This history of American literature begins with the arrival of English-speaking

Europeans in what would become the United States. At first American literature
was naturally a colonial literature, by authors who were Englishmen and who
thought and wrote as such. John Smith, a soldier of fortune, is credited with
initiating American literature. His chief books included A True Relation of…
Virginia…(1608) and The Generall Historie of Virginia, New England, and the
Summer Isles (1624).

The history of American literature stretches across more than 400 years. It can be
divided into five major periods, each of which has unique characteristics, notable
authors, and representative works.

The Colonial and Early National Period (1607-1765)(17th

Century:1601-1700)

In its earliest days, during the 1600s, American literature consisted mostly of
practical nonfiction written by British settlers who populated the colonies that
would become the United States. John Smith wrote histories of Virginia based on
his experiences as an English explorer. Nathaniel Ward and John Winthrop wrote
books on religion, a topic of central concern in colonial America.
A new era began when the United States declared its independence in 1776, and
much new writing addressed the country’s future. American poetry and fiction
were largely modeled on what was being published overseas in Great Britain, and
much of what American readers consumed also came from Great Britain.
Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography, which he wrote during the 1770s and ’80s,
told a typically American life story.
The first American novel, The Power of Sympathy by William Hill Brown, was
published in 1789.
By the first decades of the 19th century, a truly American literature began to
emerge. Though still derived from British literary tradition, the short stories and
novels published from 1800 through the 1820s began to depict American society
and explore the American landscape in an unprecedented manner.

the colonial period in American history extends from 1607 to 1665. during these
years the literary output in America was quite negligible. for the settlers survival
was the first and foremost concern. they had to fight against the wilderness,
convert a rugged forest into cultivable land. thus, lack of leisure chiefly accounts
for lack of literature of high order.
moreover, as inheritors of the rich cultural tradition of England, the colonist did not
feel the urge to create literature of their own that could compete with that of
England and Europe. they feel that they still belong to the old world and could still
receive sustenance from their parent country. great literature is often the result of a
sense of oneness or a spirit of Nationality which the heterogenous settlers of
America were yet to feel. it was only much later after the winning of political
independence that America felt the need for winning herself culturally from
England and erect the edifice of their own literature.
if the bustle and activity of the colonial period gave little time and scope to the
writers to write, it is equally true that it gave the public very little time and scope to
read as well. no writer could thrive in such a situation in colonial America. the
reading of the people was confined to the reading of the Bible and the other prayer
books and books brought from England. besides, facilities for printing in America
were inadequate and the writers found no reason to hold the pen to write. only 3
things prompted the colonial writers to contribute literary output. first, it was the
desire to record important events and to provide their families and friends with an
account of personal experiences. much of the writings by Bradford and John Smith
are the results of this particular reason. secondly, it was the motive of propaganda.
global accounts of the lands were written during this period so that the english
people might be lured in large numbers to come to america which held out to be a
promise of immense material prosperity. thirdly, the spaciousness and the grandeur
of this new continent, the richness of its natural resources and the prospects of a
good future were all mirrored in the writings of this period. the writings of john
smith gave the audience 2 important things- it is the voyager's obsession to make
the new world a part of the whole.
apart from these three factors, there emerged another important factor behind the
colonial urge to write good literary stuff. the factor was the Puritan's appetite for
more religious writings. sharing Milton's desire to "justify the ways of God to
men", these writers started producing a volumnous literature which are composed
of some sermons, diaries, biographies and some poems of seriously religious
nature but the Puritans subordination of form and matter hindered the production
of literature of purely aesthetic nature.
thus, in the heap of colonial writings we look for a scrap of writings that may be
called a complete literature during colonial America. it was by the end of the
colonial period that the broader religious outlook, the sway of rationalism and the
dawn of Nationalism soon created in America a conjeneal atmosphere to produce
some genuine literature that could be compared with that of England.

