Benjamin franklin (1706-1790)

Benjamin Franklin was the first greatest American Enlightener. He was a figure of Universal dimensions, being printer, writer, philosopher, scientist, economist and statesman. As one of the leaders of the Revolution, he participated in the most important events of his time.

Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston. He was the youngest of seventeen children in the family of a poor English immigrant. He attended school only for one year and educated himself by reading (he learnt reading and writing very early). When he settled in Philadelphia, he started his own printing business. A year later Franklin decided to sail to Britain to master the British technique of printing. On his return to America Franklin organized a literary and philosophic society, where young people met to read and discuss contemporary literature. In 1733 Franklin decided to start a periodical. Using the pen-name of Richard Saunders he began to issue "Poor Richard's Almanac". Useful information was mostly given in the form of saying: "Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise", "Experience keeps a dear school; but fools will learn in no other, as Poor Richard says."

In 1751 he made his experiments on atmospheric electricity, which brought him world-wide fame. He became a prominent public man in the country and took part in the revolutionary events.

During his later years he wrote an "Autobigraphy" The book was published after his death and was widely read.

Questions and tasks

1. When was America discovered?

2. How did Christopher Columbus discover America?

3. What countries colonized the continent?

4. Who was brought to America and why?

5. What was Franklin's education at school and in life?

6. What periodical did Franklin start?

7. What was Franklin's contribution to science?

8. Speak about Franklin's life and activities.

Romanticism

If we glance at American literature of the 19th century and compare it to English literature we immediately notice that the Americans are much more fond of writing short stories. An American writer once said that the short story was the national form of American literature. Travellers from Europe often noticed that Americans were very fond of telling short stories and anecdotes to each other and to strangers. They were tales of wonderful adventures in the forests and prairies, hunting sto­ries, fairy-tales heard from Indians and Negroes. Many authors took the subjects of their stories from the ones they heard pass from mouth to mouth. The American magazines the aim of which was just to amuse the busy reader for half an hour, preferred to give their pages to the short stories and it became a better paying form of literature.

Romanticism in America gives us three great names: Wash­ington Irving, Fenimore Cooper and Edgar Poe.

Romanticism appeared in American literature when great disappointment after the Revolution of 1775 - 1783 took hold of the people. The writers of Romanticism depicted life as a struggle between vice and virtue, and insisted that virtue should defeat evil. But when they looked for the triumph of virtue in real life, they could not find it. So the most characteristic feature of Romanticism is the great gap between reality and the ideal—the dream of the poet, artist or writer. The approach of the writers to life was almost exclusively through the emotions. They wanted to show reality but their creative method, peculiar to them alone, resulted in works that depicted life so strange and unusual.

Romanticism gave a powerful impetus to literature development, and produced great poets and writers who were true patriots, loved their country and recognized the importance of developing national literature and national history.

From the point of view of its development American Roman­ticism may be divided into three periods:

The early period (1820s-1830s) began with romances and short stories of Washington Irving. The historical novel began in America with James Fenimore Cooper's "The Spy" (1821) and "The Pioneers" (1823). The most outstanding were the poems of Edgar Allan Poe.

The second period of Romanticism comprises the 1840s and the first half of the 1850s. Characteristic of this period were Cooper later novels, Poe's romances and poems, and the works by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

The third period of Romanticism comprises the second half of the 1850s and the 1860s. The early poems by Walt Whitman appeared at that time.

American Romanticism, as part of the world trend of Roman­ticism in literature, played an important role in the cultural life of America. The works by American romantic writers are still read and admired.

Questions and tasks

1. What did an American writer say about short stories?

2. Why did the American magazines prefer to publish short stories?

3. What are the most famous writers of the period of Romanticism?

4. What is the most characteristic feature of Romanticism?

5. Why can we say that the romantic poets and writers were true patriots?