WITH WHICH PERIOD OF ENGLISH

LITERATURE IS CHAUCER ASSOCIATED?

A. Old English Period

B. Anglo-Norman Period
C. Middle English Period
D. Renaissance Period
WHICH POET WAS NOT PART OF
THE ROMANTIC MOVEMENT?
A. Alexander Pope
B. William Wordsworth
C. Samuel Taylor Coleridge
D. Percy Bysshe Shelby
DURING WHICH LITERARY PERIOD WAS THERE PRIDE IN THE
GROWING POWER OF ENGLAND, OPTIMISM BORN OF THE
NEW SCIENCE, THE DOMINANCE OF PURITAN IDEAS
TENACIOUSLY HELD BY THE RISING MIDDLE CLASS, AND
THE EXAMPLE OF A ROYAL COURT SCRUPULOUSLY
ADHERING TO HIGH STANDARDS OF DECENCY AND
RESPECTABILITY COMBINE TO PRODUCE A SPIRIT OF MORAL
EARNESTNESS LINKED WITH SELF-SATISFACTION?

A. Elizabethan Age
B. Victorian Age
C. Caroline Age
D. Restoration Age
WHICH WORDS DESCRIBES THE ENLIGHTENMENT
BEST?

A. bookprint
B. knowledge
C. nature
D. epic hero
IN WHICH PERIOD WOULD YOU PLACE THE
INTEREST FOR THE SUPERNATURAL?

A. Victorian
B. Romantic
C. Middle English
D. Old English
FIGURE OF SPEECH
Necessity is the mother of invention.

personification
FIGURE OF SPEECH
The Titanic was said to be unsinkable but sunk on its very first voyage.

irony
FIGURE OF SPEECH
She is the apple of my eye.

metaphor
FIGURE OF SPEECH
Every calendar's days are numbered.

Pun
FIGURE OF SPEECH
The President claims that his administration contains the best brains in the country.

Synecdoche
FIGURE OF SPEECH
Pearl Harbor was a sad event in America’s history.

Metonymy
FIGURE OF SPEECH
Don’t argue with him. He’s mentally challenged.

Euphemism
AMERICAN Week 6
LITERATURE
CHAPTER 1: LITERARY
PERIODS IN AMERICAN Week 6

LITERATURE
The history of American literature stretches across more
than 400 years. It can be divided into five major periods,
each of which has unique characteristics, notable authors,
and representative works.
American literature, the body of written works produced in the English
language in the United States.
Like other national literatures, American literature was shaped by the history
of the country that produced it. For almost a century and a half, America was
merely a group of colonies scattered along the eastern seaboard of the North
American continent.
By the end of the 19th century, it had taken its place among the powers of the
world
WHAT DOES AMERICAN LITERATURE FOCUS
ON?
The common tendency of American literature is to be focused on politics,
economics, and social status. Satire, sarcasm, and cynicism can be also
often find their way into the works of American authors.
WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT AMERICAN
LITERATURE?
What Makes American Literature Unique? American literature has been
developed through the various influence of Native American's traditions
before writing was introduced coupled by the influences brought about by
European conquerors.
WHY IS AMERICAN LITERATURE IMPORTANT?

By examining literary texts, their stories and their messages, we can

increase in our understanding of how to live life. We learn how to discern
what is healthy and destructive in the world, and we are challenged with
injustice and its consequences.
1. The Puritan Time Period in American Literature
(1650-1750)
**********
The Colonial Period (1600's-1740's)

2. The Neoclassical Time Period in American Literature

(1750-1820)
***********
The Revolutionary Age (1765 – 1790)
The Early National Period (1775 – 1828)
This history of American literature begins with the arrival of
English-speaking Europeans in what would become the
United States. At first American literature was naturally a
colonial literature, by authors who were Englishmen and
who thought and wrote as such. John Smith, a soldier of
fortune, is credited with initiating American literature.
American Civil War (1861-1865)
3. THE ROMANTIC PERIOD IN AMERICAN LITERATURE
(1830 - 1865)

Often considered the first period of American creativity, the Romantic period
is placed within the historical context of westward expansion, the
increasingly heated nature of the slavery question, and strained relations
between the opposing desires for reform and separation found in the North
and the South. Historically, this period of tensions resulted in the Civil
War. Within the literature, however, the opposing views of life were able to
co-exist relatively peacefully.
3. THE ROMANTIC PERIOD IN AMERICAN LITERATURE
(1830 - 1865)

The European Romantic movement reached America during the

early 19th century. Like the Europeans, the American Romantics
demonstrated a high level of moral enthusiasm, commitment to
individualism and the unfolding of the self, an emphasis on
intuitive perception, and the assumption that the natural world was
inherently good while human society was filled with corruption.
3. THE ROMANTIC PERIOD IN AMERICAN LITERATURE
(1830 - 1865)

