常耀信美国文学史第三版Chapter6资料
常耀信美国文学讲义PPT课件
American poetry experimenting
The new age demanded proper literary
expression. Between 1912 and 1922 there came a great poetry boom in which about 1000 poets published over 1000 volumes of poetry. Indeed, to express the modern spirit, the sense of fragmentation and dislocation. Affected by the postwar disillusionment and loss of faith， the poets employ meaningless destruction of young lives in the war and the bankruptcy of the rotten civilization as themes. America has become “spiritual wasteland”.
ChapterFive
The Modern Period
Section 1 The 1920s Introduction The 1920s is a flowering period of American literature. It is considered “the second renaissance” of American literature. The nicknames for this period: (1) Roaring 20s – comfort (2) Dollar Decade – rich (3) Jazz Age – Jazz music
美国文学简史笔记常耀信样本
A Concise History of American LiteratureWhat is literature?Literature is language artistically used to achieve identifiable literary qualities and to convey meaningful messages.Chapter 1 Colonial PeriodI.Background：Puritanism1.features of Puritanism(1)Predestination：God decided everything before things occurred.(2)Original sin：Human beings were born to be evil，and this original sin can bepassed down from generation to generation.(3)Total depravity(4)Limited atonement：Only the “elect” can be saved.2.Influence(1) A group of good qualities –hard work，thrift，piety，sobriety (serious andthoughtful) influenced American literature.(2)It led to the everlasting myth. All literature is based on a myth – garden of Eden.(3)Symbolism：the American puritan’s metaphorical mode of percep tion was chieflyinstrumental in calling into being a literary symbolism which is distinctlyAmerican.(4)With regard to their writing，the style is fresh，simple and direct；the rhetoric isplain and honest，not without a touch of nobility often traceable to the directinfluence of the Bible.II.Overview of the literature1.types of writingdiaries，histories，journals，letters，travel books，autobiographies/biographies，sermons2.writers of colonial period(1)Anne Bradstreet(2)Edward Taylor(3)Roger Williams(4)John Woolman(5)Thomas Paine(6)Philip FreneauIII.Jonathan Edwards1.life2.works(1)The Freedom of the Will(2)The Great Doctrine of Original Sin Defended(3)The Nature of True Virtue3.ideas – pioneer of transcendentalism(1)The spirit of revivalism(2)Regeneration of man(3)God’s presence(4)Puritan idealismIV.Benjamin Franklin1.life2.works(1)Poor Richard’s Almanac(2)Autobiography3.contribution(1)He helped found the Pennsylvania Hospital and the American PhilosophicalSociety.(2)He was called “the new Prometheus who had stolen fire (electricity in this case)from heaven”.(3)Everything seems to meet in this one man –“Jack of all trades”. Herman Melvillethus described him “master of each and mastered by none”.Chapter 2 American RomanticismSection 1 Early Romantic PeriodWhat is Romanticism?●An approach from ancient Greek：Plato● A literary trend：18c in Britain (1798~1832)●Schlegel Bros.I.Preview：Characteristics of romanticism1.subjectivity(1)feeling and emotions，finding truth(2)emphasis on imagination(3)emphasis on individualism – personal freedom，no hero worship，natural goodnessof human beings2.back to medieval，esp medieval folk literature(1)unrestrained by classical rules(2)full of imagination(3)colloquial language(4)freedom of imagination(5)genuine in feelings：answer their call for classics3.back to naturenature is “breathing living thing” (Rous seau)II.American Romanticism1.Background(1)Political background and economic development(2)Romantic movement in European countriesDerivative – foreign influence2.features(1)American romanticism was in essence the expression of “a real new experienceand contained “an alien quality” for the simple reason that “the spirit of the place”was radically new and alien.(2)There is American Puritanism as a cultural heritage to consider. American romanticauthors tended more to moralize. Many American romantic writings intended toedify more than they entertained.(3)The “newness” of Americans as a nation is in connection with AmericanRomanticism.(4)As a logical result of the foreign and native factors at work，American romanticismwas both imitative and independent.III.Washington Irving1.several names attached to Irving(1)first American writer(2)the messenger sent from the new world to the old world(3)father of American literature2.life3.works(1) A History of New York from the Beginning of the World to the End of the DutchDynasty(2)The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon，Gent. (He won a measure of internationalrecognition with the publication of this.)(3)The History of the Life and V oyages of Christopher Columbus(4) A Chronicle of the Conquest of Granada(5)The Alhambra4.Literary career：two parts(1)1809~1832a.Subjects are either English or Europeanb.Conservative love for the antique(2)1832~1859：back to US5.style – beautiful(1)gentility，urbanity，pleasantness(2)avoiding moralizing – amusing and entertaining(3)enveloping stories in an atmosphere(4)vivid and true characters(5)humour – smiling while reading(6)musical languageIV.James Fenimore Cooper1.life2.works(1)Precaution (1820，his first novel，imitating Austen’s Pride and Prejudice)(2)The Spy (his second novel and great success)(3)Leatherstocking Tales (his masterpiece，a series of five novels)The Deerslayer，The Last of the Mohicans，The Pathfinder，The Pioneer，ThePrairie3.point of viewthe theme of wilderness vs. civilization，freedom vs. law，order vs. change，aristocrat vs.democrat，natural rights vs. legal rights4.style(1)highly imaginative(2)good at inventing tales(3)good at landscape description(4)conservative(5)characterization wooden and lacking in probability(6)language and use of dialect not authentic5.literary achievementsHe created a myth about the formative period of the American nation. If the history ofthe United States is，in a sense，the process of the American settlers exploring andpushing the American frontier forever westward，then Cooper’s Leatherstocking Taleseffectively approximates the American national experience of adventure into the West.He turned the west and frontier as a useable past and he helped to introduce westerntradition to American literature.Section 2 Summit of Romanticism – American TranscendentalismI.Background：four sources1.Unitarianism(1)Fatherhood of God(2)Brotherhood of men(3)Leadership of Jesus(4)Salvation by character (perfection of one’s character)(5)Continued progress of mankind(6)Divinity of mankind(7)Depravity of mankind2.Romantic IdealismCenter of the world is spirit，absolute spirit (Kant)3.Oriental mysticismCenter of the world is “oversoul”4.PuritanismEloquent expression in transcendentalismII.Appearance1836，“Nature” by EmersonIII.Features1.spirit/oversoul2.importance of individualism3.nature – symbol of spirit/Godgarment of the oversoul4.focus in intuition (irrationalism and subconsciousness)IV.Influence1.It served as an ethical guide to life for a young nation and brought about the idea thathuman can be perfected by nature. It stressed religious tolerance，called to throw offshackles of customs and traditions and go forward to the development of a new anddistinctly American culture.2.It advocated idealism that was great needed in a rapidly expanded economy whereopportunity often became opportunism，and the desire to “get on” obscured the moralnecessity for rising to spiritual height.3.It helped to create the first American renaissance – one of the most prolific period inAmerican literature.V.Ralph Waldo Emerson1.life2.works(1)Nature(2)Two essays：The American Scholar，The Poet3.point of view(1)One major element of his philosophy is his firm belief in the transcendence of the“oversoul”.