American Literary Movements

Assorted classic books, pixabay

The term American literary movement refers to the periods of evolution in American literature and the characteristics that literature from different time periods shares. Factors that unify literature within a particular movement might include the style of the authors' writing, common themes or ideas, and the influence of the era’s social and political climate.

History of American Literary Movements

The following is a brief history of American literary movements.

Native American Literature - Early National Literature (Pre-colonial-1830)

The first recognizable American literary movement is, of course, the pre-colonial period of Native American literature. Before the arrival of Europeans in what is now the United States, Native Americans had a vibrant literary tradition with a strong focus on oral storytelling. These stories were of high cultural value, including creation stories and other myths and folktales.

With the arrival of European settlers, the first period of English language literature began. As Puritans settled in New England, they used literature, not for entertainment, but rather to explore religious themes and biblical teachings. Puritan literature was generally non-fiction and included letters, diary entries, and other details of daily activities.

At the same time, Colonial literature was also developing in America. Like Puritan literature, the literature of the Colonial period was mostly non-fiction and geared towards descriptions of daily life. The major difference, however, was the religious content of Puritan literature, while Colonial writers like Captain John Smith focused on describing the process of colonization for those back home in Europe and Great Britain.

The American Revolution in 1775 marked the start of the Revolutionary and Early National literary movements. As you might guess, this literary movement was strongly influenced by the development of the new nation and the fight for independence. As a result, much of the literature from this period was political in nature. These texts included political essays discussing the formation of the new government as well as propaganda pamphlets supporting the revolutionaries’ cause.

Some of the most important writers of this period were also well-known political figures, such as Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), and Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804).

Influenced by the Enlightenment in Europe, American authors in the Revolutionary and Early National periods also embraced the literary movement of Rationalism. A preference for rational thought and deductive reasoning shaped texts of the era, including The Declaration of Independence (1776) and Thomas Paine's The Age of Reason (1794)

American Romanticism and Naturalism (1830-1914)

American Romanticism, pixabay

The year 1830 marks the beginning of American Romanticism. This is arguably the first uniquely American literary movement and gave rise to some of the most important authors in the history of American literature. With the American Revolution behind them, authors in the United States had the extraordinary opportunity to participate in the process of nation-building by creating truly American literature.

This was the first time American authors tried to separate themselves from the literary traditions of Europe and Great Britain. Authors such as Henry David Thoreau and Herman Melville wrote novels and poetry inspired by the American landscape and the ideals of freedom and individuality.

American Romanticism was also the first literary movement in the United States that split into several sub-movements. These sub-movements included Transcendentalism, Dark Romanticism, American Gothic, and the poetry of the Fireside Poets.

Towards the middle of the 19th century, American literature began to move away from Romanticism as authors embraced the literary movements of Realism and Naturalism. The horrors of the Civil War had changed the mood of the country and the idealism of Romanticism was no longer applicable.

Following World War II, Modernism began to shift into Postmodernism, a literary movement that eschewed meaning and embraced disorder and fragmentation. Postmodern authors such as Kurt Vonnegut and Philip K. Dick wrote playful, distorted texts that often relied heavily on metafiction and intertextuality.

By the mid to late 20th century, American literature had begun to resemble the diverse body of work that we see today. American drama grew in importance, with the first performances of Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire (1947) and Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman (1949). American poets as diverse as Sylvia Plath and Allan Ginsberg established a variety of literary movements including the San Francisco Renaissance, New Formalism, the Confessional Poets, and the Beat Generation.

The urge towards experimentation and the breaking of literary conventions that began during the Modernist and Experimental periods continue to influence American literature, which represents a broad variety of literary themes, styles, and genres.

Slave Narratives

• Accounts that were written by enslaved Africans detailing their experiences.
• Focus on simple language to realistically and matter-of-factly portray the horrors of slavery.
• Examples include A Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (1845) by Frederick Douglass, and Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861) by Harriet Jacobs.

Modernism and Experimentation (1914-1940)

• Emphasis on style and how a story is told.
• Experimentation with structure and point of view in both poetry and prose.
• Sub-movements within Modernism and Experimentation include the Harlem Renaissance and the Lost Generation.

The Harlem Renaissance:

• Focus on the African American experience.

• Experimentation with style and structure.

• Examples include the poetry of Langston Hughes (1901-1967) and Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937) by Zora Neale Hurston.

The Lost Generation:

• Rebellion against established American cultural ideals.
• Themes of disillusionment and critiques of the American Dream.
• Examples include The Sun Also Rises (1926) by Ernest Hemingway and The Great Gatsby (1925) by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Modern American Prose

• Novels and essays that were published after World War II.
• Authors employ a wide variety of themes and styles to describe the experience of the contemporary world, usually following the themes and arguments seen in Postmodernism.
• Examples include To Kill a Mockingbird (1960) by Harper Lee and Beloved (1987) by Toni Morrison.

Modern American Drama

• Emphasis on plays with realistic settings.
• Focus on the depiction of American life and society.
• Examples include A Streetcar Named Desire (1947) by Tennessee Williams and Death of a Salesman (1949) by Arthur Miller.

Modern American Poetry

• American poets use a variety of styles and explore a variety of themes.
• Sub-movements within Modern American Poetry include the San Francisco Renaissance, New Formalism, Confessional Poetry, The New York School, the Beat Generation, the Black Mountain Poets, and Poetry Slam.

San Francisco Renaissance

• Avant-garde poetry movement based in San Francisco.
• Shunning the poetic mainstream.
• Examples include the poetry of Kenneth Rexroth (1905-1982) and William Everson (1912-1994).

New Formalism

• Poetry movement that sought to re-embrace poetic conventions of the past.
• Poets rejected free verse and instead returned to traditional forms of rhyme, meter, and verse.
• Examples include the poetry of Charles Martin (1942-present) and Molly Peacock (1947-present).

Confessional Poetry

• Poetry movement centered on personal poetry.
• Focus on private, intimate themes and personal history.
• Examples include the poetry of Sylvia Plath (1932-1963) and Anne Sexton (1928-1974).

New York School

• Poetry movement based in Manhattan.
• Focus on depicting everyday life while embracing humor and references to popular culture.
• Examples include the poetry of John Ashbery (1927-2017) and Alice Notley (1945-present).

Beat Generation

• Poetry movement related to the San Francisco Renaissance.
• Focus on questioning social conformity and challenging traditional literary conventions.
• Examples include the poetry of Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997) and Jack Kerouac (1922-1969).

Black Mountain Poets

• Avant-garde poetry movement based at Black Mountain College in North Carolina.
• Focus on the use of conversational language and turning away from poetic conventions of the past.
• Examples include the poetry of Charles Owen (1910-1970) and Larry Eigner (1927-1996).

Poetry Slam

• Poetry movement that explores the performance of poetry.
• Focus on competition and high-energy performances.
• Examples include the poetry of Taylor Mali (1965-present) and Anis Mojgani (1977-present).