The American Literary Renaissance

Early in the history of the United States, the many cultures and societies which made up the fabric of the new nation began to homogenize in some respects to form elements that would in time become known as "purely American". More likely than not, this process was fostered in many respects because of the wish of the people who made up the new nation to form their own sense of national identity, exercise the new freedoms afforded to them, and to join with others in a common culture, regardless of where these new Americans originally hailed. An excellent example of this is the period which has, in retrospect, become known as the American Renaissance, a time frame from the early 1840s to the end of the Civil War (mid 1860s) when a specifically American way of writing and a uniquely American style was formulated (Versluis, 2001).

In this research, the aforementioned claim of the existence of an American Renaissance will be supported with evidence from writers of that period, as well as the discussion of some additional facts which reinforce this claim. Ultimately, upon conclusion of the research, the reader will have gained a thorough understanding not only of the existence of the American Renaissance, but also those specific examples which make up the body of work that defined this pivotal period in the evolution of the American literary genre.

Birth of the American Renaissance

As was mentioned when this research began, it is generally acknowledged that the American Renaissance encompassed several decades, early in American history, up to and just beyond the time of the Civil War. In order to fully appreciate and comprehend the importance of the American Renaissance, as well as to establish the legitimacy of its existence, the "birth" of this period must be discussed.

America, from the time of the arrival of the first colonists, to the foundation of the United States, and into the first few decades of the 1800s was a people whose lives, culture and literature were shaped for the most part by the prevailing religious systems of the day-systems which were brought to America from Europe along with those who came to America, seeking a better life. Literature during this period was comprised in large part of the traditional tales, poems and fables that immigrants brought from their native lands, and committed to the printed word in an effort to both maintain their sense of ethnic identity and to share the best tales of their homeland with others that hailed from different places; in this way, early American literature served as a melting pot, into which different cultures could to some extent blend with one another and understand each other a bit better. With the arrival in the American colonies of leaders such as John Smith and others, literature in America expanded its scope to include historical accounts of the trials and tribulations that the settlers faced when trying to reach the colonies from Europe and elsewhere.

American colonists, forming their own communities, were eventually exposed to literature that was definitely sacred in nature, and American born. Of course, those among the settlers who hailed from Europe certainly wrote in the European tradition; this literature included interpretations of Biblical writings, sermons delivered by the renown clergy leaders of the era, and the like. Essentially, in a time of flux when the British crown controlled the American colonies, but those colonies essentially felt abandoned and not led by a unifying government, faith is the glue which held the colonies together.

The discontent with British rule led to a change in the mindset and literature of America. As America became a more politically conscious land, and the people gathered together in the movements that would eventually lead to the American revolution, the obtaining of freedom from Britain, and the ultimate formation of the United States of America. Due to this, American literature shifted focus to a more politically active point of view; writers such as Thomas Paine, Benjamin Franklin and others produced vast bodies of work that espoused the virtues of freedom, the natural state of the human being to be free, and the importance of gaining freedom from British control at all costs. This was the beginning of the politically active literature that still populates American literature today (Strauch, 1971).

Along with the freedom that the Declaration of Independence and American Constitution gave to the citizens of the new nation, which in themselves are considered by many to be masterpieces of American literature, people began to ponder the origins of established religious authority, the control that that authority held over them, and the basis of the individual in the entire schema of sin, religion and redemption (Bryant, 1993). In other words, the newly freed American citizenry came to the realization that the churches which had controlled them for so long represented what was essentially the last tie that bound them to an authority which seemed to suppress the individual more than it enriched the life of the individual. Therefore, the concept of self-realization began to emerge, leading to the idea of transcendentalism, an idea which was popularized by early American authors and marked the beginning of what is known today as the American Renaissance (Versluis). With transcendentalism as the starting point, evidence from several writers will be presented to reinforce the argument that not only did the American Renaissance exist, but that it did in fact produce a specifically American way of writing.

American Renaissance Authors

The American Renaissance came about, and was fostered, by several authors which formed the foundation of what we now consider a somewhat golden age of American literature. Earlier, the idea of transcendentalism was presented; this idea, essentially one of self determination, was "born", so to speak, with the publication of an essay by Ralph Waldo Emerson, entitled "Self Reliance". With this essay, Emerson presented the idea that God essentially gave human beings the ability to think for themselves, to reason, and to use their minds, eyes, hands and feet to achieve what they wish to achieve, learn what they wish to learn, and to reach their full potential (McQuade, et al, 1999). Emerson maintained that with such a gift from God, the true sin would be to waste such blessings through suppression and fear. What we see in the writings of Emerson is what many consider to be the next logical step in the achievement of total freedom- first, the freedom from the control of other men was gained by the sacrifices of the American Revolution, and the freedom from the bonds of the church were gained through this phenomenon of the human experience. Additionally, Emerson wrote extensively on the power of the natural world, and the role of the human creature in the natural world, showing once again that the ultimate destiny of the human being is in fact self realization.

The reality of the extremes in the human mind, between reaching the best of one's human potential, and the worst, is in fact a brutal reality. With this in mind, during the period of American Renaissance writing, when writers exercised a great deal of creative license, authors such as Edgar Allan Poe explored the very real possibility of one using self realization to the detriment of others; for example, in "The Tell Tale Heart", Poe tells the tale of a man that was driven to the point of hating another so much that he took it upon himself to kill the target of his hatred, dismember the man's body, and bury it under the floorboards of his very own home (Strauch, 1971). This, and numerous other tales of horror started a new genre of American literature and defined a bold new area of the American Renaissance- that of the exploration of the individual who used freedom to deprive others of their own freedom.

Lastly, the American Renaissance in terms of literature was also characterized by authors who exercised freedom of the written word to speak out against elements in society which were deemed by many to be unacceptable from a moral and legal standpoint. Perhaps the best example of this is "Uncle Tom's Cabin", written by Harriet Beecher Stowe and published in 1852, essentially the highpoint of the American Renaissance. There are those who contend that Stowe's tale of the evils of American slavery was one of the main catalysts that touched off the series of events leading to the American Civil War (McQuade, et al, 1999). Thus, in this case, we see American Renaissance literature as a vehicle for social commentary and change.

Conclusion

In this research, examples have been given and works cited to prove that the American Renaissance did occur, and additionally, the period changed America and the lives of its people forever. As a conclusion, perhaps this in itself is the best testament to any literature- its ability to move people, whether to frighten, delight, or motivate. The printed word has the power to do all of this, and much more, and will continue to do so until the end of time.

References

Bryant, J. (1993). Melville and Repose: The Rhetoric of Humor in the American Renaissance. New York: Oxford University Press.
McQuade, D., Atwan, R.,Banta, M.,Kaplan, J.,Minter, D.,Stepto, R.,Tichi, C. & Vendler, H. (Eds.). (1999). The Harper Single Volume American Literature, 3rd ed. New York: Longman.
Strauch, C. F. (1971). Typology and the American Renaissance. Early American Literature, 6(2), 167-178.
Versluis, A. (2001). The Esoteric Origins of the American Renaissance. New York: Oxford University Press.