AmericanLiteraturemajormovementsandterms-Rancho.docx

AmericanLiteraturemajormovementsandterms-Rancho.docx

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AmericanLiteraturemajormovementsandterms

NativeAmerican–Thedatesforthisperiodareveryunclearbecausewehaveabsolutelynoideawhentheystarted.Muchoftheliteratureofthatperiodweremyths,and,ofcourse,theNativeAmericansstillwritetoday.MostofwhatourtextcallsNativeAmericanmythswerewrittenlongbeforeEuropeanssettledinNorthAmerica.

Puritan–（1472-1750）–Mostofthisishistories,journals,personalpoems,sermons,anddiaries.Mostofthisliteratureisutilitarian,verypersonal,orreligious.WecallitPuritanbecausethemajorityofthewritersduringthisperiodwerestronglyinfluencedbyPuritanidealsandvalues.JonathanEdwardscontinuestoberecognizedfromthisperiod.

Enlightenment–（1750-1800）–CalledtheEnlightenmentperiodduetotheinfluenceofscienceandlogic,thisperiodismarkedinUSliteraturebypoliticalwritings.Genresincludedpoliticaldocuments,speeches,andletters.BenjaminFranklinistypicalofthisperiod.ThereisalackofemphasisanddependenceontheBibleandmoreuseofcommonsense（logic）andscience.TherewasnotadivorcefromtheBiblebutanaddingtoorexpandingofthetruthsfoundthere.

Romanticism–（1800-1840）-Romanticismwasaliteraryandartisticmovementofthenineteenthcenturythataroseinreactionagainsteighteenth-centuryNeoclassicismandplacedapremiumonfancy,imagination,emotion,nature,individuality,andexotica.

There’samovementherefrompersonalandpoliticaldocumentstoentertainingones.PurelyAmericantopicswereintroducedsuchasfrontierlife.RomanticelementscanbefoundintheworksofAmericanwritersasdiverseasCooper,Poe,Thoreau,Emerson,Dickinson,Hawthorne,andMelville.RomanticismisparticularlyevidentintheworksoftheNewEnglandTranscendentalists.

Transcendentalism–（1840-1855）-TranscendentalismwasanAmericanliteraryandphilosophicalmovementofthenineteenthcentury.TheTranscendentalists,whowerebasedinNewEngland,believedthatintuitionandtheindividualconscience“transcend”experienceandthusarebetterguidestotruththanarethesensesandlogicalreason.

InfluencedbyRomanticism,theTranscendentalistsrespectedtheindividualspiritandthenaturalworld,believingthatdivinitywaspresenteverywhere,innatureandineachperson.TheTranscendentalistsincludedRalphWaldoEmerson,HenryDavidThoreau,BronsonAlcott,W.H.Channing,MargaretFuller,andElizabethPeabody.Theanti-Transcendentalist（HawthorneandMelville）rebelledagainstthephilosophythatmanisbasicallygood.Athirdgroup,theFiresidepoets,wroteaboutmorepracticalaspectsoflifesuchasdyingandpatriotism.

Realism–（1865-1915）-Realismisthepresentationinartofthedetailsofactuallife.Realismwasalsoaliterarymovementthatbeganduringthenineteenthcenturyandstressedtheactualasopposedtotheimaginedorthefanciful.TheRealiststriedtowritetruthfullyandobjectivelyaboutordinarycharactersinordinarysituations.TheyreactedagainstRomanticism,rejectingheroic,adventurous,unusual,orunfamiliarsubjects.TheRealists,inturn,werefollowedbytheNaturalists,whotracedtheeffectsofheredityandenvironmentonpeoplehelplesstochangetheirsituations.Americanrealismgrewfromtheworkoflocal-colorwriterssuchasBretHarteandSarahOrneJewettandisevidentinthewritingsofmajorfiguressuchasMarkTwainandHenryJames.

Naturalism–AnoutgrowthofRealism,Naturalismwasaliterarymovementamongnovelistsattheendofthenineteenthcenturyandduringtheearlydecadesofthetwentiethcentury.TheNaturaliststendedtoviewpeopleashaplessvictimsofimmutablenaturallaws.EarlyexponentsofNaturalismincludedStephenCrane,JackLondon,andTheodoreDreiser.

Regionalism–AnotheroutgrowthofRealism,Regionalisminliteratureisthetendencyamongcertainauthorstowriteaboutspecificgeographicalareas.RegionalwriterslikeWillaCatherandWilliamFaulkner,presentthedistinctcultureofanarea,includingitsspeech,customs,beliefs,andhistory.Local-colorwritingmaybeconsideredatypeofRegionalism,butRegionalists,likethesouthernwritersofthe1920’s,usuallygobeyondmerepresentationofculturalidiosyncrasiesandattempt,instead,asophisticatedsociologicaloranthropologicaltreatmentofthecultureofaregion.

Imagism–Imagismwasaliterarymovementthatflourishedbetween1912and1927.LedbyEzraPoundandAmyLowell,theImagistpoetsrejectednineteenth-centurypoeticformsandlanguage.Instead,theywroteshortpoemsthatusedordinarylanguageandfreeversetocreatesharp,exact,concentratedpictures.

