American Studies Early American Period 1 TERMS: 1 Metaphysical-- based on abstract reasoning 2 Religious doctrine--something that is taught; dogma or religious principles 3 Dogma-- a system of doctrines proclaimed by a church 4 Predestination-- doctrine that God has foreordained all things, especially the salvation of individual souls 5 Biblical allusion--a reference to a person or event in the Bible that is somehow related to the text 6 Theology--study of the nature of God & religious truth (man s relationship to God etc.) 7 Theocracy--gov t by a God regarded as a ruling power or by officials claiming Divine Right I. Colonial Period (pre-1600 to 1760) Begins with oral literature of Native Americans No written literature among the more than 500 tribes before Europeans came Native American stories show deep respect for nature Nature contains special forces Main characters may be animals or plants The focus was on society more than the individual person This period was God-centered for the Puritans A. The literature of Exploration 1. Jamestown s written record is mainly that of John Smith a. An incurable romantic b. Stretched the truth in his stories c. Pocahontas is most famous one 2. During 1600s, pirates, adventurers, & explorers opened way for second wave of settlers a. Their literature consisted of diaries, journals, ships logs, and reports b. Because England eventually took control of the colonies, the best known colonial literature is English c. Today we are discovering the literature of many other minorities who came here then B. The Puritans of New England (the North) 1. Puritans were probably the most intellectual of any in world history
a. Between 1630-1690 there were many university graduates here b. Most educated people of that time were wealthy and not willing to risk the wilderness life 2. Puritan writing a. Mostly religious b. We learn a lot about them from their sermons c. Themes: life as a test, failure leads to damnation, success leads to heavenly bliss d. To them, the world was an arena where God and Satan constantly fought 3. Links between Puritanism and Capitalism a. Both rest on ambition, hard work, striving for success b. They felt earthly success was a sign that you were one of the elect (bound for heaven) 4. They believed everything that happened was God s will 5. To them, history was symbolic of them triumphing over the New World 6. The Separatists (Puritans who came to the New World to avoid persecution because they swore allegiance to the group and not the king of England) interpreted the Bible literally 7. The Puritans believed in public education C. The Cavaliers of the middle and southern colonies (the South) 1. Their society was aristocratic and secular a. Unlike the Puritans, they supported the King of England b. They believed in education for the wealthy and upper classes only c. Many early settlers were drawn there because of economic opportunities, not religious freedom 2. This type of society was different from the Puritan society of the North a. Even though many were poor farmers, they believed in the Old World idea of an upper class supported by slavery b. Wealthy southern whites did not perform manual labor, c. Puritan emphasis on hard work, education, and earnestness was rare d. Church was only the focus for a genteel social life, unlike the North 2
3 II. The Revolutionary Period (1760-1820) Military victory over England brought hope of a great new literature Excellent political writings, but no great new literature came American books were considered second-class in England The American style became a national obsession Unfortunately, we were still so culturally tied to England that we simply copied the styles written there (art, music, writing, etc.) American authors also had a small audience, since many Americans were still reading English authors Lack of adequate copyright laws in America hurt why pay an unknown American writer for a book when you could print an unauthorized copy of a foreign one and not get penalized? This hurt both American and English authors. This period was Reason-Centered instead of God centered
A. The American Enlightenment 1. This was marked by reasoning over tradition, scientific inquiry instead of unquestioning religious dogma 2. Writers and thinkers were devoted to justice, liberty, and equality 3. Benjamin Franklin is a good example a. Poor Richard s Almanack b. The Autobiography B. The Political Pamphlet 1. Over 2,000 pamphlets were published during the revolution 2. They thrilled patriots and threatened loyalists 3. Very dramatic; often read aloud to excite public audiences 4. American soldiers read them in their camps; British loyalists burned them in bonfires 5. Thomas Paine a. Common Sense sold over 100,000 copies in first 3 months of publication b. The Crisis contains the lines: These are the times that try men s souls... and The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country... 6. Political pamphlets had to be easily understood 7. Founding fathers encouraged public education to have an informed electorate 8. One indication of vigorous literary life was the number of newspapers a. More read in America then than anywhere in world b. Immigration required simple style in papers; clarity was important C. Neoclassicism (neo = new; classicism = classics) Many American writers tried to copy the classical style; especially the epic (a long, narrative poem telling the deeds of a legendary hero) D. Fiction the first important American fiction writers used American subjects, historical perspectives, themes of change, and nostalgic tones 1. Washington Irving took his ideas from European folk tales a. Legend of Sleepy Hollow b. Rip Van Winkle 2. James Fenimore Cooper took ideas from America; the ironic and tragic destruction of the wilderness which had drawn us here in the first place a. The Last of the Mohicans b. The Leatherstocking tales / Hero = Natty Bumpo 4
III. The Romantic Period Poetry (1820-1860) Began in Germany, then spread to France and England Reached America about 20 years later Because the American Romantic movement coincided with the westward movement and the discovery of a distinctive American voice in literature, it nurtured masterpieces of the American Renaissance Romantic ideas centered around art as inspiration and the spiritual and aesthetic dimension of nature Romantics believed that art, instead of science, could best express universal truth The development of the self became a major theme The American Romantic poets tried to imitate the European style A. Transcendentalism 1. Based on belief in the unity of the world and God 2. The soul of each person was thought to be identical with the world (a smaller version of it microcosm) 3. The idea of self-reliance and individualism came through the identification of the individual with God 4. It was intimately connected with Concord, Massachusettes a. Far enough from Boston to be rural (25 miles west) b. First rural artists colony c. First place to offer a spiritual and cultural alternative to American materialism d. Because they believed in individualism, they never published a manifesto 5. Ralph Waldo Emerson a. The original transcendentalist b. From Self-Reliance: A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds. 6. Henry David Thoreau a. Protégé of Emerson b. Wrote Walden c. Ties to Hartland 7. Walt Whitman a. Poet, largely self-taught; wrote much in free verse b. Wrote Leaves of Grass 5
B. Harvard poets 1. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow The Song of Hiawatha 2. Oliver Wendell Holmes Old Ironsides C. Emily Dickinson 1. She is a link between her era and the earlier one 2. Lived as a recluse 3. Unique style (off rhyme, extended metaphors, etc.) IV. The Romantic Period Fiction (1820-1860) The age of the Romance, which was not a love story Typical Romantic protagonists are haunted, alienated people The typical romantic story takes place in a far away place, has largerthan-life main characters, the good guy wins (and often becomes a hero), the bad guy loses, and these stories have full-information endings The American Romantic prose writers tried to create a new American style A. Nathaniel Hawthorne The Scarlet Letter (also developed short story) B. Herman Melville Moby Dick C. Edgar Allan Poe Developed detective story and short story V. The Realistic Period (1860-1900) You made it! Open your literature textbook to page 406! 6