August 20Periods of American Lit: Puritan era

Keep it clean and pure

Quickwrite—For five minutes, write about what you already know about Puritan history, culture, and/or beliefs.

Puritan History

• 16th and 17th centuries: Puritan movement born out of Church of England by followers who believed the church was too lenient and misguided/corrupted by political powers, and therefore needed to be cleansed

• Meanwhile, the Church of England making efforts to become uniform --> Puritans become excluded and seek to practice freely elsewhere

• "Great Migration" of ~20,000 Puritans emigrated to Massachusetts Bay Colony

Puritan Beliefs

• Predestination: God has selected few "elected" to heaven, only God controls individual's fate

• Focus on the Bible and its teachers (power of God > power of King)

• Man exists to serve God: man should not seek pleasure o no idols, artwork in

churcheso minimal holiday

celebration

• Belief in evil as a force that must be stoppedo Eventually led to infamous

Salem Witch Trials

Puritan Literary style

• writing dominated by theological purpose: sermons, hymnals, biographies, histories, autobiographieso promoted self-examinationo no drama or fiction (considered sinful)o poetry used as a vehicle for spiritual

enlightenment, not an outlet for creative expression

• plain style of writing o ornate or clever writing would be considered

a sign of vanity, and therefore sinful

8/23Age of Reason/EnlightenmentKeep it logical.

8/23 Age of Reason History

• Late 1600s - late 1700s

• Boom in science (Galileo) and decline in Puritanism (Salem witch trials)

• Philosophers such as Jefferson, Paine, Franklin reconsider role of individual and government

Consider: what kind of thinking led to the American Revolution?

Thirteen new colonies rejected the authority of the Parliament of Great Britain to govern them from overseas without representation

What are the values expressed in the United States Declaration of Independence?

8/23 Age of Reason Beliefs

• Deismo God as the 'clockmaker' - set the world in motion,

but does not need to be worshipped or turned to for counsel

o not lacking religion entirely, but understood that religion was not the only form/source of truth

o Focus on virtue and decision-making, rather than superstition and intolerance

• Humans are inherently good and are capable of controlling themselves and making rational decisions

• Need to understand and control science and nature

• Focus on progress: making their lives better through control of actions, nature, and the world around them

8/23 Age of ReasonLiterary style/features

• Straightforward writing style: clear explanations and descriptions

• Honest reflection of what he experienced/knew

• Can be witty or humorous; comfortable with poking fun at human imperfection

• Intended mainly to inform, but also entertain

8/27 Romantic EraKeep it from the heart.

8/27 Romantic Era History

• An artistic, literary and intellectual movement originating in Europe and reaching its peak in the US between 1800-1840.

• Partly a reaction against the Industrial Revolution and a revolt against the norms of the neoclassical rules and restriction and religious emphasis of the Puritan era

• It was associated with liberalism and progressive thinking– writers were attracted to rebellion and revolution and concerned with human rights, individualism and freedom from oppression.

• Gives rise to the Transcendentalist movement

• Watch excerpt from Dead Poet’s Society “Rip It Up”

8/27 Romantic Era Characteristics

• The primary focus is on free expression of feelings, ornate and sometimes indulgent descriptions

• Imagination and emotion are more important that reason and formal rules

• Belief that the ills of society are the result of the industrialization of the nation

• Nature and natural feelings versus order and control; idealizes country life

• A shift from:

• faith in reason to faith in senses, feelings and emotions

• interest in urban society to an interest in the rural and natural

• Concern from science to mystery

8/27 Romantic Era Literary style

• Emphasizes a love of nature, a respect for primitivism, and a valuing of the common man ie. “nobel savages” in James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans

• Some authors’ interest in the Medieval past, the supernatural, the mystical, the exotic and the horrific, creates a genre known as “Gothic” literature ie. Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Edgar Allen Poe’s anything, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter

• Stylistically it is difficult to characterize given its philosophical rejection of rules and order

8/30Transcendental EraKeep it natural and believe in yourself.

8/30 Transcendentalism History

• A philosophical movement developed mainly from the 1830’s-1840’s.

• A major core belief is that both man and nature are inherently “good”.

• Transcendentalist believed society and institutions ultimately corrupt the purity of the individual.

8/30 Transcendentalism History

•Man is best when truly self-reliant and independent.

• It is only from such real individuals that true community could be formed.

• A protest to the general state of culture and society, and in particular, the state of intellectualism at Harvard University (particularly church doctrine)

8/30 Transcendental Literary Style

• The tone of Transcendentalism is exalted with serious and intense feelings expressed by writer.

• Reflection is deep and meaningful, highly intellectual

• It was not a movement of the masses, though it certainly had an effect on the masses in the long run.

8/30 Transcendental Literary Style

•Writers attempted to create an American aesthetic using language and tone.

• Dime novels, serialized novels, sentimental fiction, tales of the city—there were literally dozens of different types of novels circulating and claiming large reading audiences. (competition)

Ralph Waldo Emerson Margaret Fuller

• May 25, 1803-April 27,1882

In Emerson’s piece titled:

Friendship, he

expresses his

desire to, “not treat

friendship daintily”.

Nature is arguably

considered his

greatest work.

• May 23, 1810-July 19,1850

Wrote the book, Women in the 19th Century as the first women’s rights novel.

She was a well

known women’s

rights advocate

and had a strong

opinion on

marriage.

Notable Transcendental Writers

9/11-12American Realism

Keep it real.

9/11-12 Notable Writers:

Frederick Douglass

9/11-12 Notable Writers:

Mark Twain

9/11-12 Notable Writers:

Kate Chopin

9/11-12 Realism History

• The years following the Civil War (late 1860s onward) symbolized a time of healing and rebuilding for the nation.

• The industrial revolution took place at the end of the 19th century and the US experienced significant industrial, social, economic and cultural change.

• People left the country and went to the city to live.

9/11-12 History Continued

• With new machinery and equipment, the economy focused on factories. Farming was no longer relied on so heavily.

• The immigration boom occurred. People worldwide, but particularly from European countries, flocked to the US.

• The influx of immigrants also opened the doors for economic prosperty through increased opportunities for internation trade.

9/11-12 Realism Beliefs

• Important to depict a contemporary view of what was happening in society.

• Humanity's freedom of choice was limited by the power of outside forces.

• Realists believed that because America was changing so rapidly, it was important to capture what was happening locally, before it was lost.

9/4 Realism Literary Style

• Kept writing close to reality and filled with rich detail

• Character more important than action and plot

• Complex ethical choices are often the subject

• Social class was an important theme.

• Natural diction—often made use of local dialect

Literary Style Continued

• Tone may be comic or matter-of-fact

• Characters were believeable—people Americans could have lived side by side with.

• Pulled away from fantasy; focused on “the now”