Oral literature, epic narratives
Nature/Animals
Stories teach moral lessons
Pre 1600’s
Native Americans
Mostly diaries and histories Believed in original sin and “elect” who would be saved
Plain style of writing
“Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God”
“Young Goodman Brown”
1600 - 1800
Puritanism
Philosophers, scientists
Editorials
Human beings can arrive at truth by deductive reasoning rather than religious faith
Franklin’s tenets: humor, free press, aversion to tyranny, idealism in foreign policy, compromise, tolerance, humility
Declaration of Independence
1750 - 1800
Age of Reason/Enlightenment
Everything in the world, Including human beings, is a reflection of the Divine Soul
People can use their intuition to behold God’s spirit revealed in nature or in their own souls.
Self-reliance and individualism must outweigh external authority and blind conformity to tradition
Emerson, Thoreau.
“Into the Wild”
1840 - 1860
Transcendentalism / The American Renaissance
Black cultural movement in Harlem, New York
Some poetry rhythms based on spirituals, and jazz, lyrics on the blues,
Other poetry used conventional lyrical forms
A Raisin in the Sun - Lorraine Hansberry
“Harlem” - Langston Hughes
1920 - 1940
Harlem Renaissance / The Jazz Age
Influenced by studies of media, language, and information technology
Sense that little is unique; culture endlessly duplicates and copies itself
New literary forms and techniques: works composed of only dialogue or combining fiction and nonfiction,
Experimenting with physical appearance of their work
1950 - Present
Contemporary / Postmodernism
Allegory
a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning
Allusion
a hint or nod to another work of literature
Colloquailism
Slang
Aphorism
memorable expression of a general truth or principle.
Diction
the choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing.
Euphamism
easier way of saying something
Juxtaposition
the fact of two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect.
Metonymy
Substitution based on close association
Narrative
Story
Onomatopoeia
Sounds
Paradox
a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true.
Parallelism
Repetition, Rhythm, Balance
Pedantic
of or like a pedant.
Point of view
How a story is told
Syntax
Long run-on sentence
Aest
perception/feeling
Cosm
universe/world
Anthro
human