(2)He regards nature as the purest，and the most sanctifying moral influence on man，and advocated a direct intuition of a spiritual and immanent God in nature.(3)If man depends upon himself，cultivates himself and brings out the divine inhimself，he can hope to become better and even perfect. This is what Emersonmeans by “the infinitude of man”.(4)Everyone should understand that he makes himself by making his world，and thathe makes the world by making himself.4.aesthetic ideas(1)He is a complete man，an eternal man.(2)True poetry and true art should ennoble.(3)The poet should express his thought in symbols.(4)As to theme，Emerson called upon American authors to celebrate America whichwas to him a lone poem in itself.5.his influenceVI.Henry David Thoreau1.life2.works(1) A Week on the Concord and Merrimack River(2)Walden(3) A Plea for John Brown (an essay)3.point of view(1)He did not like the way a materialistic America was developing and wasvehemently outspoken on the point.(2)He hated the human injustice as represented by the slavery system.(3)Like Emerson，but more than him，Thoreau saw nature as a genuine restorative，healthy influence on man’s spiritual well-being.(4)He has faith in the inner virtue and inward，spiritual grace of man.(5)He was very critical of modern civilization.(6)“Simplicity…simplify!”(7)He was sorely disgusted with “the inundations of the dirty institutions of men’sodd-fellow society”.(8)He has calm trust in the future and his ardent belief in a new generation of men. Section 3 Late RomanticismI.Nathaniel Hawthorne1.life2.works(1)Two collections of short stories：Twice-told Tales，Mosses from and Old Manse(2)The Scarlet Letter(3)The House of the Seven Gables(4)The Marble Faun3.point of view(1)Evil is at the core of human life，“that blackness in Hawthorne”(2)Whenever there is sin，there is punishment. Sin or evil can be passed fromgeneration to generation (causality).(3)He is of the opinion that evil educates.(4)He has disgust in science.4.aesthetic ideas(1)He took a great interest in history and antiquity. To him these furnish the soil onwhich his mind grows to fruition.(2)He was convinced that romance was the predestined form of American narrative.To tell the truth and satirize and yet not to offend：That was what Hawthorne had inmind to achieve.5.style – typical romantic writer(1)the use of symbols(2)revelation of characters’ psychology(3)the use of supernatural mixed with the actual(4)his stories are parable (parable inform) – to teach a lesson(5)use of ambiguity to keep the reader in the world of uncertainty – multiple point ofviewII.Herman Melville1.life2.works(1)Typee(2)Omio(3)Mardi(4)Redburn(5)White Jacket(6)Moby Dick(7)Pierre(8)Billy Budd3.point of view(1)He never seems able to say an affirmative yes to life：His is the attitude of“Everlasting Nay” (negative attitude towards life).(2)One of the major themes of his is alienation (far away from each other).Other themes：loneliness，suicidal individualism (individualism causing disasterand death)，rejection and quest，confrontation of innocence and evil，doubts overthe comforting 19c idea of progress4.style(1)Like Hawthorne，Melville manages to achieve the effect of ambiguity throughemploying the technique of multiple view of his narratives.(2)He tends to write periodic chapters.(3)His rich rhythmical prose and his poetic power have been profusely commentedupon and praised.(4)His works are symbolic and metaphorical.(5)He includes many non-narrative chapters of factual background or description ofwhat goes on board the ship or on the route (Moby Dick)Romantic PoetsI.Walt Whitman1.life2.work：Leaves of Grass (9 editions)(1)Song of Myself(2)There Was a Child Went Forth(3)Crossing Brooklyn Ferry(4)Democratic Vistas(5)Passage to India(6)Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking3.themes –“Catalogue of American and European thought”He had been influenced by many American and European thoughts：enlightenment，idealism，transcendentalism，science，evolution ideas，western frontier spirits，Jefferson’s individualism，Civil War Unionism，Orientalism.Major themes in his poems (almost everything):●equality of things and beings●divinity of everything●immanence of God●democracy●evolution of cosmos●multiplicity of nature●self-reliant spirit●death，beauty of death●expansion of America●brotherhood and social solidarity (unity of nations in the world)●pursuit of love and happiness4.style：“free verse”(1)no fixed rhyme or scheme(2)parallelism，a rhythm of thought(3)phonetic recurrence(4)the habit of using snapshots(5)the use of a certain pronoun “I”(6) a looser and more open-ended syntactic structure(7)use of conventional image(8)strong tendency to use oral English(9)vocabulary – powerful，colourful，rarely used words of foreign origins，some evenwrong(10)sentences – catalogue technique：long list of names，long poem lines5.influence(1)His best work has become part of the common property of Western culture.(2)He took over Whitman’s vision of the poet-prophet and poet-teacher and recast itin a more sophisticated and Europeanized mood.(3)He has been compared to a mountain in American literary history.(4)Contemporary American poetry，whatever school or form，bears witness to hisgreat influence.II.Emily Dickenson1.life2.works(1)My Life Closed Twice before Its Close(2)Because I Can’t Stop for Death(3)I Heard a Fly Buzz – When I died(4)Mine – by the Right of the White Election(5)Wild Nights – Wild Nights3.themes：based on her own experiences/joys/sorrows(1)religion – doubt and belief about religious subjects(2)death and immortality(3)love – suffering and frustration caused by love(4)physical aspect of desire(5)nature – kind and cruel(6)free will and human responsibility4.style(1)poems without titles(2)severe economy of expression(3)directness，brevity(4)musical device to create cadence (rhythm)(5)capital letters – emphasis(6)short poems，mainly two stanzas(7)rhetoric techniques：personification – make some of abstract ideas vividparison：Whitman vs. Dickinson1.Similarities:(1)Thematically，they both extolled，in their different ways，an emergent America，its expansion，its individualism and its Americanness，their poetry being part of“American Renaissance”.(2)Technically，they both added to the literary independence of the new nation bybreaking free of the convention of the iambic pentameter and exhibiting a freedomin form unknown before：they were pioneers in American poetry.2.differences:(1)Whitman seems to keep his eye on society at large；Dickinson explores the innerlife of the individual.(2)Whereas Whitman is “national” in hi s outlook，Dickinson is “regional”.