American Literature

Chractheristics
American literature reflects beliefs and
traditions that come from the nations
frontier days. They tend to reject
authority and to emphasize
democracy and the equality of people.
American writers have always had a
strong tendency to break with literary
tradition and to strike out their own
directions.

Chractheristics
lively streak of humor runs through
American literature from earliest times
to the present. It reflects the peoples
ability to laugh at themselves even
during the most difficult times.

American Literature Period

A. Colonial Period Literature
-earliest writings were by adventurers and
colonists who based their works on European
models. All writings were devoted to spiritual
concerns, practical matters of politics and
promotion of settlements.
B. Revolutionary Period Literature
-. Writing during this time concentrated on
politics and on political philosophy. Men turned
their attention from religion to government.

C. The New Nation Literature

- Immediately following independence, writers
made efforts to develop a native literature which
content- character and setting- was distinctly
identifiable as American.
D. Mid-19th Century Literature
- A beginning of a truly independent American
literature which is said to have come of age.
- It has been called as American Renaissance or
the Flowering of American Literature because
more masterpieces were written at this time.

E. The Second Half of 19th century Literature

- The civil war sharply interrupted American
literary activity. But as the nation revived,
many writers found subjects for fiction and
poetry in their surroundings.
F. The Modern Period Literature
- After World War 1 , poetry has enjoyed a
rebirth and drama has come of age artistically.
- Literature reflected the various reactions to
the new circumtances.

American writers and their

writings
Edgar Allan Poe-a writer, poet, editor and a critical
writer influenced not only American literature, but he
also had an impact on international literature. He was
one of the first writers to develop the genre of both
detective fiction and horror.
brought about several changes in the literary style of
his time period.
Stories like The Pit and the Pendulum,The Black
Cat, The Tell-Tale Heart, and The Fall of the House
of Usher, as well aspoems like the Raven set him
apart from other writes of his time.

Nathaniel Hawthrone
an American short story writer and
romance novelist. He is best known for
his short stories and two widely read
novels;The Scarlet Letter(mid-March
1850) andThe House of Seven Gables
(1851).

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

America's most beloved nineteenth
century poet and is an integral part of our
culture today. In his best known poems,
Longfellow created myths and classic epics
from American historical events and
materials Native American oral history
("The Song of Hiawatha"), the diaspora of
Acadians (Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie),
and the first battle of the Revolutionary
War ("Paul Revere's Ride").

Benjamin Franklin
America's "first great man of letters,"
embodied the Enlightenment ideal of
humane rationality.
He was the first great self-made man
in America, a poor democrat born in
an aristocratic age that his fine
example helped to liberalize.