Name: Brittany de Lourdes Matamoros Guevara

Course: noc 5-3

AMERICAN LITERARY PERIODS

Native American Period
According to current archaeological research, humans may have lived in what is today
the Americas for more than 30,000 years. The first people to arrive on the continent
were the ancestors of contemporary Native American groups with a rich history that
includes extensive trading networks and a highly sophisticated culture. Most of these
cultures did not develop writing systems before the colonial period, which is not
uncommon across the globe. However, studying Native American literature of the pre-
colonial period is made more difficult by the lack of a written history. The dominant form
of literature during this period was oral storytelling, which involved lengthy and detailed
discussions of history, mythology, and religious beliefs. Many of these stories are still
well preserved today and represent a rich cultural history.
Exploration Period
Within a few decades of the earliest coastal expeditions in North America, European
adventurers were heading inland. "Adventurer" is the appropriate word here, as more
prudent people would avoid venturing into such a vast unknown. With the unknown
came misery—severe cold and heat, vast plains and mighty rivers, wayward Indians and
cunning leaders, hunger and thirst, disease and death, and often depressing depression.
But they learned about the landscape of this new world, enabling them to respond to
hard-won experiences rather than to fables and dreams.
Colonial Period
The first European settlers in North America wrote about their experiences in the 16th
century. This is the first American literature: practical, straightforward, often derived
from English literature and looking to the future. In its early days, in the 1600s, American
literature consisted mostly of practical nonfiction written by English settlers in the
colonies that became the United States. This period included the establishment of
Jamestown in the decade before the Revolutionary War. Most works are historical,
practical, or religious in nature. Some writers from this period should not be missed,
including Phyllis Wheatley, Cotton Mather, William Bradford, Anne Bradstreet and John
Winthrop. The first story about an enslaved African was published in Boston in 1760, the
account of the extraordinary suffering and astonishing relief of the black Englishman
Briton Hammon.
The period of Enlightment/Revolutionary.
Known as the Enlightenment because of the influence of science and logic, this period
was marked in American literature by political writing, as opposed to the religious focus
of the Puritan era. Genres include political documents, speeches and letters. Lack of
emphasis and reliance on the Bible, more use of common sense (logic) and science. The
Bible expands on the truths found in the Bible and is not necessarily separate from the
ideas of God and spirituality. These writings should frequently explore ideas of liberty,
patriotism, government, nationalism, and the American character. Benjamin Franklin,
Name: Brittany de Lourdes Matamoros Guevara
Course: noc 5-3

Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, and Thomas Paine are examples of writers from this
period.