美国文学史总结
(完整版)美国文学史-知识点梳理
Part I The Literature of Colonial AmericaI．Historical IntroductionThe colonial period stretched roughly from the settlement of America in the early 17th century through the end of the 18th. The first permanent settlement in America was established by English in 1607. ( A group of people was sent by the English King James I to hunt for gold. They arrived at Virginia in 1607. They named the James River and build the James town.)II．The pre-revolutionary writing in the colonies was essentially of two kinds:1) Practical matter-of-fact accounts of farming, hunting, travel, etc. designed to inform people "at home" what life was like in the new world, and, often, to induce their immigration2) Highly theoretical, generally polemical, discussions of religious questions. III．The First American WriterThe first writings that we call American were the narratives and journals of these settlements. They wrote about their voyage to the new land, their lives in the new land, their dealings with Indians.Captain John Smith is the first American writer.A True Relation of such Occurrences and Accidents of Note as Hath Happened in Virginia Since the First Planting of That Colony (1608)A Map of Virginia: A Description of the Country (1612)General History of Virgini a (1624): the Indian princess PocahontasCaptain John Smith was one of the first early 17th-century British settlers in North America. He was one of the founders of the colony of Jamestown, Virginia. His writings about North America became the source of information about the New World for later settlers.One of the things he wrote about that has become an American legend was his capture by the Indians and his rescue by the famous Indian Princess, Pocahontas. IV．Early New England LiteratureWilliam Bradford and John WinthropJohn Cotton and Roger WilliamsAnne Bradstreet and Edward TaylorV．Puritan Thoughts1. The origin of puritanIn the mediaeval Europe, there was widespread religious revolution. In the 16th Century, the English King Henry VIII (At that time, the Catholics were not allowed to divorce unless they have the Pope's permission. Henry VIII wanted to divorce hiswife because she couldn't bear him a son. But the Pope didn't allow him to divorce, so he) broke away from the Roman Catholic Church & established the Church ofEngland. But there was no radical difference between the doctrines of the Church of England and the Catholic Church. A group of people thought the Church of England was too Catholic and wanted to purify the church. Then came the name Puritans.2. Puritanism -- based on Calvinism(1) predestination: God's electPuritans believed they are predestined before they were born.Nothing or no good work can change their fate.They believed the success of one's business is the sign to show he is the God's elect. So the Puritans works very hard, spend very little and invest more for the future business. They lived a very frugal life. This is their ethics.(2) Origianl sin and total depravityMan is born sinful. This determines some puritans pessimistic attitude towards life.(3) Limited atonement (the salvation of a selected few)(4) theocracyThey combined state with religion. Their government is at least not a liberal one.The Puritans established American tradition -- intolerant moralism. They strictly punished drunks, adultery & heretics.Puritans changed gradually due to the severity of frontier environment3. Influence on American Literature(1) Its optimismAmerican literature was from the outset conditioned by the Puritan heritage. It can be said American literature is based on the Biblical myth of the Garden of Eden. After that, man have an illusion to restore the paradise. The puritans, after arriving at America, believing that God must have sent them to this new land to restore the lost paradise, to build the wilderness into a new Garden of Eden. Fired with such a strong sense of mission, they treated life with a tremendous amount of optimism. The optimistic Puritan has exerted a great influence on American literature.(2) Puritan's metaphorical mode of perception changed gradually into a literary symbolism.Part II The Literature of Reason And RevolutionI．Historical IntroductionWith the growth, especially of industry, there appeared the intense strain with England. The British government did not want colonial industries competing with those in England. The British wanted the colonies to remain politically and economically dependent on the mother country. They took a series of measures to insure this dependence. They prevented colonial economy by requiring Americans to ship raw materials abroad and to import finished goods at prices higher than the cost of making them in this country. Politically, the British government forced dependenceby ruling the colonies from overseas and by taxing the colonies without giving them representation in Parliament.However, by the mid-eighteenth century, freedom was won as much by the fiery rhetoric of Thomas Paine's Common Sense and the eloquence of the Declaration of Independence as by the weapons of Washington. In the seventies of the 18th century, the English colonies in North America rose in arms against their mother country. The War for Independence lasted for 8 years (1776-1783) and ended in the formation of a federative bourgeois democratic republic -- the United States of America. II．American EnlightenmentIt was supported by all progressive forces of the country which opposed themselves to the old colonial order and religious obscurantism.It dealt a decisive blow upon the puritan traditions and brought to life secular education and literature. The spiritual life during that period was to a great degree moulded by it.The representatives set themselves the task of disseminating knowledge among the people and advocating revolutionary ideas.The writers injected an invigorating vein into the English language in America as they aimed at clarity and precision of their writings.At the initial period the spread of the ideas of the Enlightenment was largely due to journalism. Writings of Europe were widely read in America. The secular ideals of the American Enlightenment were exemplified in the life and career of Benjamin Franklin.III．Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)The AutobiographyPoor Richard’s AlmanacLifeBenjamin Franklin came from a Calvinist background.He was born into a poor candle-maker’s family. He had very little education. He learned in school only for two years, but he was a voracious reader.At 12, he was apprenticed to his elder half-brother, a printer.At 16, he began to publish essays under the pseudonym “Silence Do good” .At 17, he ran away to Philadelphia to make his own fortune.He set himself up as an independent printer and publisher. In 1727 he founded the Junto club.Multiple identities:a printera leading authora politiciana scientista inventora diplomata civic activistFranklin’s Contributions to SocietyHe helped found the Pennsylvania Hospital.He founded an academy which led to the University of Pennsylvania.And he helped found the American Philosophical Society.Franklin’s Contributions to ScienceHe was also remembered for volunteer fire departments, effective street lighting, the Franklin stove, bifocal glasses and efficient heating devices.And for his lightning-rod, he was called “the new Prometheus who had stolen fire from heaven.”Franklin’s Contributions to the U.S.He was the only American to sign the four documents that created the United States:The Declaration of Independence,The Treaty of Alliance with France,The Treaty of Peace with England,The ConstitutionThe AutobiographyThe Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin was probably the first of its kind in literature. It is the simple yet immensely fascinating record of a man rising to wealth and fame from a state of poverty and obscurity into which he was born, the faithful account of the colorful career of America’s first self-made man.The Autobiography is, first of all, a Puritan document. It is Puritan because it is a record of self-examination and self-improvement. The meticulous chart of 13 virtues he set for himself to cultivate to combat the tempting vices, the stupendous effort he made to improve his own person, the belief that God helps those who helps themselves and that every calling is a service to God – all these indicate that Franklin was intensely Puritan. Then, the book is also a convincing illustration of the Puritan ethic that, in order to get on in the world, one has to be industrious, frugal, and prudent.The Autobiography is also an eloquent elucidation of the fact that Franklin was spokesman for the new order of eighteenth-century enlightenment, and that he represented in America all its ideas, that man is basically good and free by nature, endowed by God with certain inalienable rights of liberty and the pursuit of happiness.A look at the style of The Autobiography will readily reveal that it is the pattern of Puritan simplicity, directness and concision. The plainness of its style, the homeliness of imagery, the simplicity of diction, syntax and expression are some of the salient features we cannot mistake. The lucidity of the narrative, the absence ofornaments in wording and of complex, involved structures in syntax, and the Puritan abhorrence of paradox are all graphically demonstrated in the whole of the book. Taken as a whole, it is safe to say that the book is an exemplary illustration of the American style of writing.IV．Thomas Paine (1737-1809)Common SenseAmerican CrisisV．Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)The Declaration of IndependenceVI．