Romanticism became popular in American politics, philosophy,

and art. The movement appealed to the revolutionary spirit of
America as well as to those longing to break free of the strict
religious traditions of the early settlement period. The Romantics
rejected rationalism and religious intellect. It appealed especially
to opponents of Calvinism, a Protestant sect that believes the
destiny of each individual is preordained by God.
RELATION TO TRANSCENDENTALISM

The Romantic Movement gave rise to New England transcendentalism,

which portrayed a less restrictive relationship between God and the
universe. The new philosophy presented the individual with a more
personal relationship with God. Transcendentalism and Romanticism
appealed to Americans in a similar fashion; both privileged feeling over
reason and individual freedom of expression over the restraints of
tradition and custom. Romanticism often involved a rapturous response
to nature and promised a new blossoming of American culture.
ROMANTIC THEMES

The Romantic Movement in America was widely popular and

influenced American writers such as James Fennimore Cooper and
Washington Irving. Novels, short stories, and poems replaced the
sermons and manifestos of earlier days. Romantic literature was
personal and intense; it portrayed more emotion than ever seen in
neoclassical literature.
ROMANTIC THEMES

America's preoccupation with freedom became a great source of motivation for Romantic writers, as many
were delighted in free expression and emotion without fear of ridicule and controversy. They also put
more effort into the psychological development of their characters, and the main characters typically
displayed extremes of sensitivity and excitement. The works of the Romantic Era also differed from
preceding works in that they spoke to a wider audience, partly reflecting the greater distribution of books
as costs came down and literacy rose during the period. The Romantic period also saw an increase in
female authors and readers.
PROMINENT ROMANTIC WRITERS

Romanticism in American Literature brought us some of the world’s greatest

writers: Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Ralph
Waldo Emerson, Washington Irving and Henry David Thoreau
PROMINENT ROMANTIC WRITERS
4. THE RISE OF REALISM (1865-1914)

Americans only have fought one civil war, but that tragedy cut
deep into the heart of the nation. Reactions to the grim casualties
of the war as well as to the rapid urban expansion inspired writers
to abandon their romantic ideals. After the Civil War, realistic
writers sought to accurately portray real life without filtering it
through Romanticism. A new movement was created, called
realism.
REALISM IN AMERICAN LITERATURE

In American literature, the term "realism" encompasses the period of

time from the Civil War to the turn of the century during which William
Dean Howells, Rebecca Harding Davis, Henry James, Mark Twain,
and others wrote fiction devoted to accurate representation and an
exploration of American lives in various contexts. As the United States
grew rapidly after the Civil War, the increasing rates of democracy and
literacy, the rapid growth in industrialism and urbanization, an
expanding population base due to immigration, and a relative rise in
middle-class affluence provided a fertile literary environment for
readers interested in understanding these rapid shifts in culture.
REALISM IN AMERICAN LITERATURE

American Realism began as a reaction to and a rejection of

Romanticism, with its emphasis on emotion, imagination, and the
individual. The movement began as early as the 1830's but reached
prominence and held sway from the end of the Civil War to around the
end of the nineteenth century. The movement was centered in fiction,
particularly the novel. It attempted fidelity to real life, or "actuality," in
its representation. The realist concerns himself with the here and now,
centering his work in his own time, dealing with common-place
everyday events and people, and with the socio-political climate of his
day.
REALISM IN AMERICAN LITERATURE

American Realism began as a reaction to and a rejection of Romanticism, with its

emphasis on emotion, imagination, and the individual. The movement began as early
as the 1830's but reached prominence and held sway from the end of the Civil War to
around the end of the nineteenth century. The movement was centered in fiction,
particularly the novel. It attempted fidelity to real life, or "actuality," in its
representation. The realist concerns himself with the here and now, centering his work
in his own time, dealing with common-place everyday events and people, and with the
socio-political climate of his day.
REGIONALISM AND REALISM IN 19 TH CENTURY AMERICAN LITERATURE

In century America the Civil War and westward expansion created

numerous changes in society and politics. American artists turned to
realism and regionalism to comment on the new concerns of the time
period such as the ongoing struggle of the working class as well as the
societal elevation of the middle class.
Mark Twain and Kate Chopin were experts at creating regionalist
works. Regionalism refers to texts that concentrate heavily on specific,
unique features of a certain region including dialect, customs, tradition,
topography, history, and characters.
Samuel Clemens was the early pioneer of Realism. Writing under the pen name Mark Twain,
he was noteworthy for his faithful reproduction of vernacular speech patterns and vocabulary.
He more or less gave birth to “local color,” a sub-genre of the novel that still enjoys wide
appeal today. Replicating natural speech required not just great listening skills, but a
sense of how the written version sounds to the imagination. In addition to the use of
vernacular, Twain was an innovator in focusing on middle and lower class characters.
Previously, novels had concentrated on the experiences of the elite. Presumably, the upper
crust enjoyed seeing their lives of privilege reflected back to them in art, while salt of the earth
readers had something to aspire to and fantasize about. It was a revolutionary concept to
incorporate unremarkable characters into an art form as serious as the novel. In a
development that continues to bewilder, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is one of the
most frequently banned books in the public school system. One imagines that certain
language is indeed offensive; however Twain was doing nothing other than representing
honest speech. Huck Finn was in all reality an astonishing leap forward in racial awareness –
Jim, the freed slave, is as fully realized a character as Tom
ROMANTICISM vs. REALISM
Romanticism Realism

