The document discusses the American Renaissance period from the 1830s to the end of the Civil War, highlighting its literary significance and key writers associated with transcendentalism and dark romanticism. It also covers the emergence of realism in American literature, particularly through the works of Mark Twain, who is noted for his impactful style and portrayal of everyday life. Additionally, the document emphasizes the role of women writers during this era and their contributions amidst prevailing societal constraints.

1. AMERICAN
LITERATURE
Renaissance Period

2. Two Sides of Nature
Group 1: Create an art that reflects the Transcendentalist view of
nature which is seen as peaceful, beautiful, and spiritual (e.g.,
sketches of calm scenes or natural landscapes).
Group 2: Illustrate the Dark Romantic view, using eerie or
mysterious imagery (like dark forests or stormy skies). The teacher
will call about 3 random students from each group to present their
interpretations of their assigned style.

3. American Renaissance Period
American Renaissance Period
From the 1830s until roughly the end of the American civil war
regarded as the “Golden Era” of American literature because writers showed the
spirit of liberation in their works.
It also led to the popularization of democratic literature.
F.O. Matthiessen coined the term American Renaissance in 1941. He asserted that
American Renaissance literature is “literature for democracy and for the people.”
Through literature, it was expected that people would imbibe the spirit of democracy
in their daily lives.

4. American writers reached for national identity. They asserted that
American writers should have their unique styles that are only seen in
American literature. To show the demarcation between American
literature and British literature, writers had a fresh start where they
wrote without the influence of the British.
Notable writers:
1.Washington Irving
2.William Cullen Bryant
3.James Fenimore Cooper
American Renaissance Period

5. Transcendentalist
They believed that knowledge could be obtained through intuition and contemplation of
inner spirits and not merely through the senses.
Major writers of this movement were:
oRalph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
oHenry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
oMargaret Fuller (1810–1850)
oWilliam Henry Channing (1810–1884)
oGeorge Ripley (1802–1880)
oEmily Dickinson (1830–1886)
oAmos Bronson Alcott (1799–1888)
oElizabeth Peabody (1804–1894)

6. DARK ROMANTICS
They explored mankind’s darker side through writing subjects that are
grotesque, Gothic, and extremely melancholic. They also explored the conflict
between good and evil in their literary works.
Major writers of this movement were:
oNathaniel Hawthorne (1804–1864)
oEdgar Allan Poe (1809–1849)
oHerman Melville (1819–1891)

7. During this period, women writers started to become empowered because of
gradual access to education. This paved the way for the rise of feminine writing
and aesthetics. However, although female writers were given opportunities to
write, their works were not that popular since America was still a patriarchal
society. Despite this, there were some women writers who became popular figures
of this time, and these were Harriet Beecher Stowe and Fanny Fern. The impact of
Stowe's Uncle Tom’s Cabin was so great that president Abraham Lincoln was
reported to have commented that the novel ignited the American Civil War.

9. AMERICAN
Literature Realism

10. What’s Real vs. Ideal?

11. REALISM
articulates the portrayal of the actualities of life.
Mark Twain (real name: Samuel Langhorne Clemens) is regarded as the father
of realism in American literature. The most remarkable realist masterpieces of
Twain are The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry
Finn.
Twain has been a popular figure of the realism movement because:
o“Twain’s style – influenced by journalism, wedded to the vernacular, direct
and unadorned but also highly evocative and irreverently humorous – changed
the way Americans write their language. His characters speak like real people
and sound distinctively American, using local dialects, newly invented words,
and regional accents.”

12. Characteristics of American Realism
This new approach to literature shows objectivity and fidelity to the facts of the
matter. It embraced the concept that people were neither completely good nor
completely bad but somewhere in between.
A popular literary device used in this kind of literature was the frame narrative
or the story within a story. In more technical terms, this is called “mise en
abyme”.

13. Apart from Twain, there were numerous American realist writers who were
famous as well. They were the following:
a)George W. Cable
b)Thomas Nelson Page
c)Joel Chandler Harris
d)Mary Noailles Murfree (Charles Egbert Craddock)
e)Sarah Orne Jewett
f)Mary E. Wilkins Freeman
g)Henry Cuyler Bunner
William Sydney Porter (O. Henry).

14. ACTIVITY
Book Report
Using the story “The Gift of Magi” by O. Henry, make a book report Using the
guide questions below. These are the guide questions they have to answer in their
book report:
What is the story all about? Give a brief summary of the story.
What are the themes found in the story? What do these themes reflect in reality?
Choose one character in the story and analyze how their actions reflect reality.
What did this story teach you?

16. ACTIVITY
Discuss the significant events in the following period/movement in European
Literature:
Ancient & Medieval
Renaissance & Enlightenment
Romanticism & Realism
Modernism & Post-modernism