American literature concepts. literary trends

* Post-modernism: It is a term that simply means after the modern period. The early modern period begins with the English Tudor period 1500 AD and ends around 1945. Understand that postmodern art ischaracterized generally by collage or pastiche. Prefabricated patterns put together in a new and different way characterize this school. Post-Modernism is the art movement that followed Modernism inthe later portion of the 20th Century.

* Existentialism: Existentialism is a philosophy that believes people define themselves by their own standards, rather than an external moral code, so thateach has complete freedom of choice.

* Theatre of the Absurd: Theater of the Absurd came about as a reaction to World War II.  It took the basis of existential philosophy and combined it withdramatic elements to create a style of theatre which presented a world which can not be logically explained, life is in one word, ABSURD!

* Eclecticism: The selection of elements from diversestyles for architectural decorative designs, particularly during the second half of the 19th century in Europe and the US.

* Digression: is a section of a composition or speech that is anintentional change of subject.

* Collage: is a work of formal art, primarily in the visual arts, made from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole.

* Pastiche: a literary workthat imitates the style of previous work. Stylistic imitation

* Irony: is when things don't go how they are planned. Like when you are expecting things to be one way, then they turn out to beanother. Irony is the exact opposite of what you would expect.

Some artistic movements commonly called postmodern are pop art, architectural deconstructivism, magical realism in literature,maximalism, and neo-romanticism.

* Pop art: is a style of art that often uses elements of popular culture, techniques from commercial art and advertising, or gets its inspiration from those sources....