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himself
-he moved away from the plain style of Puritans, language is complicated
-anne bradstreet: poems on religious themes, earlier Puritan, the first real NE poet, not very good, Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up In America
-michael wigglesworth: poet, he meant to frightened readers – Puritan God will judge mankind
-edward taylor: his poetry unknown until 1937, he hoped for a rebirth of puritan way, he was concerned with the inner spiritual life of Puritan believers
-“Great Awakening” – 1730 = religious emotion, preachers toured the country, sermons
-jonathan edwards: powerful and frightening sermons, people crying, screaming – Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God

South: early writers – Virginia: robert beverley (he wrote about nature and science) , william byrd: humor, realism to describe life along the dividing line, opinion on Indians – English should rather marry them than to fight them

Europe: Age of Reason (Enlightenment) - they wanted happy society based on justice and freedom
18th cent in America – Founding Fathers – the men who led the revolution and wrote the Constitution in 1789 – political pamphlets, they admired Age of Reason
Engl. spirit in America – works of benjamin franklin: modern style, he disagreed with Puritans, but he returns to the plain style, writing should have a practical purposes
Dogood Papers –at the age of 16, funny but moral
almanacs = popular form of practical literature – Poor Richard’s Almanac: creating the character Poor Richard – realistic stories about him and his family
he also used a lot of sayings – into an essay The Way to Wealth (best seller)
he invented a type of a short prose called the HOAX or the TALL TALE (later also Mark Twain) – it’s clearly a lie
Autobiography: his only real book

Journalism: before the Revolution, cheap to publish, james otis, john dickinson, john adamsdaniel leonard…
thomas paine: pamphlet-writer, born in England, Common Sense (the most historically important pamphlet in Am. history – it unified American feeling for the Revolution), The Crisis
thomas jefferson: the chief author of the Declaration of Independence – the most important document in Am. history, free from emotions, inspired by Locke and by the idea of Enlightenment, all humanity is naturally good, finally signed on July 4th 1776
threat to Am. democracy – Federalists


Literature of the Early Republic

-American Revolution against Britain (1775-1783) was the first modern war of liberation against a colonial power. The search for a native literature became a national obsession. Until 1825, most American authors paid printers to publish their work.
-Obviously only wealthy, like Washington Irving and the New York Knickerbocker group, or the group of Connecticut poets known as the Hartford Wits, could afford it.
-in Revolutionary Am. both the prose and the poetry had a political or practical purpose
-The Federalist Papers – the major documents of those who opposed Jefferson’s thinking, 85 essays, alexander hamilton
-philip freneau – the best poet of his time, political journalist, strong patriotic feeling
-Pictures of Columbus – gloomy descriptions of nature + sharp attacks on British tyranny
-after the war – poetry supporting Jefferson against Federalists
-his best phase – he turned to poetry: The Wild Honey Suckle – symbol for beauty which quickly passes away
-poets of Revolutionary era = neoclassical style + themes of the great English poets (style taken from ancient Greek and Roman writers)
-they wrote in couplets + experimented with other forms – blank verse

The Connecticut Wits – more conservative, America’s first poetic circle, supporters of the American side in Revolution, but they hated democratic philosophy of Paine and Jefferson, most of them Federalists and Calvinists
john trumbull: he was the best writer of satire among the three major CW, The Progress of Dullness – his most famous poem, adventure of Tom Brainless, criticism on American education
timothy dwight: he wrote in the neoclassical style of Pope, some themes are Puritan, Greenfield Hill, for him Am. was a land of happiness X Europe: land of poverty and war
joel barlow: different, long patriotic poem Vision of Columbus= one of the worst long poems in Am. literature, The Hasty Pudding – best-loved poem, realistic and humorous description of making the English dessert. = mock-heroic poem (because it uses heroic neoclassical lang. a rhythms = it uses important subjects to describe unimportant event)

after the Revolution: beginnings in drama – first theatre = Williamsburg, Virginia
thomas godfrey (Prince of Parthia) – probably the first professional play to be produced, royall tyler (The Contrast) – the first comedy, new type of character = the Yankee (servant) – patriotic, puritanical

development of American personality – hector st. john de crevecoeur – main works in French, against the Revolution, explanation of American personality = in Letters from an American Farmer, he didn’t describe America as an utopia, ideal American = social man who co-operates with his neighbors, while earning his own living from farming

the rise of national literature: NOVEL: the first popular literature of the newly independent United States – almost no American novels written before. It was considered as a dangerous form of literature by the Puritans.
England: bunyan, defoe, fielding (Tom Jones) , richardson (Clarissa)
novels spoke directly to the ordinary people, they used realistic details to describe the reality
the first American novel: william hill brown: Power of Sympathy – suppressed as moral dangerous, moralistic advice and religious sentiments – such as susan rowson
hugh henry brackenridge: Modern Chivalry – the first important novel, author wanted to achieve reform in morals and manners, targets: religious and national groups’ customs – Indians, Quakes, Irish. Hero travel around the country with his servant.
charles brockden brown: more important, interest in horrors – lately influenced Poe and Hawthorne, Wieland – psychological Gothic novel in the European style, emotional power, Ormond, Arthur Mervyn
royall tyller: viz drama, one of the best realistic novels Algerine Captivel-attack on slavery

