Significant Issues and Concerns in the Study of Early American Literature
Introduction
The mid-19th century saw the emergence of many literary masterpieces in the United States. This period is also known as the American Renaissance in the 1820s and is closely linked to Romanticism and transcendentalism. As a result, most American writers were attracted to transcendentalism and began to express the happenings in America through narratives, poems, novels, and articles. As a result, early American literature has continued to shape contemporary American concepts and ideas among writers. This paper examines how modern ideas and approaches to Early American Literature. Specifically, the paper will analyze the major issues and concerns in the study of early American literature and the representative authors and why they are in “the canon” of early American Literature. The paper will also extrapolate how the contemporary approach to Early American Literature reflects our values and ideas today.
Significant Issues and Concerns in the Study of Early American Literature
The primary concern of the study of early American literature is the focus on Romanticism, which coincided with the period of American voice discovery. The state identity, idealism, and passion for Romanticism nurtured the writings of the American renaissance. The romantic ideas were inspired through culture, spiritual and aesthetic dimensions. They emphasized on the significance of art on the people and society at large. The study on early American literature concerns the American renaissance period, which is identified by the self-confidence, and America was the heir to the Greek democracy, Roman law, and humanism. As such, these studies should portray how early literature in America was used to express national identity. These Romantic Movement gave birth to transcendentalism, which emphasized personal interaction with God.
One of the major issues in early American literature is fictionality (Koenigs, 225). The early American literature study draws critical approaches to fictionality, such as narratological, rhetorical, philosophical, and linguist. The value and place of the fictional in early American context bring an understanding of the post-revolutionary defenses against the reading of novels and the types of fiction that has emerged stretching from short magazines to plays. In essence, essays that help in examining wide-rage genres for the assessment of fictional categories. The nature of the multi-lingual identity of fiction in early American literature means that studies must keenly explore the pertinent subjects specifically in the seventeenth and nineteenth century relating to the contemporary literature. Besides, the study of early American literature on these subjects should explore the overt tenets of religion, legal and poetic dimension, and how they define and conceptualize truth in relation to fictional texts.
The study of early American literature’s concern is the shift from identity, authenticity, hybridity, and cross-cultural mediation to the cultural, religious, historical, and tribal national contexts from which there emerged indigenous literature. Worth mentioning in such studies is that American Indian literary nationalism works in explicitly producing literary criticism that caters to the intellectual and political sovereignty of indigenous American communities. In essence, the principal concern of the discipline of the study of early American literature should be the literal and critical modes that affirm these contexts and communities.
Representative Authors and Why Are They in “The Canon” Of Early American Literature
Most writers in early American literature got drawn to transcendentalism and expressed their ideas through literary works. Their idea was to penetrate the American through print culture. Among the representatives of early American literature is Ralph Waldo Emerson, who was the top leader of the transcendentalism movement in 1836 through is an essay titled “Nature” (Emerson, 214). The prose poem deciphers the deep religious questions combined with poetic insights on the natural world as a code of essential laws that define the purpose of human experience. Emerson emphasized the transformative beauty of nature in evoking new energy in humanity. He asserts that “all things are moral and in their endless changes leading to constant reference to spiritual nature” (Emerson, 214).
Emerson’s work is in the canon of early American literature. His ideas caught the attention of literature adults who were explicitly not satisfied with mainstream American life and in search of deep spiritual meaning. Henry David Thoreau was among the people interested in the Ideas highlighted by Emerson and opted to write his ideas based on Emerson’s.
Another representative of early American literature is Walt Whitman, who also contributed significantly to the intellectual movement. Notably, Whitman’s 1855 poem “Leaves of Grass” stressed a person’s subjective experience (Whiteman, 2109). The poem brings out the role of poet and poetry in using language and form to demonstrate the ability of America to incorporate vast diversity of individuals and geography that makes up what America is and thereby reflecting the revival of democracy in America. His other poem, “Song of Myself,” stressed individualism, which was achieved when people unite together through the transcendental bond. The poem begins with an opening line, “I celebrate myself,” where the poet is talking to the self and steering conversations with his soul (Whiteman, 2215. Through his literary work, Whitman contributed significantly to early American literature by filling the gaps in the literature. Emerson highlighted that they needed new American literature that would represent the size, scope, and novelty of the state; this is what Whitman rose to come with poetry, which mirrored democracy and encompass diversities of people across America.
However, some critics emphasized individualism by pinpointing the harmful consequence of human compulsive behavior. Herman Melville’s novel “Moby-Dick” (545) highlighted the dangers of individual obsession with the narration of Captain Ahab’s pursuit to destroy the white whale. The literary work is known to be one of the vital pieces of literature that portrayed race and color in American history. Based on Melville’s point of view, a single color can implicate life and optimism as much as it can implicate anguish and death.
How Contemporary Approach to Early American Literature Reflect Our Values and Ideas Today
The study of early American literature in contemporary society is more relevant today than ever before. Like any other national identity, this literature is a true reflection of the values and ideals of the people and a journey towards the American dream. Early American literature stresses these values include self-reliance, individualism, and self-actualization, where individuals are in a position to fulfill their needs today and believe in their promise through hard work and perseverance. These values are ingrained in United States culture and help preserve the American experience mythology. The early American literature’s spirit of individualism and identity of the revolutionary period has helped bring forth the contemporary literary voices expanding on American cultural values and people’s ideals (Izaguirre, 25). Most renowned writers, including Herman Melville, Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman, and Waldo Emerson, have written works that redefine and construct America’s literary traditions rooted in self-reliance, nature, and individualism ideals.
The contemporary approach to Emerson’s literary work is the epitome of today’s idea of the American dream. The transcendental philosophy reflects the responsibility and ability that reside within a person, which later manifests as their destiny. This literature works depict the inherent ideals that make up the idea of the American dream in literary works. The American literature helps inspires and reflect the American dream evolution and has proved to be a significant catalyst for the expression of the values and ideals of America today through artistic representation. Early American literature focused on ideas revolving around immigration, family and culture, religion influences, race and ethnicity, and politics, which are the significant issues mirrored in contemporary literature.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the paper attempted to examine how contemporary ideas and approaches to Early American Literature. The early American literature focuses on Romanticism, which coincided with the period of discovery of American voice. The state identity, idealism, and passion for Romanticism nurtured the writings of the American renaissance. These Romantic Movement gave birth to transcendentalism, which emphasized personal interaction with God. Among the representatives of early American literature are Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman, and Herman Melville, who contributed significantly to early American literature. The contemporary approach to Emerson’s literary work is the epitome of today’s idea of the American dream.
Work Cited
Izaguirre, John. “The American dream and literature: how the themes of self-reliance and individualism in American literature are relevant in preserving both the aesthetics and the ideals of the American dream.” (2014): 10-64
Whitman, Walt. Preface to leaves of grass. Wm. Benton, 1855, pp. 2195-2109
Whiteman, Walt. Preface to “Song of Myself. Wm. Benton, 1855, pp. 2210-2254
Emerson, Ralph Waldo, and Larzer Ziff. Nature and Selected Essays. New York: Penguin, 2003; 214
Melville, Herman. Moby Dick: or, the white whale. Page, 1892:545
Koenigs, Thomas. “Fictionality Risen: Early America, the Common Core Curriculum, and How We Argue about Fiction Today.” American Literature 89.2 (2017): 225-253.