Philip Freneau (1752-1832)“Poet of the American Revolution”“Father of American Poetry”“Pioneer of the New Romanticism”“A gifted and versatile lyric poet”Works“The Wild Honey Suckle”“The Indian Burying Ground”“To a Caty-Did”Freneau as Father of American Poetry: His major themes are death, nature, transition, and the human in nature. All of these themes become important in 19th century writing.Life Experience►He was born in New York.►At 16, he entered the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University). He decided to do a postgraduate study in theology. But two years later he gave it up. While still an undergraduate, he wrote in collaboration with one of his friends (H. H. Brackenridge) a poem entitled “The Rising Glory of America”.►Later he attended the War of Independence, and he was captured by British army in 1780.►After being released, he published “The British Prison Ship” in 1781.►In the same year, he published “To the Memory of the Brave Americans”.►After war, he supported Jefferson, and contributed greatly to American government.►But after 50 years old, he lived in poverty. And at last he died in a blizzard.Main Works►“The Rising Glory of America” (1772) 《美洲光辉的兴起》►“The House of Night” (1779,1786) 《夜之屋》►“The British Prison Ship” (1781) 《英国囚船》►“To the Memory of the Brave Americans” (1781) 《纪念美国勇士》►“”The Wild Honey Suckle” (1786) 《野忍冬花》►“The Indian Burying Ground” (1788) 《印第安人墓地》野忍冬花（黄杲炘译）►美好的花呀，你长得：这么秀丽，却藏身在这僻静沉闷的地方——甜美的花儿开了却没人亲昵，招展的小小枝梢也没人观赏；没游来荡去的脚来把你踩碎，没东攀西摘的手来催你落泪。
美国文学史期末总结
美国文学史美国文学全书的焦点集中于南太平洋一条名叫莫比·迪克的白鲸,以及捕鲸船皮廓德(Pequod)号的船长阿哈(Ahab)如何对它有不共戴天的仇恨.阿哈在一次航行中被莫比·迪克咬掉一条腿,立志报仇,指挥皮廓德号环航全球追踪,终于发现了它.经过三天放下小艇紧追.虽然刺中了这条白鲸,但它十分顽强狡猾,咬碎了小艇,也撞沉了大船.它拖着捕鲸船游开时,绳子套住阿哈,把他绞死了.全船人尽皆灭顶.只有一个水手借着由棺材改制的救生浮子而逃得性命.整个故事以这个水手伊希梅尔(Ishmael)自述的方式展开.The book focuses on a whale named Moby Dick lived in south pacific and the captain of whaler Pequod—Ahab. Ahab was once bite by Moby Dick and lost a leg, determined to revenge,he commanded whaler pequod do global tracking, and finally found it. After three days of hot pursuit with the skiff,while they stabbed this white whale, but it was very tenacious and cunning, eventually chewed the skiff, also sank the ship. It dragged whaler swimming away, the rope was around Ahab, he was hanged. Almost all of people on the boat drowned, only a sailor called Ishmael survived .。
美国文学史整理资料
Colonial Period 殖民时期Background: Puritanism 背景：清教主义1. features of Puritanism 特征宿命论:上帝决定一切之前发生的事情(1). Predestination: God decided everything before things occurred.(2). Original sin: Human beings were born to be evil, and this original sin can be passed down from generation to generation. 原罪论:人类生来就是邪恶,这原罪(3). Total depravity 性恶说有限的赎罪:可以通过一代一代(4). Limited atonement: Only the “elect” can be saved.只有选举才能得救2. Influence 影响(1). A group of good qualities –hard work, thrift, piety, sobriety (serious and thoughtful) influenced American literature. 一群好的品质——努力工作、节俭、虔诚、节制(严重的和深思熟虑的)美国文学的影响。
(2). It led to the everlasting myth. All literature is based on a myth – garden of Eden. 它导致了永恒的神话。
所有的文学是基于一个神话——伊甸园。
(3). Symbolism: the America n puritan’s metaphorical mode of perception was chiefly instrumental in calling into being a literary symbolism which is distinctly American. 象征意义:美国清教徒的隐喻认知模式主要是在调用形成一个文学象征这是典型的美国人。
美国文学史总结
美国文学史总结从第二次世界大战后到新世纪，美国文学还有一个值得一提的发展现象——通俗文学（Popular Literature）日益受到重视，过去以低级杂志（pulps）为阵地的通俗小说有了平装本和精装本，进了图书馆和大学。
战后兴起的后现代主义思潮为研究通俗文学起了推波助澜的作用，学术界和思想界对于通俗文学观念的变化，刺激了通俗文学的进一步发展。
不但许多传统的通俗小说保持强劲的发展势头，而且诞生了许多新型通俗小说。
这些传统型和创新型的小说，很多都进入了《纽约时报》的“畅销书排行榜”（New York Times Best Sellers）。
每一本畅销小说诞生后，都会被改编成电影、电视剧；原创电影、电视剧在走红后也很快派生出同名畅销小说。
畅销小说和火爆的影视剧交相辉映，构成战后美国通俗文学的繁荣景象。
50年代，历史西部小说（Historical Western）占据了通俗文学的主导地位，随后现代犯罪小说（Modern Crime Fiction）迅速崛起，在60年代末和70年代初压倒了其他一切通俗小说。
70、80年代是美国通俗小说大发展时期，诞生了诸如甜蜜野蛮小说（Sweet-Savage Romance）、高科技惊险小说（High-Technical Thriller）之类的新型通俗小说。
此外，传统的女性言情小说（Women's Fiction）、科幻小说（Science Fiction）和恐怖小说（Horror Fiction）也出现有力回潮。
90年代，社会暴露小说（Social Expose Fiction）逐渐成为美国通俗文学领域的主导力量，如此格局一直维持到世纪末。
像马里奥·普佐（Mario Puzo）的《教父》（The Godfather）、斯蒂芬·金（Stephen King）的系列恐怖小说、迈克尔·克莱顿（Michael Crichton）的《侏罗纪公园》（Jurassic Park）和《失落的世界》（The Lost World）、玛格丽特·杜鲁门（Margaret Truman）的“谋杀案”系列政治暴露小说等，都是我国读者较为熟悉的美国通俗文学作品。
美国文学史总结
●American Puritanism（清教主义）◆Puritanism is the practices and beliefs of the Puritans. The Puritans wereoriginally members of a division of the Protestant Church, who came intoexistence in the reigns of Queen Elizabeth and King James I. The first settlerswho became the founding fathers of the American nation were quite a few ofthem Puritans. They came to America out of various reasons, but it should beremembered that they were a group of serious, religious people, advocatinghighly religious and moral principles.◆As the word itself hints, Puritans wanted to purify their religious beliefs andpractices. They felt that the Church of England was too close to the Churchof Rome in doctrine form of worship, and organization of authority.◆The American Puritans, like their brothers back in England, were idealists,believing that the church should be restored to complete “purity”. Theyaccepted the doctrine of predestination, original sin and total depravity, andlimited atonement through a special infusion of grace from God. But in thegrim struggle for survival that followed immediately after their arrival inAmerica, they became more and more practical, as indeed they had to be.◆Puritans’lives were extremely disciplined and hard. Puritans tended tosuspect joy and laughter as symptoms of sin: a Puritan woman was oncethreatened with banishment for smiling in church. They drove out of theirsettlements all those opinions that seemed dangerous to them, and history hascriticized their actions. Yet in the persecution of what they considered error,the Puritans were no worse than many other movements in history. As aculture heritage, Puritanism did have a profound influence on the earlyAmerican mind.◆American Puritanism also had a enduring influence on American literature. Ithad become, to some extent, so much a state of mind, so much a part of thenational cultural atmosphere, rather than a set of tenets.● Influence of American Puritanism on literature◆Basis of American literature: the dream of building an Eden of Garden onearth (Early American literature were mainly optimistic because theybelieved that God sent them to the new continent to fulfill the sacred task sothey would overcome all the difficulties they met at last. GraduallyAmericans found that their dreams would not be successful, so lots ofpessimistic literary works were produced.)◆Symbolism(象征主义): lots of American writers liked to employ symbolismin their works. (typical way of Puritans who thought that all the simpleobjects existing in the world connoted deep meaning.) Symbolism meansusing symbols in literary works. The symbol means something represents orstands for abstract deep meaning.◆Style: simple, fresh and direct (just as the style of the Authorized Version ofHoly Bible)1.3 Colonial Literature● General features◆Humble origins: diaries, histories, letters etc.◆In content: serving either God or colonial expansion or both◆In form: imitating English literary traditionsAmerican Romanticism● General features of Romanticism◆ Stressing emotion rather than reason◆ Stressing freedom and individuality◆ Stressing idealism rather than materialism◆Writing about nature, medieval legends and with supernatural elements1.2 Features of American Romanticism (P43-44)● Imitative◆against the literary forms and ideas of classicism, developing some relativelynew forms of fiction and or poetry, emphasizing upon the imaginative and emotional qualities of literature, a liking for the picturesque, the exotic, the sensuous, the sensational, and the supernatural (P41)● Independent◆peculiar American experience (landscape, pioneering to the West, Indiancivilization, new nation’s democracy and dreams) (P41-42)◆Puritan heritage (more moralizing, edifying more than mere entertainment)(careful about love and sex. example: Scarlet Letter) (P42)◆American national consciousness—the sense of missionTRANSCENDENTALISM:Nature’s voice pushed American Romanticism into a new phase, the phase of New England Transcendentalism, the summit of American Romanticism.⏹First, the Transcendentalists placed emphasis on spirit, or the Oversoul，as the mostimportant thing in the universe.⏹Secondly, the Transcendentalists stressed the importance of the individual. They weretelling people to depend upon themselves for spiritual perfection.⏹Thirdly, the Transcendentalists offered a fresh perception of nature as symbolic of theSpirit or God.⏹New England Transcendentalism was the product of a combination of foreign influencesand native American Puritan tradition⏹Transcendentalism was a way of knowing —the belief that man can intuitivelytranscend the limits of the senses and of logic and receive directly higher truths and greater knowledge denied to other methods of knowing.⏹On the other hand, transcendentalism had some glaring weaknesses.⏹The transcendentalists believed in living close to nature and taught the dignity of manuallabor.1.4 The Scarlet Letter●Sample: Scarlet Letter (A: Adultery to Able to Angel)●Characters:◆Hester Prynne (heroine, attractive, active towards the sin)◆Roger Chillingworth (Hester’s husband, emotionless, only thinking aboutrevenge, real villain in the novel, signifying pure intellect which was merciless in Hawthorne’s mind)◆Arthur Dimmesdale (a handsome and admirable young priest, contradictory onthe sin he made with Hester, being a brave man at last)●Theme:(Ask students: Is this a love story? No)◆The theme of the story should be the moral, emotional and psychologicaleffects of the sin on people. (P76)(对于《红字》的主题，有很多种不同的说法，这和这本小说的复义性有关。
美国文学史作者的写作特点总结
美国文学史作者的写作特点总结1、Benjamin Franklin本杰明富兰克林（1706-1790）he is the only good American author before the the Revolutionary War and he is the only one in the colonial period.写作特点：1.叙事清楚简洁 2.富有哲理和睿智 3.文字质朴幽默 4.易于读者接受。
2.Thomas Paine 托马斯佩因（1737-1809）英国人民将他视为最受爱戴的政论家，他的书被看作穷人的圣经。
拿破仑称他为共和国的火炬，一切传奇中最伟大的人物。
写作特点：支持独立宣言，语言精炼，层次分明，结构严密，逻辑性强，抒情和说理有机结合3.Thomas Jefferson 托马斯杰弗逊(1743-1826)主张：主张追求幸福，人人生而平等，包括生命权、自由权和追求幸福的权利4.Philip Freneau 菲利普费瑞诺(1752-1832)Father of American Poetry” 美国诗歌之父，政治方面的新闻记者写作特点：the poems of Freneau fall mainly into two categories, one of description of nature, and one of expression of his political ideas.备注：菲利普弗瑞诺作为一个自然诗人，在时间上介于布拉兹特里特和布莱恩特之间；作为一个哥特式作家，介于威格斯沃斯和爱伦坡之间；作为一个原始主义者，介于莫顿和库珀之间。
5.Washington Irving华盛顿.欧文（1783-1859)the father of American literaturethe first great belletrist 第一个纯文学作家，美国第一位浪漫主义散文文体作家，重振了没落的哥特式浪漫主义小说。
美国文学史简述五篇范文
美国文学史简述五篇范文第一篇：美国文学史简述A Short Summary of the History of American LiteratureIn American Literature, Colonial and Revolutionary period, American Romanticism, The Realistic Period and American Modernism are the four important periods.During 17C and 18C is the American colonial and Revolutionary Period.Puritanism is the main school of this period, which is the practices and belief of puritans.The American puritans accept the doctrine and practice of predestination, original sin and total depravity, and limited atonement through a special infusion of grace from God.But due to the grim struggle for living in the new continent, they become more and more practical.American Puritanism is so much a part of the national atmosphere rather than a set of tenets.Jonathan Edwards was one of the great writers of the Puritanism, his works include The Freedom of the Will, The Nature of True Virtue and so on.Philip Freneau is “a poet of the American Revol ution” and “the father of American Poetry”.The Rising Glory of American and The Wild Honey Suckle are his famous works.Puritanism gradually declined at the end of 18C.As a result of the impact of European Literary Romanticism, there rapidly came into being the rise of romanticism in American.The American romanticism flourished from 1815 to 1865, which advocated importance to individual dignity and value, and they shared some characteristics— moral enthusiasm, individuality and intuitive perception.Transcendentalism, which appeared after 1830, marked the maturity of American Romanticism and the first Renaissance in the American literary history.It laid emphasis onspirit, individual and nature.Washington Irving is a writer of this period, who has been called “the father of American Literature”.He wins the international fame for The Sketch Book, which marked the beginning of American Romanticism.Ralph Waldo Emerson is the New England Transcendentalist.Nature, his famous work, is regarded as the “manifesto of Am erican Transcendentalism”.American industrialization was one of the important factors of the development of American Realistic Literature, which was the beginning of what Mark Twain called “The Gilded Age” from 1865 to 1914.American Realism came as a reaction against the lie of romanticism and sentimentalism.It turned from an emphasis on the faithful rendering of the ordinary, a slice of life as it is really lived.It expresses the common place and the low, and it offers an objective rather than an idealistic view of human nature and human experience.A realistic writer is more objective than subjective, more descriptive than symbolic.Realists looked for truth in any place.William Dean Howells is the champion of realism.He writes about the rising middle class and the way they live.The Rise of Silas Lapham, his masterpiece, is a fine example of the American realism.Mark Twain is a great literary artist and social critic.He writes about the story of the low class and is famous for his colloquial style and localism.The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn is his famous fiction, which has been regarded as one of the greatest books of western literature and western civilization.After the WWI, some young writers wondered pointlessly and restlessly, while at the same time the y were called the “Lost Generation”.Then, there came into being the modernism from 1914 to 1945, it is used to show the literary art possessing outstanding characteristics in conception, feeling, form and style after the WWI.It meanscutting off history and a sense of despair and loss.It refused to accept the traditional ideological influences.F.Scott Fitzgerald is widely regarded as one of the 20th century’s greatest writers.This Side of Paradise is his first novel, it became immensely popular for the simple reason that it caught the tone of the age.Ernest Hemingway is the famous writer of this period.He received the Pulitzer Prize in 1953 for The Old Man and the Sea.A Farewell to Arms is his masterpiece in which the author deals with the war directly.This is what I want to say about the history of American literature.第二篇：美国文学史梗概美国文学史梗概一、殖民地时代和美国建国初期最早来自这片新大陆的欧洲移民主要是定居在新英格兰的清教徒和马萨诸塞的罗马天主教徒，二者虽然在教义上有很多不同之处，但他们都信奉加尔文主义：人生在世只是为了受苦受难，而他们唯一的希望是争做上帝的“选民”，死后进天国，相信“原罪”。
(完整版)美国文学史总结
ⅠColonial America(17th century)殖民主义时期文学1.In 1492, Christopher Columbus discovered America and he mistook the native people onthe new continent for Indians.Character of colonial literature:a.content: religious, politicalb.form: diary, journal, letters, travel books, sermons, history (personalliterature)c.Style: simple. direct, concised.out of humble originsEarly in the 17th century, the English settlements in Virginia and Massachusetts began the main stream of what we recognize as the American national history.The earliest settlers in America included Dutch, Swedes, Germans, French, Spaniards, Italians and Portuguese.The first permanent English settlement in North America was established at Jamestown, Virginia in 1607(北美弗吉尼亚詹姆斯顿)2.Captain Town Smith, the first American writer3.Puritan Thoughts: hard work, thrift(节俭), piety(虔诚), sobriety(节制), 这些也成了早期美国作品主导思想.典型的清教徒：John Cotton & Roger William, John Cotton was called “the Patriarch of New England(新英格兰教父)”清教徒采用的文学体裁：narratives(日记) and journals(游记)清教徒在美国的写作内容：1）Their voyage to the new land2）Adapting themselves to unfamiliar climates and crops3）About dealing with Indians4）Guide to the new land, endless bounty, invitation to bold spirit4.Private literature: theological, moral, historical, political5.The work of two writers, Anne Bradstreet and Edward Taylor, rose to the level of realpoetry. Anne Bradstreet is one of the most interesting of the early poets, 英国最早移民到美国的诗人. The best of the Puritan poets was Edward Taylor.ⅡReason and Revolution(18th century)理性和革命时期文学1.The War for Independence (1776-1783) ended in the formation of a Federative bourgeoisdemocratic republic - the United States of America.2.Bourgeois Enlightenment3.Benjamin Franklin: Poor Richard’s Almanac(穷人理查德的年鉴), an annual collection ofproverbs.The Autobiography, 18世纪美国唯一流传至今的自传⏹The Autobiography is, first of all, a Puritan document. It is Puritan because it is a recordof self-examination and self-improvement. The Puritans, as a type, were very much given to self-analysis.⏹The Autobiography shows Franklin was spokesman for the new order of 18th-centuryEnlightenment, and that he represented in America all its ideas, that man is basically good and free, by nature endowed by God with certain inalienable rights of liberty and the pursuit of happiness.⏹It is the pattern of Puritan simplicity, directness, and concision. The plainness of its style,the homeliness of imagery, the simplicity of diction, syntax and expression are some of the obvious features we cannot mistake.⏹Tone: OptimismThe American dream began with the settlement of the American continent –the Promised Land – the Garden of Eden – optimistic about the future4.Thomas Paine: The American Crisis, 极大恢复士气5.Thomas Jefferson:The Declaration of Independence6.Philip Freneau, Father of American Poetry: The Indian Burring Ground(印第安人的坟地)The Wild Honey Suckle(野忍冬花)⏹The poem is an indication of the poet’s dedication to American subjectmatter and the natural scenes on the new continent.⏹Here in this poem Freneau deals with the themes of loveliness and thetransience of life.⏹This poem, well within the melancholy genre, consists of the poet’s pensivemusings on the flower’s story.⏹The first two stanzas picture the advantages of the flower’s country retreat.⏹The next two stanzas unite the theme of the seasons with the thought that allmust die. Death and decay, as well as creation, are so common, so much a part of the universal law.ⅢRomanticism(end of the 18th century——Civil War)浪漫主义文学1.Washington Irving, Father of American literature: Sketch Book(见闻札记, the firstmodern short stories and the first great American juvenile literature, a collection of essays, sketches, and tales)2.James Fenimore Cooper: The Leatherstocking Tales(皮袜子故事集, the AmericanNational Epic) contains of The Deerslayer(杀鹿者), The Last of the Mohicans(最后的莫希干人), The Pathfinder(探路人), The Pioneers(拓荒者), and The Prairie(大草原).3.Edgar Allan Poe: The Raven(乌鸦), Annabel Lee(安娜贝尔·李), The Fall of the House ofUsher(鄂榭府崩溃记)To Helen○Edgar Allan Poe wrote “To Helen” as a reflection on the beauty of Mrs. Jane Stith Stanard, of Richmond, Va., who died in 1824. She was the mother of one of Poe’s school classmates, Robert Stanard. When Robert invited Edgar, then 14, to his home (at 19th and East Grace Streets in Richmond) in 1823, Poe was greatly taken with the 27-year-old woman, who is said to have urged him to write poetry. He was later to write that she was his first real love.○ 1 stanza⏹Helen: An allusion to Helen of Troy in Greek mythology.⏹Nicean: Of or from Nicea (also spelled Nicaea), a city in ancient Bithynia (nowpart of present-day Turkey) near the site of the Trojan War.⏹Barks: small sailing vessels.⏹End rhyme: A, B, A,B, B.○ 2 stanza⏹wont: accustomed to⏹Naiad: Naiads were minor nature goddesses in Greek and Romanmythology. They inhabited and presided over rivers, lakes, streams, and fountains.⏹Naiad airs: Peaceful, gentle breezes or qualities⏹The glory that . . .Rome: These last two lines, beginning with the glorythat was, are among the most frequently quoted lines in world literature.⏹End rhyme: A, B, A, B, A.Half rhyme: Face and Greece○ 3 stanza⏹Psyche: In Greek and Roman mythology, Psyche was a beautifulprincess dear to the god of love, Eros (Cupid), who would visit her in a darkened room ina palace. One night she used an agate lamp to discover his identity. Later, at the urging ofEros, Zeus gave her the gift of immortality. Eros then married her.⏹End rhyme: A, B, B, A, B.⏹from the regions which are Holy Land: from ancient Greece and Rome;from the memory Poe had of Mrs. Stanard○Theme■Beauty, as Poe uses the word in the poem, appears to refer to the woman's soul as well as her body. On the one hand, he represents her as Helen of Troy–the quintessence of physical beauty–at the beginning of the poem. On the other, he represents her as Psyche–the quintessence of soulful beauty–at the end of the poem. In Greek, psyche means soul.4.Transcendentalism(超验主义):❖19th-century movement of writers and philosophers in New England who were loosely bound together by adherence to an idealistic system of thought based on a belief in the essential unity of all creation, the innate goodness of man, and the supremacy of insight over logic and experience for the revelation of the deepest truths. In their religious quest, the Transcendentalists rejected the conventions of 18th-century thought; and what began in dissatisfaction with Unitarianism developed into a repudiation of the whole established order.❖Representative figures: some 30 men and a couple of women such as Emerson, Thoreau, Bronson Alcott, and Margaret Fuller, most of them teachers or clergymen, radicals against rigid rationalism of Unitarianism.❖Time: 1836-1855❖Essence: “Transcendentalism is idealism” in essence❖Major Features:A.Emphasis on spirit;B.The importance of the individual as the most important element ofsociety;C．N ature as symbolic of the Spirit or GodRalph Waldo Emerson, Father of American Essay, Essayist, poet, philosopher, orator, critic : Nature(the Bible and manifesto(宣言) of the New England Transcendentalism), Self-relianceHenry David Thoreau(The Prophet(提倡者) of Non-Violence Movement, he wasEmerson’s truest disciple, who put into practice many of Emerson’s theories): Walden5.Nathaniel Hawthorne: The Scarlet Letter⑴女主角honest, calmly face fault 诚实，坦然的面对罪过。
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ⅠColonial America(17th century)殖民主义时期文学1.In 1492, Christopher Columbus discovered America and he mistook the native people onthe new continent for Indians.Character of colonial literature:a.content: religious, politicalb.form: diary, journal, letters, travel books, sermons, history (personalliterature)c.Style: simple. direct, concised.out of humble originsEarly in the 17th century, the English settlements in Virginia and Massachusetts began the main stream of what we recognize as the American national history.The earliest settlers in America included Dutch, Swedes, Germans, French, Spaniards, Italians and Portuguese.The first permanent English settlement in North America was established at Jamestown, Virginia in 1607(北美弗吉尼亚詹姆斯顿)2.Captain Town Smith, the first American writer3.Puritan Thoughts: hard work, thrift(节俭), piety(虔诚), sobriety(节制), 这些也成了早期美国作品主导思想.典型的清教徒：John Cotton & Roger William, John Cotton was called “the Patriarch of New England(新英格兰教父)”清教徒采用的文学体裁：narratives(日记) and journals(游记)清教徒在美国的写作内容：1）Their voyage to the new land2）Adapting themselves to unfamiliar climates and crops3）About dealing with Indians4）Guide to the new land, endless bounty, invitation to bold spirit4.Private literature: theological, moral, historical, political5.The work of two writers, Anne Bradstreet and Edward Taylor, rose to the level of realpoetry. Anne Bradstreet is one of the most interesting of the early poets, 英国最早移民到美国的诗人. The best of the Puritan poets was Edward Taylor.ⅡReason and Revolution(18th century)理性和革命时期文学1.The War for Independence (1776-1783) ended in the formation of a Federativebourgeois democratic republic - the United States of America.2.Bourgeois Enlightenment3.Benjamin Franklin: Poor Richard’s Almanac(穷人理查德的年鉴), an annual collection ofproverbs.The Autobiography, 18世纪美国唯一流传至今的自传⏹The Autobiography is, first of all, a Puritan document. It is Puritan because it is a recordof self-examination and self-improvement. The Puritans, as a type, were very much given to self-analysis.⏹The Autobiography shows Franklin was spokesman for the new order of 18th-centuryEnlightenment, and that he represented in America all its ideas, that man is basically good and free, by nature endowed by God with certain inalienable rights of liberty and the pursuit of happiness.⏹It is the pattern of Puritan simplicity, directness, and concision. The plainness of its style,the homeliness of imagery, the simplicity of diction, syntax and expression are some of the obvious features we cannot mistake.