Change In American Literature

This quote brings about an interesting topic, American Literature and the significant changes throughout history encouraged many people to create change in literature. The literary arts became a powerful tool in communicating different worldviews and the integrating of historical moments in time. This movement created a unique blending of different races to integrate through literary arts causing many cultures to unite internationally. Literature encouraged intellectual American’s to be a part of the change in their communities. For many people, this movement triggered an internal need for social and cultural change. America became a force in historical literature and a superior artistic form that was produced in books and other writings.

There were several different theme changes in literature during the late 1800’s and has continued through current day. The different themes used to describe the type of literature such as: Romanticism, Imagism, Modernism and Confessional poetry. There were many different styles of writing introduced during the time frame of when World War I began in 1865 and to the end of World War II. Romanticism and Naturalism were of the few first forms of American literature that emphasized originality and freedom of self-expression that began in the ending of the eighteenth century. America experienced some drastic changes in geographic areas, industrially and socially which was expressed thoroughly in literature. This caused some major political changes happenings in America during the post war and shortly afterwards. The two major contributors that encouraged the spirit of exploration and inventiveness were Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson. These two writers used Romanticism and Realism to describe self and life realities along with a connection to nature. They began with writing poems using free verse poetry. Walt Whitman, a very influential writer/poet during the later 1800’s stepped out of the normal

There was a great migration of freed slaves that journeyed North of the United States searching for a greater life for their families. Some Black intellects settled in Harlem, NYC and shortly after a Black American revolution came to be realized as the Harlem Renaissance. W.E.B. Dubois was a major contributor towards this movement being an advocate of education. He wrote the “Souls of Black Folk” which allowed the white culture to see the inside Black American living. The Harlem Renaissance was an extraordinary moment for Black Americans because Blacks finally became relevant in America. This movement represented a rebirthing of the Black culture allowing black Americans to feel a sense of pride. This gave an opportunity of blending of the Caribbean and African cultures with Black America. The writing theme Modernism came on the scene during the middle of 1940’s. William Carlos Williams introduced this form of writing in his poem, “The Red Wheelbarrow”. A simple poem using free-verse is written in ordinary form. This poem was written with clear and distinct points of view involving a conflict and resolution. American Literature emerged into a different theme before the end of World War II due to the major changes happening in the south. This movement birthed two extraordinary writers, William Faulkner and Zora Neale Hurston that spoke of the south