American Literature

The American Literature exam recognizes the following historical timeline and literary eras.

THE COLONIAL AND EARLY NATIONAL PERIOD: (beginnings-1830)—15% 
Starting with the pilgrims, the foundation for American Literature was laid during this period.

THE ROMANTIC PERIOD: (1830-1870)—25%
Westward expansion and the beginning of the Industrial Revolution sparked American authors to explore the ideals of intuition, imagination, and individualism. Prose in the form of the novel was the leading literary form that extolled nature and the common man as a hero.

THE REALISM AND NATURALISM PERIOD: (1879-1910)—20%
Naturalist writers attempted to apply scientific principles of objectivity and detachment to their study of humans, while the Realists focused on rendering reality closely and in comprehensive detail.

THE MODERNIST PERIOD: (1910-1945)—25% 
During the interwar period, modernist writers produced works that represented the transformation of traditional society under the pressures of modernity. Enlightenment thinking was rejected and writers sought to better represent reality in a new, more industrialized word.

THE CONTEMPORARY PERIOD: (1945-present)—15% 
This period explored the ways that truth is not straight forward, rational, or clearly defined, but rather how it is completely influenced by human perception. Writers focussed on the workings of human thoughts and experience to define characters rather than their actions.