An Introduction to American Literature

BEFORE WE BEGIN

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:
    • 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: