Literary Contexts and Periods

Literary Contexts 

• Historial: the time period, setting, or conditions of living at the time it was written as well as the context of the work. Example - Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter was published in 1850 and takes place in 1642-1649. When this book was written the USA was at odds and at the beginnings of a potential civil war. The historical context is potentially significant as it pertains to traditions of traditions and values. 

• Cultural: beliefs, religions, and customs that surround and are in a work of literature. Example - The Puritan beliefs, religion, and customs in Hawthorne’s novel are core to the plot (the reason Hester is made to wear an A and why Arthur kills himself). And the customs of the Antebellum period were somewhat similar, although less restrictive, which impacted how the audience at the time received the book. 

• Literary: the consideration of the genre, particularly at the time that it was written. Example - in 1850, realism and romanticism were the driving forces of literature in the USA, with depictions of life as it was at the time it which the work was written or the time it was written about. Thus, an audience in HAwathrone’s time would have been well satisfied with the elements of the book. 

Questions to use when considering a text: 

• When was the text written? 

• What was society like at the time that text was written, or what was it like, given the work’s identified time period?

• Who or what influenced the writer? 

• What political or social influences might there have been? 

• What influences may there have been in the genre that may have affected the writer? 

Literary Periods 

• Old English - (Anglo-Saxon) Period (450–1066)

  • Literature written in Old English 

  • Much of the first half of this period—before the seventh century, at least—had oral literature.

  • Old English prose works include legal writings, medical tracts, religious texts, and translations from Latin and other languages.

  • Beowulf (author unknown), heroic poem, the highest achievement of Old English literature and the earliest European vernacular epic.

• Middle English (1066–1500)

  • saw a huge transition in the language, culture, and lifestyle of England and resulted in what we can recognize today as a form of “modern” (recognizable) English.

  • much of the Middle English writings were religious in nature; however, from about 1350 onward, secular literature began to rise.

  • William Langland’s “Piers Plowman” 

  • Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales 

  • “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” (author unknown) 

• American Colonial 

  • The first colonists of North America wrote, often in English, about their experiences starting in the 1600s. This literature was practical, straightforward, often derivative of literature in Great Britain, and focused on the future.

  • Anne Bradstreet’s The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America

  • The Federalist Papers (1787–88), by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay

  • Phylils Whaetley’s Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral

• American Renaissance 

  • The period between 1830 and the start of the Civil War in 1861

  • Major changes in the United States contributed to this tremendous literary output. The nation’s population and territory grew rapidly. 

  • Improved technology allowed printers to print books more quickly and economically; increasing urbanization and the expansion of railroads and canals allowed these books to be distributed more widely. 

  • Magazine publication rose dramatically, providing a prime venue for the publication of short stories and novels in serial format (published with a few chapters appearing each week). 

  • A large number of reform movements, like abolition, women’s rights, and temperance (the banning of alcohol), also inspired increased literary output.

  • Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin

  • Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick

  • Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter 

• American Naturalistic

  • Characterized by a deterministic view of human nature and society

  • Emphasises the influence of the environment, heredity, and social conditions in shaping human character

  • This perspective was shaped by contemporary understandings of evolution and determinism.

  • Literary naturalism is closely related to literary realism, which aimed to accurately represent its subject matter.

  • Frank Norris’ The Octopus: A Story of California

  • Jack London’s The Call of the Wild 

  • Stephen Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage

• British Modernist

  • The modern period traditionally applies to works written after the start of World War I

  • Common features include bold experimentation with subject matter, style, and form, encompassing narrative, verse, and drama.

  • reinvigorated literary criticism

  • Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own

  • James Joyce’s Ulysses

  • E.M. Forster’s A Room with A View

• American Modernist 

  • During this period, society at every level underwent profound changes

  • War and industrialization seemed to devalue the individual. Global communication made the world a smaller place. The pace of change was dizzying. Writers responded to this new world in a variety of ways.

  • Modernism is a period in literary history which started around the early 1900s and continued until the early 1940s. 

  • Modernist writers in general rebelled against clear-cut storytelling and formulaic verse from the 19th century. Instead, many of them told fragmented stories which reflected the fragmented state of society during and after World War I.

  • F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby 

  • Ernest Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls 

  • John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath 

• Post-Modernist 

  • Emerged in mid-20th century American literature, challenging traditional conventions and exploring new forms of expression

  • It reflected the complexities of post-World War II America, embracing fragmentation, irony, and skepticism towards universal truths.

  • Key characteristics included rejecting grand narratives, using non-linear storytelling, and blending high and low art.

  • Don DeLillo’s White Noise 

  • David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest 

  • John Barth’s "Lost in the Funhouse"

• Metaphysical Poetry 

  • 17th century poets whose poetry emphasized the lyrical quality of their work 

  • Contain highly creative poetic conceits or metaphoric comparisons between two highly dissimilar things or ideas. 

  • Characterized by highly prosaic language and complicated, often layered, metaphor. 

  • John Donne's “The Flea”

  • Andrew Marvells’ “To His Coy Mistress” 

  • Richard Crashaw’s “A Song” 

• British Romanticism 

  • End of 18th century into the 19th century 

  • Partly a response to aristocratic, political, social norms and partly a response to the Industrial Revolution of the day. 

  • Characterized by intense emotion

  • Major literary works of this period embrace the idea of aestheticism and the beauty of nature, exalted folk customs and historical art, and encouraged spontaneity of artistic endeavor. 

  • The movement embraced heroic ideal and the concept that heroes would raise the quality of society 

  • Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein 

  • John Keats’ “Ode on a Grecian Urn” 

  • William Blake’s “The Tyger”

• American Romanticism 

  • Beginning early in the 19th century 

  • Many aspects were similar the British Romanticism, but it is further characterized by having gothic aspects and the idea the individualism is encouraged 

  • It also embraced the concept of the noble savage - the idea that indigenous culture uncorrupted by civilization is better than advance society 

  • Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” and “The Cask of Amontillado” 

  • Emily Dickinson’s “I Felt a Funeral in my Brain” 

  • James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans 

• Transcendentalism 

  • Developed in the USA around 1836

  • Originally employed philosophical aspects 

  • Spread to all forms of art, literature, and even to people’s lifestyles 

  • It was born out of a reaction to traditional rationalism and purported concepts such as high divinity, feminism, humanitarianism, and communal living. 

  • Valued intuition, self-reliance, and the idea that human nature is inherently good. 

  • Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women

  • Henry David Thoraeu’s Walden and Civil Disobedience 

  • Ellen Sturgis Hooper’s “I Slept, and Dreamed the Life was Beauty” 

• The Harlem Renaissance 

  • The cultural, artistic, and social boom that developed in HArlem, New York, at the beginning of the 20th century (spanning the 1920s and 1930s)

  • Originally termed The New Negro Movement it emphasized African-American urban cultural expression and migration across the United States 

  • Strong roots in African-American christianity, discourse, and intellectualism

  • Heavily influenced music and fashion as well 

  • Its singular characteristic was to embrace Pan-American culturalisms; however, strong themes of the slavery experience and African-American folk traditions also emerged. 

  • Hallmark - it laid the foundation for the future civil rights movement in the USA 

    • Langston Hughes’ “I, Too”

    • Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God

    • Richard Wright’s Native Son 

• Young Adult Literature 

  • Aimed at 13 years or older 

  • Not limited to any one genre 

  • Typically feature a teen protagonist who faces real, adult issues