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American Literary Periods - Coggle Diagram
American Literary Periods
1.Native American Period (40,000 – 20,000 B.C.)
Literature was primarily oral, including epic narratives, creation myths, stories, poems, and songs.
Stories were used to teach moral lessons and convey practical information about the natural world.
Characteristics include a deep respect for nature and animals and a cyclical world view.
2.Colonial / Puritan Time Period (1600s–1750)
Writers focused mostly on diaries and histories that expressed the connections between God and their everyday lives.
They sought to "purify" the Church of England and believed in original sin and the "elect" who would be saved.
Literature used a plain style of writing.
Key Authors: William Bradford, Anne Bradstreet, Jonathan Edwards, Edward Taylor.
3.Neoclassical / Rationalism (1750–1820)
This is known as "The Age of Reason" or "The Enlightenment".
Writers (mostly philosophers, scientists) believed that truth could be achieved using deductive reasoning, rather than relying on religious faith or intuition.
Writings often took the form of speeches and pamphlets.
Key Authors: Benjamin Franklin, Patrick Henry, Thomas Paine, Phyllis Wheatley.
4.Romantic Period (1830–1865)
Demonstrated moral enthusiasm and commitment to individualism and the unfolding of the self.
Emphasized intuitive perception, believing nature was inherently good while human society was filled with corruption.
Rejected rationalism and religious intellect.
Literature was personal and intense, focusing on emotion and the psychological development of characters.
Transcendentalism was a related movement, emphasizing feeling over reason.
Key Authors: Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Washington Irving, James Fenimore Cooper.
5. Realism (1865–1914)
A reaction and rejection of Romanticism, seeking to accurately portray real life without filtering it.
Writers focused on ordinary events and circumstances and common-place everyday events and people.
Used ordinary speech and dialect (common vernacular).
Regionalism was a sub-genre that focused on the unique features (dialect, customs, tradition) of a specific region.
Key Authors: Mark Twain (early pioneer), William Dean Howells, Henry James, Edith Wharton, Kate Chopin.
6. American Modernism (1914–1945)
A period between World War I and World War II.
Characterized by a rejection of 19th-century traditions, leading to fragmentation and experimentation with point of view.
Themes included isolation, alienation, and a loss of identity.
Influenced by psychology (especially Sigmund Freud), challenging religious faith.
Writers known as "The Lost Generation" explored the meaningless lives resulting from WWI.
Key Authors: Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Steinbeck, William Faulkner