Introduction To American Literature

1. Introduction to general literature :

Literature is a cluster of verbal works, written, or oral, interrelated by subject-matter, by language or place of origin, or by prevailing cultural values. According to Boris Pasternak, ‘Literature is the art of discovering something extraordinary about ordinary people, and saying with ordinary words something extraordinary.’ Even in ancient times, scholars, critics and teachers of the literature have recognized that narrative – story telling which forms a necessary aspect of the novel began in every corner of the world at a very early point in the development of civilization. (Columbia history of American novel)

2. Introduction to American literature

American literature, the body of written works

Native American Literature

The First American Literature was written by Native Americans. Literature of Native Americans begins with verbally transmit myths, legends, tales and lyrics. Before the first Europeans arrived, there was no literature found in print among the different spoken Indian languages and tribal cultures that existed in North America. As an outcome, Native American oral literature is rather diverse.(Outline of American Literature)-OAL-3

5. Pamphlets and writings exalting the benefits of the colonies to both a European and colonist audience were some of the earliest forms of American literature. It is apt that none other than the colonists in the history of the world were as rational as Puritans. According to the historical context, Puritans were separated from the Anglican church of England. Religion ruled their lives and writings. American Puritanism is one of the most lasting significant influences in American thought and literature. The puritans emphasize hard work, piety and sobriety; and the earliest writings include diaries, travelling books, journals, letters, sermons and even government contracts. The two key figures of the puritan period are Anne Bradstreet (1612-1672) the first published American poet and Edward Taylor (1645-1729) considered to be the finest Puritan Poet and known for the series of short preparatory

With the War of 1812, a number of prominent new literary personas emerged, with an increasing desire to produce uniquely American work, perhaps most notably Washington Irving and James Fenimore Cooper. The first important fiction writers widely recognized today are Charles Brockden Brown (1771-1810), Washington Irving (1789-1859) and James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851). They used American subjects, historical perspectives, theme of change and nostalgic tones.(OAL-21) Charles Brockden Brown gripped by poverty at a fast pace wrote four haunting novels in two years. In them he formulated the genre of ‘American Gothic’. A man of ideas, he embellished scientific theories, devised a personal theory of fiction, and championed high literary standards despite personal poverty. The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon (Irving’s pseudonym) contains his two best remembered stories, ‘Rip Van Winkle’ and ‘The Legend of Sleepy Hollow’. Irving’s artistic way of relating to the new land was appreciatively received by the American readers. (OAL- 22) Cooper’s novels disclose a profound anxiety between the lone individual and society, nature, culture, spirituality and well thought-out religion. Cooper's Leatherstocking Tales about Natty Bumppo is a vast prose epic with the North American continent as setting, Indian tribes as characters and great wars and westward immigration as the social background. He was the first to sound the recurring tragic note in American fiction. (OAL-24)

9. In the post-war