Scribd
Upload
27 views1 page

Revolution Student)

The document discusses American literature during the Revolutionary period from 1776 to 1820. It notes that while the American Revolution inspired hopes of a great new national literature, few notable works emerged during or immediately after the war. Americans remained heavily dependent on English literary models. It took about 50 years for America to develop its own cultural identity and produce its first generation of major writers like Irving, Cooper, Emerson, and Whitman. Challenges to a distinctive American literature included lingering identification with England, imitation of English styles, difficult publishing conditions, and many talented writers pursuing more lucrative careers in law and politics instead of writing. The absence of adequate copyright laws also hampered the development of American literature as printers freely pirated both

Uploaded by

toubanetworking
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
27 views1 page

Revolution Student)

The document discusses American literature during the Revolutionary period from 1776 to 1820. It notes that while the American Revolution inspired hopes of a great new national literature, few notable works emerged during or immediately after the war. Americans remained heavily dependent on English literary models. It took about 50 years for America to develop its own cultural identity and produce its first generation of major writers like Irving, Cooper, Emerson, and Whitman. Challenges to a distinctive American literature included lingering identification with England, imitation of English styles, difficult publishing conditions, and many talented writers pursuing more lucrative careers in law and politics instead of writing. The absence of adequate copyright laws also hampered the development of American literature as printers freely pirated both

Uploaded by

toubanetworking
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 1

The SENEGALESE AMERICAN BILINGUAL SCHOOL

Crade 11
Lh
(2nde) Amerlcan LlLeraLure Mr laye Mr u[lLLe



American Literature during the Revolutionary Period (1776 - 1820)
The hard-Iought American Revolution against Britain (1775-1783) was the Iirst modern war oI
liberation against a colonial power. The triumph oI American independence seemed to many at the time a divine
sign that America and her people were destined Ior greatness.
Military victory Ianned nationalistic hopes Ior a great new literature. Yet with the exception oI
outstanding political writing, Iew works oI note appeared during or soon aIter the Revolution. American books
were harshly reviewed in England. Americans were painIully aware oI their excessive dependence on English
literary models. The search Ior a native literature became a national obsession. As one American magazine
editor wrote, around 1816, 'Dependence is a state of degradation fraught with disgrace, and to be dependent on
a foreign mind for what we can ourselves produce is to add to the crime of indolence the weakness of stupidity.
Cultural revolutions, unlike military revolutions, cannot be successIully imposed but must grow Irom
the soil oI shared experience. Revolutions are expressions oI the heart oI the people; they grow gradually out oI
new sensibilities and wealth oI experience. It would take 50 years oI accumulated history Ior America to earn
its cultural independence and to produce the Iirst great generation oI American writers: Washington Irving,
James Fenimore Cooper, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Herman Melville, Nathaniel
Hawthorne, Edgar Allan Poe, Walt Whitman, and Emily Dickinson. America's literary independence was
slowed by a lingering identiIication with England, an excessive imitation oI English or classical literary models,
and diIIicult economic and political conditions that hampered publishing.
Moreover, the heady challenges oI building a new nation attracted talented and educated people to
politics, law, and diplomacy. These pursuits brought honor, glory, and Iinancial security. Writing, on the other
hand, did not pay. Early American writers, now separated Irom England, eIIectively had no modern publishers,
no audience, and no adequate legal protection. Editorial assistance, distribution, and publicity were rudimentary.
Until 1825, most American authors paid printers to publish their work.
The absence oI adequate copyright laws was perhaps the clearest cause oI literary stagnation. American
printers pirating English best-sellers understandably were unwilling to pay an American author Ior unknown
material. The copyright situation damaged Ioreign authors such as Sir Walter Scott and Charles Dickens, along
with American authors. For instance, J. F. Cooper's Iirst successIul book, The Spy (1821), was pirated by Iour
diIIerent printers within a month oI its appearance.
The high point oI piracy, in 1815, corresponds with the low point oI American writing. Nevertheless, the cheap
and plentiIul supply oI pirated Ioreign books and classics in the Iirst 50 years oI the new country did educate
Americans, including the Iirst great writers, who began to make their appearance around 1825.

You might also like