A Short History of American Literature (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from A Short History of American Literature

Throughout the book the literature has been pre sented in its relation to general conditions in America and to the literatures of England and the Continent Of Europe, for only so can it be completely understood and its full significance perceived but the personality of the authors and the intrinsic qualities of their work have, it is hoped, received due attention. The division into periods is not meant to be insisted upon too strongly. But some dividing lines must be run for convenience and clearness in treating of so wide and diversified a field, and those adopted are perhaps liable to fewer objections than any others. They have, however, been transgressed freely where it was necessary to do so in order to avoid splitting the discussion of an author's work. In the case of writers with whom the reader is probably not familiar and never need be, the method is chiefly descriptive; elsewhere the book is intended to be merely a guide in reading and studying the literature itself.

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