⏹Tone: OptimismThe American dream began with the settlement of the American continent –the Promised Land – the Garden of Eden – optimistic about the future4.Thomas Paine: The American Crisis, 极大恢复士气5.Thomas Jefferson:The Declaration of Independence6.Philip Freneau, Father of American Poetry: The Indian Burring Ground(印第安人的坟地)The Wild Honey Suckle(野忍冬花)⏹The poem is an indication of the poet’s dedication to American subjectmatter and the natural scenes on the new continent.⏹Here in this poem Freneau deals with the themes of loveliness and thetransience of life.⏹This poem, well within the melancholy genre, consists of the poet’s pensivemusings on the flower’s story.⏹The first two stanzas picture the advantages of the flower’s country retreat.⏹The next two stanzas unite the theme of the seasons with the thought that allmust die. Death and decay, as well as creation, are so common, so much a part of the universal law.ⅢRomanticism(end of the 18th century——Civil War)浪漫主义文学1.Washington Irving, Father of American literature: Sketch Book(见闻札记, the firstmodern short stories and the first great American juvenile literature, a collection of essays, sketches, and tales)2.James Fenimore Cooper: The Leatherstocking Tales(皮袜子故事集, the AmericanNational Epic) contains of The Deerslayer(杀鹿者), The Last of the Mohicans(最后的莫希干人), The Pathfinder(探路人), The Pioneers(拓荒者), and The Prairie(大草原).3.Edgar Allan Poe: The Raven(乌鸦), Annabel Lee(安娜贝尔·李), The Fall of the House ofUsher(鄂榭府崩溃记)To Helen○Edgar Allan Poe wrote “To Helen” as a reflection on the beauty of Mrs. Jane Stith Stanard, of Richmond, Va., who died in 1824. She was the mother of one of Poe’s school classmates, Robert Stanard. When Robert invited Edgar, then 14, to his home (at 19th and East Grace Streets in Richmond) in 1823, Poe was greatly taken with the 27-year-old woman, who is said to have urged him to write poetry. He was later to write that she was his first real love.○ 1 stanza⏹Helen: An allusion to Helen of Troy in Greek mythology.⏹Nicean: Of or from Nicea (also spelled Nicaea), a city in ancient Bithynia (nowpart of present-day Turkey) near the site of the Trojan War.⏹Barks: small sailing vessels.⏹End rhyme: A, B, A,B, B.○ 2 stanza⏹wont: accustomed to⏹Naiad: Naiads were minor nature goddesses in Greek and Romanmythology. They inhabited and presided over rivers, lakes, streams, and fountains.⏹Naiad airs: Peaceful, gentle breezes or qualities⏹The glory that . . .Rome: These last two lines, beginning with the glorythat was, are among the most frequently quoted lines in world literature.⏹End rhyme: A, B, A, B, A.Half rhyme: Face and Greece○ 3 stanza⏹Psyche: In Greek and Roman mythology, Psyche was a beautifulprincess dear to the god of love, Eros (Cupid), who would visit her in a darkened room ina palace. One night she used an agate lamp to discover his identity. Later, at the urging ofEros, Zeus gave her the gift of immortality. Eros then married her.⏹End rhyme: A, B, B, A, B.⏹from the regions which are Holy Land: from ancient Greece and Rome;from the memory Poe had of Mrs. Stanard○Theme■Beauty, as Poe uses the word in the poem, appears to refer to the woman's soul as well as her body. On the one hand, he represents her as Helen of Troy–the quintessence of physical beauty–at the beginning of the poem. On the other, he represents her as Psyche–the quintessence of soulful beauty–at the end of the poem. In Greek, psyche means soul.4.Transcendentalism(超验主义):19th-century movement of writers and philosophers in New England who were loosely bound together by adherence to an idealistic system of thought based on a belief in the essential unity of all creation, the innate goodness of man, and the supremacy of insight over logic and experience for the revelation of the deepest truths. In their religious quest, the Transcendentalists rejected the conventions of 18th-century thought; and what began in dissatisfaction with Unitarianism developed into a repudiation of the whole established order.Representative figures: some 30 men and a couple of women such as Emerson, Thoreau, Bronson Alcott, and Margaret Fuller, most of them teachers or clergymen, radicals against rigid rationalism of Unitarianism.Time: 1836-1855Essence: “Transcendentalism is idealism” in essenceMajor Features:A.Emphasis on spirit;B.The importance of the individual as the most important element ofsociety;C．N ature as symbolic of the Spirit or GodRalph Waldo Emerson, Father of American Essay, Essayist, poet, philosopher, orator, critic : Nature(the Bible and manifesto(宣言) of the New England Transcendentalism), Self-relianceHenry David Thoreau(The Prophet(提倡者) of Non-Violence Movement, he wasEmerson’s truest disciple, who put into practice many of Emerson’s theories): Walden5.Nathaniel Hawthorne: The Scarlet Letter⑴女主角honest, calmly face fault 诚实，坦然的面对罪过。