(3)Dickinson has the “catalogue technique” (direct，simple style) which Whitmandoesn’t have.Edgar Allen PoeI.LifeII.Works1.short stories(1)ratiocinative storiesa.Ms Found in a Bottleb.The Murders in the Rue Morguec.The Purloined Letter(2)Revenge，death and rebirtha.The Fall of the House of Usherb.Ligeiac.The Masque of the Red Death(3)Literary theorya.The Philosophy of Compositionb.The Poetic Principlec.Review of Hawthorne’s Twice-told TalesIII.Themes1.death –predominant theme in Poe’s writing“Poe is not interested in anything alive. Everything in Poe’s writings is dead.”2.disintegration (separation) of life3.horror4.negative thoughts of scienceIV.Aesthetic ideas1.The short stories should be of brevity，totality，single effect，compression and finality.2.The poems should be short，and the aim should be beauty，the tone melancholy. Poemsshould not be of moralizing. He calls for pure poetry and stresses rhythm.V.Style – traditional，but not easy to readVI.Reputation：“the jingle man” (Emerson)VII.His influencesChapter 3 The Age of RealismI.Background：From Romanticism to Realism1.the three conflicts that reached breaking point in this period(1)industrialism vs. agrarian(2)culturely-measured east vs. newly-developed west(3)plantation gentility vs. commercial gentility2.1880’s urba nization：from free competition to monopoly capitalism3.the closing of American frontierII.Characteristics1.truthful description of life2.typical character under typical circumstance3.objective rather than idealized，close observation and investigation of life“Realistic writers are like scientists.”4.open-ending:Life is complex and cannot be fully understood. It leaves much room for readers to think by themselves.5.concerned with social and psychological problems，revealing the frustrations ofcharacters in an environment of sordidness and depravityIII.Three Giants in Realistic Period1.William Dean Howells –“Dean of American Realism”(1)Realistic principlesa.Realism is “fidelity to experience and probability of motive”.b.The aim is “talk of some ordinary traits of American life”.c.Man in his natural and unaffected dullness was the object of Howells’s fictionalrepresentation.d.Realism is by no means mere photographic pictures of externals but includes acentral concern with “motives” and psychological conflicts.e.He condemns novels of sentimentality and morbid self-sacrifice，and avoids suchthemes as illicit love.f.Authors should minimize plot and the artificial ordering of the sense of something“desultory，unfinished，imperfect”.g.Characters should have solidity of specification and be real.h.Interpreting sympathetically the “common feelings of commonplace people” wasbest suited as a technique to express the spirit of America.i.He urged writers to winnow tradition and write in keeping with currenthumanitarian ideals.j.Truth is the highest beauty，but it includes the view that morality penetrates all things.k.With regard to literary criticism，Howells felt that the literary critic should not try to impose arbitrary or subjective evaluations on books but should follow the detached scientist in accurate description，interpretation，and classification.(2)Worksa.The Rise of Silas Laphamb. A Chance Acquaintancec. A Modern Instance(3)Features of His Worksa.Optimistic toneb.Moral development/ethicscking of psychological depth2.Henry James(1)Life(2)Literary career：three stagesa.1865~1882：international theme●The American●Daisy Miller●The Portrait of a Ladyb.1882~1895：inter-personal relationships and some plays●Daisy Miller (play)c.1895~1900：novellas and tales dealing with childhood and adolescence，then backto international theme●The Turn of the Screw●When Maisie Knew●The Ambassadors●The Wings of the Dove●The Golden Bowl(3)Aesthetic ideasa.The aim of novel：represent lifemon，even ugly side of lifec.Social function of artd.Avoiding omniscient point of view(4)Point of viewa.Psychological analysis，forefather of stream of consciousnessb.Psychological realismc.Highly-refined language(5)Style –“stylist”nguage：highly-refined，polished，insightful，accurateb.V ocabulary：largec.Construction：complicated，intricate3.Mark Twain (see next section)Local Colorism1860s，1870s~1890sI.Appearance1.uneven development in economy in America2.culture：flourishing of frontier literature，humourists3.magazines appeared to let writer publish their worksII.What is “Local Colour”?Tasks of local colourists：to write or present local characters of their regions in truthful depiction distinguished from others，usually a very small part of the world.Regional literature (similar，but larger in world)●Garland，Harte – the west●Eggleston – Indiana●Mrs Stowe●Jewett – Maine●Chopin – LouisianaIII.Mark Twain – Mississippi1.life2.works(1)The Gilded Age(2)“the two advantages”(3)Life on the Mississippi(4) A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court(5)The Man That Corrupted Hardleybug3.style(1)colloquial language，vernacular language，dialects(2)local colour(3)syntactic feature：sentences are simple，brief，sometimes ungrammatical(4)humour(5)tall tales (highly exaggerated)(6)social criticism (satire on the different ugly things in society)parison of the three “giants” of American Realism1.ThemeHowells – middle classJames – upper classTwain – lower class2.TechniqueHowells – smiling/genteel realismJames – psychological realismTwain – local colourism and colloquialismChapter 4 American NaturalismI.Background1.Darwin’s theory：“natural selection”2.Spenser’s idea：“social Darwinism”3.French Naturalism：ZoraII.Features1.environment and heredity2.scientific accuracy and a lot of details3.general tone：hopelessness，despair，gloom，ugly side of the societyIII.significanceIt prepares the way for the writing of 1920s’ “lost generation” and T. S. Eliot.IV.Theodore Dreiser1.life2.works(1)Sister Carrie(2)The trilogy：Financier，The Titan，The Stoic(3)Jennie Gerhardt(4)American Tragedy(5)The Genius3.point of view(1)He embraced social Darwinism – survival of the fittest. He learned to regard manas merely an animal driven by greed and lust in a struggle for existence in whichonly the “fittest”，the most ruthless，survive.(2)Life is predatory，a “game” of the lecherous and heartless，a jungle struggle inwhich man，being “a waif and an interloper in Nature”，a “wisp in the w ind ofsocial forces”，is a mere pawn in the general scheme of things，with no powerwhatever to assert his will.(3)No one is ethically free；everything is determined by a complex of internalchemisms and by the forces of social pressure.4.Sister Carrie(1)Plot(2)Analysis5.Style(1)Without good structure(2)Deficient characterization(3)Lack in imagination(4)Journalistic method(5)Techniques in paintingChapter 5 The Modern PeriodSection 1 The 1920sI.IntroductionThe 1920s is a flowering period of American literature. It is consider ed “the second renaissance” of American literature.The nicknames for this period:(1)Roaring 20s – comfort(2)Dollar Decade – rich(3)Jazz Age – Jazz musicII.Backgrounda)First World War –“a war to end all wars”(1)Economically：became rich from WWI. Economic boom：new inventions.Highly-consuming society.