BEFORE WE BEGIN
- Class Schedule (Spring 2021)
- Syllabus (See below)
- WhatsApp Netiquette Policy
- Texting versus Voice Calls
- About Me
- Contact Me
SESSIONS
- Week 01:
- Ice Breaking
- Introducing the Syllabus
- Course Title
- What is “American Literature”?
- The Americanness of American Literature
- Christopher Columbus and Amerigo Vespucci
- Explorers and adventurers with tales about the New World
- Exaggerated accounts about America
- The Origin of the American Dream
- Discovery, Exploration and Settlement
- The Spirit of New England
- American Puritanism:
- Origin
- Definition
- Plainness
- Grace
- Divine Mission
- The Salem Witch Trials
- The American South
- Week 02:
- The Rise and Development of American Poetry
- Anne Bradstreet (1612-1672)
- “Verses Upon the Burning of Our House” (1666)
- Bradstreet’s Puritanism
- A stylistic Approach to Bradstreet’s poetry
- Bradstreet’s Symbolism
- The Two Houses Juxtaposed
- Weeks 03:
- American Transcendentalism: An Overview
- Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 – 1882)
- “The Transcendentalist” (1842) by Ralph Waldo Emerson
- Basic Principles of American Transcendentalism
- Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (1830 –1886)
- A Quiet Passion (2016)
- Dickinson’s New England
- Dickinson’s Life
- Emily Dickinson’s “‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers” (1891): Analysis and Discussion
- Bradstreet to Dickinson: A Leap of Faith
- Week 04:
- Changing Directions in American Poetry
- Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” (1915)
- New England in the Modern Age
- Frost’s Integration of Physical Nature with Human Nature
- The “Americanness” of Frost’s Poetry
- Personal Predicaments
- Inspiration
- “The Road Not Taken” as a Narrative Poem
- The Title and What it Tells Us
- Analysis of the Poem
- Structure of the Poem
- “The Road Not Taken” as an Autobiographical Poem
- The Universality of the Poem
- The Journey Motif
- Misinterpretations, Misconceptions and Pitfalls
- The Theme of Remorse
- The Tone of the Poem
- Supplementary Material: An Interview with Robert Frost at his home in Ripton, Vermont in 1952. Click Here to watch
- Supplementary Material: . Click Here to watch a 1963 documentary on Robert Frost
- Week 05:
- American Experimental Poetry
- Concrete Poetry
- e e cummings’ “l(a” (1958)
- Title
- Themes
- Structure
- As a Concrete Poem
- As a Narrative Poem
- Symbolism
- African American Poetry
- Racial Discrimination
- The Harlem Renaissance
- Rosa Parks
- Gwendolyn Brooks’ “We Real Cool” (1956)
- Inspiration
- Title
- Subtitle
- Themes
- Rhythm
- Sound Devices
- Analysis
- Symbolism
- Week 06:
- The Scarlet Letter (1850)
- Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804 – 1864)
- The Frame Story Technique in American Fiction
- Roger Chillingworth and the American Dream
- A Woman in the Wilderness
- Hester Prynne as the Pioneer Female Protagonist in American Literature
- Culture Clash and Culture Shock
- Hester’s Liberalism versus Salem’s Puritanism
- Hester’s Independence
- Weeks 07:
- Hawthorne as a Feminist Author
- Hester as a Victim of the Marriage of Convenience
- Chillingworth’s Ambiguous Motive
- Arthur Dimmesdale’s Dilemma
- Death as Hope
- Pearl as the Fruit of Illicit but True Love
- Hester’s Love Tested
- Hester’s Conviction and Trial
- Hawthorne’s Use of Irony
- The Scarlet Letter as a Form of Punishment and a Constant Reminder to the Women of Salem
- The Arrival of Chillingworth on the Scene
- Chillingworth’s Lust of Revenge
- Dimmesdale’s Guilt
- Hawthorn’e Use of Dynamic Symbolism
- Week 08:
- The Old Man and the Sea (1952)
- Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961)
- Setting
- Santiago’s Problem
- Manolin
- The 85th Day
- Santiago’s Lucky Day
- Santiago’s Inner Conflict
- Types of Conflict
- Climax
- Protagonism and Antagonism
- The Fish as a Symbol
- The Old Man’s Persistence
- Post-Piscicide Remorse and Regret
- The Fish as Santiago’s “Brother”
- Sharks as Symbols
- Character Development
- Santiago before and after
- Destroyed versus Defeated
- The American Dream
- Loss and Gain
- The Story as an Allegory
- Santiago’s Dreams
- Santiago’s Memories
- Santiago as a Modern Hero
- Santiago and Hemingway
- Week 09:
- John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men (1937)
- Week 10:
- Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick (1851)
- Week 11:
- The Rise and Development of the American Short Story
- Washington Irving’s “The Devil and Tom Walker” (1824)
- Week 12:
- Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Oval Portrait” (1842)Week 12:
- Week 13:
- John Updike’s “A&P” (1961)
- Week 14:
- The Rise and Development of American Drama
- Eugene O’Neill’s The Hairy Ape (1922)
- Week 15:
- Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman (1949)
ASSESSMENT TOOLS
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL
The following movie provides an interesting and detailed account of Christopher Columbus’s discovery of America.
Here is a short introduction to American literature: