American Literary Periods and their characteristics

1. American Literary Periodsand their characteristics

2. Puritan/Colonial Revolutionary/Age of Reason Romanticism American Renaissance/Transcendentalism Realism Modernism Harlem Renaissance Post Modernism Contemporary Literary Periods

3. Puritan/Colonial (1650-1750) Genre/Style • Sermons • Diaries • Personal Narratives • Written in plain style

4. Effects/Aspects Instructive Reinforces authority of the Bible and Church Historical Context A person’s fate is determined by God All people are corrupt and must be saved by Christ Puritan/Colonial

5. Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation Rowlandson’s “A Narrative of the Captivity” Equiano’s narrative Though not written during Puritan times, The Crucible and The Scarlet Letter depict life during the time when Puritan theocracy prevailed. Puritan/Colonial Examples

6. Genre/Style Political pamphlets Travel writing Highly ornate style Persuasive writing Effect/Aspects Patriotism grows Instills pride Creates common agreement about issues National mission and the American character Revolutionary Age/Age of Reason 1750-1800

7. Historical Context Tells readers how to interpret what they are reading to encourage Revolutionary War support Instructive in values Examples Writings of Jefferson, Paine, and Henry Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanac Franklin’s “The Autobiography. Revolutionary/Age of Reason

8. Genre/Style Character sketches Slave narrative Poetry Short Stories Effect/Aspects Value feeling and intuition over reason Journey away from corruption of civilization and limits of rational thought toward the integrity of nature and freedom of imagination Helped instill proper gender behavior for men and women Romanticism (1800-1860)

9. Historical Context Expansion of magazines, newspapers, and book publishing Slavery debates Industrial revolution brings ideas that the “old way of doing things are now irrelevant. Examples Washington Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle” Poems of Emily Dickinson Poems of Walt Whitman Romanticism

10. Genre/Style Poetry Short Stories Novels Hold readers’ attention through dread of a series of terrible possibilities Effects/Aspects True reality is spiritual Comes from 18th century philosopher Immanuel Kant Idealists Self-reliance and individualism American Renaissance/ Transcendentalism

11. Historical context Portrayals of alluring antagonists whose evil characteristics appeal to sense of awe Stories of persecuted young girl forced apart from her true love People seeking the true beauty in life and in nature A belief in true love and commitment American Renaissance/Transcendentalist

12. Realism (1850-1900) Genre and Style Characteristics Examines realities of life, human frailty, local color Depiction of ordinary people in everyday life Objective narrator Does not tell reader how to interpret the story • Novels and Short Stories

13. Realism Historical Context Examples Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass • Civil War (1861-1865) brings demand for “truer” type of literature that does not idealize people or places • Dialogue includes regional voices

14. Modernism Genre and Style Characteristics Pursuit of the American Dream America as the land of Eden Soon that optimism and a belief in the importance of the individual is overwhelmed by themes of alienation and disillusionment • Novels • Plays • Poetry • Experimental as writers seek a unique style • Use of interior monologue and stream of consciousness

15. Modernism Historical context Examples SteinbecksThe Grapes of Wrath Eliot’s The Wasteland Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms Williams The Glass Menagerie Chopin’s The Awakening • Writers reflect the ideas of Darwin and Marx • Overwhelming technological changes of 20th Century

16. Harlem Renaissance (1920s) Genre and Style Characteristics Gave birth to gospel music Blues and jazz transmitted across America via radio • Outgrowth of Modernism • Allusions to African-American spirituals • Uses structure of blues songs in poetry (repetition) • Superficial stereotypes revealed to be complex characters

17. Harlem Renaissance Historical Context Examples Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun Wright’s Native Son Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God Ellison’s Invisible Man • Mass African-American migration to Northern urban centers • African-Americans have more access to media and publishing outlets after they move north

18. Post-Modernism (1950 to present) Genre/Style Characteristics Concern with individual in isolation Social issues as writers align with feminist and ethnic groups Erodes distinctions between classes of people Insists that values are not permanent but only “local” or “historical” • Narratives: both fiction and non-fiction • Metafiction • Magical Realism • Mixing of fantasy with nonfiction; blurs lines of reality for reader • No heroes • Humorless

19. Post-Modernism Historical Context Examples Feminist and social issue poets: Plath, Angelou Capote’s In Cold Blood Stories of Bradbury and Vonnegut Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye Beat poets: Kerouac, Ginsberg • Post-World War II prosperity • Media culture interprets values

20. Contemporary (1970s to present) Genre/Style Characteristics Concern with connections between people • Continuation of Post-Modernism • Narratives: fiction and non-fiction • Autobiographical essays • Anti-heroes • Emotion-provoking • Humorous Irony

21. Contemporary Historical context Examples Poetry of Dove, Cisneros, Soto Walker’s The Color Purple, Haley’s Roots, Morrison’s Beloved Nonfiction by Didion, Dillard, and Krakauer O’Brien’s The Things They Carried Megastars: King, Crichton, Grisham, Clancy • Beginning a new century • Media culture interprets value • Influence of war (Vietnam; Gulf; Iraq)