Lecture 17 20th C. Am. Poetry(I).ppt

Overview of American Poetry 1600s: colonial poets responded to the challenges of their new world and expressed the hopes and fears of Europeans who settled there. years following the Declaration of Independence (1776): American poets created a patriotic poetry as a defining literature for the new nation. mid- and late 19th century: A powerful new kind of poetry flowered among the first poets to be born and raised as actual citizens of the United States. first half of the 20th century: American modernist poetry emerged , as many writers sought to subdue nationalist impulses in their poetry and define themselves as part of an international advance in the arts. second half of the 20th century: a multiplicity of diverse voices redefined American poetry. Overview of American Poetry Toward the 20th century Whitman?had?hoped?that his work would generate new energy in American poetry. But when he died in 1892, the American poetic scene was relatively barren. Stephen Crane, best known for his novels, published two volumes of poetry, The Black Riders and Other Lines (1895) and War Is Kind and Other Poems (1899). In their tone and fragmented form, his grim poems anticipate the concerns of many modern writers. The 20th- Century American Poetry Historical setting Westward expansion, waves of immigration, increasing urbanization all combined to create a physically larger, more populous, and far more diverse country. The nation’s growing diversity is evident in the diverse voices of 20th-century American poets. Modern American poetry: more diversity, less unity The 20th- Century American Poetry Modernism The?early?20th?century was a time of huge industrial expansion in America, and many writers found the conditions for creating art unfavorable in a culture that was so focused on business and making money. Part of the struggle among modernist writers concerned the possibility or even desirability of continuing to develop a specifically American poetic tradition. Many writ