Main Streams in Literarute American Literature

Literary writing withn each nation can be divided into different periods reflecting given social conditions and of course different periods brought various literary movements. American Literature can also be divided into periods with different literary movements or styles. In American literature we distinguish: 1. Colonial Period American literature is rather young and it begins with the 1 st writings of little group of English settlers who settled down in Virginia and established Jamestown in 1607. The 1st colonists came here to gain freedom, they were protestants and puritans. Their living conditions were extremely difficult and 1st works cannot be called artistic. The poetry was artificial and historical, geographical and theological writings prevailed. These settlers were actually of non-intellectual character representing middle and lower classes. The prose was very descriptive. They were rather reports on adventures, description of new life. - Capt. John Smith, Thomas Morton, William Byrd: wrote about history of Virginia There was 1 writer to gain the reputation. Benjamin Franklin engaged in politics, he was journalist, wrote many papers, he was very satirical and humorous: Poor Richards Almanac.

2. Revolutionary Period

1765-1810

Literature was largely political-documents, speeches, essays, patriotic pamphlets. In poetry we see political content. The best poet was Philip Phreneu, the 1st remarkable writer was Thomas Paine. Among others were G. Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

America had no novel of its own before 1789. The 1 st American novel was published in Boston called The Power of Sympathy by Sarah Morton. In the beginning of the 19th century there was a growth of industry, education and great agricultural development but on the other hand there was rebellion against whatever orthodox and round the period after 1800 was one feature common to all world literature-romantic movement.

3. Romantic Period and the Period of Transcendentalism 1810-1865 General desire of the romanticism is to escape from reality. Its main features are emotions, the subjective point of view. In American literature there are 2 periods: 1. The first represents the beginning of a national literature, there is an attempt to create distinctive American literature. Writers were influenced by English romanticism. 2. In the second period American romanticism followed the European movement but there are several characteristic features: strong desire to establish national literature, powerful emotions towards national pride and patriotism. It describes social injustice. The most distinctive is development of transcendentalism. Washington Irving the 1st romantic writer The Legend of Sleepy Hollow James Cooper Herman Melville Mobydick Walt Whitman - best loved and most hated poet Edgar Alan Poe he gained world reputation, he was a father of detective and horror stories The Raven, Anabel Lee, The Gold Bug

Henry Longfellow, Nathaniel Hawthorne

4. Gilded Age1865-1890 -age of great nationalism, the rise of American big business but also the age of scandals, inventions, commerce. Gold was the symbol of this age. Emily Dickinson Mark Twain Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, The Prince and the Pauper Within the Gilded Age there was the rise of >>>>

5. Period of Realism and Naturalism

Henry James Theodor Dreiser American Tragedy Jack London The Call of the Wild

6. American prose up to 1940 brought lots of writers who are worldwide read.

John Steinback Of Mice and Men, The Grapes of Wrath Margaret Mitchell Gone with the Wind poets: T.S.Elliot The Waste Land

7. Period between 2 wars The Lost Generation

E. Hemingway For Whom the Bell Tolls, The Old Man and the Sea, Farewell to Arms Francis Scott Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby

poets: Robert Frost, Ezra Pound, Wallace Stevens drama: Eugene ONeill - Mourning Becomes Electra he won 3 Pulitzer prizes

7. Period after WW II Beatniks Generation

Jack Kerouac On the Road Alan Ginsberg poet Lawrence Ferlingety

Saul Bellow opposed to Beatniks- Dangling Man

8. Literature of 70s, 80s and 90s

Ken Kessey One Flow Over the Cuckoos Nest G.D. Salinger Catcher in the Rye Joseph Heller - Catch 22 Truman Capote James Jones From Here to Eternity, The Thin Red Line

9. Contemporary writers

Daniel Steel Robin Cook