Pre-Settlement to Colonialism (1620-1750)

Pre-Settlement to 1620

• Native American oral traditions existed, including myths, songs, chants, poems, and hero legends/trickster tales.
• These traditions conveyed moral lessons, cultural information, and practical knowledge about the natural world.
• A harmonious worldview, connecting humans, animals, and plants, characterized their perspective, emphasizing respect for nature, community, and the interconnectedness of all living things.
• The sacred and secular were not divided.
• European accounts (journals, letters, essays, logs, reports, maps) documented exploration, survival, fortune hunting, and interactions with Native Americans.
• Key figures to know include those involved in the accounts of exploration and the interactions with Native Americans. Works authored during this era like King Phillip's speech. Columbus letters and John Smith.

Puritanism + Colonialism (1620-1750)

• Early American literature focused on settlement concerns, hardships, daily life, and religious themes.
• The Enlightenment, emphasizing scientific inquiry, natural rights, and reason, became prevalent.
• Key figures include Anne Bradstreet (first published female poet in the New World) and Edward Taylor.

Age of Reason and Revolution (1750-1820)

• This era emphasized ideals of freedom and human potential alongside rational thought and logic.
• Truth was sought through reason, science, philosophy, and logic (Neoclassicism).
• Key characteristics included reason, scientific argument, wit, and neoclassicism (influenced by ancient Greek ideals).
• Types included political documents, philosophical writings, and structured poetry.
• Key figures include Phillis Wheatley and Washington Irving (a transitional figure towards Romanticism).

American Renaissance (1830-1870, Romanticism)

• Romanticism emphasized the beauty of nature, the supernatural, emotion over reason, and individual expression.
• Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne (dark romanticism) explored the supernatural.
• Walt Whitman exemplified straightforward romanticism.
• Key characteristics of Romanticism include intense appreciation of nature's beauty, reliance on emotion over reason for inspiration, and the prioritization of strong individual expression.

Transcendentalism (1830s-1850s)

• An offshoot of Romanticism, Transcendentalism emphasized the unity of creation, individualism, and self-reliance.
• Key figures include Ralph Waldo Emerson, known for his writings on nature.
• Emily Dickinson exemplified this through reimagined poetry, hymn-like themes, and was influenced by transcendentalism.