The Cambridge companion to the literature of the American Renaissance /
The American Renaissance has been a foundational concept in American literary history for nearly a century. The phrase connotes a period, as well as an event, an iconic turning point in the growth of a national literature and a canon of texts that would shape American fiction, poetry and oratory for...
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| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge ; New York :
Cambridge University Press,
[2018]
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| Series: | Cambridge companions to literature.
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| Summary: | The American Renaissance has been a foundational concept in American literary history for nearly a century. The phrase connotes a period, as well as an event, an iconic turning point in the growth of a national literature and a canon of texts that would shape American fiction, poetry and oratory for generations. F. O. Matthiessen coined the term in 1941 to describe the years 1850-1855, which saw the publications of major writings by Hawthorne, Melville, Emerson, Thoreau and Whitman. This companion takes up the concept of the American Renaissance and explores its origins, meaning and longevity. Essays by distinguished scholars move chronologically from the formative reading of American Renaissance authors to the careers of major figures ignored by Matthiessen, including Stowe, Douglass, Harper and Longfellow. This volume uses the best of current literary studies to illuminate an era that reaches far beyond the Civil War and continues to shape our understanding of American literature. |
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| Physical Description: | xvii, 251 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| ISBN: | 9781108431088 1108431089 9781108420914 1108420915 |