(2)Spiritually：dislocation，fragmentation.b)wide-spread contempt for law (looking down upon law)1.Freud’s theoryIII.Features of the literatureWriters：three groups(1)Participants(2)Expatriates(3)Bohemian (unconventional way of life) – on-lookersTwo areas:(1)Failure of communication of Americans(2)Failure of the American societyImagismI. BackgroundImagism was influenced by French symbolism，ancient Chinese poetry and Japanese literature “haiku”II. Development：three stages1.1908~1909：London，Hulme2.1912~1914：England -> America，Pound3.1914~1917：Amy LowellIII. W hat is an “image”?An image is defined by Pound as that which presents an intellectual and emotional complex in an instant of time，“a vortex or cluster of fused ideas” “endowed with energy”. The exact word must bring the effect of the object before the reader as it had presented itself to the poet’s mind at the time of writing.IV. Principles1.Direct treatment of the “thing”，whether subjective or objective;2.To use absolutely no word that does not contribute to the presentation;3.As regarding rhythm，to compose in the sequence of the musical phrase，not in thesequence of a metronome.V. Significance1.It was a rebellion against the traditional poetics which failed to reflect the new life ofthe new century.2.It offered a new way of writing which was valid not only for the Imagist poets but formodern poetry as a whole.3.The movement was a training school in which many great poets learned their firstlessons in the poetic art.4.It is this movement that helped to open the first pages of modern English and Americanpoetry.VI. Ezra Pound1.life2.literary career3.works(1)Cathay(2)Cantos(3)Hugh Selwyn Mauberley4.point of view(1)Confident in Pound’s belief that the artist was morally and culturally the arbi terand the “saviour” of the race，he took it upon himself to purify the arts and becamethe prime mover of a few experimental movements，the aim of which was to dumpthe old into the dustbin and bring forth something new.(2)To him life was sordid personal crushing oppression，and culture produced nothingbut “intangible bondage”.(3)Pound sees in Chinese history and the doctrine of Confucius a source of strengthand wisdom with which to counterpoint Western gloom and confusion.(4)He saw a chaotic world that wanted setting to rights，and a humanity，sufferingfrom spiritual death and cosmic injustice，that needed saving. He was for the mostpart of his life trying to offer Confucian philosophy as the one faith which couldhelp to save the West.5.style：very difficult to readPound’s early poems are fresh and lyrical. The Cantos can be notoriously difficult in some sections，but delightfully beautiful in others. Few have made serious study of the long poem；fewer，if anyone at all，have had the courage to declare that they have conquered Pound；and many seem to agree that the Cantos is a monumental failure. 6.ContributionHe has helped，through theory and practice，to chart out the course of modern poetry.7.The Cantos –“the intellectual diary since 1915”Features:(1)Language：intricate and obscure(2)Theme：complex subject matters(3)Form：no fixed framework，no central theme，no attention to poetic rulesVII. T. S. Eliot1.life2.works(1)poems●The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock●The Waste Land (epic)●Hollow Man●Ash Wednesday●Four Quarters(2)Plays●Murder in the Cathedral●Sweeney Agonistes●The Cocktail Party●The Confidential Clerk(3)Critical essays●The Sacred Wood●Essays on Style and Order●Elizabethan Essays●The Use of Poetry and The Use of Criticisms●After Strange Gods3.point of view(1)The modern society is futile and chaotic.(2)Only poets can create some order out of chaos.(3)The method to use is to compare the past and the present.4.Style(1)Fresh visual imagery，flexible tone and highly expressive rhythm(2)Difficult and disconnected images and symbols，quotations and allusions(3)Elliptical structures，strange juxtapositions，an absence of bridges5.The Waste Land：five parts(1)The Burial of the Dead(2) A Game of Chess(3)The Fire Sermon(4)Death by Water(5)What the Thunder SaidVIII. Robert Frost1.life2.point of view(1)All his life，Frost was co ncerned with constructions through poetry. “a momentarystay against confusion”.(2)He understands the terror and tragedy in nature，but also its beauty.(3)Unlike the English romantic poets of 19th century，he didn’t believe that man couldfind harmony with nature. He believed that serenity came from working，usuallyamid natural forces，which couldn’t be understood. He regarded work as“significant toil”.3.works – poemsthe first：A Boy’s Willcollections：North of Boston，Mountain Interval (mature)，New Hampshire4.style/features of his poems(1)Most of his poems took New England as setting，and the subjects were chosenfrom daily life of ordinary people，such as “mending wall”，“picking apples”.(2)He writes most often about landscape and people – the loneliness and poverty ofisolated farmers，beauty，terror and tragedy in nature. He also describes someabnormal people，e.g. “deceptively simple”，“philosophical poet”.(3)Although he was popular during 1920s，he didn’t experiment like other modernpoets. He used conventional forms，plain language，traditional metre，and wrote ina pastured tradition.IX. e. e. cummings“a juggler with syntax，grammar and diction” – individualism，“painter poet”Novels in the 1920sI. F. Scott Fitzgerald1.life – participant in 1920s2.works(1)This Side of Paradise(2)Flappers and Philosophers(3)The Beautiful and the Damned(4)The Great Gatsby(5)Tender is the Night(6)All the Sad Young Man(7)The Last Tycoon。
美国文学简史笔记常耀信
美国文学简史笔记常耀信编辑整理：尊敬的读者朋友们：这里是精品文档编辑中心，本文档内容是由我和我的同事精心编辑整理后发布的，发布之前我们对文中内容进行仔细校对，但是难免会有疏漏的地方，但是任然希望（美国文学简史笔记常耀信）的内容能够给您的工作和学习带来便利。
同时也真诚的希望收到您的建议和反馈，这将是我们进步的源泉，前进的动力。
本文可编辑可修改，如果觉得对您有帮助请收藏以便随时查阅，最后祝您生活愉快业绩进步，以下为美国文学简史笔记常耀信的全部内容。
美国文学简史笔记（常耀信）Concise History of American LiteratureWhat is literature?Literature is language artistically used to achieve identifiable literary qualities and to convey meaningful messages。
Chapter 1 Colonial PeriodI. Background: Puritanism1. features of Puritanism（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.(3） Total depravity(4）Limited atonement: Only the “elect” can be saved.2. Influence(1） A group of good qualities – hard work, thrift， piety， sobriety （serious and thoughtful) influenced American literature.（2) It led to the everlasting myth。
常耀信《美国文学简史》(第3版)章节题库-霍桑·麦尔维尔【圣才出品】
第5章霍桑·麦尔维尔Ⅰ.Fill in the blanks.1.Pearl is a character in_____written by_____.[大连外国语学院2007研]【答案】The Scarlet Letter,Nathaniel Hawthorne【解析】Pearl是美国作家Nathaniel Hawthorne小说《红字》中的人物。
2.As a reflection of Hester Prynne’s moral development,the_____symbolically undergoes a gradual and imperceptible change from“_____”to“able”and last to“angel”.[天津外国语学院2008研]【答案】scarlet letter A,adultery【解析】霍桑的小说《红字》中海斯特·白兰经历了道德的洗礼，红字A的含义也逐渐由“通奸”转变为“能干”以至后来的“天使”3.Tashtego,Daggoo and Queequeg are the three main harpooners in the novel _____.[首师大2008研]【答案】Moby Dick【解析】这三个人是《莫比·狄克》里的捕鲸手。
4.The way in which_____wrote The Scarlet Letter suggests that American Romanticism adapted itself to American puritan moralism.【答案】Nathaniel Hawthorne【解析】纳撒尼尔·霍桑的小说《红字》暗示了美国浪漫主义遵循美国清教伦理道德。
5.Hester Prynne is the heroine in Hawthorne’s novel_____.【答案】The Scarlet Letter【解析】海斯特·白兰是霍桑小说《红字》中的女主人公。
外研社美国文学史及选读(第三版)(第二册)教学课件0 Part V-Introduction
Waste Land, the most significant American poem of the 20th century, helped to establish a modern tradition of literature rich with learning and allusive thought.
ICnhatprtoerd3uction
American society. Early in the century Ezra Pound and T. S. Eliot published works that would change the nature of American poetry, but their impact (and that of other modernist writers) on the general reading public was slight. The genteel tradition and popular romanticism still dominated the nation’s literary tastes.
