How to Categorize Modern American Lit
From your Literature: Classic Guide

You are reading a work and you think it might have been written in during the Modern Period of American Literature, but you aren't sure. Here are some characteristics that will help you to know.

Difficulty Level: Easy    Time Required: varies

1. The Modern Period in American Literature begins in 1914 with the outbreak of World War I and ends in 1945 with the conclusion of World War II.
2. The Modern Period is noted for works characterized by a transnational focus, formal or stylistic unconventionality, or interest in repressed or unconscious material.
3. The period includes works from just about every established genre.
4. American writers of the period, who felt disillusioned by the experience and aftermath of World War I, came to be called the Lost Generation including such writers as: Stein, Fitzgerald, Hemingway, and others
5. The Harlem Renaissance, with also developed and flourished during the 1920's in the African American area of Harlem in New York City included such writers as: Countee Cullen, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, and others
6. Other writers of the period include: Hart Crane, Amy Lowell, Sinclair Lewis, Edna St. Vincent Millay, and Eleanor Wylie.
7. Foremost among American playwrights was Eugene O'Neill.
   

Tips:

1. If in doubt, look it up or ask a librarian.
2. The more you read, the more you will start to pick of characteristics and features of each period.

Related Information:

• American Literature
• F. S. Fitzgerald
• Ernest Hemingway
• Poetry Speaks Review
• Hemingway vs. Fitzgerald
  

More How To's from your Guide to Literature: Classic