Literary Periods Timeline American Literature American Beginnings to

Literary Periods Timeline American Literature

American Beginnings to Colonialism Dates: Beginnings to 1750 Native Americans q q Myths focused on origins of all things, tribal traditions and rituals, respect for all of nature Oral tradition – passed down by word of mouth The Puritans q q q Fled England for religious freedom Felt the Bible was God’s law, people were basically sinful, only God decided who would be “saved” Sermons and poetry were common forms of literature Narrative Accounts Records of settlement Diaries & Journals

American Beginnings to Colonialism n n Authors Anne Bradstreet Jonathan Edwards William Bradford Olaudah Equiano

Revolutionary Writing Dates: 1750 -1800 n n n Described as the Age of Reason People believed the universe was a well-ordered place understood through reason Writing was political in nature Speeches common to sway the public Literature tied to political events unfolding around Colonists

Revolutionary Writing n n n n n Literary Formats Political writings Almanacs Speeches Essays Poetry Authors Patrick Henry Thomas Paine Benjamin Franklin Thomas Jefferson Phyllis Wheatley

Romanticism and Transcendentalism Dates: 1800 -1855 n n n Romanticism Believed emotion was more important than reason and nature more important than society Interested in the individual, folk tales, legends, the supernatural Authors Washington Irving William C. Bryant Henry Longfellow Edgar Allan Poe

Romanticism and Transcendentalism n n Transcendentalism Believed there were kinds of knowledge that go beyond reason and experience Focused on individual and looked to nature for inspiration Authors Ralph Waldo Emerson Henry Thoreau

Realism and Naturalism Dates: 1855 -1900 n n n n Realism Civil War was a factor in writing Rebelled against sentimentality of Romantic Era Clear, direct language Everyday events Regionalism focused attention on various regions in U. S. Authors Mark Twain Bret Harte Kate Chopin

Realism and Naturalism n n n Naturalism Believed people had no control over their fates Humans are victims of surroundings Authors Stephen Crane Jack London Bret Harte

Modernism Dates: 1900 -1946 n n n n Historical Elements WWI The Roaring Twenties Great Depression WW 2 Writing Stories didn’t have clear resolution at end Writers demanded the reader struggle to find meaning in text Captured the essence of Modern Life

Modernism n n Authors F. Scott Fitzgerald Ernest Hemingway William Faulkner John Steinbeck

Modernism n n Harlem Renaissance First significant movement of black writers and artists Authors Countee Cullen Langston Hughes Zora Neale Hurston

Post Modernism Dates: 1946 -Present n n n Writing features characters who desperately seek to make sense of their ever changing world Work can have a pessimistic quality More diverse Authors J. D. Salinger Kurt Vonnegut Flannery O’Connor