Download Literary Periods/Movements Puritan/Colonial – (1472

Literary Periods/Movements
Puritan/Colonial – (1472-1750) – Most of this is histories, journals,
personal poems, sermons, and diaries. Most of this literature is either
utilitarian, very personal, or religious. We call it Puritan because the
majority of the writers during this period were strongly influenced by Puritan
ideals and values. Jonathan Edwards continues to be recognized from this
period.
Enlightenment/Revolution – (1750-1800) – Called the Enlightenment
period due to the influence of science and logic, this period is marked in
American literature by political writings like Thomas Paine’s “Common
Sense.” Genres included political documents, speeches, and letters.
Benjamin Franklin is typical of this period. There is a lack of emphasis and
dependence on the Bible and more use of common sense (logic) and
science. There was not a divorce from the Bible but an adding to or
expanding of the truths found there.
Romanticism – (1800-1840) - Romanticism was a literary and artistic
movement of the nineteenth century that arose in reaction against
eighteenth-century Neoclassicism and placed a premium on fancy,
imagination, emotion, nature, individuality, and exotica. There’s a
movement here from personal and political documents to entertaining ones.
Purely American topics were introduced such as frontier life. Romantic
elements can be found in the works of American writers as diverse as
Cooper, Poe, Thoreau, Emerson, Dickinson, Hawthorne, and Melville.
Romanticism is particularly evident in the works of the New England
Transcendentalists.
The major themes of American Romanticism:
* intuition is more valid than reason
* experience is more important than universal principles
* man is at the center of the universe and God is the center of man
* man should seek harmony with nature where the supernatural can be
sensed
* we should strive for idealism by changing the world into what it
should be, rather than what it is
* passion, beauty, emotion are revered
* return to the "romantic" past, i.e., the Homeric & heroic era
Transcendentalism (an extension of Romanticism) – (1840-1855) Transcendentalism was an American literary and philosophical movement
of the nineteenth century. The Transcendentalists, who were based in New
England, believed that intuition and the individual conscience “transcend”
experience and thus are better guides to truth than are the senses and
logical reason. Influenced by Romanticism, the Transcendentalists
respected the individual spirit and the natural world, believing that divinity
was present everywhere, in nature and in each person. The
Transcendentalists included Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau,
Bronson Alcott, W.H. Channing, Margaret Fuller, and Elizabeth Peabody.
The anti-Transcendentalist (Hawthorne and Melville) rebelled against the
philosophy that man is basically good. A third group, the Fireside poets,
wrote about more practical aspects of life such as dying and patriotism.
Principles of Transcendentalism:
* all objects are miniature versions of the universe
* intuition and conscience "transcend" experience
and reason
* man is one with nature
* God is everywhere, in nature and in man
• extension of Romanticism
Realism (c. 1830–1900): A loose term that can refer to any work that aims
at honest portrayal over sensationalism, exaggeration, or melodrama.
Technically, realism refers to a late-19th-century literary movement—
primarily French, English, and American—that aimed at accurate detailed
portrayal of ordinary, contemporary life. Many of the 19th century’s greatest
novelists are classified as realists, including Henry James. Naturalism can
be seen as an intensification of realism.
Naturalism (c. 1865–1900): A literary movement that used detailed realism
to suggest that social conditions, heredity, and environment had
inescapable force in shaping human character. Leading writers in the
movement include Émile Zola, Theodore Dreiser, and Stephen Crane.
Regionalism: (1865-1895) Local color or regional literature is fiction and
poetry that focuses on the characters, dialect, customs, topography, and
other features particular to a specific region. Influenced by Southwestern
and Down East humor, between the Civil War and the end of the
nineteenth century this mode of writing became dominant in American
literature. According to the Oxford Companion to American Literature, "In
local-color literature one finds the dual influence of romanticism and
realism, since the author frequently looks away from ordinary life to distant
lands, strange customs, or exotic scenes, but retains through minute detail
a sense of fidelity and accuracy of description" (439).
Modernism – (1915-1946) – An age of disillusionment and confusion—just
look at what was happening in history in the US during these dates—this
period brought us perhaps our best writers. The authors during this period
raised all the great questions of life…but offered no answers. Faulkner,
Steinbeck, Fitzgerald, Hemingway, and Frost are all examples.
Modernism is marked by a strong and intentional break with tradition. This
break includes a strong reaction against established religious, political, and
social views.
Modernists believe the world is created in the act of perceiving it; that is,
the world is what we say it is.
Modernists do not subscribe to absolute truth. All things are relative.
Modernists feel no connection with history or institutions. Their experience
is that of alienation, loss, and despair.
Modernists champion the individual and celebrate inner strength.
Modernists believe life is unordered.
Modernists concern themselves with the sub-conscious.