Benjamin Franklin

(1706-1790)

ü began to write at the age of 15 for “The New England Courant” (his brother’s newspaper) under the pen-name Dame Silence Do Good;

ü The editor and owner of the “Pennsylvania Gazette” (at the age of 24);

ü 1733 - started publishing Poor Richard’s Almanac (under the pen-name Richard Saunders);

ü helped to draft the Declaration of Independence.

The main work Autobiography (1771-1788):

ü written in warm intimate style;

ü represents the project of self-improvement;

ü joins the English belief in perfectibility with the Puritan habit of moral self-scrutiny;

ü fulfils didactic function;

ü was intended for his sons and grandsons;

ü Became widely read after the publication.

American Romanticism

ü appeared after the War for Independence;

ü Was influenced by the ideals of the Enlightenment.

Romantic is something fanciful or exaggerated, not based on facts, not very rational.

ü embraced the period between the twenties and the sixties of the 19^th century

ü is divided into 2 periods:

I. early- W. Irving, F. Cooper

II. late(mature) - N. Hawthorne, E. Poe, H. Melville

Romanticism demanded:

ü an intricate intrigue

ü a dynamic movement of events

ü sudden changes of the hero’s life

Romantic writers:

ü depicted life as a struggle between vice and virtue;

ü Insisted that virtue should defeat evil.

Its characteristic features are:

ü the gap between reality and the ideal;

ü the writers’ approach to life was emotional;

ü Reasoning had little or no part in their perception of the life.

Washington Irving

(1783-1885)

ü American’s first romantic writer.

Main works:

“A History of New York y Died rich Knickerbocker” (a mock history of New York)

“The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent”

Best known for his stories “Rip Van Winkle”, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”

His style is characterized by:

ü vivid language’

ü subtle irony;

ü realistic details;

ü romantic descriptions of nature;

- Rational trend of thought; with an ironical smile retreated from the present into the romantic past;

ü humour and irony are hidden behind the serious tone

ü the writings of the first period were humorous and satirical

ü splendid short plots;

ü the plots are more told than written to a company by the fireside;

ü use of local legends and histories;

ü Stylistic traditions were developed by M. Twain, W. Faulkner and others.