THE FORMATION HISTORY OF LITERATURE IN THE UNITED STATES

Abstract

Processes that have made American literature into what it is today have been long and complex. American literature had its start in the 17th century in the colonial religious and historical writings of the times. American literature then evolved through the Revolutionary years into a literature that would eventually become uniquely national. This article is a detailed description of the key events of American literature and the cultural and intellectual forces that have shaped these events as found in literary texts, criticism, and historical accounts. Important works by such American literary icons as that of Edgar Allan Poe, Mark Twain, Walt Whitman, and Ernest Hemingway are a major focus of the paper. The paper concludes with a description of the major characteristics of a uniquely individual literature and national consciousness which reflect the American ideals of democracy, individualism, and pluralism and consequently reflect what has come to be considered the American identity. Understanding the history of American literature also contributes greatly to the understanding of the intellectual and cultural development of America.