Lesson_1_American_Streams_4th_Quarter

Lesson 1: The American Stream in American Literature

First American Stream: Rationalism versus Romanticism

Rationalism

• Believes that human beings can arrive at truth by using reason rather than relying on the authority of the past or religious faith, or intuition.

• Important writers:

  • Thomas Jefferson (known for a Bible devoid of all references)

  • Benjamin Franklin (noted for his work "Autobiography")

Romanticism

• A way of thinking that values the individual over the group, subjective over the objective, and a person’s emotional experience over reason.

• Values the wildness of nature over human-made order.

• Important writers:

  • Edgar Allan Poe (famous for works such as "Annabel Lee" and "The Cask of Amontillado")

  • Nathaniel Hawthorne (noted for "The Scarlet Letter")

Second American Stream: Transcendentalism versus New Poetry

Transcendentalism

• Believes that truth and knowledge are not solely dependent on reason and senses, but also on intuition and contemplation of the internal spirit.

• Important writers:

  • Ralph Waldo Emerson (known for "Self-Reliance")

  • Henry David Thoreau (noted for "The Battle of the Ants")

New Poetry

• Characterized by a realistic portrayal of things and rejection of traditional poetic forms.

• Emphasizes free form with strong imagery.

• Important writers:

  • Walt Whitman (noted for "O, Captain! My Captain!")

  • Emily Dickinson (famous for "Because I Could Not Stop for Death")

Lesson 1: Prominent Figures in American Literature

Mark Twain

• Born November 30, 1835, in Florida, Missouri and died April 21, 1910, in Redding, Connecticut.

• An American humorist, journalist, lecturer, and novelist known for his travel narratives such as:

  • The Innocents Abroad (1869)

  • Roughing It (1872)

  • Life on the Mississippi (1883)

• Real name: Samuel Langhorne Clemens

• Well-known for adventure stories about boyhood, especially:

  • The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and

  • Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), which explores themes of friendship through a raft journey down the Mississippi River.

Washington Irving

• Born April 3, 1783, in New York, New York and died November 28, 1859, in Tarrytown, New York.

• Considered the "first American man of letters"

• Well-known works include:

  • The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (features a decapitated Hessian soldier)

  • Rip Van Winkle (story of a farmer who sleeps for twenty years)

• Authored a series of satirical essays under the pseudonym Jonathan Oldstyle, Gent.

Robert Frost

• Born March 26, 1874, in San Francisco, California and died January 29, 1963, in Boston, Massachusetts.

• Renowned for depictions of rural life in New England, use of colloquial speech, and realistic portrayal of ordinary people.

• Most honored American poet of the 20th century, winning the Pulitzer Prize for poetry four times.

• Famous lines from his works include:

  • "Good fences make good neighbors" (from "Mending Wall")

  • "And miles to go before I sleep" (from "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening")

  • "I took the one less traveled by" (from "The Road Not Taken")

Sources:

• Britannica: Periods of American Literature