-Knickerbockers: early 19th century, NYC writers – 1810-40=Kn. era – the name comes from the novel by washington irving: A History of NY, by Deidrich Knickerbocker
-he invented many of the events and legends in his book, he laughs at Puritans
-The Sketch Book – two best –loved stories from Am. literature: RIP VAN WINKLE and THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLLOW – both plots based on German folk tales, it contains 32 stories, majority based on European subjects.
-Irving believed that the Old World had given him a lot of materials for his stories
-Bracebridge Hall, Tales of Traveller, The Alhambra, histories: The Conquest of Granada, The Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus.
-he was the first author to earn his living by writing
-james kirke paulding: another Knic. writer, The Dutchman’s Fireside
-james fenimore cooper: he spoke for the whole America, books contain much criticism of American society, 30 novels, he points out the best parts and criticize the worst parts of Am. society, he is called the American Walter Scott = he also wrote adventure stories filled with historical details
-Cooper describes character types such as pioneer, Indian, Yankee sailor… but the problems they face are not simply American problems
-The Spy – his first successful novel
-The Pioneers – the first novel of Cooper’s famous “Leatherstocking” series, introducing the character Natty Bumppo – appears in all the novels, typical American pioneer figure, deep love for nature, sympathy for all the people, this novel = the old age of Natty
-another novels dealing with Natty’s life: The Last of the Mohicans, The Prairie, The Pathfinder, The Deerslayer
-especially weak point – description of women characters, house-cleaning and love
-sea stories: both romanticism and realism, sudden change of something, The Pilot, The Red Rover
-from 1826 Cooper spent 7 years in Europe – angered about Englishmen speaking badly about USA – in defense he wrote Notions of the Americans
-back in America – trilogy Littlepage Trilogy – to support farming aristocracy
-America’s landowning aristocracy and the rise of a new class – “money-grabbers”


Romanticism and Transcendentalism in Am.Literature

-The Romantic Movement reached America around the year 1820. The fresh new vision electrified artistic and intellectual circles.
-the third important author during the era of Cooper and Irving – william cullen bryant: democratic and liberal, as a poet he disliked the old neoclassical style, admired Romantic poets of Europe (Wordsworth), poetry should help the reader to understand the world through emotions, emotion is the spring of poetry
-Thanatopsis – his first great poem, blank verse, nature and death are described eith a gentle sadness
-other poetry: A Forest Hymn, The Prairies, The Lapse of Time, The Indian Girl’s Lament… - deep social conscience, he fought for the rights of laborer and blacks
-South (slow): influence of Scott – john pendleton kennedy: In Swallow Barn
-william gilmore simms: the best of the romancers of the old South, The Yemasee – subject is a tribe of Indian, he describes the Indian society as a whole

