Title: Beneath the American Renaissance
First published: 1988
Description: In this landmark work, the seven great writers of the American Renaissance--Emerson, Thoreau, Writman, Poe, Hawthorne, Melville, and Dickinson -- are examined together in their cultural contexts. David Reynolds reveals how these authors broadly assimilated the themes and images of popular culture. Their classic works -- among them Moby Dick, The Scarlet Letter, Leaves of Grass, Walden, and the tales of Poe -- are given strikingly original reading when viewed against the rich, often startling background of long neglected popular writings of the time. Reynolds also explores a whole lost world of sensational literature, including grisly novels, openly sold on the street, that combined intense violence with explicit eroticism. He demonstrates as well how common concerns with issues of religion, slavery, and workers' (as well as women's) rights resonate in the major writings. - Publisher.
Subjects: Contemporaries, History and criticism, Social norms in literature, Popular literature, Literature and society, American literature, Social problems in literature, Sensationalism in literature, History, Women in literature, Reform in literature, Radicalism in literature, Histoire, Sensacionalismo en la literatura, Paralittérature, Literatura y sociedad, Literatur, Problèmes sociaux dans la littérature, Littérature et société, Historia y crítica, Problemas sociales en la literatura, Contemporains, Letterkunde, Littérature américaine, Mujeres en la literatura, Femmes dans la littérature, Histoire et critique, New England Renaissance, Historia, Volkskultur, Sensationnalisme dans la littérature, Literatura popular, Umschulungswerkstätten für Siedler und Auswanderer, American literature, history and criticism, 19th century, Literatura norte-americana (história e crítica), Geschichte, Historical criticism (Literature), Canon (Literature)
Places: United States
People: Herman Melville (1819-1891), Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
Time periods: 19th century, History and criticism