Concetti Chiave
- American literature, though in English, developed a unique identity due to America's diverse society of exiles, adventurers, and emigrants.
- The 17th and 18th-century American literary scene was heavily influenced by British literature, with Puritans producing sermons and diaries.
- The 18th-century migration to America and the formation of an independent republic fueled the division between the East's wealth and the West's pioneer spirit.
- Notable American prose writers like Edgar Allan Poe and James Cooper emerged during this period, marking a distinct American literary identity.
- Wordsworth's "Lyrical Ballads" preface introduced a new poetry concept emphasizing nature, simple life, emotions, and the role of imagination.
The beginning of an american identity
American literature expresses itself in English but in an autonomous literature. The reason for this is not the distance between the two counties but the multiethnic American society made up of: exiles trying to escape religious persecution, adventurers, political refugees, emigrants wishing to start a new life. The literary production of the 17th and 18th century was strongly influenced by British literature, one of the first movement was the Puritans one.
The Puritans wrote sermons, religious traces and diaries. As the 18th century progressed migrants from all over Europe moved in America, in the meanwhile the American colonies became an independent republic with George Washington as the first president. This encouraged the expansion towards the West and the Indian removal. America was divided in two forces: the East and the West. The East was characterized by the values of wealth and respectability, the west by the pioneer spirit and the country’s endless possibilities. It was especially in prose that truly American writers emerged: like the important works of Edgar Allan Poe and James Cooper.
A certain coloring of imagination
This test is taken from the preface to the second edition of Lyrical Ballads, regarded as the Manifesto of English Romanticism.
Wordsworth express a new concept of poetry which emphasized the importance of nature, common life, simple language, and the importance of emotions and imagination.
- the simple life is the subject of the poetry like before, but now the imagination change the narration.
- the romantic poets attack the poets that use an elaborate language because it is not clear; the elaborate language is not able to tell the feelings and the emotions.
- the poet is a men who speak to other men, and who have a different way of feel and a more sensible soul.
The poet considers himself superior because he sees the event with an other spirit: e sees the reality and change it in something different; he use the language to create something not visible.
- the poet lives a sensory experience, then in tranquillity he recollect the emotion and write the poem.For Wordsworth the poetry is a “spontaneous overflow of feelings”.
Domande da interrogazione
- ¿Cuál fue la influencia principal en la literatura estadounidense de los siglos XVII y XVIII?
- ¿Cómo se describe la división de fuerzas en América durante la expansión hacia el oeste?
- ¿Qué concepto nuevo de poesía introduce Wordsworth en el prefacio de Lyrical Ballads?
La literatura estadounidense de los siglos XVII y XVIII fue fuertemente influenciada por la literatura británica, especialmente por el movimiento puritano que produjo sermones, trazas religiosas y diarios.
América estaba dividida en dos fuerzas: el Este, caracterizado por valores de riqueza y respetabilidad, y el Oeste, por el espíritu pionero y las posibilidades infinitas del país.
Wordsworth introduce un nuevo concepto de poesía que enfatiza la importancia de la naturaleza, la vida común, el lenguaje simple, y la importancia de las emociones y la imaginación, describiendo la poesía como un "desbordamiento espontáneo de sentimientos".
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