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Oral literature: epic narratives, creation
myths, stories, poems, songs.
Use stories to teach moral lessons and
convey practical information about the natural
world -
Wrote mostly diaries and histories, which
expressed the connections between God and
their everyday lives -
Mostly comprised of philosophers,
scientists, writing speeches and pamphlets. -
Examples:
*Benjamin Franklin (Autobiography)
*Patrick Henry (“Speech to the Virginia Convention”),
*Thomas Paine (“The Crisis”) -
Examples:
*Upon the Burning of Our House July 10th,(William Bradford)
*Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God (Jonathan Edwards)
*Huswifery (Edward Taylor) -
Saw poetry as the highest expression of
the imagination. Dark Romantics: Used dark and
supernatural themes/settings (Gothic style) -
Examples:
*Washington Irving (“Rip Van Winkle”)
*Walt Whitman (Leaves of Grass)
*Edgar Allan Poe (“The Raven”), -
Everything in the world, including human beings, is a reflection of the Divine Soul. People can use their intuition to behold God’s spirit revealed in nature or in their own souls.
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Common subjects; slums of rapidly
growing cities, factories replacing farmlands,
poor factory workers, corrupt politicians
Represented the manner and environment
of everyday life and ordinary people as
realistically as possible (regionalism) -
Examples:
*Ralph Waldo Emerson (Nature, “Self-Reliance”),
*Henry David Thoreau (Walden, Life in the Woods).
*Louisa May Alcott (Little Women) -
Examples
*Mark Twain (Huckleberry Finn)
*Jack London (Call of the Wild )
*Stephen Crane (“The Open Boat”) -
Sense of disillusionment and loss of faith in the “American Dream”: the independent, self-reliant, individuals will triumph. Emphasis on bold experimentation in style and form over the traditional.
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The Jazz Age”
“The Roaring 20s””
Some poetry rhythms are based on spirituals,
and jazz, lyrics on the blues, and diction from
the street talk of the ghettos
Other poetry used conventional lyrical
forms -
*James Weldon Johnson (God's Trombones)
*Claude McKay (Home to Harlem)
*Zora Neale Hurston (Their Eyes Were Watching God) -
Examples:
*Lorraine Hansberry (A Raisin in the Sun),
*F. Scott Fitzgerald (The Great Gatsby),
*William Faulkner (“A Rose for Emily”). -
Influenced by studies of media, language,
and information technology.
New literary forms and techniques: works
composed of only dialogue or combining
fiction and nonfiction, experimenting with
the physical appearance of their work -
Examples:
*Alice Walker (The Color Purple)
*Amy Tan (The Joy Luck Club )
*Anne Sexton ( Confessional poetry)