美国文学史名词解释
美国文学史名词解释
1.Modernism: a general term applied retrospectively to the wide range ofexperimental and avant-garde trends in the literature and other arts of the early 20th century, including symbolism, futurism, expressionism, imagism, Dada, and surrealism, along with the innovations of related writers. Modernist literature is characterized chiefly by a rejection of 19th-century traditions. Modernist writers tended to see themselves as an avant-garde departed with bourgeois values, and disturbed their readers by adopting complex and difficult new forms and styles.Modernist writers often write with an awareness of new anthropological and psychological theories.2.Mark Twain: follow realism. pseudonym of Samuel Langhorne ClemensAmerican humorist, writer, and lecturer who won a worldwide audience for his stories of youthful adventures, especially The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876), Life on the Mississippi (1883), and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884).Writing in American colloquialism and subjects with humors and satires, Mark Twain shed great influence upon later writers such as Sherwood Anderson, Earnest Hemingway and Faulkner. Major works:3.Naturalism: American naturalism was a new and harsher realism. Americannaturalism had been shaped by the war; by the social upheavals that undermined the comforting faith of an earlier age. America’s literary naturalists dismissed the validity of comforting moral truths. They attempted to achieve extreme objectivity and frankness, presenting characters of low social and economic classes who were determined by their environment and heredity. Although naturalist literature described the world with sth brutal realism, it sometimes also aimed at bettering the world through social reform. Stephen Crane4.Local colorism: as a trend became dominant in American literature in the 1860sand early 1870s, it is defined by Hamlin garland as having such quality of texture and background that it could not have been written in any other place or by anyone else than a native stories of local colorism have a quality of circumstantial authenticity, as local colorists tried to immortalize the distinctive natural, social and linguistic features. It is characteristic of vernacular language and satirical humor. Generally speaking, the writings of local colorists are concerned with the life of a small, well-defined region or province. The characteristic setting is the isolated small town.5.Henry James: One of America’s major novelist and critics.“the historian of fineconsciences”. Style: Psychological Realism, Narrative Technique, showing vs. Telling, omniscience vs. limited omniscience and Center of consciousness. Three Stages of James’s Literary Career: International theme, Experimental stage and “Major Phase”which he returns to the international theme. Major works: The American (1877), Daisy Miller (1878), The Portrait of a Lady (1881), The Bostonians (1886), The Princess Casamassima (1886), What Maisie Knew (1897), The Turnof the Screw (1898), The Wings of the Dove (1902), The Ambassadors (1903), and The Golden Bowl (1904)6.Stephen Crane: naturalist/ Maggie, A Girl of the Streets, which is Crane’s firstnovel and the first naturalistic novel written by an American. Representative of American literary naturalism, Precursor of imagist poetry, Considered by his contemporaries the best reporter of war. Crane is also an excellent short story writer. “The Open Boat”, “The Blue Hotel” and “The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky”are his best pieces. Crane’s Artistic Features: Isolated immediate moments;Feelings that exist in immediate experience; Direct and simple syntax; Symbols ;Irony ; Detached and scientific observer’s point of view; Vivid color, animal imagery, stereotyped characters, colloquial English and straightforward narration 7.Jazz Age: Prohibition (from 1920 to 1933) banned the sale of alcoholic drinks,resulting in illicit speakeasies becoming lively venues of the "Jazz Age. Jazz started to get a reputation as being immoral and many members of the older generations saw it as threatening the old values in culture and promoting the new decadent values of the decade8.The Lost Generation:The term “Lost Generation” was first used by Gertrude Stein (1874-1946), one of the leaders of this group. It included the young English and American expatriates as well as men and women caught in the war and cut off from the old values and yet unable to come to terms with the new era when civilization had go ne mad.It means this generation had lost the beautiful sense of the calm idyllic past. Stein’s comment suggests the ambiguous and pointless lives of expatriates as they aimlessly wandered about the Continent, drinking, making love, traveling from place to place and from party to party. These activities seem to justify their search for new meanings to replace the old ones. Yet in fact, being cut off from their past, disillusioned in reality, and without a meaningful future to fall on, they were lost in disillusionment and existential voids. They indulged in hedonism in order to make their life less unbearable.9.Iceberg theory: If a writer of prose knows enough about what he is writing abouthe may omit things that he knows and the reader, if the writer is writing truly enough, will have a feeling of those things as strongly as though the writer had stated them. The dignity of movement of an iceberg is due to only one-eighth of it being above water.”