Influence of Puritanism:
the early colonizers, particularly those who settled around New England were
largely Puritans. puritanism started in england in the 16th century as a definite
religious movement. it sought to purify the english church from the traces of
catholicism. however, soon it got involved in politics and puritans sought to
establish a Republic of Commonwealth. their open disgrace in religious matters
were opposed by the Anglican leaders who made efforts to make the status of
Charles I and William Land, Bishop of London. From 1628-1683, started a policy
of prosecution of the clergyman. they realized that the reform of the English
Church was impossible. the puritans wanted to establish a church government in
the colonies and a way of living in conformation with their cherished believers.
naturally the important writings of the spirit were impression of their religious zeal
(passion).
all important types of colonial writing has been the stamp of puritanism. the bulk
prose of this period consists of sermons, theological writings, biographies,
autobiographies and some diaries which were penned by some Puritans. infact, the
puritans could conceive no better purpose for literature than the glorification of
god. literature in this period became handmaid to theology in the hands of the
putitans. even poetry was not free to soar into the realms of imagination. the poems
by anne bresheet reflects the puritan's doctrine, nature of this life, the need for
subordination of the body to the spirit and so on. the chief concern of the puritans
being the swaying of souls, it was unthinkable that those early american writers
should have given much thought to the composition of imaginative literature.
however, one should not declare that the puritan influence was only something
shifting to both culture and literature. rather it was only the extremes amongst the
puritans who despised the moral life and indulged in fanaticism and superstitions.
but then it were these puritans who founded the Harvard College in 1636 and also
the first printing press in 1639. thus, they sowed the seeds which later flourished
and bore fruit. the influence of Puritans was long lasting and is still seen in
American literature.

(18th Century: 1700-1800)

The American Revolution: Birth of National Consciousness (1760-

1800)

during this time, the differences in the communities were subordinated

 and people started to follow a common culture and thus gave rise to "diversity
within unity", a major characteristic of American way of life. secondly, this feeling
of oneness was again strengthened by common education. the american university,
i.e. the Harvard University, was founded by the puritan settlers. when the youth of
various atlantic colonies met at these educational institutes, they exchanged views
with those other colonies and came closer. the spirit of national consciousness took
birth in them. they started to share their contempt against the british government
who ruled over them and failed to understand the problems faced by them.
another reason that contributed to the rise of nationalistic feeling was the
increasing prosperity of the different colonies. the strain of colonizing was almost
over. the land was fertile and rich harvests could easily be reaped. increased leisure
and financial well being, facilities for communication with the growth of postal
system were conducive both to the growth of literature and nationalism.
the british imposed several actson the americans which became symbols of
expolitation and tyranny. this instigated the colonies to come together and in 1774,
the first American Continental Congress was formed and they met in Philadelphia.
the tide of national sentiment that swept over america produced a genuine interest
amongst the people towards literature. at that very crucial time, the writers were
more self conscious and the spread of education created an enlightened public who
were ready to welcome good literature. accounts of voyages, tracts, sermons,
history and biographies certainly dominated the literary cult. there was a
mushroom growthof magazines, periodicals and journals and the political issues of
the day were hotly debated and the services of eminent men of letters were enlisted
by both sides to put forward their respective points of view. at this time america
was divided into Conservatives or Loyalists (of the britishers) and the patriots or
republicans. (like the whigs and tories)
the patriots made their legal position clear by a well work-out political philosophy
which they drew from the writings of Thomas Hobbs, Sir Robert, John Locke and
many other English and Europen thinkers. the impassioned speech of Patrick
Henry concluding with "Give me liberty or give me death" was meant to appeal to
the reluctant colonies to come forward and fight. there was a weakening of
religious hold and the writers were fully pre-occupied with political issue. appeal
was made to reason and commonsense. a number of poets too contributed some
literary outputs towards the national sentiment. innumerable songs and ballads
came up, satires like "F.Fingle" by Thumbull came to be written during the period
of revolution.
various writers voiced their colonial aspiration for self rule and freedom from the
shackles of the imperialist britain. there was a spurt of writings, mostly
controversial and polemical. franklin's satirical works such as "Rules by which a
Great Empire may be Reduced to a Small One" and "An Edict of the King of
Prussia", Thomas Paine's Brilliant pamphlets like "Common Sense and the
American Crisis", were among the most enduring specimens of prose literatureof
this period. "The Declaration of Independence" by Jefferson is a classic document
of the struggle for independence.
a new literary genre, that came into existence by about this time was the essay. in
england Addison and Steele established the importance of the essays. it jumped
across the atlantic and became immensely popular in america. in 1772, benjamin
franklin was immitating "The Spectator", in a newspaper which was run by his
brother. soon, every newspaper was publishing a series of essays while the writers
remained anonymous.
just as the essays were the byproduct of American journalism, "Literary Criticism"
was also the result of newspapers and magazines in america. alexander pope and
dryden were the pioneer in this field. the reason why the colonial literature is all
together different in fiction was that Puritanism in america was hostile to anything
which was false, fake and imaginary. by about the late 18th century the libraries
were providing the young ladies of america with various romances and
newspapers.
the domestic novels of Jane Austen and Fanny Burney and the historical fiction of
Walter Scott found their ways to america and thus they became nourished there.
great success in this field was achieved by James, More, Cooper, etc.
in the field of short story, the usual time taken between the appearances of a new
literary genre in england and its immitation in america is not seen. the short story
had an even start. benjamin franklin seems to have been one of the pioneers in this
field of short story writing.
in short, these are the various genres of literature that came up and flourished in
america during the revolutionary period. not only that, even drama was also
something new in the 18th century america. by about 1750,plays were produced in
the playhouses of the south and the middle colonies. fortunately, just after the
revolution, playwrights started emerging in american literature. the plays of Royall
Tyler and William Dunlop were staged and attained some measure of popularity.

