The Oxford Book of American Essays

Fiction & Literature
Cover of the book The Oxford Book of American Essays by Benjamin Franklin, Washington Irving, anboco
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Benjamin Franklin, Washington Irving ISBN: 9783736414761
Publisher: anboco Publication: September 8, 2016
Imprint: Language: English
Author: Benjamin Franklin, Washington Irving
ISBN: 9783736414761
Publisher: anboco
Publication: September 8, 2016
Imprint:
Language: English

THE customary antithesis between "American" literature and "English" literature is unfortunate and misleading in that it seems to exclude American authors from the noble roll of those who have contributed to the literature of our mother-tongue. Of course, when we consider it carefully we cannot fail to see that the literature of a language is one and indivisible and that the nativity or the domicile of those who make it matters nothing. Just as Alexandrian literature is Greek, so American literature is English; and as Theocritus demands inclusion in any account of Greek literature, so Thoreau cannot be omitted from any history of English literature as a whole. The works of Anthony Hamilton and Rousseau, Mme. de Staël and M. Maeterlinck are not more indisputably a part of the literature of the French language than the works of Franklin and Emerson, of Hawthorne and Poe are part of the literature of the English language. Theocritus may never have set foot on the soil of Greece, and Thoreau never adventured himself on the Atlantic to visit the island-home of his ancestors; yet the former expressed himself in Greek and the latter in English,—and how can either be neglected in any comprehensive survey of the literature of his own tongue?...

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

THE customary antithesis between "American" literature and "English" literature is unfortunate and misleading in that it seems to exclude American authors from the noble roll of those who have contributed to the literature of our mother-tongue. Of course, when we consider it carefully we cannot fail to see that the literature of a language is one and indivisible and that the nativity or the domicile of those who make it matters nothing. Just as Alexandrian literature is Greek, so American literature is English; and as Theocritus demands inclusion in any account of Greek literature, so Thoreau cannot be omitted from any history of English literature as a whole. The works of Anthony Hamilton and Rousseau, Mme. de Staël and M. Maeterlinck are not more indisputably a part of the literature of the French language than the works of Franklin and Emerson, of Hawthorne and Poe are part of the literature of the English language. Theocritus may never have set foot on the soil of Greece, and Thoreau never adventured himself on the Atlantic to visit the island-home of his ancestors; yet the former expressed himself in Greek and the latter in English,—and how can either be neglected in any comprehensive survey of the literature of his own tongue?...

More books from anboco

Cover of the book Military History by Benjamin Franklin, Washington Irving
Cover of the book Busy Brownies by Benjamin Franklin, Washington Irving
Cover of the book Cautionary Tales for Children by Benjamin Franklin, Washington Irving
Cover of the book Guernsey Folk Lore by Benjamin Franklin, Washington Irving
Cover of the book The Three Bears of Porcupine Ridge by Benjamin Franklin, Washington Irving
Cover of the book Second Treatise of Government by Benjamin Franklin, Washington Irving
Cover of the book George Eliot's Life - Letters and Journals II by Benjamin Franklin, Washington Irving
Cover of the book Divine Comedy (Longfellow) by Benjamin Franklin, Washington Irving
Cover of the book Fables for Children, Stories for Children, Naturion, Decembrists, Moral Tales by Benjamin Franklin, Washington Irving
Cover of the book The Royal Pastime of Cock-fighting - The art ighting, and curing cocks of the game by Benjamin Franklin, Washington Irving
Cover of the book The Subterranean World by Benjamin Franklin, Washington Irving
Cover of the book The Voyage of the Beagle by Benjamin Franklin, Washington Irving
Cover of the book The Writings VI by Benjamin Franklin, Washington Irving
Cover of the book A Book of the West I by Benjamin Franklin, Washington Irving
Cover of the book Northern Lands - Young America in Russia and Prussia by Benjamin Franklin, Washington Irving
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy