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Jan 1, 1492
The Beginning of American Literature: Orature
The first American Literature began with Native Americans. All of this literature was through oral communication. Although this literature was not actually written down, this was considered a type of literature called orature. This is considered the first American literature because they told elaborate stories about myths and legends, focused on nature, creation, and animals. These stories were considered a very important pastime that were passed down for many generations. -
Period: Jan 1, 1492 to
The Beginning of American LIterature: Orature
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The Enlightenment Era: The Age of Faith
The Age of Faith had works by Puritans and Pilgrims after they separated from the Anglican church of England. This literature was all religion dominated. The works consisted of sermons, diaries, personal narratives, and narratives by slaves. The work was always very full of very powerful instructions on how to be a good person, spouse, citizen, person of God, and their strengths even after the separation from the church. Popular writers were Anne Bradstreet, Jonathan Edwards, and John Smith. -
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The Enlightenment Era: The Age of Faith & The Age of Reason
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The Enlightenment Era: The Age of Reason
The Age of Reason consisted of works that grew based off of the responses to the American Revolution and the growth of patriotism and democracy. The works consisted of political pamphlets, essays, travel writing, speeches, and documents. The works were very detailed, spoke of intricate values, and informed the public of the corrupt, arguing good reason to handle it rather than faith. Renowned writers are Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and Thomas Paine. -
Romanticism
• The Romanticism Era occurred during the time of the industrial revolution, abolitionist movement, and the expansion of book publishing, magazines, and newspapers. The works consisted of short stories, novels, and poetry. The works were based off of imagination over reason, intuition over fact, the fantastic human experience, and inner feelings. Famous writers of this era are Herman Melville and Edgar Allen Poe. Most importantly, the father of American literature, Washington Irving. -
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The Romanticism Era
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Transcendentalists in the Romanticism Era
• Within the Romanticism Era, a sub-group of people arose. This group was called the Transcendentalists. They were a philosophical group that stressed individualism, intuition, self-reliance, and independence. The core beliefs were that both man and nature had inherent goodness. The famous transcendentalists’ writers were Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. -
The Realism Era
The realism era occurred during the Civil War which called for literature that was more real. The literature became a “truer” type that did not idealize people or places; it spoke about people in society, class, materialism, and social change. There were two categories, realism and naturalism. The works were novels and short stories that focused on themes like survival, fate, violence, and nature. Writers are these eras were Frederick Douglas, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Mark Twain, and Kate Chopin. -
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The Realism Era
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The Modernism Era
The modernism era occurred when there were many technological changes, World War I, the rise of youth culture, and the fear of losing traditions. The literature was influenced to be dominant with feelings of alienation and disconnection. The writing was very experimental with fragment use, stream of consciousness, and interior dialogue. This was a new unique writing style in this era. Major writers were Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, William Faulkner, Langston Hughes, and T.S.Eliot. -
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The Modernism Era
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The Contemporary Era: The Present and Current Literature
The contemporary era of writing started about 67 years ago and is still present. This type of literature was based off of media, social protest, anti-heroes, a mix of fantasy and nonfiction, unemotional detached feelings, concern with individuals in isolation, intellect, anti-tradition, satire, humor, and America’s despairs. This era had a new emergence of writers in multiculturalism and ethnics. Well known writers of this era are: Stephen King, Maya Angelou, J.D. Salinger, and Sylvia Plath. -
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The Contemporary Era