An American Renaissance: following Cooper and Brackenridge writers were beginning to look at the western frontier for ideas, Boston=centre of intellectual activity, among young people – new spiritual era + young intellectuals - dissatisfaction with the old patriotism
they studied Greek, German and Indian philosophers, they kept diaries
in the centre: Transcendentalists=a movement of feelings and beliefs, they rejected both-the conservative Puritanism and liberal faith of Unitarianism – they saw it as negative and cold. But they respected Christ for the wisdom of his teaching.
T. tried to find the truth through feelings and intuition, not through logic
they found God everywhere, in man and nature
-The Transcendentalist movement was a reaction against 18th century rationalism. The movement was based on a fundamental belief in the unity of the world and God. The soul of each individual was thought to be identical with the world. The Transcendentalists published a quarterly magazine, The Dial, which lasted four years.
ralph waldo emerson: he was influenced by Plato, he founded the T. club – magazine The Dial=the true voice of their thoughts, it also had an experimental community: Brook Farm Institute
after some time they divided into two groups: a) those interested in social reform b) more interested in individual (Emerson and Thoreau)
Nature – the clearest statement of T. ideas, man should not see nature merely as something to be used, the man’s relationship with nature transcends the idea of usefulness
famous speech at Harvard Uni – The American Scholar
Self – Reliance – famous lecture essay, widely read, equally important – The Over-Soul
The Poet – he describes the poet as the complete man, he frees us from old thoughts
Concord Hymn – celebrates the Battle of Concord during Am. Revolution
henry david thoreau: influenced by reading the Nature, he was a pure T. for all his life , he lived with Emerson, he also kept journal. Emerson wrote about the nature on abstract, Thoreau used details about plants, wildlife etc.
Civil Disobedience – experience from jail – this theme influence Tolstoj, Ghandi, Luther King.
Walden – famous, about his staying in a pondside hut, living alone, plants, animals, seasons but! – it’s completely T. work
his poetry – less important
he became deeply interested in the Abolitionist movement, his home became a place for anti-slavery groups
other less important Transcendentalists: amos bronson alcott, margaret fuller (editor od the T. magazine The Dial), william ellery channing…
enemy of T.: oliver w. holmes: After-Dinner Poem
nathaniel hawthorne: Celestian Railroad – ironic short story about Christian – inspiration from Bunyan’s Process – but there the main character is taken by train to the Celestian City = heaven. At the end he’s theorw into the cold water = reality, strong allegory.
he always writes about man in the society, characters have some secret guilt or problem which keeps them in a distance from other people, interest in the dark part of human – similar to the Gothic novelists
he carefully describes the psychology of characters – Fanshawe – tries to copy the Gothic fiction, loneliness and waste
his best work: The Scarlett Letter – effects of adultery, letter A, theme=it is useless to hide a guilt in order to avoid punishment
House of the Seven Gables – read in all Am. high schools, allegory, each character represents different quality
criticism of Brook Farm community - The Blithedale Romance
Hawthorne’s best tales are contained in his Mosses from an Old Manse (incl. Celestian R.)
work that derived from his staying in Europe – Marble Faun – set in Italy
herman melville: tragic view of life, universe id working against the human happiness and peace of mind, he became a sailor – his most important influence, he was shocked by the life of a low class, his work – more than sea adventure
Typee – his first novel, realistic details, hero lives among cannibals, he finds them happy
Omoo – continues the adv. of Tom – hero of Typee, Mardi – too abstract+ difficult
Redburn – theme = people are drawn into the evil – generally major theme in Am. literature, young sailor
Moby-Dick – most known, popular, about the great white whale, it represents God of fate, allegory, voyage of the ship Pequod, Captain Ahab, desire to destroy the whale – he dies after the attack.
Billy Bud – Melvill’s last important work, published posthumously, story of young sailor and his civil enemy
edgar allan poe: also interested in psychology and the darker side of human nature, Southern author, imaginary language, contribution = short stories, literary criticism and poetry
theme: lonely adventurer meets with psychological and physical horrors, he puts characters into unusual situations + he describes their feelings
The Pit and the Pendulum, The Tell-Tale Heart, The Black Cat
The Fall of House of Usher – best known Poe’s tale, relationship btw. twins
Poe is a creator of the modern detective story genre – The Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Gold Bug… - all written in a simple, realistic style, more populra than horrors during his life-time
POETRY: he experimented with ways to make it musical, poetry – the rhythmic creation of beauty, The Bells, The Raven – the rhythm allowas us to hear the rhythm
the goal of poetry is a pleasure, not the truth
literary criticism: reviews for the Southern Literary Messenger, he wanted to develop a national literature for the young country, he hated bad books and bad writing
(anti trans. – Melville, Hawthorne, Poe)

Boston Brahmins
(Longfellow, Hawthorne, Holmes, Whittier, Lowell, historians: Prescott, Motley, Bancroft, Parkman)

