Publications of the Mississippi Historical Society, Volume 02 (of 14), 1899

Publications of the Mississippi Historical Society, Volume 02 (of 14), 1899

The year 1870 marks an epoch in the history of the South. It witnessed not only the death of Robert E. Lee but the passing also of John Pendleton Kennedy, George Denison Prentice, Augustus Baldwin Longstreet, and William Gilmore Simms. In literature it was not only the end of the old but the beginning of the new, for in 1870 the new movement in Southern literature may be said to have been inaugurated in the work of Irwin Russell. I have attempted elsewhere to trace briefly the chronological outlines of this literature from 1870 to the present time. In this paper, therefore, I shall discuss not the history of this literature but rather the history in this literature. When we compare Southern literature of ante-bellum days with that produced since 1870 we note at once certain obvious differences of style and structure. In the older literature the sentences are longer, the paragraphs less coherent, adjectives more abundant, descriptions more elaborate, plots more intricate and fanciful. In the newer literature the pen is held more firmly; there are fewer episodes; incidents are chosen to illustrate character rather than to enhance the plot; the language is more temperate; the pathos and humor more subtle; some fixed goal is kept in view and the action of the story converges steadily toward this end. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 47208
Author: Mississippi Historical Society
Release Date: Oct 27, 2014
Format: eBook
Language: English

Contributors

Editor: Riley, Franklin L. (Franklin Lafayette), 1868-1929 , Rowland, Dunbar, 1864-1937