UNIT 3 — AMERICAN LITERATURE

& NEW LITERATURES

PART 1: INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN LITERATURE

I. Historical Overview of American Literary Periods

American literature is usually divided into:

1. Colonial / Early American Period (1607–1776)

Puritan writing
Sermons, diaries, captivity narratives
Themes: sin, salvation, moral discipline
Major writers:

William Bradford (Of Plymouth Plantation)
Anne Bradstreet (Puritan poet)
Jonathan Edwards (Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God)

2. Revolutionary / Early National Period (1776–1820)

Political writings, pamphlets, rhetoric
Formation of American identity
Major writers:

Benjamin Franklin
Thomas Paine
Thomas Jefferson

3. American Romanticism (1820–1865)

Nature, individualism, imagination
Reform movements (abolition, women’s rights)
Two major schools:

a) Transcendentalism

Ralph Waldo Emerson (Self-Reliance)
Henry David Thoreau (Walden)
Themes: nature, intuition, self-trust, anti-materialism

b) Dark Romanticism / Gothic

Edgar Allan Poe
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Herman Melville

4. Realism and Naturalism (1865–1914)

After the Civil War:

Realism

Ordinary life, social reality
Writers:

Mark Twain
Henry James
William Dean Howells

Naturalism

Determinism, survival, heredity
Writers:

Stephen Crane
Frank Norris
Theodore Dreiser

5. Modernism (1914–1945)

World Wars → crisis of identity
Experimental style
Stream of consciousness

Major writers:

T.S. Eliot
Ezra Pound
F. Scott Fitzgerald (The Great Gatsby)
Ernest Hemingway
William Faulkner
John Steinbeck

6. Postmodernism (1945–present)

Fragmentation, metafiction, playfulness
Writers:

Thomas Pynchon
Kurt Vonnegut
Toni Morrison
Don DeLillo

⭐ II. Major Themes in American Literature

1. Individualism & Self-Realization

Transcendentalist focus
American “self-made” identity

2. Frontier / Wilderness Experience

Nature as a symbol of freedom
Central to Romantic and early American writing

3. The American Dream

Hope, desire for prosperity
Critiqued in modern fiction (Fitzgerald, Miller)

4. Race & Slavery

Key to understanding American history
Famous works:

Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Beloved

5. Immigration & Multiculturalism

20th century literature expands American identity
Writers include:

Amy Tan
Bharati Mukherjee
Maxine Hong Kingston

6. Gender & Feminism

Major writers:

Kate Chopin
Sylvia Plath
Toni Morrison
Adrienne Rich

⭐ III. Development of American Poetry

1. Early American Poetry

Anne Bradstreet
Phillis Wheatley

2. Romantic / Transcendental Poetry

Walt Whitman — free verse, democratic voice
Emily Dickinson — compressed, symbolic, unique style

3. Modern Poetry

Ezra Pound
T.S. Eliot
Wallace Stevens
Langston Hughes (Harlem Renaissance)

4. Postmodern Poetry

Confessional poets (Plath, Lowell)
African-American voices (Maya Angelou)

⭐ IV. Development of the American Novel

1. 19th Century (Romantic → Realist)

Hawthorne: Scarlet Letter
Melville: Moby-Dick
Twain: Huckleberry Finn

2. Modernist Novel

Fitzgerald
Faulkner
Hemingway

3. Postmodern Novel

Pynchon
Morrison
DeLillo

⭐ V. American Literary Regions

1. Southern Literature

Faulkner, O’Connor
Themes: race, history, memory

2. New England Literature

Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne, Dickinson

3. Western / Frontier Literature

Jack London, Bret Harte

⭐ Unit 3 — Part 1 Summary

This part has introduced:

Periods
Movements
Key themes
Major authors
Main genres

UNIT 3 — AMERICAN LITERATURE

PART 2 — AMERICAN POETRY (From Origins to Modern Age)

I. Introduction to American Poetry

American poetry developed differently from British poetry.
Where British poetry is historically formal, traditional, and influenced by classical models, American poetry is experimental, individualistic, democratic, and often rebellious.

Major qualities of American poetry:

· Celebration of individual freedom

· Love for nature and wilderness

· Democracy and equality

· Innovation in form (free verse, new rhythms)

· Voices of race, gender, and diversity

American poetry evolved in four broad phases:

1. Early American Poetry (Colonial to early 19th century)

2. 19th Century Romantic / Transcendental Poetry

3. Modernist Poetry (1914–1945)

4. Postmodern / Contemporary Poetry (1945–present)

⭐ II. Early American Poetry (Before 1850)

1. Anne Bradstreet (1612–1672)

· The first published American poet.

· Puritan themes: God, family, suffering, humility.

· Notable works:

o The Tenth Muse

o To My Dear and Loving Wife

Her poetry mixes Puritan devotion with personal experience — a rare achievement for women of her time.

2. Phillis Wheatley (1753–1784)

· Enslaved African-American poet.

· Themes: religion, slavery, liberty.