1830-1865 1865 - 1914

Characters may be “larger than life” -- Characters resemble ordinary people
e.g. Rip Van Winkle -- e.g. Huck Finn,
Plot contains unusual events, mystery, Plot is developed with ordinary events
or high adventure -- e.g. Poe's stories, and circumstances
Melville’s Typee
Ending is often happy Ending might be unhappy
The language is often “literary” Writer uses ordinary speech and
(inflated, formal, etc.) dialect -- common vernacular (the
everyday language spoken by a
people)
Settings often made up; if actual Settings actually exist or have actual
settings are used, the focus is on the prototypes
exotic, strange, mysterious -- e.g.
Melville’s Marquesas islands (S.
Pacific), Cooper’s woods and frontier,
Poe's gothic chambers
Writer is interested in history or legend Writer is interested in recent or
-- e.g. Irving, Poe contemporary life
5. AMERICAN MODERNISM (1914 – 1945)

American modernism is an artistic and cultural movement in the United States beginning at
the turn of the 20th century, with a core period between World War I and World War II.
The Modernist American movement is a reflection of American life in the 20th century. In
this quickly industrializing world and hastened pace of life, it is easy for the individual to be
swallowed up by the vastness of things; left wandering, devoid of purpose. Social boundaries
in race, class, sex, wealth, and religion are all being challenged. As the social structure is
challenged by new incoming views the bounds of traditional standards and social structure
dissolve and a loss of identity is all that remains; translating later into isolation, alienation,
and an overall feeling of separateness from any kind of "whole". The unity of a war rallied
country was dying, along with it the illusion of the pleasantries it sold to its soldiers and
people. The world was left violent, vulgar, and spiritually empty.
EMERGENCE OF MODERNISM IN LITERATURE

While America continued to evolve and change (the 19th amendment gave women the right to
vote, and the stock market crash of 1929 changed everything), modernism in American
literature continued to reflect varying experiences with change from 1914-1945.

Around the turn of the century, this country saw a shift as a result of industrialization. Cities
began to grow and technology suddenly had the power to change everything. This is when
realism in literature began, which, in basic terms, was a literary movement that produced (for
the first time) writing that reflected the very real lives of the working class. In that sense,
literature was already beginning to change.
It was 1914, however, that marked a very important change - something began that
ultimately sent the world into a tailspin. It was World War I - the first war of mass
destruction - a war in which many nations saw their best and brightest young men die.
Although U.S. involvement in battle was limited to just over a year, the country
mobilized itself for true worldwide conflict, raised money and whatever else would help,
supported allied powers and prepared over four million personnel for battle.
The problem with World War I: Technology led to a new kind of war. With advancements in
weapon development (like widespread use of automatic weaponry), war became about mass
casualties - a change that many felt was inhumane and just downright evil. Others saw the
results of World War I (over 9 million deaths) and felt that it was further proof in the necessity
of a strong national defense (armed forces, etc.). Divided and confused, the only fact that was
decidedly clear was that the U.S. had just been catapulted into modern warfare in a very
modern world.
Dazed from the war, many of the younger generation no longer felt
patriotic, content or safe. This generation became known as the 'Lost
Generation.' A youth culture emerged - one in which free expression
and a deliberate break from tradition became defining characteristics.
CHARACTERISTICS

Modernist literature is characterized chiefly by a rejection of 19th-century

traditions.
Clearly, breaking from tradition was a big part of the literary movement. This
was evident in the choice to break from traditional forms. So now, literature
could look like anything, even a sentence that went on for 157 words. There
was quite a bit of fragmentation, as well as experimentation with point of
view in writing - just another way to create a unique style.
CHARACTERISTICS

Some stories were thoughtful and self-reflective, while others had an

overwhelming sense of alienation, as a result of differing ways of processing
the changing times. Readers can see an experimentation with gender roles, an
introduction of racial issues and an inclusion of pop culture in many works.
While some stories showed the wealth of the middle and upper classes
(through materialism and lack of limits), others illustrated the bleakness of
rural life.
CHARACTERISTICS
There was something interesting that contributed to the tone of many works
of the time - psychology. For the first time, psychology became a truly
popular subject to debate, specifically Sigmund Freud and his new ideas. This
included the implication that we were, in fact, godless. Any faith religion or
belief in a higher power was challenged by this. Many were left feeling even
more lost. This sentiment pervades works of modern literature in the US.