美国文学简史考研重点笔记整理常耀信
美国文学简史考研重点笔记整理常耀信A Concise History of American LiteratureWhat is literature?Literature is language artistically used to achieve identifiable literary qualities and to convey meaningful messages.Chapter 1 Colonial PeriodI.Background: Puritanism1.features of Puritanism(1)Predestination: God decided everything before things occurred.(2)Original sin: Human beings were born to be evil, and this original sincan be passed down from generation to generation.(3)Total depravity(4)Limited atonement: Only the “elect” can be saved.2.Influence(1) A group of good qualities –hard work, thrift, piety, sobriety (seriousand thoughtful) influenced American literature.(2)It led to the everlasting myth. All literature is based on a myth –garden of Eden.(3)Symbolism: the American puritan’s metaphorical mode of perceptionwas chiefly instrumental in calling into being a literary symbolism whichis distinctly American.(4)With regard to their writing, the style is fresh, simple and direct; therhetoric is plain and honest, not without a touch of nobility oftentraceable to the direct influence of the Bible.II.Overview of the literature1.types of writingdiaries, histories, journals, letters, travel books, autobiographies/biographies,sermons2.writers of colonial period(1)Anne Bradstreet(2)Edward Taylor(3)Roger Williams(4)John Woolman(5)Thomas Paine(6)Philip FreneauIII.Jonathan Edwards1.life2.works(1)The Freedom of the Will(2)The Great Doctrine of Original Sin Defended(3)The Nature of True Virtue3.ideas – pioneer of transcendentalism(1)The spirit of revivalism(2)Regeneration of man(3)God’s presence(4)Puritan idealismIV.Benjamin Franklin1.life2.works(1)Poor Richard’s Almanac(2)Autobiography3.contribution(1)He helped found the Pennsylvania Hospital and the AmericanPhilosophical Society.(2)He was called “the new Prometheus who had stolen fire (electricity inthis case) from heaven”.(3)Everything seems to meet in this one man –“Jack of all trades”.Herman Melville thus described him “master of ea ch and mastered bynone”.Chapter 2 American RomanticismSection 1 Early Romantic PeriodWhat is Romanticism?●An approach from ancient Greek: Plato● A literary trend: 18c in Britain (1798~1832)●Schlegel Bros.I.Preview: Characteristics of romanticism1.subjectivity(1)feeling and emotions, finding truth(2)emphasis on imagination(3)emphasis on individualism –personal freedom, no hero worship,natural goodness of human beings2.back to medieval, esp medieval folk literature(1)unrestrained by classical rules(2)full of imagination(3)colloquial language(4)freedom of imagination(5)genuine in feelings: answer their call for classics3.back to naturenature is “breathing living thing” (Rousseau)II.American Romanticism1.Background(1)Political background and economic development(2)Romantic movement in European countriesDerivative – foreign influence2.features(1)American romanticism was in essence the expression of “a real newexperience and contained “an alien quality” for the simple reason that“the spirit of the place” was radically new and alien.(2)There is American Puritanism as a cultural heritage to consider.American romantic authors tended more to moralize. Many Americanromantic writings intended to edify more than they entertained.(3)The “newness” of Americans as a nation is in connection withAmerican Romanticism.(4)As a logical result of the foreign and native factors at work, Americanromanticism was both imitative and independent.III.WashingtonIrving1.several names attached to Irving(1)first American writer(2)the messenger sent from the new world to the old world(3)father of American literature2.life3.works(1) A History of New York from the Beginning of the World to the End ofthe Dutch Dynasty(2)The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. (He won a measure ofinternational recognition with the publication of this.)(3)The History of the Life and V oyages of Christopher Columbus(4) A Chronicle of the Conquest of Granada(5)The Alhambra4.Literary career: two parts(1)1809~1832a.Subjects are either English or Europeanb.Conservative love for the antique(2)1832~1859: back to US5.style – beautiful(1)gentility, urbanity, pleasantness(2)avoiding moralizing – amusing and entertaining(3)enveloping stories in an atmosphere(4)vivid and true characters(5)humour – smiling while reading(6)musical languageIV.James Fenimore Cooper1.life2.works(1)Precaution (1820, his first novel, imitating Auste n’s PrideandPrejudice)(2)The Spy (his second novel and great success)(3)Leatherstocking Tales (his masterpiece, a series of five novels)The Deerslayer, The Last of the Mohicans, The Pathfinder, The Pioneer,The Prairie3.point of viewthe theme of wilderness vs. civilization, freedom vs. law, order vs. change,aristocrat vs. democrat, natural rights vs. legal rights4.style(1)highly imaginative(2)good at inventing tales(3)good at landscape description(4)conservative(5)characterization wooden and lacking in probability(6)language and use of dialect not authentic5.literary achievementsHe created a myth about the formative period of the American nation. If thehistory of the United States is, in a sense, the process of the American settlersexploring and pushing the American frontier forever westward, thenCooper’s Leatherstocking Tales effectively approximates the Americannational experience of adventure into the West. He turned the west andfrontier as a useable past and he helped to introduce western tradition toAmerican literature.Section 2 Summit of Romanticism –American TranscendentalismI.Background: four sources1.Unitarianism(1)Fatherhood of God(2)Brotherhood of men(3)Leadership of Jesus(4)Salvation by character (perfection of one’s character)(5)Continued progress of mankind(6)Divinity of mankind(7)Depravity of mankind2.Romantic IdealismCenter of the world is spirit, absolute spirit (Kant)3.Oriental mysticismCenter of the world is “oversoul”4.PuritanismEloquent expression in transcendentalismII.Appearance1836, “Nature” by EmersonIII.Features1.spirit/oversoul2.importance of individualism3.nature – symbol of spirit/Godgarment of the oversoul4.focus in intuition (irrationalism and subconsciousness)IV.Influence1.It served as an ethical guide to life for a young nation andthe idea that human can be perfected by nature. It stressed religious tolerance,called to throw off shackles of customs and traditions and go forward to thedevelopment of a new and distinctly American culture.2.It advocated idealism that was great needed in a rapidly expandedeconomy where opportunity often became opportunism, and the desire to“get on” obscured the moral necessity for rising to spiritual height.3.It helped to create the first American renaissance –one of the mostprolific period in American literature.V.Ralph Waldo Emerson1.life2.works(1)Nature(2)Two essays: The American Scholar, The Poet3.point of view(1)One major element of his philosophy is his firm belief in thetranscendence of the “oversoul”.(2)He regards nature as the purest, and the most sanctifying moralinfluence on man, and advocated a direct intuition of a spiritual andimmanent God in nature.(3)If man depends upon himself, cultivates himself anddivine in himself, he can hope to become better and even perfect. This iswhat Emerson means by “the infinitude of man”.(4)Everyone should understand that he makes himself by making hisworld, and that he makes the world by making himself.4.aesthetic ideas(1)He is a complete man, an eternal man.(2)True poetry and true art should ennoble.(3)The poet should express his thought in symbols.