(His writing is minimalist and sparse, with few adverbs or adjectives. He includes only essential information, often omitting background information, transitions, and dialogue tags such as “he said” or “she said. He often uses pronouns without clear antecedents.10.The Roaring Twenties is a phrase used to describe the 1920s, principally in NorthAmerica, but also in London, Berlin and Paris for a period of sustained economic prosperity. The phrase was meant to emphasize the period's social, artistic, and cultural dynamism. "Normalcy" returned to politics in the wake o f World War I, jazz music blossomed, the flapper redefined modern womanhood, Art Deco peaked, and finally the Wall Street Crash of 1929 served to punctuate the end of the era, as the Great Depression set in. The era was further distinguished by several inventions and discoveries of far-reaching importance, unprecedented industrial growth, accelerated consumer demand and aspirations, and significant changes in lifestyle and culture.。
美国文学史名词解释
1.A m e r i c a n P u r i t a n i s m清教2.It comes from the American puritans, who were the first immigrants moved to American continent in the 17th century. Original sin, predestination（预言）and salvation（拯救）were the basic ideas of American Puritanism. And, hard-working, piousness（虔诚,尽职），thrift a n d s o b r i e t y（清醒）w e r e p r a i s e d. Characteristics: 特点1. Idealistic: Puritans pursue the purity and simplicity in worship. They focuse the glory of God, and the angry God.They believe in the doctrine of destiny, original sin, limited atonement2. Practical: Puritans come to Amrican to do business and make profits with the desire of chasing wealth and status. They have to struggle for survival under the severity of the western frontier.3 .The struggle between the spiritual and the material is the basics of the Puritan mind. On the one hand, Puritans chase the purity of the early church.On the other hand, they come to America to earn money. This contradictory will be reflected by their thoughts.4. In a word, it rests on purity, ambition, harding work, and an intense struggling for success.3.Romanticism浪漫主义: the literature term was first applied to the writers of the 18th century in Europe who broke away from the formal rules of classical writing. When it was used in American literature it referred to the writers of the middle of the 19th century who stimulated（刺激）the sentimental emotions of their readers. They wrote of the mysterious of life, love, birth and death. The Romantic writers expressed themselves freely and without restraint. They wrote all kinds of materials, poetry, essays, plays, fictions, history, works of travel, and biography.4.Transcendentalism先验说,超越论: is a philosophic and literary movement that flourished in New England, particular at Concord, asa reaction against Rationalism and Calvinism (理性主义and喀尔文主义). Mainly it stressed intuitive understanding of God, without the help of the church, and advocated independence of the mind. The representative writers are Emerson and Thoreau.5.American Realism现实主义: In American literature, the Civil War brought the Romantic Period to an end. The Age of Realism came into existence. It came as a reaction against the lie of romanticism and sentimentalism. Realism turned from an emphasis on the strange toward a faithful rendering of the ordinary, a slice of life as it is really lived. It expresses the concern for commonplace and the low, and it offers an objective rather than an idealistic view of human nature and human experience6.Local colorism乡土文学: as a trend became dominant in American literature in the 1860s and early 1870s，it is defined by Hamlin Garland as having such quality of texture and background that it could not have been written in any other place or by anyone else than a native stories of local colorism have a quality of circumstantial(详细的) authenticity(确实性), as local colorists tried to immortalize(使不朽) the distinctive natural, social and linguistic features. It is characteristic of vernacular(本国语) language and satirical(讽刺的) humor7.Naturalism自然主义: American naturalism was a new and harsher realism. American naturalism had been shaped by the war; by the social upheavals（剧变）that undermined the comforting faith of an earlier age. America’s literary naturalists dismissed the validity of comforting moral truths. They attempted to achieve extreme objectivity and frankness, presenting characters of low social and economic classes who were determined by their environment and heredity. Although naturalist literature described the world with sometimes brutal realism, it sometimes also aimed at bettering the world through social reform.8.Stream of consciousness意识流：It is one of the modern literary techniques. It is the style of writing that attempts to imitate the natural flow of a character’s thoughts, feelings, reflections, memories, and mental images as the character experiences them. It was first used in 1922 by the Irish novelist James Joyce. Those novels broke through the bounds of time and space, and depicted vividly and skillfully the unconscious activity of the mind fast changing and flowing incessantly。
