the-history-of-american-literature.doc

A Brief Summary of the History of American LiteratureName：黄月红Class：0904Student ID: 2009212721Score: _Introduction Although the history of America just has around 200 years, it has made many great achievements in all the fields of human civilianization. And American Literature is one among them. From the time that Europeans laughed at America without its own literature to the time that the 10th American writer got the Nobel Prize in Literature, American literature is widely accepted in the whole world. Generally speaking, American literature can be divided into 5 parts: the Early American Literature, American Romanticism, American Realism and Naturalism, American Modernism, and American Post-modernism. Each period has an intimate relationship with some historical events. The early American literature, to some degree, is a descendant of European literature. From the period of Romanticism, American literature began to form its own features. As the industrialization developing, American society become more and more complicated, so literature in this land gradually varies in style. The theories of Romanticism, Realism and Naturalism are borrowed from Europe. But the situation inverts since the age of Modernism. America becomes the original land of both Modernism and Post-modernism. From then on, American literature has established its own stage on the world literature stage. 1 The American Romanticism (1810-1865)1) Period and Background The American Romantic period stretched from 1810 to 1865, which was crucial to the development of American literary traditions. It saw miraculous achievements in American literature. Both the outside and inside environment in the country contributed to the booming of American Romanticism.For one hand, American Romanticism came from Europe. At the end of 18th century, Romanticism gained its strength in Western Europe after the Industrial Revolution. Many American literary creations were inspired by the European Romanticists like William Wordsworth, Byron. To some degree, a lot of literary works in that era were created by imitating Europeans. For the other hand, politically, the country has gradually developed its new social order which contributed to building a democratic country. Economically, the Industrial Revolution was spread all around the country; as a result that America became a land of wealth and hope. People in such a circumstance began to seek the American own value to secure their existence. Owning to reasons above, the American Romanticism began to root in this fertile soil.2) The Early RomanticismIn the early romanticism writers mainly focused on feelings when the country was founded newly. The vast land provides peoples great passion on building their country. The themes in works usually were something on human rights and individualism. Heroes would die at the ending for protecting country. Washington Irving and William Cullen Bryant were representatives of this part. There was a group of poets called “fireside poets” because they often read their poems when families or friends sat around a fire. The poets were haunted with the traditional European culture. The most famous one was Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.3) The TranscendentalismTranscendentalism was the most important part of American Romanticism. It was put forward by Ralph Waldo Emerson. The major concepts about transcendentalism could be summarized as following four points: first, it stresses the power of intuition. Second, it takes nature as symbolic of spirit of god. Third, it emphasizes the significance of the individual. Fourth, religion is an emotional communication between an individual soul and the universal” over-soul”. In this period, there are a large amount of successful writers and poets, such as, George Putnam, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson. 4) A Special Group: the Gothic The Transcendentalists believed the kindness of humans nature, while the Gothic writers thought the evilness of humans nature. Edgar Allan Poe belonged to the group. Most Poes works were illustrated in the Gothic way like Tell-tale Heart and the Black Cat. Nathaniel Hawthorne also belonged to this group. The criticism toward Puritanism often appeared in his works. His works, like Young Goodman brown, the Scarlet Letter, showed it clearly.5) The Features of Literary WorksThis literary period was regarded as 1st American Renaissance. It was not only because American writers used American as subjects in their works but because all the literary forms (except for drama), like fiction, non-fiction prose and poetry occurred. At this moment, America began to have its own literature works. It is writers or poets from Washington Irving who make contribution to this quick development. And different literary style owns its special function on it. For example, the fictions tending to explore in to the hidden recession of the spirit of the individuals was that America was lacking in settled and traditional community life. Although American romanticism was divided into four parts, anyway works all belonging to this era, had some features in common. Firstly, all of them are close to nature. Secondly, individualism, equality, freedom and simplicity were emphasized. Thirdly, Puritanism was attacked. 2 The American Realism and Naturalism (1865-1914)1) Period and BackgroundRanging from 1865 to 1914, it is the period of American Realism and Naturalism. They dominated the spirit of American literature, especially American fictions. The 50 years between the end of the Civil War and the outbreak of world war is a period full of changes, in every aspect of American life, politically, economically, culturally, and religiously. The scale of the change was so vast that it indicated a fundamental redirection in the nature and ideology of the American society. With the appearance of industrialism the nature of labor changed. However, beyond peoples expectation, after the Civil War, ordinary peoples life was not improved at all but became tougher and tougher, although the national economy increased rapidly. All the fortune went into capitalists hands, as a result that the social gap broadened, and the polarization between the rich and the poor became larger and larger. Some acute writers realized it and began their realistic creations so that a great literary era was coming. 