(4)As to theme, Emerson called upon American authors to celebrateAmerica which was to him a lone poem in itself.5.his influenceVI.Henry David Thoreau1.life2.works(1) A Week on the Concord and Merrimack River(2)Walden(3) A Plea for John Brown (an essay)3.point of view(1)He did not like the way a materialistic America was developing andwas vehemently outspoken on the point.(2)He hated the human injustice as represented by the slavery system.(3)Like Emerson, but more than him, Thoreau saw nature asa genuinerestorative, healthy influence on man’s spiritual well-being.(4)He has faith in the inner virtue and inward, spiritual grace of man.(5)He was very critical of modern civilization.(6)“Simplicity…simplify!”(7)He was sorely disgusted with “the inundations of the dirty institutionsof men’s od d-fellow society”.(8)He has calm trust in the future and his ardent belief in a newgeneration of men.Section 3 Late RomanticismI.Nathaniel Hawthorne1.life2.works(1)Two collections of short stories: Twice-told Tales, Mosses from andOld Manse(2)The Scarlet Letter(3)The House of the Seven Gables(4)The Marble Faun3.point of view(1)Evil is at the core of human life, “that blackness in Hawthorne”(2)Whenever there is sin, there is punishment. Sin or evil can be passedfrom generation to generation (causality).(3)He is of the opinion that evil educates.(4)He has disgust in science.4.aesthetic ideas(1)He took a great interest in history and antiquity. To himthese furnishthe soil on which his mind grows to fruition.(2)He was convinced that romance was the predestined form of Americannarrative. To tell the truth and satirize and yet not to offend: That waswhat Hawthorne had in mind to achieve.5.style – typical romantic writer(1)the use of symbols(2)revelation of characters’ psychology(3)the use of supernatural mixed with the actual(4)his stories are parable (parable inform) – to teach a lesson(5)use of ambiguity to keep the reader in the world of uncertainty –multiple point of viewII.Herman Melville1.life2.works(1)Typee(2)Omio(3)Mardi(4)Redburn(5)White Jacket(6)Moby Dick(7)Pierre(8)Billy Budd3.point of view(1)He never seems able to say an affirmative yes to life: His is the attitudeof “Everlasting Nay” (negative attitude towards life).(2)One of the major themes of his is alienation (far away from eachother).Other themes: loneliness, suicidal individualism (individualism causingdisaster and death), rejection and quest, confrontation of innocence andevil, doubts over the comforting 19c idea of progress4.style(1)Like Hawthorne, Melville manages to achieve the effect of ambiguitythrough employing the technique of multiple view of his narratives.(2)He tends to write periodic chapters.(3)His rich rhythmical prose and his poetic power have been profuselycommented upon and praised.(4)His works are symbolic and metaphorical.(5)He includes many non-narrative chapters of factual background ordescription of what goes on board the ship or on the route (Moby Dick) Romantic PoetsI.Walt Whitman1.life2.work: Leaves of Grass (9 editions)(1)Song of Myself(2)There Was a Child Went Forth(3)Crossing Brooklyn Ferry(4)Democratic Vistas(5)Passage to India(6)Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking3.themes –“Catalogue of American and European thought”He had been influenced by many American and European thoughts:enlightenment, idealism, transcendentalism, science, evolution ideas, westernfrontier spirits, Jefferson’s individualism, Civil War Unionism, Orientalism.Major themes in his poems (almost everything):●equality of things a nd beings●divinity of everything●immanence of God●democracy●evolution of cosmos●multiplicity of nature●self-reliant spirit●death, beauty of death●expansion of America●brotherhood and social solidarity (unity of nations in the world)●pursuit of lo ve and happiness4.style: “free verse”(1)no fixed rhyme or scheme(2)parallelism, a rhythm of thought(3)phonetic recurrence(4)the habit of using snapshots(5)the use of a certain prono un “I”(6) a looser and more open-ended syntactic structure(7)use of conventional image(8)strong tendency to use oral English(9)vocabulary –powerful, colourful, rarely used words of foreign origins,some even wrong(10)sentences – catalogue technique: long list of names, long poem lines5.influence(1)His best work has become part of the common property of Westernculture.(2)He took over Whitman’s vision of the poet-prophet and poet-teacherand recast it in a more sophisticated and Europeanized mood.(3)He has been compared to a mountain in American literary history.(4)Contemporary American poetry, whatever school or form, bearswitness to his great influence.II.Emily Dickenson1.life2.works(1)My Life Closed Twice before Its Close(2)Because I Can’t Stop for Death(3)I Heard a Fly Buzz – When I died(4)Mine – by the Right of the White Election(5)Wild Nights – Wild Nights3.themes: based on her own experiences/joys/sorrows(1)religion – doubt and belief about religious subjects(2)death and immortality(3)love – suffering and frustration caused by love(4)physical aspect of desire(5)nature – kind and cruel(6)free will and human responsibility4.style(1)poems without titles(2)severe economy of expression(3)directness, brevity(4)musical device to create cadence (rhythm)(5)capital letters – emphasis(6)short poems, mainly two stanzas(7)rhetoric techniques: personification –make some of abstract ideasvivid/doc/8e7409605.htmlparison: Whitman vs. Dickinson1.Similarities:(1)Thematically, they both extolled, in their different ways, an emergentAmerica, its expansion, its individualism and its Americanness, theirpoetry being part of “American Renaissance”.(2)Technically, they both added to the literary independence of the newnation by breaking free of the convention of the iambic pentameter andexhibiting a freedom in form unknown before: they were pioneers inAmerican poetry.2.differences:(1)Whitman seems to keep his eye on society at large; Dickinson exploresthe inner life of the individual.(2)Whereas Whitman is “national” in his outlo ok, Dickinson is“regional”.(3)Dickinson has the “catalogue technique” (direct, simple style) whichWhitman doesn’t have.Edgar Allen PoeI.LifeII.Works1.short stories(1)ratiocinative storiesa.Ms Found in a Bottleb.The Murders in the Rue Morguec.The Purloined Letter(2)Revenge, death and rebirtha.The Fall of the House of Usherb.Ligeiac.The Masque of the Red Death(3)Literary theorya.The Philosophy of Compositionb.The Poetic Principlec.Review of Hawthorne’s Twice-told TalesIII.Themes1.death –p redominant theme in Poe’s writing“Poe is not interested in anything alive. Everything in Poe’s writin gs isdead.”2.disintegration (separation) of life3.horror4.negative thoughts of scienceIV.Aesthetic ideas1.The short stories should be of brevity, totality, single effect, compressionand finality.2.The poems should be short, and the aim should be beauty, the tonemelancholy. Poems should not be of moralizing. He calls for pure poetry andstresses rhythm.V.Style – traditional, but not easy to readV I.Reputation: “the jingle man” (Emerson)VII.His influencesChapter 3 The Age of RealismI.Background: From Romanticism to Realism1.the three conflicts that reached breaking point in this period(1)industrialism vs. agrarian(2)culturely-measured east vs. newly-developed west(3)plantation gentility vs. commercial gentility2.1880’s urbanization: from free competition to monopoly capitalism3.the closing of American frontierII.Characteristics1.truthful description of life2.typical character under typical circumstance3.objective rather than idealized, close observation and investigation of life“Realistic writers are like scientists.”4.open-ending:Life is complex and cannot be fully understood. It leaves much room for readers