Literature During The Late 18th Century:

american literature underwent great changes for its own betterment during the 18th
century. the social and political condition of america have by now assuredd a
transformation and they were highly conducive to the making of literature from the
shackles of theology, religion and utilitarian motives.
in the first place, the strain of colonising was almost over and most of the colonies
have reached a provincial status. the various colonies started keeping good contact
with one another. the postal system appeared as a great boon to the people of
America. even journalism appeared during this particular period and the first
newspaper of America "The Boston News" was issued in 1704 and soon a number
of periodicals sprang up. the many magazines qand weeklies of this period, though
poor and immitative in nature gave ample proof that the people who were taking
interest in cultural and literary affairs instead of being engrossed in some material
needs. again, another important factor responsible for the change was the
increasing number of literary people. the early settlers with the great wisdomand
foresight had made provisions for education. public schools and church schools,
private academics and home instruction were evidences of the fact that the people
of america had education to a certain level.

economically also things were brightening up. most colonial families were
becoming prosperous and self sufficient. they produced their own clothing. all the
provinces in general became rich inspite of the imposition of restrictions on trade.
besides,farming in america offered immense prospects. life on the colonies seemed
to be quite blessed and it was evident from the literary piece, "Letters of an
American Farme"

new classes of people, like the gentlemen, statesmenand soldiers were now created.
the southern part of america experimented with a literary form so far undreamt of
in america, i.e. the drama. the first american tragedy to be published and publicly
performed was "The Prince of Persia", written by Thomas Godfrey.

in the 18th century america, religion was becoming broader. the very conception of
god, man and the universe were undergoing some changes. the liberal tendencies
and the gradual gaining of momentum culminates in the bold assertions of Thomas
Paine, Jefferson, Philip Frenease. like europe, america too was under sway of
reason during the 18th century.

america was becoming conscious of the new literary trends in england, though
there was a 'cultural gap' of 30 years between the first appearance in england and
its adaptation in america. it was most encouraging that people were open to receive
those literary forms from abroad. the prose of jonathan swift and daniel defoe in
england and also the essayists had its effects on american writngs. benjamin
franklin and some other writers showed their indebtedness to the english
prosewriters. the essays of Addison and Steele inspired the rise of the periodical
essays like the "Tell Tale" series written by a group of students at Harvard
University. in the field of poetry, John Dryden and Alexander Pope also had their
sway. american poetry of the 17th century gained firmnessfrom the heroic poetry
of the english poets. infact all the neoclassical trrends of england were faithfully
copied in america.