美国文学史复习名词解释
I. Explain the following literary terms. 1.Romanticism The most most profound profound and comprehensive idea idea of of of romanticism romanticism is is the the the vision vision of of a a greater personal freedom for the individual. Appeals to imagination; Stress on emotion rather than reason; optimism, geniality. Subjectivity: in form and meaning. 2American transcendentalism American American transcendentalism transcendentalism was an important movement in in philosophy philosophy and literature that flourished during the early to middle years of the nineteenth century (about 1836-1860). For the transcendentalists, the soul of each individual is identical with the soul of the world and contains what the world contains. 3Realism : “nothing more and nothing less than the truthful treatment of material.” the Civil war a. verisimilitude of details derived from observation b. representative in plot, setting and character c. an objective rather than an idealized view of human experience 4. Modernism like modernism in general is a trend of thought that affirms the power of human beings to create, improve, and reshape their environment, with the aid of scientific knowledge, technology and practical experimentation, and is thus in its essence both progressive and optimistic. The general term covers many political, cultural and artistic movements rooted in the the changes changes changes in in in Western Western Western society society at at the the the end end of of the the the nineteenth nineteenth and beginning of of the the the twentieth twentieth century. American American modernism modernism modernism is is an artistic and cultural movement in in the the United States starting at at the the turn of of the the 20th 20th century century with with its its core core period period between between World World World War War I I and and World World War War II and continuing into the 21st century. II. Questions and Answers. Give brief answers to each of the following questions in English. 1.What is local color ？ an amalgam of romantic plots and realistic descriptions of things immediately observable: the dialects, customs, sights, and sounds of regional America”2. What is American Puritanism 1). Total Depravity - the concept of Original Si 2). Unconditional Election - the concept of predestination 3). Limited Atonement - Jesus died for the chosen only, not for everyone. 4). Irresistible Grace - God's grace is freely given, it cannot be earned or denied. 5). Perseverance of the "saints" - those elected by God have full power to interpret the will of God, and to live uprightly. If anyone rejects grace after feeling its power in his life, he will be going against the will of God. 3. Analyze Benjamin Franklin ’s Autobiography. themes in autobiography: Self- Improvement Mind: Self-education Body: Physical Activity Behavior: Moral Perfection Religion: The best service to God is to be good to man Benjamin Franklin and aspects of The American Dream Rags to Riches: Impotence to Importance: A Philosophy of Individualism: Freewill vs. Determinism: Hope and Optimism: The Autobiography is a record of self-examination and self-improvement. Benjamin Franklin was a spokesman for the new order of the 18th century enlightenment The Autobiography is a how-to-do-it book, a book on the art of self-improvement. (for example, Franklin ’s 13 virtues) Through telling a success story of self-reliance, the book celebrates, in fact, the fulfillment of the American dream. The Autobiography is in the pattern of Puritan simplicity, directness, and concision 4. What is Imagism? It is is a a movement of of English English and American American poets poets in in revolt revolt from from Romanticism, Romanticism, which which flourish flourish 1910-1917. The characteristic products of of the the movement are are more more easily recognized than than its its theories defined: they tend to to be be be short short ,composed ,composed of of of short short lines of of musical musical cadence cadence rather rather than than metrical metrical regularity, to avoid abstraction, and to treat the image with a hard, clear precision rather than with overt symbolic intent. As part of the modernist movement, away from the sentimentality and moralizing tone of nineteenth-century Victorian poetry, imagist poets looked to many sources to help them create a new poetic expression, aiming aiming at at at clarity clarity of of expression expression through the use use of of of precise precise visual images. III. Topic discussion. 1. Discuss Allen Poe ’s literary achievements with his works.famous American poet, short-story writer and critic father of detective story master of gothic novel forerunner of symbolism a father of detective story Poe introduced of a new form of short fiction--- the detective story. The word The word ““detective ” did not exist in English at the time that Poe was writing, but the genre has become a )fundamental mode of twentieth-century literature and film. b ) master of gothic novel Gothic novel, a genre that rose with Romanticism in Britain in the late eighteenth century, explores the dark side of human experience —death, alienation, nightmares, ghosts, and haunted landscapes. Poe brought the Gothic to America. Gothic novels originated from The Castle of Otranto, written by Horace Walpole in Britain at the end of the 18th century, which created the early classical Gothic novel mode. It leads habitually with darkness and horror. Gothic elements include horror, mystery, supernatural phenomenon, misfortune, death, haunted houses, and family curses. c Literary critic Poe is one of the few American writers who not only wrote poetry, but also wrote about how to write poetry. His critical essays on poetry include The Poetic Principle, and The Philosophy of Composition. Poe remained the most controversial and most misunderstood literary figure in the history of American literature.2. Analyze Freneau ’s The Wild Honeysuckle.野金银花Philip Freneau as Father of American Poetry as Leader of 18th Century Naturalism The following poem was published in his Poems (1786) and was virtually unread in the time when he was living. In the poem the poet expresses his keen awareness of the liveliness and transience of nature celebrating the beauty of the frail forest flower, thus showing his deep love for nature. The poem was written in six-line iambic tetrameter stanzas rhymed on ababcc pattern. The poem is said to anticipate the nineteenth-century romantic use of simple nature imagery. It is considered one of the author ’s finest nature poems. Comments on The Wild Honey Suckle 1. A flower may be the most beautiful and overlooked piece of nature. Cherish it while it lasts for by the change of each season it may dissipate only to become a desire. Perhaps Freneau knew of a beauty that only nature could describe, provoked by the insincerity of the British people. 2. Philip Freneau, in this poem, was expressing his dream of a paradise in nature, or rather, on the new continent of of America. America. His His dream dream was the originality of of the the paradise on the earth, i.e, USA. The wild honey suckle is something of freedom, tranquility, nature, and of no convention, no suppression, no traditional or anything beyond the pure nature. This poem poem is is not only a mere description of nature, but something ideal in the poet's construction of a real paradise of human beings. This paradise is of real freedom, pure nature, total independence, grand beauty. As we know, Freneau was against the British interference in the independence of the new land, and was hoping to establish a real free country of the people on the new Continent. So in my opinion, this poem was in fact the beautiful bode of a paradise in in nature(on nature(on the the earth), earth), in in very very very brief brief and true words. words. This This This paradise paradise is is independent independent without meeting any vicious interference, beautiful without catering to any viewer, tranquil but fearful of no hardships, wild in nature without any vulgar provocation. in this poem the poet expressed a keen awareness of the loveliness and transien ce of nature.he not only meditated on mortality but also celebrated nature.it im plies that life and death are inevitable law of nature, "the wild honey suckle"is philipfreneau's most widely read natureal lyric with th e theme of transience.the central image is a nativewild flower,which makes a dra stic difference from elite flower images typical of tradition english poems. the poem showed strong feelings for the natural beauty,which was the characteristic of romantic. 3. Analyze Poe ’s To Helen and translate the third stanza in your own words.The theme of this short poem is the beauty of a woman with whom Poe became acquainted when he was 14. Apparently she treated him kindly and may have urged him –or perhaps inspired him –to write poetry. Beauty, as Poe uses the word in the poem, appears to refer to the woman's soul as well as as her her her body. body. On the one one hand, hand, hand, he he he represents represents her her as as as Helen Helen Helen of of of Troy Troy –the quintessence of of physical physical beauty –at at the the the beginning beginning of of the the poem. poem. On On the other, he he represents represents her her as as as Psyche Psyche –the quintessence of soulful beauty –at the end of the poem. In Greek, psyche means soul. It was first published in 1831 collection Poems of Poe then reprinted in 1836 in the Southern Literary Messenger. Poe revised the