21ST CENTURY

LITERATURE
FROM THE
PHILIPPINES AND
THE WORLD
 UNIT 3: LITERARY
GENRES, TRADITIONS,
AND FORMS FROM
DIFFERENT CULTURES

LESSON 2: AMERICAN
LITERATURE
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 AMERICAN
LITERATURE
American literature refers to all works of
literature in English produced in the United
States.

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THE 19 TH
CENTURY

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 WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT
(1794-1878)

William Cullen Bryant

became famous for
“Thanatopsis” (1817).
This poem marked a
new beginning for
American poetry.
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WASHINGTON IRVING
(1783-1859)
Washington Irving was known
for “Rip Van Winkle” and “The
Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” the
first American short stories. They
were part of his work The Sketch
Book, the first American work to
become successful
internationally.
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 EDGAR ALLAN POE
(1809-1849)
Edgar Allan Poe became famous
for his macabre stories like “The
Fall of the House of Usher”
(1839) and “The Cask of
Amontillado” (1846). Also, he
wrote “The Murders in the Rue
Morgue” (1841), the first
detective story, and the poem
“Raven” (1845), with which he
achieved instant fame. 7
 NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE
(1804-1864)
Nathaniel Hawthorne became
known for his symbolical tales
like “The Hollow of the Three
Hills” (1830) and “Young
Goodman Brown” (1835).
Also, he wrote the gothic
romance The Scarlet
Letter (1850).
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WALT WHITMAN
(1819-1892)
Walt Whitman became
well-known for Leaves of
Grass, first published in
1855. In this poetry
collection, Whitman showed
the experiences of the
common man.
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 EMILY DICKINSON
(1830-1886)
Emily Dickinson (1830 -
1886) wrote odd poems. She
mostly used the imperfect
rhyme and avoided regular
rhythms. A collection of her
poems, Poems by Emily
Dickinson, came out in
1890. 10
THE 20 TH
CENTURY

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 ROBERT FROST
Robert Frost (1874 - 1963)
wrote poems with traditional
stanzas and a blank verse, a
verse in iambic pentameter with
no rhyme. His poems portray
ordinary people in everyday
situations like “Mending Wall,”
"The Road Not Taken," and
“After Apple-Picking,” both of
which were published in 1914.
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 E. E. CUMMINGS
E. E. Cummings (1894 - 1962)
was known for his
unconventional punctuation
and phrasing. His poems
were compiled in Complete
Poems (1968).
 EZRA POUND
Ezra Pound (1885 - 1972) was a
leader of the Imagists, who
emphasized the use of direct and
sparse language and precise
images in writing poetry. Two of
his works are Ripostes (1912)
and Lustra (1916).
SHERWOOD ANDERSON
Sherwood Anderson (1876 -
1941) wrote prose using
everyday speech. His best
works appeared
in Winesburg, Ohio (1919)
and Death in the
Woods (1933).
 ERNEST HEMINGWAY
Ernest Hemingway (1899 -
1961) was known for his succinct
writing, which was widely
imitated. His writing was very
straightforward and objective -
not verbose and sentimental. Two
of his finest stories are “The
Killers” (1927) and “The Short
Happy Life of Francis
Macomber” (1936).

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 ALLEN GINSBERG
Allen Ginsberg (1926 -
1997) was known for his
work “Howl” (1956), a
poem with incantatory
rhythms and raw emotion.
He was one of the Beat
poets, who aimed to bring
poetry back to the streets.
 ANNE SEXTON
Anne Sexton (1928 -
1974) became known for
her confessional poetry, a
kind of poetry that deals
with the private
experiences of the speaker.
Her work Live or
Die (1966) won a Pulitzer
Prize.
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