The Romantic Period: 1830 to 1870 (19th Century:1801-1900)

Romanticism as a worldview took hold in western Europe in the late 18th century,
and American writers embraced it in the early 19th century.romanticism in america
had a number of features in common with english romanticism. there was the same
stress on emotion and imagination, on intuition and inspiration as contrasted with
the stress on reason of the previous age of neo-classicism or enlightenment. there
was the same glorification of the common men. individualism was a dominant
trait. there was the experimentation with new verse forms and stanza patterns, there
was an immense variety of literary genres and verse forms such as blank verse,
octosyllabic lines, the spenserian stanza, the sonnet, the ode, the lyric and metrical
romance. romantics like Thoreau and Emerson rejected the set pattern of the 18th
century verse and the liberation of the verse was complete in Walt Whitman.
but all these does not mean american romanticism was a mere carbon copy of
english romanticism. the nationalists in america clamoured (demanded) for a
genuine American literature - on american themes and reflecting the american
ethos. the result was that american romanticism was both english and american at
one and the same time. it had a number of traits in common but they were
modified and given a distinctive american twist. thus, the american romantics, too,
loved nature. while the english romantics loved nature in all her spring time beauty
and glory, the american romantics loved her wilder and vaster aspects. love of wild
nature was america's original distinction.
the romantics were fascinated by the charm of the remote, the far-off and the
distant. the adventures, exploits and achievements of the great explorers were
studied and sung by one poet after another. columbus was thesubject of biography
for Irving. the puritan's background became foreground in Hawthorne's "The
Scarlet Letter". the american indian was glorified. the indian tribes were perhaps
the best evidences of america's past and only authentic 'ruins' that america could
produce, since it lacked the mouldering castles of europe. cooper withhis "The Last
of the Mohicans" began the tradition of the idealised portrait of the indians.
the romantic interest in the remote, the unfamiliar and the distant is seen in the
interest of the american romantics in the orient and its philosophy. emerson found
asia rich in suggestions of a spiritual view of life. once he came to knowthe sages
and poets of the Orient, they were never long absent from their writings.
the remarks of Spiller on american romanticism are interesting. he says: "The
essence of romanticism is the ability to wander and to reflect...".

some important features:

One big difference between American Romanticism and the British Romanticism
is that the novel held a very crucial place in American Romanticism unlike British
Romanticism.
The most important British Romantic writers were poets—like William
Wordsworth, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and George Byron. And while the Americans
also have their big poets, like Walt Whitman, a number of the most important
American Romantic writers were novelists, most notably Herman
Melville and Nathaniel Hawthorne.
The American Romantics have given us some of the greatest symbols in all of
American literature. These include the infamous white whale in Herman
Melville's Moby-Dick and the red letter "A" in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlett
Letter. These symbols are still relevant in the 21st century. The American Romantics use
symbolism to hint at ideas and emotions that are beyond ordinary language, or
beyond the reach of everyday expression. 
The American Romantics were nonconformists. They were individualists,
rebels with a cause. their writing often breaks literary conventions. If we take
Herman Melville's Moby-Dick, for instance, we'll find that it is many things all at
once. It's a novel, but it's also a whaling manual and a philosophical tract. The
book, in other words, isn't easy to classify in terms of genre, though it is usually
discussed as a novel. Likewise, Walt Whitman's poetry broke many poetic
conventions of the time. Walt Whitman, for example, developed "free verse," a
style of writing poetry that didn't rely on meter or rhyme. during that time, this sort
of poetic experimentation was considered radical. These writers hated the "herd
mentality." They believed that we should listen really hard to our deep, inner
selves, and be true to them. Their writing dwells on, and deals with,
individuals who go against the grain, who think for themselves, and who stay
true to themselves.
they believed that the imagination is an expression of individual identity. they
believed that the imagination expresses our individuality and allow us to make
insights that we couldn't arrive at through "rational" means. Our imagination,
like our emotions, allows us access into a realm of knowledge that is beyond
reason or rationality. Emily Dickinson's "There is No Frigate Like a Book,"
deals with how books enrich our imagination. When Ishmael in Herman
Melville's Moby-Dick looks at whale bones, he doesn't just see whale
bones. His imagination takes him back right to the very beginning of the world.

