frank Norris Mark Twain

23.  Trend rather than a movement; never formalized nor dominated by the influence of a single writer  A more extreme, intensified version of realism  Shows more unpleasant, ugly, shocking aspects of life  Objective picture of reality viewed with scientific detachment  Determinism – man’s life is dominated by the forces he cannot control: biological instincts, social environment  No free will, no place for moral judgment  Pessimism  Struggle of an individual to adopt to the environment

24. The Moderns 1900-1950 Historical Context Writers reflect the ideas of Darwin (survival of the fittest), Karl Marx (how money and class structure control a nation), and Sigmund Freud (the power of the subconscious) Overwhelming technological changes of the 20th Century Rise of the youth culture WWI and WWII

25. The Moderns 1900-1950 Genre/Style Novels Plays Poetry (a great resurgence after deaths of Whitman & Dickinson) Highly experimental as writers seek a unique style Use of interior monologue & stream of consciousness

26. In Pursuit of the American Dream— Admiration for America as land of Eden Optimism Importance of the Individual The Moderns 1900-1950 Effect/Aspect

27. The Moderns 1900-1950 Examples Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby Poetry of Jeffers, Williams, Cummings, Frost, Eliot, Sandburg, Pound, Robinson, Stevens Rand's Anthem Short stories and novels of Steinbeck, Hemingway, Thurber, Welty, and Faulkner Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun & Wright's Native Son (an outgrowth of Harlem Renaissance-- see below) Miller's The Death of a Salesman (some consider Postmodern)

28. Harlem Renaissance (parallel to Modernism) 1920s Historical Context Mass African-American migration to Northern urban centers African-Americans have more access to media and publishing outlets after they move north

29. Harlem Renaissance (parallel to Modernism) 1920s Genre/Style Allusions to African- American spirituals Uses structure of blues songs in poetry (repetition) Superficial stereotypes revealed to be complex characters

30. Harlem Renaissance (parallel to Modernism) 1920s Effect/Aspects Gave birth to "gospel music" Blues and jazz transmitted across American via radio and phonographs

31. Harlem Renaissance (parallel to Modernism) 1920s Examples Essays & Poetry of W.E.B. DuBois Poetry of McKay, Toomer, Cullen Poetry, short stories and novels of Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes Their Eyes Were Watching God

32. Postmodernism 1950-present Post-World War II prosperity Media culture interprets values Disillusionment Resistance to easily recognizable themes or morals in a story Insists that values are not permanent but only "local" or "historical"

33. Postmodernism 1950-present Genre/Style Mixing of fantasy with nonfiction; blurs lines of reality for reader No heroes Concern with individual in isolation Social issues as writers align with feminist & ethnic groups Usually humorless Narratives Metafiction Present tense Magic realism

34. Postmodernism 1950-present Examples Mailer's The Naked and the Dead and The Executioner's Song Feminist & Social Issue poets: Plath, Rich, Sexton, Levertov, Baraka, Cleaver, Morrison, Walker & Giovanni Miller's The Death of a Salesman & The Crucible (some consider Modern) Lawrence & Lee's Inherit the Wind Capote's In Cold Blood Stories & novels of Vonnegut Salinger's Catcher in the Rye Beat Poets: Kerouac, Burroughs, & Ginsberg Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest