Poetry largely neoclassical; burlesque and satiric patriotic works and polemical prose; theater becomes important; the Stamp Act is passed; National government established. major works: Prince of Parthia - Godfrey. First American play acted. The Power of Sympathy - W.H. Brown Frankilins memoirs (later called Autobiography) Declaration of Independence - Jefferson The Contrast - Tyler. First professional American comedy. figures: Trumbull, Freneau, Hopkinson, Dwight, Barlow (patriotic works) Paine, Adams Hamilton, Madison, Franklin, Jefferson