Sparked by the formation of The Royal Society in London in
1660. Emphasis on science, rational thinking, balance, and logic.
Writings reflect the rational, logical thinking of the period.
Slide 4
Washington Irving Edgar Allen Poe Nathaniel Hawthorne
Slide 5
This period is the antithesis of neoclassicism. The emphasis is
on the heart rather than the head. Romantics stress emotion,
intuition, individuality, imagination, the exotic, and the
supernatural.
Slide 6
Ralph Waldo Emerson Henry David Thoreau
Slide 7
This is EXTREME Romanticism! Transcendentalists take
individualism to an extreme. One should follow ones heart and
intuition to an extreme, even if it means breaking the law or
disappointing ones family and friends.
Slide 8
Emily Dickinson Mark Twain Kate Chopin
Slide 9
After the carnage of the American Civil War the optimism of
Romanticism faded. Writers strove to present the everyday realities
of life in their works. Realists presented a sometimes stark
depiction of life as it is really lived.
Slide 10
Stephen CraneAmbrose Bierce
Slide 11
Naturalism is EXTREME realism, which presents a cold, uncaring
world. Naturalists were greatly impacted by the writings of Darwin
and saw the environment as a great determiner of human actions.
Naturalism is a pessimistic world view in which one questions the
existence of God and sees man as a helpless victim of forces beyond
his control.
Slide 12
F. Scott Fitzgerald William Faulkner
Slide 13
Modernism characterized the first half of the 20 th century.
This was a time of experimentation in literature. Writings of this
period exhibit ambiguities which force readers to form their own
opinions. (Sometimes even the narrators are unreliable.)
Slide 14
Arthur Miller Kurt Vonnegut
Slide 15
This period, which began after World War II and the dropping of
the first atomic bomb, is characterized by continued
experimentation and a pessimistic world view. Post Modernism
includes the philosophy of Existentialism, the idea that there is
no ultimate meaning embodied is human existence. The only meaning
in life is that which one brings to it.
