LITERARY PERIODS AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS PERIODSGenre/StyleEffect/AspectsHistoricalContext Examples PURITAN/COLONIAL1650-1750 Sermons, diaries,personal narrativesWritten in plain styleInstructiveReinforces authority of the Bible andchurchA person’s fate isdetermined by GodAll people arecorrupt and mustbe saved by ChristBradford'sOf Plymouth Plantation Rowlandson's "A Narrative of the Captivity" Edward's "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" Though not written during Puritan times, The Crucible&The Scarlet Letterdepict life during the time when Puritan theocracy prevailed. REVOLUTIONARY/AGEOF REASON 1750-1800 Political pamphletsTravel writingHighly ornate stylePersuasive writing Patriotism growsInstills pride Creates common agreement about issuesNational mission and the American character Tells readers howto interpret whatthey are reading to encourage Revolutionary War support Instructive in values Writings of Jefferson, Paine, Henry Franklin'sPoor Richard's Almanac Franklin's "The Autobiography" ROMANTICISM1800-1860 Character sketchesSlave narratives Poetry Short stories Value feeling andintuition overreasoningJourney away fromcorruption ofcivilization and limits of rational thought toward the integrity of nature and freedom of the imagination Helped instill propergender behavior for men and women Allowed people to re- imagine the American pastExpansion ofmagazines,newspapers, and book publishing Slavery debates Industrial revolution brings ideas that the "old ways" of doing things are now irrelevant Washington Irving's "Rip Van Winkle" William Cullen Bryant's "Thanatopsis" Dunbar's "We Wear