to think by themselves.5.concerned with social and psychological problems, revealing thefrustrations of characters in an environment of sordidness and depravityIII.Three Giants in Realistic Period1.William Dean Howells –“Dean of American Realism”(1)Realistic principlesa.Reali sm is “fidelity to experience and probability of motive”.b.The aim is “talk of some ordinary traits of American life”.c.Man in his natural and unaffected dullness was the object of Howells’sfictional representation.d.Realism is by no means mere photographic pictures of externals butincludes a central concern with “motives” and psychological confli cts.e.He condemns novels of sentimentality and morbid self-sacrifice, andavoids such themes as illicit love.f.Authors should minimize plot and the artificial ordering of the sense ofsomething “desultory, unfinished, imperfect”.g.Characters should have solidity of specification and be real.h.Interpreting sympathetically the “common feelings of commonplacepeople” was best suited as a technique to e xpress the spirit of America.i.He urged writers to winnow tradition and write in keeping with currenthumanitarian ideals.j.Truth is the highest beauty, but it includes the view that morality penetrates all things.k.With regard to literary criticism, Howells felt that the literary critic should not try to impose arbitrary or subjective evaluations on books butshould follow the detached scientist in accurate description, interpretation,and classification.(2)Worksa.The Rise of Silas Laphamb. A Chance Acquaintancec. A Modern Instance(3)Features of His Worksa.Optimistic toneb.Moral development/ethics/doc/8e7409605.htmlcking of psychological depth2.Henry James(1)Life(2)Literary career: three stagesa.1865~1882: international theme●The American●Daisy Miller●The Portrait of a Ladyb.1882~1895: inter-personal relationships and some plays●Daisy Miller (play)c.1895~1900: novellas and tales dealing with childhood andadolescence,then back to international theme●The Turn of the Screw●When Maisie Knew●The Ambassadors●The Wings of the Dove●The Golden Bowl(3)Aesthetic ideasa.The aim of novel: represent life/doc/8e7409605.htmlmon, even ugly side of lifec.Social function of artd.Avoiding omniscient point of view(4)Point of viewa.Psychological analysis, forefather of stream of consciousnessb.Psychological realismc.Highly-refined language(5)Style –“stylist”/doc/8e7409605.htmlnguage: highly-refined, polished, insightful, accurateb.V ocabulary: largec.Construction: complicated, intricate3.Mark Twain (see next section)Local Colorism1860s, 1870s~1890sI.Appearance1.uneven development in economy in America2.culture: flourishing of frontier literature, humourists3.magazines appeared to let writer publish their worksII.What is “Local Colour”?Tasks of local colourists: to write or present local characters of their regions in truthful depiction distinguished from others, usually a very small part of the world.Regional literature (similar, but larger in world)●Garland, Harte – the west●Eggleston – Indiana●Mrs Stowe●Jewett – Maine●Chopin – LouisianaIII.Mark Twain – Mississippi1.life2.works(1)The Gilded Age(2)“the two advantages”(3)Life on the Mississippi(4) A Connect icut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court(5)The Man That Corrupted Hardleybug3.style(1)colloquial language, vernacular language, dialects(2)local colour(3)syntactic feature: sentences are simple, brief, sometimesungrammatical(4)humour(5)tall tales (highly exaggerated)(6)social criticism (satire on the different ugly things in society)/doc/8e7409605.htmlparison of the three “giants” of American Realism1.ThemeHowells – middle classJames – upper classTwain – lower class2.TechniqueHowells – smiling/genteel realismJames – psychological realismTwain – local colourism and colloquialismChapter 4 American NaturalismI.Background1.Darwin’s theory: “natural selection”2.Spenser’s idea: “social Darwinism”3.French Naturalism: ZoraII.Features1.environment and heredity2.scientific accuracy and a lot of details3.general tone: hopelessness, despair, gloom, ugly side of the societyIII.significanceI t prepares the way for the writing of 1920s’ “lost generation” and T. S. Eliot. IV.Theod ore Dreiser1.life2.works(1)Sister Carrie(2)The trilogy: Financier, The Titan, The Stoic(3)Jennie Gerhardt(4)American Tragedy(5)The Genius3.point of view(1)He embraced social Darwinism – survival of the fittest. He learned toregard man as merely an animal driven by greed and lust in a struggle forexistence in which only the “fittest”, the most ruthless, survive.(2)Life is predatory, a “game” of the lecherous and heartless, a junglestruggle in which man, being “a waif and an interloper in Nature”, a“wisp in the wind of social forces”, is a mere pawn in the general schemeof things, with no power whatever to assert his will.(3)No one is ethically free; everything is determined by a complex ofinternal chemisms and by the forces of social pressure.4.Sister Carrie(1)Plot(2)Analysis5.Style(1)Without good structure(2)Deficient characterization(3)Lack in imagination(4)Journalistic method(5)Techniques in paintingChapter 5 The Modern PeriodSection 1 The 1920sI.IntroductionThe 1920s is a flowering period of Amer ican literature. It is considered “the second renaissance” of American literature.The nicknames for this period:(1)Roaring 20s – comfort(2)Dollar Decade – rich(3)Jazz Age – Jazz musicII.Backgrounda)First World War –“a war to end all wars”(1)Economically: became rich from WWI. Economic boom: newinventions. Highly-consuming society.(2)Spiritually: dislocation, fragmentation.b)wide-spread contempt for law (looking down upon law)1.Freud’s theoryIII.Features of the literatureWriters: three groups(1)Participants(2)Expatriates(3)Bohemian (unconventional way of life) – on-lookersTwo areas:(1)Failure of communication of Americans(2)Failure of the American societyImagismI. BackgroundImagism was influenced by French symbolism, ancient Chinese poetry and Japanese literature “haiku”II. Development: three stages1.1908~1909: London, Hulme2.1912~1914: England -> America, Pound3.1914~1917: Amy LowellIII. What is an “image”?An image is defined by Pound as that which presents an intellectual and emotional complex in an instant of time, “a vortex or cluster of fused ideas” “endowed with energy”. Th eexact word must bring the effect of the object before the reader as it had pre sented itself to the poet’s mind at the time of writing.IV. Principles1.Direct treatment of the “thing”, whether subjective or objective;2.To use absolutely no word that does not contribute to the presentation;3.As regarding rhythm, to compose in the sequence of the musical phrase,not in the sequence of a metronome.V. Significance1.It was a rebellion against the traditional poetics which failed to reflect thenew life of the new century.2.It offered a new way of writing which was valid not only for the Imagistpoets but for modern poetry as a whole.3.The movement was a training school in which many great poets learnedtheir first lessons in the poetic art.4.It is this movement that helped to open the first pages of modern Englishand American poetry.VI. Ezra Pound1.life2.literary career3.works(1)Cathay(2)Cantos(3)Hugh Selwyn Mauberley4.point of view(1)Confident in Pound’s belief that the artist was morally and culturallythe arbiter and the “saviour” of the race, he took it upon himself to purifythe arts and became the prime mover of a few experimental movements,the aim of which was to dump the old into the dustbin and bring forthsomething new.(2)To him life was sordid personal crushing oppression, and cultureproduced nothing but “intangible bondage”.