ModernAge–（1915-1946）–Anageofdisillusionmentandconfusion—justlookatwhatwashappeninginhistoryintheUSduringthesedates—thisperiodbroughtusperhapsourbestwriters.Theauthorsduringthisperiodraisedallthegreatquestionsoflife…butofferednoanswers.Faulkner,Steinbeck,Fitzgerald,Hemingway,andFrostareallexamples.

HarlemRenaissance–PartoftheModernAge,TheHarlemRenaissance,whichoccurredduringthe1920’s,wasatimeofAfricanAmericanartisticcreativitycenteredinHarlem,inNewYorkCity.WritersoftheHarlemRenaissanceincludeCounteeCullen,ClaudeMcKay,JeanToomer,LangstonHughes,andArnaBontemps.

Contemporary–（1946-present）–greatstuff,butnotaclearphilosophy.

Othertermstoknow:

Classicism–Classicismisanapproachtoliteratureandtheotherartsthatstressesreason,balance,clarity,idealbeauty,andorderlyforminimitationoftheartsofancientGreeceandRome.ClassicismisoftencontrastedwithRomanticism,whichstressesimagination,emotion,andindividualism.ClassicismalsodiffersfromRealism,whichstressestheactualratherthantheideal.

LocalColor–LocalColoristheuseinaliteraryworkofcharactersanddetailsuniquetoaparticulargeographicarea.Localcolorcanbecreatedbytheuseofdialectandbydescriptionsofcustoms,clothing,manners,attitudes,scenery,andlandscape.Local-colorstorieswereespeciallypopularaftertheCivilWar,bringingreaderstheWestofBretharte,theMississippiRiverofMarkTwain,andtheNewEnglandofSarahOrneJewett.

Gothic–Gothicreferstotheuseofprimitivemedieval,wild,ormysteriouselementsinliterature.Gothicelementsoffendedeighteenth-centuryclassicalwritersbutappealedtotheRomanticwriterswhofollowedthem.Gothicnovelsfeatureplaceslikemysteriousandgloomycastles,wherehorrifying,supernaturaleventstakeplace.TheirinfluenceonEdgarAllanPoeisevidentin“TheFalloftheHouseofUsher.”

Grotesque–Grotesquereferstotheuseofbizarre,absurd,orfantasticelementsinliterature.Thegrotesqueisgenerallycharacterizedbydistortionsorstrikingincongruities.Grotesquecharacters,likethoseinFlanneryO’Connor’s“TheLifeYouSaveMayBeYourOwn”arecharacterswhohavebecomeludicrousorbizarrethroughtheirobsessionwithanideaorvalue,orasaresultofanemotionalproblem.

AmericanLiteratureTimeline:

FeaturedauthorsandworksCOLONIALPERIOD1607-1765

Description:

ItislikelythatnoothercolonistsinthehistoryoftheworldwereasintellectualasthePuritans.Between1630and1690,therewereasmanyuniversitygraduatesinthenortheasternsectionoftheUnitedStates,knownasNewEngland,asinthemothercountry--anastoundingfactwhenoneconsidersthatmosteducatedpeopleofthetimewerearistocratswhowereunwillingtorisktheirlivesinwildernessconditions.Theself-madeandoftenself-educatedPuritanswerenotableexceptions.

TheywantededucationtounderstandandexecuteGod'swillastheyestablishedtheircoloniesthroughoutNewEngland.

ThePuritandefinitionofgoodwritingwasthatwhichbroughthomeafullawarenessoftheimportanceofworshippingGodandofthespiritualdangersthatthesoulfacedonEarth.Puritanstylevariedenormously--fromcomplexmetaphysicalpoetrytohomelyjournalsandcrushinglypedanticreligioushistory.Whateverthestyleorgenre,certainthemesremainedconstant.Lifewasseenasatest;failureledtoeternaldamnationandhellfire,andsuccesstoheavenlybliss.ThisworldwasanarenaofconstantbattlebetweentheforcesofGodandtheforcesofSatan,aformidableenemywithmanydisguises.ManyPuritansexcitedlyawaitedthe"millennium,"whenJesuswouldreturntoEarth,endhumanmisery,andinaugurate1,000yearsofpeaceandprosperity.

ScholarshavelongpointedoutthelinkbetweenPuritanismandcapitalism:

Bothrestonambition,hardwork,andanintensestrivingforsuccess.AlthoughindividualPuritanscouldnotknow,instricttheologicalterms,whethertheywere"saved"andamongtheelectwhowouldgotoheaven,Puritanstendedtofeelthatearthlysuccesswasasignofelection.Wealthandstatusweresoughtnotonlyforthemselves,butaswelcomereassurancesofspiritualhealthandpromisesofeternallife.

Moreover,theconceptofstewardshipencouragedsuccess.ThePuritansinterpretedallthingsandeventsassymbolswithdeeperspiritualmeanings,andfeltthatinadvancingtheirownprofitandtheircommunity'swell-being,theywerealsofurtheringGod'splans.Theydidnotdrawlinesofdistinctionbetweenthesecularandreligiousspheres:

Alloflifewasanexpressionofthedivinewill--abeliefthatlaterresurfacesinTranscendentalism.

Inrecordingordinaryeventstorevealtheirspiritualmeaning,PuritanauthorscommonlycitedtheBible,chapterandverse.HistorywasasymbolicreligiouspanoramaleadingtothePuritantriumphovertheNewWorldandtoGod'skingdomonEarth.

ThefirstPuritancolonistswhosettledNewEnglandexemplifiedtheseriousnessof