2) The American Realism (1865-1890s)Realism is, in a broadest sense, simply to actuality in literature. Williams dean Howells defined it: “realism is nothing less than the truth treatment of material”. Hence the subject of realistic fiction tends to be contemporary, ordinary, and middle-class. The representatives in this era were William dean Howells, Mark Twain, and Henry James. The three literary giants in that period stood for three realistic styles: genteel realism, psychological realism and Local Colorism. Howells was good at writing the tradition of genteel realism, who called for the treatment of the “smiling aspect of life”. James was famous for psychological realism with theme of the ideology of the new world and old world. And Mark Twain reached the mount of the Local Colorism which was the description of local places and people he knew best. 3) The American Naturalism (1890s-1914)When Charles Darwins evolutionary theory: the struggle for existence, survival of the fittest, natural selection and the amoral world appeared, it offered people to think the new world in a totally new perspectives. Finally they found answers to their puzzles. It is Frank Norris who introduced Naturalism into American land. Naturalists advocated writing like the way of scientists conducting experiment. The process should be as the followings:Proposing a hypothesisDoing an experimentSeeing H&E results In naturalistic a work, fatalism and pessimism were the characteristics. In naturalists view, peoples fates were determined by three things: Heredity, Environment and Chance. The famous Naturalists in America were Frank Norris, Stephen Crane, Theodore Dreiser, and Jack London. The slum girls were very common protagonists. And in many works human were described like animals who only knew to eat and sleep like McTeague. Naturalists usually did not give comments on the protagonists in their work. All in all, American Naturalists did share some similarities in theme and technique. In theme, they represented the lower classes lives truthfully and broke into such forbidden regions as violence, death, and sex; in technique, their works exhibit honest skills and artistry. 4) A Comparison between American Realism and Naturalism Some people regarded Naturalism as an extension of Realism, while others viewed it as a bridge between Realism and Modernism. Anyway, these two periods have their unique writing styles. Here is a chart of comparison between the two as the following: Realism NaturalismEmphasizing the ordinaryEmphasizing on the extraordinaryA mirror / an auto focusing cameraA lens / a focusing cameraAn observer A scientistMoral / rational Accidental / physiologicalFrom the chart, we can see their differences clearly. First, Realists chose a very genteel way to describe the harsh reality which naturalists disapprove of. In Naturalists minds, peoples attention can be attracted only by using some extraordinary case, like a focusing camera. Second, realists use a rational way to reveal reality, and Naturalists prefer to the physiological method. In short, the purpose of these two is to reveal life reality. Naturalism use a more power way instead of Realisms genteel way. 3 The American Modernism (1914-1945)1) Period and Background Between the beginning of WWand the end of WW, America entered into a new literary era: Modernism. As the science highly developed, lots of inventions were produced; Life in the early 20th century was totally different from the life before. In an addition, America experienced many big events like WW and the Great Depression. People found the either realism or naturalism could not meet their feelings towards the world because their views towards life greatly changed by the modern invention and the world wars huge influence. All of these left its shading in the literature works. We should say American modernism held a very historical meaning in American literary history. First, it was the first time that the literary theory formed originally in this land. Second, all forms of literary works were built. They were realistic fiction, southern literature, African literature, modern poetry and drama. Among all the literary forms, American experienced the Harlem and Southern literature Renaissance. Third, from then on, the Nobel Prize in Literature began to favor this country. 2) The Realistic FictionRealistic fictions in Modernism mainly mentioned in the time of 1920s and 1930s. In the two decades, American economy experienced huge ups and downs. Literary works during that time deeply reflected the influence. In 1920s American economy reached the most prosperous time, and it was also called the Jazz Era, when people began to change their life style especially for women, for example women asked for liberation who was no longer to be “ladies”. Two most influential satirists, H. L. Mencken and Sinclair Lewis, concerned for changes in manners and morals. The 1930s, for many Americans, was a time of disaster. The economic recession let lots of workers be laid off. And a big drought broke out in 1933 which made a great many farmers become dispossessed. Under such a circumstance, a new type of writers developed a close relationship with working class and spoke out on behalf of the oppressed and the suffering. These writers were cataloged into the left-wing writers. John Steinbeck, John Dos Passos were two of this group. And Steinbecks the Grapes of