poem in 1845, making several improvements, most notably changing "the beauty of fair Greece, and the grandeur of old Rome" to "the glory that was Greece and the grandeur that was Rome." These improved lines are the most well-known lines of the poem. Imagery and Summary of the Poem Poe opens opens the the poem with with a a simile –“Helen, thy beauty is to to me me / / Like Like those Nic éan barks barks of of of yore yore ”–that compares compares the the beauty of of Helen Helen Helen (Mrs. (Mrs. Stanard) with small sailing boats (barks) that carried home travelers in ancient times. He extends this boat imagery into the second stanza, when he says Helen brought him home to the shores of the greatest civilizations of antiquity, classical Greece Greece and and Rome. It may well have have been been been that that Mrs. Mrs. Stanard Stanard ’s s beauty beauty and other admirable qualities, as well as her taking notice of Poe ’s writing ability, helped inspire him to write poetry that mimicked in some ways the classical tradition of Greece and Rome. Certainly the poem ’s s allusions allusions to to mythology mythology and the the classical classical age age suggest suggest that he he had had a grounding in, and a fondness for, ancient history and literature. In the final stanza of the poem, Poe imagines that Mrs. Stanard (Helen) is standing before him in a recess or alcove in front of a window. window. She She She is is holding an agate lamp, lamp, as as as the the the beautiful beautiful Psyche Psyche did did did when when she she discovered discovered the identity of Eros (Cupid). in the first stanza,helen's beauty is soothing.it provides security and safety.perhaps the reader is expected to associate marlowe's famousline:was this the face that launched a thousand ships? to helen's beauty,for her beauty is as hypnotic for the speaker as the ships that transported another wanderer-Ulysses-home from Troy. throughout the poem,Poe uses allusions to classical names and places,as well as certain kinds of images to create the impression of a far-off idealized,unreal w oman,like a Greek statue.words that support the image of an ideal woman are "hy acinth"and"classic""Naiad airs"and"statued like.helen stands,not like a real woman,bu t like a saint in a "windows-niche.she becomes a symbol both of beauty and of frustration,a romantically idealized,yet inaccessible image of the heart's desire. it's believed that few american poets can surpass Poe's ability in the use of english as a medium of pure musical and rhythmic beauty.Poe made good use of rhythm is not regular,which shows the poet was excited,the poem is a haunting melody done with extreme artistry of alliteration as in "weary"and"way-worn",assonanc e as in "wont to roam"and masculine end rhyme,for example,with"me"rhythm with "se a",the rhyme scheme is ababb,cdcec,fggfg.in the poem words containing vowels or diphthongs were used to bring about the slow rhythm which reveals the speaker's admiration and deep regret and suggest a theme that beauty is soothing yet inaccessible.in light of analysis above,the general tone of the poem is passionate a nd regretful. 4. Discuss Mark Twain Discuss Mark Twain’’s art of fiction: the setting, the language, and the characters, etc., based on his novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Huckleberry Finn (1884) was first considered adult fiction. Huck Finn, which painted a picture of of Mississippi Mississippi frontier life, was intended as as a a sequel to to Tom Tom Sawyer. Huck, Huck, who who could could not not not possibly possibly write a story, tells us the story. Twain wrote a novel that embodies the search for freedom. He wrote during the post-Civil War period when there was an intense white reaction against blacks. According to some critics,[who?] Twain took aim squarely against racial prejudice, increasing segregation, lynchings, and the generally accepted belief that blacks were sub-human. He "made it clear that Jim was good, deeply loving, human, and anxious for freedom."[12] However, others have criticized the novel as racist, citing the use of the word "nigger" and Jim's Sambo-like character.[2][3] Throughout the story, Huck is in moral conflict with the received values of the society in which he he lives, lives, and while he he is is unable to to consciously consciously refute those values even even in in in his his thoughts, he he makes makes a moral moral choice choice based based on on his own valuation of of Jim's Jim's friendship and human worth, a decision in in direct direct opposition to the things he has been taught. Mark Twain in his lecture notes proposes that "a sound heart is a surer guide than an ill-trained conscience," and goes on to describe the novel as "...a book of mine where a sound heart and a deformed conscience come into collision and conscience suffers defeat."