· First African American woman to publish a book of poetry.

· Work: Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral.

Her poetry influenced later African-American voices (Hughes, Angelou).

3. Philip Freneau

· “Poet of the American Revolution.”

· Wrote about freedom, democracy, nationalism.

⭐ III. American Romantic & Transcendental Poetry (1850–1900)

This era produced two of the greatest American poets:

· Walt Whitman

· Emily Dickinson

1. Walt Whitman (1819–1892)

Known as the father of American free verse.

Key features:

· Free verse (no rhyme, no meter)

· Broad, expansive lines

· Celebration of the self (“Song of Myself”)

· Democracy, freedom, equality

· Sensuality and body positivity

· Cosmic vision of humanity

· American identity

Major works:

· Leaves of Grass (1855, with later editions)

· Song of Myself

· Crossing Brooklyn Ferry

· Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking

· When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d (elegy for Lincoln)

Whitman’s poetry marks a radical break from European traditions.

2. Emily Dickinson (1830–1886)

The most original American poet of the 19th century.

Key features:

· Short, compressed poems

· Dashes, slant rhyme, unusual punctuation

· Deep psychological insight

· Themes: death, immortality, nature, God, inner life

· Wrote 1,800 poems (only 7 published while alive)

Major poems:

· “Because I could not stop for Death—”

· “I heard a Fly buzz—when I died—”

· “Hope is the thing with feathers—”

Dickinson and Whitman form the foundation of modern American poetry.

⭐ IV. Modern American Poetry (1914–1945)

This is the period of:

· Imagism

· Symbolism

· Objectivism

· Experimental modernism

1. Ezra Pound (1885–1972)

Founder of the Imagist Movement.

Imagism rules:

· Direct treatment of the thing

· No unnecessary words

· Musical rhythm (not regular meter)

Major works:

· In a Station of the Metro

· Cantos (huge unfinished epic)

2. T.S. Eliot (1888–1965)

Although he lived in England, Eliot is born American and included in American literature.

Major works:

· The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

· The Waste Land (1922)

· Four Quartets

Themes:

· Fragmentation

· Loss of meaning

· Modern spiritual crisis

· Myth and tradition

Eliot changed modern poetry forever.

3. Wallace Stevens (1879–1955)

Themes:

· Imagination vs. reality

· Art’s role in creating meaning

Works:

· Sunday Morning

· The Idea of Order at Key West

4. Robert Frost (1874–1963)

Often misunderstood as a simple nature poet.

Themes:

· Psychological complexity

· Choices, isolation, rural life

· Symbolic landscapes

Major poems:

· The Road Not Taken

· Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

· Mending Wall

5. Langston Hughes (1901–1967) – Harlem Renaissance

Voice of African-American literature.

Themes:

· Race

· Jazz rhythm

· Oppression & hope

· Black culture

Famous works:

· The Negro Speaks of Rivers

· Harlem (“What happens to a dream deferred?”)

⭐ V. Postmodern & Contemporary American Poetry (1945–present)

1. Confessional Poets (1950s–70s)

Highly personal, autobiographical poetry.

Sylvia Plath

· Ariel

· Themes: death, depression, femininity, identity

Robert Lowell

· Life Studies (foundational confessional work)

Anne Sexton

· Themes: trauma, motherhood, mental illness

2. Beat Poets (1950s)

Rebel poets against conformity.

Allen Ginsberg

· Howl — a landmark counterculture poem

Jack Kerouac

· Jazz-influenced free verse

3. Black Arts Movement

Amiri Baraka

· Radical political poetry

4. Contemporary Voices

Maya Angelou

· Still I Rise

· Themes: freedom, racism, resilience

Joy Harjo

· Native American themes

· Myth, memory, spiritual connection

Billy Collins

· Humor, clarity, everyday moments

⭐ VI. Characteristics of American Poetry

1. Free verse innovation → Whitman

2. Psychological depth → Dickinson

3. Cultural diversity → Hughes, Angelou

4. Modernist fragmentation → Eliot, Pound

5. Regionalism → Frost (New England), Southern poets

6. Jazz & blues rhythms → Hughes

7. Postmodern experimentation → Ginsberg, Plath

8. Identity politics → African-American, Native American poets

⭐ VII. Summary for Quick Revision

· American poetry breaks away from British conventions.

· Whitman = father of free verse

· Dickinson = interior, symbolic, experimental

· Modernists (Eliot, Pound) = revolution in style

· Confessional poets = deeply personal

· African-American poets create new rhythmic, cultural traditions

UNIT 3 — AMERICAN LITERATURE

PART 3 — AMERICAN DRAMA (From Origins to Contemporary Stage)

⭐ I. INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN DRAMA

American drama became a major literary tradition only in the 20th century.
Before that, American theatre was dominated by:

· Imported British plays

· Melodrama

· Minstrel shows

· Frontier entertainment

The emergence of serious American drama is mainly connected with:

· Eugene O’Neill

· Arthur Miller

· Tennessee Williams

· Edward Albee

These dramatists established psychological realism, social criticism, expressionism, and new theatrical languages.

