Some Different Versions of

Literary-Historical Periods in American Literature

The Bedford Anthology of American Literature (1st edition, Volume 1, 2008):

Literature to 1750

• Native American Origin and Creation Stories

• Explorations and Early Encounters

• Colonial Settlements

• Colonial Diaries and Journals

American Literature 1750-1830

• Writing Colonial Lives

• The Emerging Idea of "America"

• Literature for a New Nation

• Calls for a National Literature

American Literature 1830-1865

• The Era of Reform

• American Facts and American Fiction

• New Poetic Voices

• Poetry at Midcentury

• The Meanings of the Civil War

An Updated Timeline (SRS, 2005):

Literature of Exploration, Discovery, and Encounter: 1492-1620
Colonial Literature / Puritanism: 1620-1720
Literature of Reason and Revolution / The Enlightenment / Deism: 1720-1820
The Romantic Period / Transcendentalism / Pantheism: 1820-1865
The Age of Realism and Naturalism / Regionalism and Local Color: 1865-1914
The Age of Modernism: 1914-1945
The Age of Post-Modernism: 1945-Present

A Handbook to Literature (9th edition, 2003)

The Colonial Period: 1607-1765
The Revolutionary and Early National Period: 1765-1830
The Romantic Period: 1830-1865
The Realistic Period: 1865-1900
The Naturalistic and Symbolistic Period: 1900-1930
The Period of Conformity and Criticism: 1930-1960
The Period of the Confessional Self: 1960-1989
The Postmodern Period: 1990-Present

A Handbook to Literature (7th edition, 1996)

The Colonial Period: 1607-1765
The Revolutionary and Early National Period: 1765-1830
The Romantic Period: 1830-1865
The Realistic Period: 1865-1900
The Naturalistic and Symbolistic Period: 1900-1930
The Period of Conformity and Criticism: 1930-1960
The Period of the Confessional Self: 1960-Present

A Handbook to Literature (5th edition, 1986)

The Colonial Period: 1607-1765
The Revolutionary and Early National Period: 1765-1830
The Romantic Period: 1830-1865
The Realistic Period: 1865-1900
The Naturalistic and Symbolistic Period: 1900-1930
The Modern Period: 1930-1960
The Contemporary Period: 1960-Present

The Norton Anthology of American Literature (6th edition, 2002)

Package 1:

• Volume A: Literature to 1700 and American Literature 1700-1820
• Volume B: American Literature 1820-1865

Package 2:

• Volume C: American Literature 1865-1914
• Volume D: American Literature between the Wars 1914-1945
• Volume E: American Prose since 1945 and American Poetry since 1945

The Norton Anthology of American Literature (5th edition, 1998)

Volume 1:

• Literature to 1620
• Early American Literature 1620-1820
• American Literature 1820-1865

Volume 2:

• American Literature 1865-1914
• American Literature between the Wars 1914-1945
• American Prose since 1945
• American Poetry since 1945

The Norton Anthology of American Literature (Shorter 5th edition, 1999)

Literature to 1620
Early American Literature 1620-1820
American Literature 1820-1865
American Literature 1865-1914
American Literature between the Wars 1914-1945
American Prose since 1945
American Poetry since 1945

The Prentice Hall Anthology of American Literature (6th edition, 1997, and 7th edition, 2000):

Volume I:

• The Literature of Colonial America
• The Literature of Reason and Revolution
• The Age of Romanticism

Volume II:

• The Age of Realism
• 20th Century Literature

Mankato State University's English Department (1990):

The Puritan Age: 1620-1720
The Age of Enlightenment: 1720-1820
The Romantic Period: 1820-1865
The Age of Realism: 1865-1895
The Age of Naturalism: 1895-1920
The Age of Disillusionment: 1920-1945
The Age of Anxiety: 1945-Present

The Prentice Hall Concise Anthology of American Literature (2nd edition, 1985):

The Literature of Colonial America
The Literature of Reason and Revolution
The Age of Romanticism
The Age of Realism
20th Century Literature

The Harper Anthology of American Literature (Compact edition, 1987):

The Literature of the New World: 1492-1620
The Literature of Colonial America: 1620-1776
The Literature of the New Republic: 1776-1836
The Literature of the American Renaissance: 1836-1865
The Literature of an Expanding Nation: 1865-1912
The Literature of Modernism: Prose: 1912-1940
The Literature of Modernism: Poetry: 1912-1940
The Literature of Postwar America: Prose: 1940-1973
The Literature of Postwar America: Poetry: 1940-1973
The Literature of Contemporary America: Prose
The Literature of Contemporary America: Poetry