Democracy became a huge political value in American culture and identity

following the American Revolution. The American Romantics valorized the
ideals of democracy and freedom—the ideals on which the American nation
was built. They were all about equality, justice, and freedom. These ideals
influenced their outlook and were also central themes in their writing.Walt
Whitman's "Song of Myself" reflects a democratic vision in which everyone
has an equal role to play in society. In the poem "A Nation's Strength," Ralph
Waldo Emerson argues that what makes a nation strong isn't just wealth, but
its ideals and principles. 

Edgar Allan Poe most vividly depicted, and inhabited, the role of the Romantic
individual.

Poe invented the modern detective story with “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”
(1841).

The poem “The Raven” (1845) is a gloomy depiction of lost love. Its eeriness is

intensified by its meter and rhyme scheme.
The short stories “The Fall of the House of Usher” (1839) and “The Cask of
Amontillado” (1846) are gripping tales of horror.

Three men—Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, and Walt Whitman—began

publishing novels, short stories, and poetry during the Romantic period that
became some of the most-enduring works of American literature.
As a young man, Nathaniel Hawthorne published short stories, most notable
among them the allegorical “Young Goodman Brown” (1835). In the 1840s he
 crossed paths with the Transcendentalists before he started writing his two most
significant novels—The Scarlet Letter (1850) and The House of the Seven
Gables (1851).
Herman Melville was one of Hawthorne’s friends and neighbors. Hawthorne was
also a strong influence on Melville’s Moby Dick (1851), which was the
culmination of Melville’s early life of traveling and writing.
Walt Whitman wrote poetry that described his home, New York City. He refused
the traditional constraints of rhyme and meter in favor of free verse in Leaves of
Grass (1855), and his frankness in subject matter and tone repelled some critics.
But the book, which went through many subsequent editions, became a landmark
in American poetry, and it epitomized the ethos of the Romantic period.
Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin, first published serially 1851–52, is
credited with raising opposition in the North to slavery.
Emily Dickinson lived a life quite unlike other writers of the Romantic period: she
lived largely in seclusion; only a handful of her poems were published before her
death in 1886; and she was a woman working at a time when men dominated the
literary scene. Yet her poems express a Romantic vision as clearly as Walt
Whitman’s or Edgar Allan Poe’s. They are sharp-edged and emotionally intense.

 Realism and Naturalism (1870 to 1910)

The human cost of the Civil War in the United States was immense. Walt Whitman
claimed that “a great literature will…arise out of the era of those four years,” and
what emerged in the following decades was a literature that presented a detailed
and unembellished vision of the world as it truly was. Samuel Clemens, in 1863
became Mark Twain. He first used that name while reporting on politics in the
Nevada Territory. It then appeared on the short story “The Celebrated Jumping
Frog of Calaveras County,” published in 1865, which catapulted him to national
fame. Twain’s story was a humorous tall tale, but its characters were realistic
depictions of actual Americans. Twain deployed this combination of humor and
realism throughout his writing. Naturalism, like realism, was a literary movement
that drew inspiration from French authors of the 19th century who sought to
document, through fiction, the reality that they saw around them, particularly
among the middle and working classes living in cities.
 Theodore Dreiser was foremost among American writers who embraced
naturalism. His Sister Carrie(1900) is the most important American naturalist
novel.
Henry James shared the view of the realists and naturalists that literature ought to
present reality, but his writing style and use of literary form sought to also create
an aesthetic experience, not simply document truth. He was preoccupied with the
clash in values between the United States and Europe. His writing shows features
of both 19th-century realism and naturalism and 20th-century modernism.

 The Modernist Period (1910 to 1945)

Advances in science and technology in Western countries rapidly intensified at the
start of the 20th century and brought about a sense of unprecedented progress. The
devastation of World War I and the Great Depression also caused widespread
suffering in Europe and the United States. These contradictory impulses can be
found swirling within modernism, a movement in the arts defined first and
foremost as a radical break from the past. But this break was often an act of
destruction, and it caused a loss of faith in traditional structures and beliefs.
Despite, or perhaps because of, these contradictory impulses, the modernist period
proved to be one of the richest and most productive in American literature.
A sense of disillusionment and loss pervades much American modernist fiction.
That sense may be centered on specific individuals, or it may be directed toward
American society or toward civilization generally. It may generate a nihilistic,
destructive impulse, or it may express hope at the prospect of change.
F. Scott Fitzgerald skewered the American Dream in The Great Gatsby (1925).
Richard Wright exposed and attacked American racism in Native Son (1940).
Zora Neale Hurston told the story of a black woman’s three marriages in Their
Eyes Were Watching God (1937).
Ernest Hemingway’s early novels The Sun Also Rises (1926) and A Farewell to
Arms (1929) articulated the disillusionment of the Lost Generation.
Willa Cather told hopeful stories of the American frontier, set mostly on the Great
Plains, in O Pioneers! (1913) and My Ántonia (1918).
William Faulkner used stream-of-consciousness monologues and other formal
techniques to break from past literary practice in The Sound and the Fury (1929).
John Steinbeck depicted the difficult lives of migrant workers in Of Mice and
Men (1937) and The Grapes of Wrath (1939).
T.S. Eliot was an American by birth and, as of 1927, a British subject by choice.
His fragmentary, multivoiced The Waste Land (1922) is the quintessential
modernist poem, but his was not the dominant voice among American modernist
poets.
 Robert Frost and Carl Sandburg evocatively described the regions—New England
and the Midwest, respectively—in which they lived.
The Harlem Renaissance produced a rich coterie of poets, among them Countee
Cullen, Langston Hughes, Claude McKay, and Alice Dunbar Nelson.
Harriet Monroe founded Poetry magazine in Chicago in 1912 and made it the most
important organ for poetry not just in the United States but for the English-
speaking world.
Drama came to prominence for the first time in the United States in the early 20th
century. Playwrights drew inspiration from European theater but created plays that
were uniquely and enduringly American.
 Eugene O’Neill was the foremost American playwright of the period. The
Contemporary Period (1945 to present)
The United States, which emerged from World War II confident and economically
strong, entered the Cold War in the late 1940s. This conflict with the Soviet Union
shaped global politics for more than four decades, and the proxy wars and threat of
nuclear annihilation that came to define it were just some of the influences shaping
American literature during the second half of the 20th century. The 1950s and ’60s
brought significant cultural shifts within the United States driven by the civil rights
movement and the women’s movement. Prior to the last decades of the 20th
century, American literature was largely the story of dead white men who had
created Art and of living white men doing the same. By the turn of the 21st
century, American literature had become a much more complex and inclusive story
grounded on a wide-ranging body of past writings produced in the United States by
people of different backgrounds and open to more Americans in the present day.

Literature written by African Americans during the contemporary period was

shaped in many ways by Richard Wright, whose autobiography Black Boy was
published in 1945. He left the United States for France after World War II,
repulsed by the injustice and discrimination he faced as a black man in America;
other black writers working from the 1950s through the 1970s also wrestled with
the desires to escape an unjust society and to change it.
Ralph Ellison’s novel Invisible Man (1952) tells the story of an unnamed black
man adrift in, and ignored by, America.
Toni Morrison’s first novel, The Bluest Eye (1970), launched a writing career that
would put the lives of black women at its center. She received a Nobel Prize in
1993.
In the 1960s Alice Walker began writing novels, poetry, and short stories that
reflected her involvement in the civil rights movement.