Americans were very patriotic, they tried to ignore Poe – he influenced Baudelaire and Rimbaud, Poe was exploring the unhappy depths of the inner self
aristocratic Boston writers from old Boston families= “Brahmins”
they often copied English literary styles, but they considered Boston as the thinking centre of America and therefore the planet
they had a “Saturday Club”, met on one Saturday a month
its own magazine – from 1857 – Atlantic Monthly, they tried to influence the intellecual life of new American republic, for next 20 years – leading intell. magazine in US
the name Brahmin was invented by Oliver Wendell Holmes (viz. dále)
nathaniel hawthorne: Celestian Railroad – ironic short story about Christian – inspiration from Bunyan’s Process – but there the main character is taken by train to the Celestian City = heaven. At the end he’s theorw into the cold water = reality, strong allegory.
he always writes about man in the society, characters have some secret guilt or problem which keeps them in a distance from other people, interest in the dark part of human – similar to the Gothic novelists
he carefully describes the psychology of characters – Fanshawe – tries to copy the Gothic fiction, loneliness and waste
his best work: The Scarlett Letter – effects of adultery, letter A, theme=it is useless to hide a guilt in order to avoid punishment
House of the Seven Gables – read in all Am. high schools, allegory, each character represents different quality
criticism of Brook Farm community - The Blithedale Romance
Hawthorne’s best tales are contained in his Mosses from an Old Manse (incl. Celestian R.)
work that derived from his staying in Europe – Marble Faun – set in Italy
henry wadsworth longfellow: was speaking directly to the hearts of ordinary Americans, he recommends an active healthy life
A Psalm of Life – hardworking countrymen, poem
Excelsior – encouraged idealism
The Song of Hiawatha – ballad, he borrowed national themes, legends of Colonial times, popular stories, easy to understand, unrhymed, trochaic meter sounds like the beat of Indian tom-toms, story of Indian hero before the coming of a white man, another ballad - Evangeline
at the end of his life – more religious themes – The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls – poem, he describes the end of a man’s life
like Irving, he took a lot of ideas from other authors, he used foreign Eurpe materials, never surprises us with something new, calm, clear voice.
oliver wendell holmes: among the first to contribute to the magazine, series of essays there – Autocrat of the Breakfast Table – humorous, suprising opinion,
he was good at humorous poetry, light verse, deep thoughts are not the point
The Deacon’s Masterpiece – his typical humor, but serious subject = attack on Puritan Calvinism
several novels: unusual medical problems – “medicated novels”
Elsie Venner – his best novel + The Guardian Angel – strong anti-Calvinist opinion
james russell lowell: perfect aristocratic man of literature, his poetry – political message
The Biglow Papers – written during the Mexican War, he attacked American policy, war was a national crime for him
A Fable for Critics – he makes fun of his fellow writers (Emerson, Poe, Thorerau…)
john greenleaf whittier: New England poet, poetry about beautiful simple things of life, strong supporter of Abolitionism- poems against slavery, after CV – softer tone, Snow-Bound
HISTORCIANS:their purpose was to present the drama of great man and great events
george bancroft: History of the United States
william hickling prescott: History of Ferdinand and Isabella
francis parkman: The Oregon Trail
The Mid-Century Writers
herman melville: tragic view of life, universe id working against the human happiness and peace of mind, he became a sailor – his most important influence, he was shocked by the life of a low class, his work – more than sea adventure
Typee – his first novel, realistic details, hero lives among cannibals, he finds them happy
Omoo – continues the adv. of Tom – hero of Typee, Mardi – too abstract+ difficult
Redburn – theme = people are drawn into the evil – generally major theme in Am. literature, young sailor
Moby-Dick – most known, popular, about the great white whale, it represents God of fate, allegory, voyage of the ship Pequod, Captain Ahab, desire to destroy the whale – he dies after the attack.
Billy Bud – Melvill’s last important work, published posthumously, story of young sailor and his civil enemy
walt whitman: post CV poetry, he wanted to define America, he took long walks in the country + describes the life, industry, city, way of life.
first he absorbs the things, the smells of the world around and than he makes sounds – he sings them into the poetry, Boston Brahmins disliked his vulgarity and boldness
Leaves of Grass – non systematic studying if this world, it’s his life work + extremely important in Am. literature, it remained uncompleted until 1892
major themes of WW work are expressed in his long poem Song of Myself – he introduces and deals with “self” – nothing, even God, is greater than self = Trans. idea of self, in fact, it’s the expansion of Emerson idea of the Over-Soul, but WW goes beyond Emerson
he brings sex within the area of poetry – Calamus, Children of Adam – he included them into the third edition of his Leaves of Grass
important development in the area of poetic form – poets from WW freed themselves from the old English tradition, message is more important than the form
he was the first to fully explore the possibilities of a free verse - in his poetry – lines are not usually organized into stanzas, they look more like ordinary sentences, he rarely uses rhyme or meter
he wrote without poetic ornaments, so that ordinary people can read him
in CV he supported NIrth and admired president Lincoln – two poems on his murder: Oh, Captain! My Captain!
harriet beecher stowe: Uncle Tom’s Cabin – it united Northern feelings against slavery, hudreds of copies were sold before the CV, story of a black slave, who has a hope of freedom but never escapes from his slavery, he finally welcomes the cruel death caused by his master = masterpiece of Abolitionist propaganda, it expanded Northern campaign against Southern slavery which led to the CV.
emily dickinson: shy, odd personality, New England poet during CV era, no mention of war – very isolated and lonely life, private life, very personal and pure poetry, she experiments with words and images, she was more free, not every sentence rhymes perfectly = this leads to modernism
prevailing poetic fo