American Literature through Time

To find out more about a particular literature time period, click a link in the table below .

Postmodernism
1946-Present

Content:
people observe life as the media presents it, rather than experiencing life directly
popular culture saturates people's lives
absurdity and coincidence

Genre/Style:
mixing of fantasy with nonfiction; blurs lines of reality for reader
no heroes
concern with individual in isolation
detached, unemotional
usually humorless
narratives
metafiction
present tense
magic realism

Effect:
erodes distinctions between classes of people
insists that values are not permanent but only "local" or "historical"

Historical Context:
post-World War II prosperity
media culture interprets values
                                                                                                      

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Q&A: Question: (9/9/2009) what are the authors or post modernism? Answer: (8/5/2010) Robert Penn Warren, Arthur Miller, Lillian Hellman Answer: (4/27/2010) Robert Penn Warren, Arthur Miller, Lillian Hellman Question: (8/21/2009) transitional poets authors names?		Comments: The Hancock (8/5/2010) whats up i was lost in my lit. class but now its all good! :D Horatiu (1/6/2010) Thank you for this, it has really helped me in my english essay! THANKS!!