Wrath clearly reflected peoples sufferings. And Renaissance became the speaker of 1930s. 3) Lost Generation LiteratureGertrude stein mentioned “the Lost Generation” firstly when she remarked Ernest Hemingway. Latter Hemingway wrote it on his novel The Sun Also Rise. “the Lost Generation” usually held two important features: WWand the sense of life being dislocated and fragmented.Before WWmany Americans, especially the young, regarded war as an honor, while after WW, the imagination was wrong. What they obtained was not the honor but a kind of disillusioned with pain both in physical and spiritual. Most writers belonging to this group had experience in the battle field. After the war, they could not adjust themselves to the new social ideas, so most of them chose to live overseas to heal their wounded heart. In short, they felt “Lost”. Figures identified with the Lost Generation included authors and artists such as Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ezra Pound, Sherwood Anderson, Waldo Pierce, John Dos Passos, John Steinbeck, Erich Maria Remarque and Cole Porter.4) Southern Literature Southern literature is defined as literature about the southern America. It was called southern literary renaissance which was the product of the creative tension between the southern past and the pressures of the modern world. The writers engaged in southern literature are called southern writers. They portrayed the southern subject matters, southern characters, southern setting, and southern dialect to explore the human life nationally or even universally. Literature in this period has become not only distinguished but very diverse. It has produced a lot of outstanding writers such as William Faulkner, Caroline Gordon, and Tennessee Williams. They successfully connected the southern history with modern society. And it gave a new view angle to see the southern. 5) Modern Poetry Modernist poetry once was defined by combining Ezra Pounds bold stylistic experimentation and T. S. Eliots view of existence together. It was that” replaced the logical exposition of thoughts with collages of fragmentary images and complex allusions”, however, the definition ignored the diversity of American modern poetry. What we can do is to collect some of the major developments and to list some of the leading active figures during this period. American poets can be catalyzed into three parts. One is represented by Pound, William Carlos Williams and H. D. Another is led by Eliot, followed by ransom and Allen Tage. The conflict of these two poetic lines threads through the whole development of modern American poetry. The last one is a group of traditional poets such as Robert Frost and Edwin Arlington Robinson. 6) African American LiteratureThe first half o the 20th century witnessed the rise of African American literature. With the efforts of many black generations, African American Literature finally entered the national literary stage. it mainly included poetry prose and fiction. When African American Literature is mentioned, Harlem Renaissance must be pointed out, which was a black peoples community. It was a major place for American literatures creation.As for poetry, it mainly created in the first two decades of 20th century, falling into three categories. The first category shows an obvious influence of sentimental romanticism and detachment form reality in the south. The second is created by those black poets who rose to rebel against white mainstream tradition by refusing sentimentalism and escapism of romanticism and elegant language. The last one demonstrates a combination of politics and aesthetics focusing on the racial experience. Prose is not a main form in African American Literature. Sometimes writers would write some prose like Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois. There were also some fictions usually showing a concern on the racial identity. For example, the Autobiography of an Ex-colored Man by James Weldon Johnson was one of them. 7) The Modern American DramaAt this moment, Modern American Drama began to occur. It referred to a period during which American playwrights sought to overturn 19th century formal constraints. Instead of focusing on the morality, modern American dramatists of examined human relationships with ruthless candor; portraying moral ambivalence that challenged the status. Inspired by psychological nuance and dream-like symbolism, ONeill, as well as other playwrights, formed a new kind of drama. 4 The American Post-modernism （1945）1) Period and BackgroundAmerican Post-modernism began at 1945, the ending of WW. From WWto now, America gradually became a superpower world in the world. From 1950s on, there was an important event in each decade. Here is a chart to list the main events in each decade.A decade of 20th centuryBig events1950sCold War 1960sThe Civil Rights MovementThe Vietnam War 1970sFeminist Movement 1980sWinning the Cold WarOthers things happened like the Beat Generation, the self-session of gays, ht inventing of computers and so on. Under such circumstance emerge and develop American post-modernism. Post-modernism is eclectic: it deliberately combines incongruous styles and revives bits and pieces form the past to create “a collage of differences” by rejecting uniformity and homogeneity. It is also pluralistic. This diversity is expressed by mixing incompatible styles, by imposing one theme on another that is completely unrelated, and by grouping apparently widely different themes. It involves not only a continuation, sometimes carried to extreme, of the counter-traditional experiments of modernism, but also diverse attempts to break away from modernist forms, as well as to overthrow the elitism of modernist “high art” by turning to the models of “mass culture”. 1) Postmodern Fiction Post-modernism is not an inclusive description of all literature since 1950s or 1960s, but is appli