(3)Pound sees in Chinese history and the doctrine of Confucius a sourceof strength and wisdom with which to counterpoint Western gloom andconfusion.(4)He saw a chaotic world that wanted setting to rights, anda humanity,suffering from spiritual death and cosmic injustice, that needed saving.He was for the most part of his life trying to offer Confucian philosophyas the one faith which could help to save the West.5.style: very difficult to readPound’s early poems are fresh and l yrical. The Cantos can be notoriouslydifficult in some sections, but delightfully beautiful in others.Few have madeserious study of the long poem; fewer, if anyone at all, have had the courageto declare that they have conquered Pound; and many seem to agree that theCantos is a monumental failure.6.ContributionHe has helped, through theory and practice, to chart out the course of modernpoetry.7.The Cantos –“the intellectual diary since 1915”Features:(1)Language: intricate and obscure(2)Theme: complex subject matters(3)Form: no fixed framework, no central theme, no attention to poeticrulesVII. T. S. Eliot1.life2.works(1)poems●The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock●The Waste Land (epic)●Hollow Man●Ash Wednesday●Four Quarters(2)Plays●Murder in the Cathedral●Sweeney Agonistes●The Cocktail Party●The Confidential Clerk(3)Critical essays●The Sacred Wood●Essays on Style and Order●Elizabethan Essays●The Use of Poetry and The Use of Criticisms●After Strange Gods3.point of view(1)The modern society is futile and chaotic.(2)Only poets can create some order out of chaos.(3)The method to use is to compare the past and the present.4.Style(1)Fresh visual imagery, flexible tone and highly expressive rhythm(2)Difficult and disconnected images and symbols, quotations andallusions(3)Elliptical structures, strange juxtapositions, an absence of bridges5.The Waste Land: five parts(1)The Burial of the Dead(2) A Game of Chess(3)The Fire Sermon(4)Death by Water(5)What the Thunder SaidVIII. Robert Frost1.life2.point of view(1)All his life, Frost was concerned with constructions through poetry. “amomentary stay against confusion”.(2)He understands the terror and tragedy in nature, but also its beauty.(3)Unlike the English romantic poets of 19th century, he didn’t believethat man could find harmony with nature. He believed that serenity camefrom working, usually amid natural forces, which couldn’t be understood.He regarded work as “significant toil”.3.works – poemsthe first: A Boy’s W illcollections: North of Boston, Mountain Interval (mature), New Hampshire4.style/features of his poems(1)Most of his poems took New England as setting, and the subjects werechosen from daily life of ordinary people, such as “mending wall”,“picking apples”.(2)He writes most often about landscape and people – the loneliness andpoverty of isolated farmers, beauty, terror and tragedy in nature. He alsodescribes some abnormal people, e.g. “deceptively simple”,“philosophical poet”.(3)Although he was popular during 1920s, he didn’t experiment like othermodern poets. He used conventional forms, plain language, traditional。
陶洁《美国文学选读》(第3版)笔记和课后习题详解(第6单元 亨利
第6单元亨利•大卫•梭罗6.1复习笔记I.Introduction to author（作者简介）Henry David Thoreau(1917-1862)is a renowned New England Transcendentalist,essayist,philosopher and poet.亨利·大卫·梭罗（1917—1862）是著名的新英格兰超验主义者、散文家、哲学家，诗人。
1.Life（生平）Thoreau was a friend of Emerson and his junior by some fourteen years. Thoreau was born in Concord,Massachusetts.He went to Harvard at17.After graduation,he made friends with Emerson and embraced his ideas.In1845he moved in a cabin on Walden Pond and lived there in a very simple manner for a little over two years.During his stay in Walden,he went back occasionally to his village,and on one visit he was detained for a night in jail for refusing to pay a poll-tax he thought unjust.This inspired him to write his famous essay,“Civil Disobedience”.He wrote about his experience in the famous book,Walden,after he moved back to Concord.He became a major voice for nineteenth-century America,now better heard perhaps than Emerson’s.His influence goes beyond America.His status was placedin the Hall of Fame in New York in1969.梭罗是爱默生的好友，比爱默生小14岁。
常耀信美国文学讲义PPT课件
After this rough beginning, Robert went
on to become a great poet. He married Elinor White and had 2 kids. Robert never in truth had any jobs, except being a poet, but he published many poems in his lifetime. Robert won four Pultizer awards and read The Gift Outright (全心的奉献)at the inauguration of John. F. Kennedy. He died on January 29, 1963 of a heart attack. He was 88 years old.
Birches After Apple-Picking Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening The Road Not Taken
Frost's poems are
critiqued in the "Anthology of Modern American Poetry", Oxford University Press, where it is mentioned that behind a sometimes charmingly familiar and rural façade, Frost's poetry frequently presents pessimistic and menacing undertones which often are not recognized nor analyzed.
- 1、下载文档前请自行甄别文档内容的完整性，平台不提供额外的编辑、内容补充、找答案等附加服务。
- 2、"仅部分预览"的文档,不可在线预览部分如存在完整性等问题,可反馈申请退款(可完整预览的文档不适用该条件!)。
- 3、如文档侵犯您的权益，请联系客服反馈,我们会尽快为您处理(人工客服工作时间：9:00-18:30)。
"Prayer of Columbus" (1900) "Song of Myself" (1855) "Song of the Open Road" (1856) "This Dust Was Once the Man" (1871) "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd" (1865) Sections: Calamus Sea-Drift Drum-Taps
➢In 1848, he traveled south to work in the New Orleans.
➢In 1855, the first edition of his work, Leaves of Grass came out with his own money, which contained twelve poems.
➢Whitman was buried in Harleigh Cemetery(公墓) after his death on March 26,1892.
Religion
Whitman was deeply influenced by deism(自然神论). He denied anyone faith was more important than another, and embraced all religions equally.
➢ In 1836 , as a teacher in the one-room school houses of Long Island.
➢Continuing to teach until 1841 , then turning to journalism as a full-time career.
Whitman’s Life
➢ Born in May 31, 1819 into a working-class family , the second son of a carpenter.
➢ Largely self-taught , read a lot of works of Shakespeare , Homer , Dante and the Bible.
The Leaves were called “noxious weeds ,” it’s poetry “poetry of barbarism ” and “a mass of stupid filth.” 邪恶的种子，野蛮的诗歌，一滩愚蠢的污 秽物。
Whitman’s Major Works
➢In 1856, his second edition of the book released , containing thirty-three poems, a letter from Emerson praising the first edition and a long open letter by Whitman in response.
Sexuality
Whitman's sexual orientation is generally assumed to be homosexual or bisexual on the basis of his poetry, though this assumption has been disputed. His poetry depicts love and sexuality in a more earthy, individualistic way common in American culture before the medicalization of sexuality in the late 19th century.
Other works Franklin Evans (1842) Democratic Vistas (1871)
Leaves of Grass
“This is the grass that grows whatever the land is and the water is .” 哪里有土，哪里有水，哪里就长着草。
Civil War Unionism
Transcendentalism
Pantheism
German philosophy
ientalism
Main Works
"Crossing Brooklyn Ferry" (1855) "Hush'd Be the Camps To-Day" (1865) "I Sing the Body Electric" (1865) "A Noiseless Patient Spider" (1891) "O Captain! My Captain!" (1865) "One Hour to Madness and Joy" (1860) "One's Self I
Whitman and Peter Doyle, one of the men with whom Whitman was believed to have had an intimate relationship.
Science
Enlightenment
Idealism
Individualism
Leaves of Grass 《草叶集》
A collection of poems Nine editions ( 12 poems — over 400
poems )
1855, 1856, 1860, 1867, 1871, 1876(two volumes , Leaves of Grass and Two Rivulets), 1881, 1889, 1891-92(or the “Deathbed Edition”)