Instructions: 

Listen to the lecture, read the theory and the texts for the in-class discussion.

Half-Hanged Mary

Half-Hanged Mary study questions

Points to remember:

 The beginning of American literature has a multilingual and multicultural background.

America was seen as a new utopia, a paradise on Earth.

Literature of the Colonies is a product of European culture and the American environment.

Points to remember:

 Rise of slavery, struggle for political and cultural independence, rise of liberalism and rationalism.

Benjamin Franklin coined the model of a self-made man.

Major genres: political writings, letters (de Crèvecoeur), pamphlets, autobiographies (Franklin), political and national poetry (Freneau, Connecticut Wits).