Literary History

1
Literary History

• Revolutionary Period (Nationalistic), 1765-1830
• Revolutionary to 1790
• Federalist from 1790 to 1830
• Romantic Period, 1830-1865
• Realistic Period, 1865-1900
• Naturalistic and Symbolistic Period, 1900-1930
• Conformity and Criticism, 1930-1960
• Confessional Self Period, 1960-
• Modernist Period, 1914-1965
• Post-Modernist Period, 1965-

2
Revolutionary Period

• Prose of this period was polemical and
  philosophical
• Concerns the relationship between individual
  rights and governmental rights
• Explores the meaning and conditions of freedom
• Fiction of the period occurs in two streams
• Uses neoclassic forms to Americanize European
  tales
• Values the instructional advantage of fiction,
  while being concerned with truth
• Conveys an anxiety about freedom and rebellion

3
Romantic Movement

• Celebrated Nature
• Focused on the importance of the self, the
  individual, over society
• Elevates imagination over reason
• Transcendentalists
• Sentimentalist
• Historical Fiction
• Dark Humanistic Fiction

4
Regionalism

• With increasing urbanization and more accessible
  transportation, small, rural communities became a
  subject of literary interest.
• Specific, localized settings and topics Toward
  mid-century, regional voices had emerged from
  newly settled territories in the South and to the
  west of the Appalachian Mountains. In many of
  these works local dialects, sayings, and
  spellings were used for humorous effect

5
Realism

• Realism, in art and literature
• Attempt to describe human behavior and
  surroundings or to represent figures and objects
  exactly as they act or appear in life. Attempts
  at realism have been made periodically throughout
  history in all the arts the term is, however,
  generally restricted to a movement that began in
  the mid-19th century, in reaction to the highly
  subjective approach of romanticism.

6
Naturalism

• Naturalism holds that literary composition should
  be based on an objective, empirical presentation
  of human beings.
• It differs from realism in adding an amoral
  attitude to the objective presentation of life.
• Naturalistic writers integrate theory of other
  disciplines into their vision of human behavior
• People are controlled by instinct, emotion, or
  social and economic conditions
• Free will is an illusion
• Human life/progress is biologically determined
  (Darwin) and economically determined (Marx).

7
Modernism

• Breaks with traditional forms and techniques
• Sense of alienation, despair, loss, or anxiety
• Rejects history
• Elevates individualconscious and
  unconsciousover social human beings