Washingtong Irving.ppt

1.Irving is the person in American literature, writing for pleasure at a time when writing was practical and for useful purposes. 2. He is the first American literary humorist. 3. He has written the first modern short stories. 4. He is the first to write history and biography as entertainment. 5. He introduced the nonfiction prose as a literary genre. 6. His use of the gothic looks forward to Poe. Common Themes 1. Enchanted person discovers that an enormous amount of time has passed when the spell is broken. “Rip Van Winkle” 2. Person making a pact with the devil: Ex: The Fa