Key features of American drama:

· Family conflict

· The American Dream (success vs failure)

· Identity crisis

· Social injustice

· Psychological depth

· Realism + Expressionist techniques

· Regional dialects and cultural diversity

⭐ II. EARLY AMERICAN DRAMA (Before 1900)

1. Royall Tyler

The Contrast (1787) — first American comedy of manners.

· Introduced the character “Jonathan,” the first American stage Yankee.

2. William Dunlap

Father of American theatre.
Wrote historical plays and translated European dramas.

3. 19th Century Drama

Mostly melodramas and minstrel shows, such as:

· Uncle Tom’s Cabin (stage adaptations)

· Frontier plays

· Spectacle dramas

Serious literary drama was still undeveloped.

⭐ III. THE RISE OF MODERN AMERICAN DRAMA (20th Century)

The true beginning of American dramatic literature is with Eugene O’Neill.

⭐ 1. Eugene O’Neill (1888–1953)

Father of American Drama
First American dramatist to win the Nobel Prize (1936).

His plays transformed American theatre through:

· Psychological realism

· Symbolism

· Expressionist techniques

· Exploration of human suffering

· Influence of Greek tragedy & Freud

Major Works:

a. Long Day’s Journey into Night

· Autobiographical family tragedy

· Themes: alcoholism, guilt, failure, family trauma

· One of the greatest American plays ever written

· Awarded the Pulitzer Prize posthumously

b. The Hairy Ape

Expressionist drama
Themes: industrialism, alienation, class struggle.

c. Desire Under the Elms

Reworking of Greek tragedy (Oedipus elements)

d. The Iceman Cometh

Bar scene drama; themes of illusion vs reality.

e. Mourning Becomes Electra

Modern retelling of Oresteia trilogy.

Features of O’Neill’s drama:

· Deep psychological conflicts

· Dysfunctional families

· Fate, guilt, self-destruction

· Expressionist stage devices

· Dark emotional tone

⭐ 2. Arthur Miller (1915–2005)

Social realist dramatist of the American Dream.

Themes in Miller’s Drama

· Failure of the American Dream

· Moral responsibility

· Guilt

· Society vs individual

· Family disintegration

Major Works:

a. Death of a Salesman (1949)

Most important 20th-century American play.
Characters: Willy Loman, Linda, Biff, Happy.
Themes:

· Illusion vs reality

· Success obsession

· Family breakdown

· Capitalist exploitation

Won the Pulitzer Prize & Tony Award.

b. The Crucible

· Allegory of McCarthy-era witch hunts

· Based on Salem witch trials (1692)

· Themes: hysteria, fear, false accusations, power abuse

c. All My Sons

· War profiteering

· Father-son conflict

· Moral guilt

d. A View from the Bridge

· Immigration

· Jealousy

· Tragedy of Eddie Carbone

Miller = conscience of American theatre.

⭐ 3. Tennessee Williams (1911–1983)

Master of lyrical psychological drama.
His plays portray fragile emotions, sexual tensions, and dysfunctional families.

Major Themes

· Desire vs reality

· Psychological breakdown

· Southern Gothic atmosphere

· Oppression & vulnerability

· Sensitivity vs brutality

Major Works:

a. A Streetcar Named Desire (1947)

Characters: Blanche DuBois, Stanley Kowalski, Stella.
Themes:

· Illusion vs truth

· Desire

· Male aggression

· Decline of Southern aristocracy

Won Pulitzer Prize.

b. The Glass Menagerie (1944)

Memory play.
Characters: Tom, Laura, Amanda.
Themes:

· Escape

· Fragile dreams

· Dysfunctional family bond

c. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Themes:

· Repression

· Homosexuality

· Family conflict

· Lies & truth

Williams is the poet of lost souls and emotional vulnerability.

⭐ 4. Edward Albee (1928–2016)

Connected with the Theatre of the Absurd in America.

Major Works:

a. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

A brutal psychological drama.
Themes:

· Marriage disintegration

· Illusion vs reality

· Emotional violence

· Truth games

b. The Zoo Story

Absurdist one-act play about modern loneliness.

c. A Delicate Balance

Themes: fear, emptiness, family estrangement.

Albee blends absurdism with American realism.

⭐ IV. OTHER IMPORTANT AMERICAN PLAYWRIGHTS

1. Thornton Wilder

· Our Town — minimalist stage, universal themes of life & death

· The Skin of Our Teeth

2. Clifford Odets

Left-wing dramatist.

· Waiting for Lefty

· Awake and Sing!
Themes: labor rights, social justice.

3. Susan Glaspell

· Founder of Provincetown Players

· Trifles (feminist one-act play)

4. Lorraine Hansberry

First African-American woman playwright on Broadway.

· A Raisin in the Sun
Themes: race, family, dreams.

5. August Wilson

Chronicler of African-American life.

· Fences

· The Piano Lesson
Part of his Century Cycle (10 plays covering 100 years).

6. David Mamet

Known for “Mamet-speak” (sharp, vulgar dialogue).

· Glengarry Glen Ross
Themes: capitalism, moral corruption.

7. Sam Shepard

· Buried Child
Themes: family secrets, identity.

⭐ V. MAJOR THEMES IN AMERICAN DRAMA (Exam-Ready)

1. The American Dream: success, failure

· Miller’s Death of a Salesman

2. Family conflict

· O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey…

· Williams’ Glass Menagerie

3. Illusion vs reality

· Williams, Miller, Albee

4. Isolation and identity crisis

· Albee’s Zoo Story

· O’Neill’s characters

5. Psychological trauma

· All modern dramatists

6. Race and social inequality

· Hansberry

· August Wilson

7. Immigration & urban life

· Miller’s A View from the Bridge

⭐ VI. SUMMARY

· American drama matured only in the 20th century.

· O’Neill → Father of American drama (psychological, expressionist).

· Miller → moral + social tragedy (American Dream criticism).

· Williams → lyrical, psychological, emotional drama.

· Albee → absurdist, existential, domestic violence themes.

· Post-1950s → African-American, feminist, absurdist, and multicultural theatre.

UNIT 3 — AMERICAN LITERATURE

PART 4 — AMERICAN FICTION (Novel, Short Story, Movements, Key Writers)

⭐ I. INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN FICTION

American fiction reflects:

· The American Dream

· Democracy & individualism

· Frontier life

· Slavery & race

· Urbanization & modernity

· Psychological depth

· Multicultural complexity

The development of American fiction passes through distinct stages:

1. Early Foundations (19th Century)

2. Romanticism & Transcendentalism

3. Realism & Naturalism

4. Modernism

5. Postmodernism

6. Contemporary multicultural fiction

⭐ II. THE FOUNDERS OF AMERICAN FICTION (Early 19th Century)

1. Washington Irving (1783–1859)

The first internationally famous American fiction writer.

Major Works:

· The Sketch Book

o “Rip Van Winkle”

o “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”

Features:

· Humor, fantasy, folklore

· American landscape + European storytelling

· Father of American short story

2. James Fenimore Cooper (1789–1851)

Founder of the American historical & frontier novel.

Major Works:

· The Leatherstocking Tales

o The Last of the Mohicans

o The Pathfinder

o The Pioneers

Themes:

· Frontier wilderness

· Native Americans

· Heroic pioneer Natty Bumppo

3. Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804–1864)

Master of symbolic, psychological fiction.

Major Works:

· The Scarlet Letter

· The House of the Seven Gables

· Twice-Told Tales

Themes:

· Sin, guilt

· Puritanism

· Moral hypocrisy

· Symbolism (“A” in Scarlet Letter)

4. Herman Melville (1819–1891)

A philosophical novelist; rediscovered in the 20th century.

Major Works:

· Moby-Dick

· Billy Budd

· Typee

Themes:

· Good vs evil

· Obsession

· Fate

· Nature’s power

· Existential struggle

Moby-Dick = American epic.

⭐ III. ROMANTIC PERIOD & TRANSCENDENTALISM

1. Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849)

Father of:

· Detective fiction

· Horror fiction

· Gothic short story

· Modern short story theory

Major Works:

· “The Fall of the House of Usher”

· “The Tell-Tale Heart”

· “The Black Cat”

· “The Pit and the Pendulum”

· The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym

Short Story Theory:

· single effect

· unity of impression

· psychological intensity

2. Transcendentalist Fiction

Not heavy on novels, but influential through essays and sketches.

Key Figures:

· Ralph Waldo Emerson

· Henry David Thoreau (Walden)

Themes:

· Nature

· Self-reliance

· Spirituality

· American individuality

⭐ IV. REALISM & REGIONALISM (1865–1900)

After the Civil War, fiction became realistic.

1. Mark Twain (1835–1910)

Greatest humorist & realist.

Major Works:

· Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

· Tom Sawyer

· Life on the Mississippi

Themes:

· Slavery & racism

· Mississippi landscape

· Satire of American society

Huck Finn = “Great American Novel”.

2. Henry James (1843–1916)

Master of psychological realism.

Major Works:

· The Portrait of a Lady

· The Turn of the Screw

· The Ambassadors

Themes:

· International theme (Americans in Europe)

· Consciousness

· Moral ambiguity

3. Regional Writers

a. Bret Harte — Western frontier stories

b. Kate Chopin — Southern women’s lives (The Awakening)

c. Sarah Orne Jewett — New England local color

d. Willa Cather — Prairie novels (My Ántonia)

⭐ V. NATURALISM (1900–1930)

A harsher realism influenced by Darwin & determinism.

Key Features:

· Humans controlled by environment

· Poverty, violence, urban misery

· No free will

Major Novelists:

1. Stephen Crane

· Maggie: A Girl of the Streets

· The Red Badge of Courage

2. Theodore Dreiser

· Sister Carrie

· An American Tragedy

3. Frank Norris

· McTeague

· The Octopus

⭐ VI. MODERNISM (1910–1945)

Focus on alienation, fragmentation, psychological depth.

1. F. Scott Fitzgerald

· The Great Gatsby
Themes: Jazz Age, excess, illusion, idealism.

2. Ernest Hemingway

Minimalism & “iceberg theory”.

· A Farewell to Arms

· The Old Man and the Sea

· The Sun Also Rises

3. William Faulkner

Southern modernist; stream of consciousness.

· The Sound and the Fury

· As I Lay Dying

· Light in August

4. John Steinbeck

Social realism.

· The Grapes of Wrath

· Of Mice and Men

⭐ VII. HARLEM RENAISSANCE (1920s)

African-American cultural flowering.

Key Writers:

· Zora Neale Hurston — Their Eyes Were Watching God

· Langston Hughes — short stories & poems

· Jean Toomer — Cane

Themes:

· Black identity

· Folk traditions

· Racism

· Community

⭐ VIII. POST-WORLD WAR II FICTION (1945–1970)

1. J.D. Salinger

· The Catcher in the Rye

2. Ralph Ellison

· Invisible Man (identity, race)

3. Saul Bellow

· Herzog

· The Adventures of Augie March

4. Jack Kerouac

Beat movement.

· On the Road

⭐ IX. POSTMODERN FICTION (1960–2000)

Features:

· Fragmentation

· Metafiction

· Irony

· Unreliable narrators

· Parody

Major Writers:

1. Thomas Pynchon

· Gravity’s Rainbow

· The Crying of Lot 49

2. Don DeLillo

· White Noise

3. Kurt Vonnegut

· Slaughterhouse-Five

4. John Barth

· Lost in the Funhouse

⭐ X. CONTEMPORARY MULTICULTURAL AMERICAN FICTION

1. African-American Writers

· Toni Morrison — Beloved, Song of Solomon

· Alice Walker — The Color Purple

· Colson Whitehead

2. Native American Writers

· N. Scott Momaday — House Made of Dawn

· Leslie Marmon Silko — Ceremony

3. Asian-American Writers

· Amy Tan — The Joy Luck Club

· Maxine Hong Kingston

4. Latinx Writers

· Sandra Cisneros — The House on Mango Street

· Julia Alvarez

5. Indian-American Writers

· Jhumpa Lahiri — Interpreter of Maladies

⭐ XI. MAJOR THEMES IN AMERICAN FICTION (Exam Ready)

· The American Dream

· Race & identity

· Frontier myth

· Individualism vs society

· Family tensions

· Immigration

· Psychological interiority

· Gender roles

· War & trauma

· Urban alienation

⭐ XII. REVISION SUMMARY

American Fiction evolves through:

Romanticism → Realism → Naturalism → Modernism → Postmodernism → Multiculturalism

The most important authors for TRB:

· Hawthorne

· Melville

· Poe

· Twain

· Henry James

· Crane

· Dreiser

· Fitzgerald

· Hemingway

· Faulkner

· Morrison

· DeLillo

UNIT 3 — CANADIAN LITERATURE

(History, Poetry, Fiction, Drama, Themes, Movements, Key Writers)

⭐ I. INTRODUCTION TO CANADIAN LITERATURE

Canadian literature reflects:

· Bilingual heritage (English & French)

· History of colonization

· Vast natural landscape

· Indigenous (First Nations, Métis, Inuit) cultures

· Immigrant experiences

· Regional identity

· Survival, isolation, and multiculturalism

Core Characteristics:

✔ Landscape as a living force
✔ Survival in harsh climate
✔ Immigrant identity crisis
✔ Indigenous experiences & decolonization
✔ Regionalism (Quebec, Prairies, Atlantic, North)
✔ Cultural hybridity (English + French + Indigenous + immigrant voices)

Canadian literature develops through three major phases:

1. Early Settlers’ Writing (18th–19th Century)

2. Modern Canadian Literature (1900–1960)

3. Contemporary Canadian Writing (1960–present)

⭐ II. EARLY CANADIAN LITERATURE (18th–19th CENTURY)

1. Exploration & Travel Narratives

Early texts were diaries, journals, letters describing:

· Harsh climate

· Wilderness

· Indigenous encounters

· Struggles for survival

2. Susanna Moodie — Roughing It in the Bush (1852)

· Memoir chronicling the hardships of pioneer life

· Themes: survival, isolation, wilderness

3. Catharine Parr Traill — The Backwoods of Canada

· Focus on settlement, nature, colonial optimism

These writers established the Canadian “survival” myth.

⭐ III. CONFEDERATION POETS (Late 19th Century)

A group of influential early poets.

⭐ Major Figures:

· Charles G.D. Roberts

· Bliss Carman

· Archibald Lampman

· Duncan Campbell Scott

· Pauline Johnson (Indigenous + European heritage)

Themes:

· Nature

· Landscape

· National identity

· Harmony between humanity & wilderness

Lampman = “Canadian Wordsworth.”

Pauline Johnson = Indigenous voice + oral tradition.

⭐ IV. MODERN CANADIAN LITERATURE (1900–1960)

1. E.J. Pratt

· Narrative poet

· The Titanic, Brébeuf and His Brethren
Themes: heroism, modernity, exploration.

2. Morley Callaghan

· Novelist and short story writer

· Psychological realism

· Works: Such Is My Beloved, They Shall Inherit the Earth

3. Hugh MacLennan

Founder of the “novel of identity.”

Major works:

· Two Solitudes

· Barometer Rising

Themes: French–English conflict, Canadian identity.

⭐ V. CANADIAN LITERARY RENAISSANCE (1960–Present)

Explosion of global Canadian literature.

This period produces Nobel-level international writers.

⭐ 1. Margaret Atwood (b. 1939)

Most influential Canadian writer.

Major Works:

· The Handmaid’s Tale (dystopian feminism)

· Cat’s Eye (psychology)

· Alias Grace (historical crime)

· Surfacing (identity, wilderness)

· The Edible Woman

Themes:

· Gender politics

· Power

· Survival

· Environmentalism

· Myth & nationalism

Atwood’s “Survival” thesis:
→ Canadian literature = survival + victim positions.

⭐ 2. Alice Munro

Winner — Nobel Prize in Literature (2013)
Master of the short story.

Major Works:

· Dance of the Happy Shades

· Lives of Girls and Women

· Dear Life

Themes:

· Small-town life

· Memory

· Female experience

· Emotional subtlety

⭐ 3. Michael Ondaatje

Sri Lankan–Canadian writer.

Major works:

· The English Patient (Booker Prize)

· Running in the Family

· Anil’s Ghost

Themes:

· War trauma

· Identity

· Memory

· Hybrid cultural identity

⭐ 4. Rudy Wiebe

Explores Indigenous and Mennonite communities.

Major works:

· The Temptations of Big Bear

· A Discovery of Strangers

Themes: colonial history, justice, Indigenous resistance.

⭐ 5. Rohinton Mistry

Indian-origin Canadian novelist.

Major works:

· Such a Long Journey

· A Fine Balance

· Family Matters

Themes: diaspora, political turmoil, middle-class struggles.

⭐ 6. Thomas King

Indigenous writer (Cherokee/Gree).

Major works:

· Green Grass, Running Water

· The Truth About Stories

Themes:

· Indigenous identity

· Satire

· Storytelling tradition

⭐ 7. Gabrielle Roy

Pioneer of French-Canadian fiction.

Famous novel:

· The Tin Flute

Themes: poverty, Quebec society, war-era struggles.

⭐ 8. Margaret Laurence

Major prairie novelist.

Works:

· The Stone Angel

· A Jest of God

· The Diviners

Themes: female identity, prairie life, psychological conflict.

⭐ VI. CANADIAN DRAMA

1. George Ryga

· The Ecstasy of Rita Joe
A landmark Indigenous rights drama.

2. Michel Tremblay (French-Canadian)

· Les Belles-Soeurs
Revolutionary Quebec feminist drama using joual (working-class dialect).

3. Sharon Pollock

· Blood Relations (Lizzie Borden story)

⭐ VII. CANADIAN POETRY (Modern & Contemporary)

1. Margaret Atwood

Poet before novelist.
Themes: femininity, power, landscape.

2. Leonard Cohen

Singer + poet.
Works: Let Us Compare Mythologies.

3. Al Purdy

Chronicler of working-class Canadian identity.

⭐ VIII. THEMES OF CANADIAN LITERATURE (Exam-Ready)

✔ 1. Survival

Central idea → harsh climate, colonial struggles, personal endurance.

✔ 2. Multiculturalism

Immigrant identities, cultural hybridity.

✔ 3. Landscape & Wilderness

Nature as sublime, threatening, spiritual.

✔ 4. Indigenous Perspectives

Colonial trauma
Land rights
Oral storytelling traditions

✔ 5. Duality

English vs French identity.

✔ 6. Feminist Writing

Atwood, Laurence, Munro.

✔ 7. Diaspora Voices

Mistry, Ondaatje.

✔ 8. Postcolonial Critique

Indigenous activism, hybrid identities.

⭐ IX. IMPORTANT CANADIAN LITERARY MOVEMENTS

Movement	Features
Confederation Poets	Early nationalism, nature poetry
Modernist Canadian Fiction	Identity conflict, psychological depth
Prairie Fiction	Regional life, isolation, farming communities
Canadian Renaissance (1960s)	Explosion of global writers
Quebec Revolution (1960s)	French-Canadian identity, joual literature
Indigenous Renaissance	Storytelling, decolonization

⭐ X. EXAM-ORIENTED QUICK SUMMARY

Key Authors:

· Atwood

· Munro

· Ondaatje

· Mistry

· Laurence

· Cather

· Roy

· Tremblay

· Wiebe

· Thomas King

Key Themes:

· Survival

· Multiculturalism

· Immigrant experience

· Indigenous identity

· Landscape

· Feminism

· Regionalism

Key Texts:

· The Handmaid’s Tale

· The Stone Angel

· The English Patient

· Lives of Girls and Women

· Green Grass, Running Water

UNIT 3 — AUSTRALIAN LITERATURE

(Origins, Colonial Writing, Bush Tradition, Aboriginal Literature, Modern & Contemporary Writing)

⭐ I. INTRODUCTION TO AUSTRALIAN LITERATURE

Australian literature reflects:

· Colonial settlements

· Harsh Australian landscape

· Bush/outback life

· Indigenous Aboriginal traditions

· Convict history

· Immigrant multicultural society

Key characteristics:
✔ Landscape as a powerful and dangerous force
✔ Survival in harsh climate
✔ “Bush myth” (rural vs city conflict)
✔ Identity conflict (British vs Australian)
✔ Aboriginal storytelling traditions
✔ Migrant experiences
✔ Postcolonial themes

⭐ II. EARLY AUSTRALIAN LITERATURE (Colonial Period: 1788–1850)

1. Convict Narratives (First Literature of Australia)

Early writings were autobiographical accounts by transported convicts.

Famous texts:

· A Narrative of the Sufferings of T. Barrett

· Watkin Tench’s A Narrative of the Expedition to Botany Bay

· Henry Savery’s Quintus Servinton (first Australian novel)

Themes:

· Punishment, hardship

· Oppression under British rule

· Survival and hope

⭐ III. BUSH TRADITION (1850–1900)

Central to Australia’s literary identity.

The “Bush” = rural outback region
Important in:

· Poetry

· Short stories

· Folklore

⭐ Major Writers:

1. Henry Lawson (1867–1922)

The most iconic Australian writer.

Works:

· “The Drover’s Wife”

· “The Bush Undertaker”

· “The Loaded Dog”

Themes:

· Hardship of rural life

· Mateship (friendship in adversity)

· Poverty

· Outback struggle

· Loneliness

Lawson = realist, unsentimental, simple language.

2. Banjo Paterson (1864–1941)

Lawson’s opposite: romantic, optimistic bush poetry.

Works:

· “Waltzing Matilda” (Australia’s unofficial anthem)

· “The Man from Snowy River”

Themes:

· Heroism

· Adventure

· Bush nationalism

Lawson vs Paterson = Realism vs Romanticism.

⭐ IV. AUSTRALIAN NOVEL (1900–1940)

1. Miles Franklin (1879–1954)

Major feminist voice.

Famous Work:

· My Brilliant Career

Themes:

· Women’s independence

· Rural life

· Ambition

· Gender constraints

2. Joseph Furphy (“Tom Collins”)

Work: Such Is Life
Comic portrayal of bush life.

3. Christina Stead (1902–1983)

Internationally recognized modern novelist.

Major work:

· The Man Who Loved Children

Themes:

· Family psychology

· Emotional conflict

4. Katherine Susannah Prichard

Work:

· Coonardoo (depicts Aboriginal–white relations)

⭐ V. MODERN AUSTRALIAN LITERATURE (1940–1980)

1. Patrick White (1912–1990)

First Australian Nobel Prize Winner (1973).
Father of modern Australian fiction.

Major Works:

· Voss

· The Tree of Man

· Riders in the Chariot

· The Vivisector

Themes:

· Psychological depth

· Spiritual quest

· Landscape shaping identity

· Alienation

White = the most important Australian novelist.

2. Randolph Stow

Work: To the Islands
Themes: spiritual search, alienation.

3. Thomas Keneally

Work: Schindler’s Ark (won Booker Prize; basis for Schindler’s List)
Themes: Holocaust, morality.

⭐ VI. ABORIGINAL (INDIGENOUS) LITERATURE

Aboriginal literature is central to postcolonial Australian writing.

Themes:

· Land dispossession

· Dreamtime myths

· Oral tradition

· Racism

· Cultural survival

· Decolonization

Major Writers:

1. Oodgeroo Noonuccal (Kath Walker)

First major Aboriginal poet.

Works:

· We Are Going

· The Dawn Is at Hand

Themes: activism, identity, justice.

2. Sally Morgan

Work: My Place
Autobiographical — reclaiming Aboriginal identity.

3. Kim Scott

Work: Benang (Miles Franklin Award)
Focus: mixed-race heritage, Aboriginal trauma.

4. Alexis Wright

Work: Carpentaria (Miles Franklin Award)
Richly layered Indigenous storytelling.

⭐ VII. CONTEMPORARY AUSTRALIAN LITERATURE (1980–Present)

1. Peter Carey

Two-time Booker Prize winner.

Works:

· Oscar and Lucinda

· True History of the Kelly Gang

· Illywhacker

Themes:

· Nationhood

· Crime & outlaw culture

· Postmodern style

2. Tim Winton

Work: Cloudstreet
Themes: family, spirituality, Australian suburbs.

3. David Malouf

Lebanese-Australian writer.

