In the first stages of America, there were explorers who kept journals of their travels. These journals described what they experienced in “The New World”. Others that dominated this era were the Puritans, who wrote sermons about the importance of worshipping God and of the spiritual dangers that the soul faced on Earth.
Colonial Period (1500s – 1750s)
Writers of this era created short stories, poems, and novelsthat were full of imagination. There was a large emphasis on the common man andthe natural world.
Romanticism (Early 1800s – 1850s)
Also knownas The Enlightenment, this movement was a celebration of ideas – ideas aboutwhat the human mind was capable of, and what could be achieved throughdeliberate action and scientific methodology. Many of the new, enlightenedideas were political. For instance, the Declarationof Independence was written during this time.
Age of Reason (1750s – early 1800s)
Writers ofthis era believed that humans had unlimited potential and that there existsunity between God and nature. Often, they used nature to gain knowledge andunderstanding or to return to a life of true independence. This movement stressedself-reliance and individualism.
Transcendentalism (1840s-1860s)
During this period, there were two world wars and destruction on a global scale so the younger generation began to take over the main stage of writing. These young and daring authors were very experimental; they used fragments, stream of consciousness, and interior dialogue, which created a unique style of writing, one that they could stand out and be known for.
Age of Reason (1750s – early 1800s)
Gothicliterature was also introduced at this time, which included stories aboutcharacters that had both good and evil traits and some Gothic Literatureincorporated the use of supernatural elements.
Romanticism (Early 1800s – 1850s)
This literary movement took place during the Civil War. The war made everything different. People missed their everyday routines and wanted to escape the brutality of the war. Authors of this era tried to write truthfully and objectively about ordinary characters in ordinary situations.
In this movement, it is widely shown that free will is an illusion and stresses that things that happen in the universe simply happen and could not happen any other way. A defining characteristic of this era is that its characters’ lives are shaped by forces they cannot control.
In this movement, authors write from many different genres. They simply write in the style that suits them individually rather than mimicking specific styles. In this era, authors write fantasy, fiction, science fiction, horror, political writings, romantics, plays, and poems, just to name a few.
Contemporary Period (1950s – Present)
The attitude the poem’s narrator takes towards a subject or character.
The repetitionof consonant sounds in a chunk of text.
Ex: “The zoo was amazing, especially the lizardsand chimpanzees.”
A group oflines that form a division in the poem. This is similar to a paragraph in prose.
A figure ofspeech that makes a comparison between two things without using connectingwords, such as “like” or “as.”