[13]5. Discuss James Cooper ’s literary contributions. Contributions of Cooper The creation of the famous Leather stocking saga has cemented his position as our first great national novelist and his influence pervades American literature. In his thirty-two years (1820-1851) of authorship, Cooper produced twenty-nine other long works of fiction and fifteen books - enough to fill forty-eight volumes in the new definitive edition of his Works. Among his achievements: 1. The first successful American historical romance in the vein of Sir Walter Scott (The Spy, 1821). 2. The first sea novel (The Pilot, 1824). 3. The first attempt at a fully researched historical novel (Lionel Lincoln, 1825). 4. The first full-scale History of the Navy of the United States of America (1839). 5. The first American international novel of manners (Homeward Bound and Home as Found, 1838). 6. 6. The The first trilogy in in American American American fiction fiction (Satanstoe, 1845; 1845; The The Chainbearer, 1845; 1845; and and The Redskins, 1846). 7. The first and only five-volume epic romance to carry its mythic hero - Natty Bumppo - from youth to old age. James Fenimore Fenimore Cooper Cooper was one of of the the the first first novelists to to enjoy enjoy enjoy great great fame as a result of of his his his literary literary career and although some may argue argue that that this is is because because because the the the subject subject matter was entertaining (rather than than instructive instructive or or socially socially conscious, for for example) example) example) the the the fact fact remains remains that that he was able able to to to introduce introduce Americans to their own frontier . A writer in the style of romanticism, James Fenimore Cooper was enamored with with tales tales of of the the the outdoors outdoors and encounters with with strange strange and often hostile people people or or or forces. forces. This material was well-received and because of his literary success James Fenimore Cooper was able to produce his large body of works throughout his lifetime. 6. Analyze Whitman Analyze Whitman’’s One s One’’s Self I Sing. Analysis of One ’s Self I Sing In In 1855 1855 he he published published Leaves Leaves of of of Grass Grass Grass by by by himself himself at at his his own expense. His His intention intention was to to create create a truly American poem, one "proportionate to our continent, with its powerful races of men, its tremendous historic events, its great oceans, its mountains, and its illimitable prairies." In fact, his his poem poem g oes goes goes beyond beyond beyond American American American subject subject to to deal deal deal with with with the the the universal universal themes themes of of of nature, nature, fertility, and mortality. "One "One’’s-Self I sing, a simple separate person," run the opening lines of Leaves of Grass from 1871 on, "Yet utter the word Democratic." A poetic universe of productive tension is hinted by that "Yet"; the tense equipoise between individualism and democracy, this poem suggests, is the foundational theme of Whitman’s book. The poem then goes on to introduce the site and symbol for this reconciliation of of individual individual to to mass: mass: mass: the the body, "physiology from from top top top to to to toe." toe." We receive individual identity through our body, . . . yet at the same time, physicality, and especially physical affection, are universal, binding us together in common humanity. Much of the boldly progressive politics of Whitman ’s poetry will follow from this emphasis on the body; thus his introduction of the theme of "physiology" is followed by his (then quite radical) insistence on the political equality of male and female. In In Whitman Whitman Whitman’’s s ““One ’s Self I I Sing Sing ”, , the the the theme theme theme of of of the the the poem, poem, namely namely the the the celebration celebration of of both both both oneself oneself and the whole human beings, is realized at various levels. In this renowned short poem, Whitman trumpets the individualism that underlies American democracy and society, interpreting the politics of democracy into terms of everyday life. The poem is also presented as a drama of democratic identity in which the poet seeks to balance and reconcile major conflicts in the body politic of America: the conflict between "separate person" and "en masse," individualism and equality, liberty and union, female and male, or even alluding to the conflict with the South and the North, the farm and the city, labor and capital, black and white, religion and science. In In Whitman Whitman Whitman’’s s ““One ’s Self I I Sing Sing ”, , the the the theme theme theme of of of the the the poem, poem, namely namely the the the celebration celebration of of both both both oneself oneself and the whole human beings, is realized at various levels. In this renowned short poem, Whitman trumpets the individualism that underlies American democracy and society, interpreting the politics of democracy into terms of everyday life. The poem is also presented as a drama of democratic identity in which the poet seeks to balance and reconcile major conflicts in the body politic of America: the conflict between "separate person" and "en masse," individualism and equality, liberty and union, female and male, or even alluding to the conflict with the South and the North, the farm and the city, labor and capital, black and white, religion and science. 。
