American Renaissance (literature)
Encyclopedia
In American literature
, the American Renaissance was a period during which many of the literary works most widely considered American masterpieces were produced. The period is generally defined as the mid-19th century but especially the years roughly from 1850 to 1855. Major works from those years include Ralph Waldo Emerson's
Representative Men (1850, though most of Emerson's best-known texts were published earlier), Nathaniel Hawthorne
's The Scarlet Letter
(1850) and The House of the Seven Gables
(1851), Herman Melville
's Moby-Dick
(1851), Henry David Thoreau
's Walden
(1854), and Walt Whitman
's first edition of Leaves of Grass
(1855).
originated the phrase "American Renaissance" in his 1941 book American Renaissance: Art and Expression in the Age of Emerson and Whitman. Although Mathiessen limited his definition to the period between 1850 and 1855, the term has since expanded to a broader range of time. In The American Renaissance Reconsidered, for example, Eric Sundquist expands the years covered by the American Renaissance to "the 1830s through the Civil War
."
The notion of an American Renaissance has been criticized for overemphasizing a small number of white male writers and artefacts of high culture. William E. Cain noted the "extreme white male formation" of Mathiessen's list of authors and stated that by "devoting hundreds of pages of analysis and celebration to five white male authors, Mathiessen unwittingly prefigured in his book what later readers would dispute and labor to correct." The demographic exclusivity of the American Renaissance began eroding toward the end of the twentieth century. Emily Dickinson
, who began her poetry in the late 1850s, made her way into the canon. Harriet Beecher Stowe
’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852) rose to prominence in the late 1970s. African American literature gained increasing recognition.
The American Renaissance continues as a central term in American studies
. The American Renaissance was for long considered synonymous with American Romanticism and was closely associated with Transcendentalism
.
Often considered a movement centered in New England, the American Renaissance was inspired in part by a new focus on humanism
as a way to move from Calvinism
.
The thematic center of the American Renaissance was what Matthiessen called the "devotion" of all five of his writers to "the possibilities of democracy." He presented the American Renaissance texts as "literature for our democracy” and challenged the nation to repossess them.
American literature
American literature is the written or literary work produced in the area of the United States and its preceding colonies. For more specific discussions of poetry and theater, see Poetry of the United States and Theater in the United States. During its early history, America was a series of British...
, the American Renaissance was a period during which many of the literary works most widely considered American masterpieces were produced. The period is generally defined as the mid-19th century but especially the years roughly from 1850 to 1855. Major works from those years include Ralph Waldo Emerson's
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century...
Representative Men (1850, though most of Emerson's best-known texts were published earlier), Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist and short story writer.Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in 1804 in the city of Salem, Massachusetts to Nathaniel Hathorne and the former Elizabeth Clarke Manning. His ancestors include John Hathorne, a judge during the Salem Witch Trials...
's The Scarlet Letter
The Scarlet Letter
The Scarlet Letter is an 1850 romantic work of fiction in a historical setting, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It is considered to be his magnum opus. Set in 17th-century Puritan Boston during the years 1642 to 1649, it tells the story of Hester Prynne, who conceives a daughter through an...
(1850) and The House of the Seven Gables
The House of the Seven Gables
The House of the Seven Gables is a 1668 colonial mansion in Salem, Massachusetts, USA. The house is now a non-profit museum, with an admission fee charged for tours, as well as an active settlement house with programs for children...
(1851), Herman Melville
Herman Melville
Herman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet. He is best known for his novel Moby-Dick and the posthumous novella Billy Budd....
's Moby-Dick
Moby-Dick
Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, was written by American author Herman Melville and first published in 1851. It is considered by some to be a Great American Novel and a treasure of world literature. The story tells the adventures of wandering sailor Ishmael, and his voyage on the whaleship Pequod,...
(1851), Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau was an American author, poet, philosopher, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, historian, and leading transcendentalist...
's Walden
Walden
Walden is an American book written by noted Transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau...
(1854), and Walt Whitman
Walt Whitman
Walter "Walt" Whitman was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse...
's first edition of Leaves of Grass
Leaves of Grass
Leaves of Grass is a poetry collection by the American poet Walt Whitman . Though the first edition was published in 1855, Whitman spent his entire life writing Leaves of Grass, revising it in several editions until his death...
(1855).
Overview
Scholar F. O. MatthiessenF. O. Matthiessen
Francis Otto Matthiessen was an educator, scholar and literary critic influential in the fields of American literature and American studies.-Scholarly work:...
originated the phrase "American Renaissance" in his 1941 book American Renaissance: Art and Expression in the Age of Emerson and Whitman. Although Mathiessen limited his definition to the period between 1850 and 1855, the term has since expanded to a broader range of time. In The American Renaissance Reconsidered, for example, Eric Sundquist expands the years covered by the American Renaissance to "the 1830s through the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
."
The notion of an American Renaissance has been criticized for overemphasizing a small number of white male writers and artefacts of high culture. William E. Cain noted the "extreme white male formation" of Mathiessen's list of authors and stated that by "devoting hundreds of pages of analysis and celebration to five white male authors, Mathiessen unwittingly prefigured in his book what later readers would dispute and labor to correct." The demographic exclusivity of the American Renaissance began eroding toward the end of the twentieth century. Emily Dickinson
Emily Dickinson
Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet. Born in Amherst, Massachusetts, to a successful family with strong community ties, she lived a mostly introverted and reclusive life...
, who began her poetry in the late 1850s, made her way into the canon. Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe was an American abolitionist and author. Her novel Uncle Tom's Cabin was a depiction of life for African-Americans under slavery; it reached millions as a novel and play, and became influential in the United States and United Kingdom...
’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852) rose to prominence in the late 1970s. African American literature gained increasing recognition.
The American Renaissance continues as a central term in American studies
American studies
American studies or American civilization is an interdisciplinary field dealing with the study of the United States. It traditionally incorporates the study of history, literature, and critical theory, but also includes fields as diverse as law, art, the media, film, religious studies, urban...
. The American Renaissance was for long considered synonymous with American Romanticism and was closely associated with Transcendentalism
Transcendentalism
Transcendentalism is a philosophical movement that developed in the 1830s and 1840s in the New England region of the United States as a protest against the general state of culture and society, and in particular, the state of intellectualism at Harvard University and the doctrine of the Unitarian...
.
Often considered a movement centered in New England, the American Renaissance was inspired in part by a new focus on humanism
Humanism
Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....
as a way to move from Calvinism
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
.
The thematic center of the American Renaissance was what Matthiessen called the "devotion" of all five of his writers to "the possibilities of democracy." He presented the American Renaissance texts as "literature for our democracy” and challenged the nation to repossess them.