Works:

· Remembering Babylon

· An Imaginary Life

Themes:

· Exile

· Language

· Memory

· Cultural collision

4. Geraldine Brooks

Pulitzer-winning novelist.

Works:

· March (Pulitzer Prize)

· People of the Book

5. Peter Skrzynecki

Focus: Polish immigrant identity.
Work: Immigrant Chronicle (poetry).

⭐ VIII. AUSTRALIAN DRAMA

1. David Williamson

Most famous modern Australian playwright.
Works:

· Don’s Party

· The Removalists
Themes: politics, class conflict.

2. Jack Davis (Aboriginal playwright)

Works:

· No Sugar
Themes: racism, colonial oppression.

3. Ray Lawler

Work:

· Summer of the Seventeenth Doll
Considered the classic Australian drama.

⭐ IX. MAJOR THEMES IN AUSTRALIAN LITERATURE (TRB-IMPORTANT)

✔ 1. Bush & Outback Life

Central to 19th & early 20th century works.

✔ 2. Survival in Harsh Landscape

Climate shapes Australian identity.

✔ 3. Indigenous Experiences

Land, belonging, colonial trauma.

✔ 4. Immigration & Multiculturalism

Modern works explore identity and diaspora.

✔ 5. Postcolonial Identity

Australian vs British culture.

✔ 6. Gender & Feminism

Miles Franklin, Christina Stead, contemporary authors.

✔ 7. Environment & Nature Writing

Landscape as spiritual or destructive.

⭐ X. EXAM-FOCUSED SUMMARY

Important Writers

· Patrick White (Nobel)

· Peter Carey (Booker)

· Tim Winton

· David Malouf

· Henry Lawson

· Banjo Paterson

· Miles Franklin

· Oodgeroo Noonuccal

· Alexis Wright

Important Texts

· Voss

· The Drover’s Wife

· My Place

· Cloudstreet

· Oscar and Lucinda

· True History of the Kelly Gang

Important Themes

· Bush life

· Survival

· Indigenous trauma

· Identity crisis

· Colonial legacy

· Landscape as metaphor

Moorthi Sukumar

TNTRB ASSISTANT PROFESSOR ENGLISH STUDY MATERIAL III

UNIT 3 — AMERICAN LITERATURE

PART 2 — AMERICAN POETRY (From Origins to Modern Age)

I. Introduction to American Poetry

⭐ II. Early American Poetry (Before 1850)

1. Anne Bradstreet (1612–1672)

2. Phillis Wheatley (1753–1784)

3. Philip Freneau

⭐ III. American Romantic & Transcendental Poetry (1850–1900)

1. Walt Whitman (1819–1892)

Key features:

Major works:

2. Emily Dickinson (1830–1886)

Key features:

Major poems:

⭐ IV. Modern American Poetry (1914–1945)

1. Ezra Pound (1885–1972)

Imagism rules:

2. T.S. Eliot (1888–1965)

Major works:

3. Wallace Stevens (1879–1955)

4. Robert Frost (1874–1963)

5. Langston Hughes (1901–1967) – Harlem Renaissance

⭐ V. Postmodern & Contemporary American Poetry (1945–present)

1. Confessional Poets (1950s–70s)

Sylvia Plath

Robert Lowell

Anne Sexton

2. Beat Poets (1950s)

Allen Ginsberg

Jack Kerouac

3. Black Arts Movement

Amiri Baraka

4. Contemporary Voices

Maya Angelou

Joy Harjo

Billy Collins

⭐ VI. Characteristics of American Poetry

⭐ VII. Summary for Quick Revision

UNIT 3 — AMERICAN LITERATURE

PART 3 — AMERICAN DRAMA (From Origins to Contemporary Stage)

⭐ I. INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN DRAMA

⭐ II. EARLY AMERICAN DRAMA (Before 1900)

1. Royall Tyler

2. William Dunlap

3. 19th Century Drama

⭐ III. THE RISE OF MODERN AMERICAN DRAMA (20th Century)

⭐ 1. Eugene O’Neill (1888–1953)

Major Works:

a. Long Day’s Journey into Night

b. The Hairy Ape

c. Desire Under the Elms

d. The Iceman Cometh

e. Mourning Becomes Electra

⭐ 2. Arthur Miller (1915–2005)

Themes in Miller’s Drama

Major Works:

a. Death of a Salesman (1949)

b. The Crucible

c. All My Sons

d. A View from the Bridge

⭐ 3. Tennessee Williams (1911–1983)

Major Themes

Major Works:

a. A Streetcar Named Desire (1947)

b. The Glass Menagerie (1944)

c. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

⭐ 4. Edward Albee (1928–2016)

Major Works:

a. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

b. The Zoo Story

c. A Delicate Balance

⭐ IV. OTHER IMPORTANT AMERICAN PLAYWRIGHTS

1. Thornton Wilder

2. Clifford Odets

3. Susan Glaspell

4. Lorraine Hansberry

5. August Wilson

6. David Mamet