january 21 st through 29 th
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January 21 st through 29 th. Thursday, January 21 st. Go over syllabus Introductions Assign books. Friday, January 22 nd. American Literary Periods Personal essays, narratives, and memoirs. American Literary Periods and their characteristics. Literary Periods. Puritan/Colonial - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
January 21st through 29th
Thursday, January 21st
• Go over syllabus• Introductions• Assign books
Friday, January 22nd
• American Literary Periods• Personal essays, narratives, and memoirs
American Literary Periodsand their characteristics
Literary Periods Puritan/Colonial Revolutionary/Age of
Reason Romanticism American
Renaissance/Transcendentalism
Realism
Modernism Harlem Renaissance Post Modernism Contemporary
Puritan/Colonial (1650-1750)
Genre/Style Sermons Diaries Personal Narratives Written in plain style
Puritan/ColonialEffects/Aspects
Instructive Reinforces authority of the
Bible and Church
Historical Context A person’s fate is
determined by God All people are corrupt and
must be saved by Christ
Puritan/Colonial Examples
Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation
Rowlandson’s “A Narrative of the Captivity”
Equiano’s narrative
Though not written during Puritan times, The Crucible and The Scarlet Letter depict life during the time when Puritan theocracy prevailed.
Revolutionary Age/Age of Reason
Genre/Style Political pamphlets Travel writing Highly ornate style Persuasive writing
Effect/Aspects Patriotism grows Instills pride Creates common agreement
about issues National mission and the
American character
1750-1800
Revolutionary/Age of Reason
Historical Context Tells readers how to
interpret what they are reading to encourage Revolutionary War support
Instructive in values
Examples Writings of Jefferson, Paine,
and Henry Franklin’s Poor Richard’s
Almanac Franklin’s “The
Autobiography.
Romanticism (1800-1860)
Genre/Style Character sketches Slave narrative Poetry Short Stories
Effect/Aspects Value feeling and intuition over
reason Journey away from corruption of
civilization and limits of rational thought toward the integrity of nature and freedom of imagination
Helped instill proper gender behavior for men and women
RomanticismHistorical Context
Expansion of magazines, newspapers, and book publishing
Slavery debates Industrial revolution brings ideas
that the “old way of doing things are now irrelevant.
Examples Washington Irving’s “Rip
Van Winkle” Poems of Emily Dickinson Poems of Walt Whitman
American Renaissance/
TranscendentalismGenre/Style
Poetry Short Stories Novels Hold readers’ attention
through dread of a series of terrible possibilities
Effects/Aspects True reality is spiritual Comes from 18th century
philosopher Immanuel Kant Idealists Self-reliance and
individualism
American Renaissance/
TranscendentalistHistorical context Portrayals of alluring
antagonists whose evil characteristics appeal to sense of awe
Stories of persecuted young girl forced apart from her true love
People seeking the true beauty in life and in nature
A belief in true love and commitment
Realism (1850-1900)Genre and Style
Novels and Short Stories
Characteristics Examines realities of life,
human frailty, local color Depiction of ordinary
people in everyday life Objective narrator Does not tell reader how to
interpret the story
RealismHistorical Context Civil War (1861-1865)
brings demand for “truer” type of literature that does not idealize people or places
Dialogue includes regional voices
Examples Crane’s The Red Badge of
Courage
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
ModernismGenre and Style
Novels Plays Poetry Experimental as writers
seek a unique style Use of interior monologue
and stream of consciousness
Characteristics Pursuit of the American
Dream America as the land of
Eden Soon that optimism and a
belief in the importance of the individual is overwhelmed by themes of alienation and disillusionment
ModernismHistorical context
Writers reflect the ideas of Darwin and Marx
Overwhelming technological changes of 20th Century
Examples Steinbecks The Grapes of
Wrath
Eliot’s The Wasteland
Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms
Williams The Glass Menagerie
Chopin’s The Awakening
Harlem Renaissance (1920s)
Genre and Style Outgrowth of Modernism Allusions to African-
American spirituals Uses structure of blues
songs in poetry (repetition) Superficial stereotypes
revealed to be complex characters
Characteristics Gave birth to gospel music Blues and jazz transmitted
across America via radio
Harlem RenaissanceHistorical Context Mass African-American
migration to Northern urban centers
African-Americans have more access to media and publishing outlets after they move north
Examples Hansberry’s A Raisin in the
Sun
Wright’s Native Son
Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God
Ellison’s Invisible Man
Post-Modernism (1950 to present)
Genre/Style Narratives: both fiction and
non-fiction Metafiction Magical Realism Mixing of fantasy with
nonfiction; blurs lines of reality for reader
No heroes Humorless
Characteristics Concern with individual in
isolation Social issues as writers
align with feminist and ethnic groups
Erodes distinctions between classes of people
Insists that values are not permanent but only “local” or “historical”
Post-ModernismHistorical Context Post-World War II prosperity Media culture interprets
values
Examples Feminist and social issue
poets: Plath, Angelou Capote’s In Cold Blood Stories of Bradbury and
Vonnegut Salinger’s Catcher in the
Rye
Beat poets: Kerouac, Ginsberg
Contemporary (1970s to present)
Genre/Style Continuation of Post-
Modernism Narratives: fiction and non-
fiction Autobiographical essays Anti-heroes Emotion-provoking Humorous Irony
Characteristics Concern with connections
between people
ContemporaryHistorical context
Beginning a new century Media culture interprets
value Influence of war (Vietnam;
Gulf; Iraq)
Examples Poetry of Dove, Cisneros, Soto Walker’s The Color Purple,
Haley’s Roots, Morrison’s Beloved
Nonfiction by Didion, Dillard, and Krakauer
O’Brien’s The Things They Carried
Megastars: King, Crichton, Grisham, Clancy
Personal WritingsPersonal essay
Focused on belief or insight about life that is significant to the writer
Personal narrative
Focused on a significant event (can be in the
present)
Personal memoir
Focused on a significant relationship between the
writer and a person, place, event or object
(reflective)
This I Believe http://thisibelieve.org/essay/4108/
Life is fair
Words can hurt.
What goes around comes around
How you act in a crisis shows who you really are
Love conquers all
An eye for an eye
People learn from their mistakes
You can’t depend on anyone else; you can only depend on yourself.
If you smile long enough, you become happy.
Miracles do happen.
There is one special person for everyone
Money can’t buy happiness
Doing what’s right means obeying the law.