CHARACTERISTICS AND COMMON GENRES OF BRITISH - AMERICAN

LITERATURE
A. Characteristics of English Literature
1. Classic and Refined
(Just talking =>Since English literature emerged earlier than other literature,
literary works are classic because they were written hundreds of years ago, and it
was passed by many generations, it never seems to grow old. Many English writers
such as Shakespeare and Chaucer were found valuable from generation to
generation. There is something in English literature where the works of the author
transcends from time to time and still relevant up until today.)
2. Literary works reflects about their ideas, beliefs, and tradition
 Most of their works show their concern on the society such as political
organization, war, the validity of family and of marriage. Others also wrote about
their political views and the rules of society.
 One example is “The New Generation” (1844) and “The Two Nations” by
Benjamin Disraeli (Thêm hình) which talks about the huge economic and social gap
between the privilege few and the deprived working classes.
3. Relatively Small-scale
 The scope of the piece mostly is small-scale or family-based settings.
 The most common example here is the story of “Romeo and Juliet” by William
Shakespeare which is about family.
1.2.2 Most Common Themes in English Literature
 In English Literature, most featured are about the intelligence of the people,
manners, and the big difference of the rich and the poor.
 Moreover, they feature stories about government, which is monarchy, about
knights,
heroes, images of kings and queens especially on the medieval periods and Anglo
Saxons period.
 Example of pieces are Beowulf, Story of Lancelot, The Knight of the Cart by
Chretien de Troyes, and The Knights Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer.

B. Characteristics of American Literature

1. American Literature is a young literature
 Since Americans was colonized before it only emerged recently when they gained
their independence hundreds of years ago in the 17th century.
2. Most pieces disregard the traditional writing styles and themes
(=> talking Because of the British Colonialism in America, they tried to resist
anything from
colonialism that is why traditional style were disregarded.
 They are focus more on contemporary style and writers have this modern taste in
writing pieces of literature.
 They tried to make their own genre like writing detective stories, science fiction,
and
techniques )
Edgar Allan Poe’s works where it talks about mysterious settings and detective
stories: “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” “The Mystery of Marie Roget” “The
Purloined Letter”)
3. Literary works focus on individualism, romanticism, realism, modernism,
and naturalism
 Americans have a great respect for the value and importance of an individual
and also in democracy => Their society has this called “individualist culture”
=> Example: Jenesse Williams entitles “The Glass Menagerie” that tackle about the
individualism of Americans.
 Another theme from American: “American Dream” which is the idea where
anyone who wishes to get successful, they can achieve it by their efforts and hard
work, determination, and perseverance.
=> Example: “Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography” who is a hardworking boy who
became successful, rich, and famous.
 More of the themes is about social rebellion, and culture clash.

Mark Twains’s works: “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” (1876)

C. Common Genres of English Literature

1. Drama
 Drama is a literary composition that is intended for performance. It is also a
generic term that refers to the different forms of presentation that are meant to
inform, to educate and to entertain the audience at the same time.
 A well-known play: Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare (father of English
literature).
2. Fiction
 Fiction involves literary works that are created from the imagination and is not
presented as fact.
 One example of fiction is the novel of Jane Austen entitled Pride and Prejudice.
=> It is a romance type of fiction novel that shows how the two characters come to
accept the goodness of each other despite of their pride and prejudice.
3. Poetry
 Poetry is a type of literature, or artistic writing, that attempts to stir a reader’s
imagination or emotions.
 An example of well-known poetry: Iliad and the Odyssey by Homer.
=> These works are said to be the earliest form of epic in the history of English
literature.
D. Common Genres of American Literature
 Similar to English literature, American literature is also composed of genres such
as fiction, drama and poetry.
1. Fiction
- Mark Twain has a well-known novel entitled The Adventures of Huckleberry
Finn (1884). This novel talks about slavery and racism which is very American in
nature. 2. Drama
For the genre of drama, there is this work of Margaret Mitchell entitled “Gone with
the Wind”.
=> This drama has a touch of romance and talks about American history, specifically
significant happenings during the American civil war.
3. Poetry
Poetry is very significant during the American revolution because Americans used it
as their weapon in stating their arguments and in celebrating their heroes. Some of
the said poetries are Yankee Doodle, The epilogue and Nathan Hale.