美国文学史名词解释
Puritanism：American Puritanism was the practice and belief of Puritans who were a group ofserious and religious people ,and carried a code of value and a philosophy of life. To them, religionwas the most important thing. They accepted the doctrine of predestination, original sin, totaldepravity and limited atonement for God’s grace. They also believed in hard working, piety andsobriety. In a word, American Puritanism exerted great influences upon American thought andliterature.1. American Puritanismit comes from the American puritans, who were the first immigrants moved to American continent in the 17th century. Original sin, predestination（预言）and salvation（拯救）were the basic ideas of American Puritanism. And, hard-working, piousness（虔诚,尽职），thrift and sobriety（清醒）were praised.2. Transcendentalism (先验说,超越论): is a philosophic and literary movement that flourished in NewEngland, particular at Concord, as a reaction against Rationalism and Calvinism (理性主义and喀尔文主义). Mainly it stressed intuitive understanding of God, without the help of the church, and advocated independence of the mind. The representative writers are Emerson and Thoreau.3. American Realism: In American literature, the Civil War brought the Romantic Period to an end.The Age of Realism came into existence. It came as a reaction against the lie of romanticism and sentimentalism. Realism turned from an emphasis on the strange toward a faithful rendering of the ordinary, a slice of life as it is really lived. It expresses the concern for commonplace and the low, and it offers an objective rather than an idealistic view of human nature and human experience 4. Naturalism: American naturalism was a new and harsher realism. American naturalism had beenshaped by the war; by the social upheavals（剧变）that undermined the comforting faith of an earlier age. America’s literary naturalists dismissed the validity of comforting moral truths. They attempted to achieve extreme objectivity and frankness, presenting characters of low social and economic classes who were determined by their environment and heredity. Although naturalist literature described the world with sometimes brutal realism, it sometimes also aimed at bettering the world through social reform.5. Imagism（意象派）: It’s a poetic movement of England and the U.S. flourished from 1909 to1917.The movement insists on the creation of images in poetry by “the direct treatment of the thing” and the economy of wording. The leaders of this movement were Ezra Pound and Amy Lowell.6. The Lost generation：it refers to a group of young intellectuals （知识分子）who came back fromwar，were injured （受伤害）both physically （身体上）and mentally （精神上）. They lived by indulging （放任）themselves in the Bohemian （波西米亚）way of life. Their American dream was disillusioned （破灭了）. The best representative of the lost generation was Ernest Hemingway.7. Local colorism: as a trend became dominant in American literature in the 1860s and early 1870s，it is defined by Hamlin Garland as having such quality of texture and background that it could nothave been written in any other place or by anyone else than a native stories of local colorism havea quality of circumstantial(详细的) authenticity(确实性), as local colorists tried to immortalize(使不朽) the distinctive natural, social and linguistic features. It is characteristic of vernacular(本国语) language and satirical(讽刺的) humor8.Code hero: The Hemingway hero is an average man of decidedly masculine tastes, sensitive and intelligent,a man of action, and one of few words. That is an individualist keeping emotions under control, stoic andself-disciplined in a dreadful place. These people are usually spiritual strong, people of certain skills, and most of them encounter death many times. The heroes in his book are all have something in common which Hemingway values: they have seen the cold world and for one cause or another, they boldly and courageously face the reality; whatever the result is, they are ready to live with grace under pressure. The Hemingway code hero has an indestructible spirit for his optimistic view of life, though he is pessimistic that is Hemingway.9 Iceberg Theory : It is a term used to describe the writing style of American writer ErnestHemingway. The meaning of a piece is not immediately evident, because the crux of the story liesbelow the surface, just as most of the mass of a real iceberg similarly lies beneath the surface.2/Compare Whitman and Dickson’s poetry in terms of content and technique?1. Similarities:(1) Thematically, they both extolled, in their different ways, an emergent America, its expansion, its in dividualism and its Americanness, their poetry being part of “American Renaissance”.(2) Technically, they both added to the literary independence of the new nation by breaking free of the convention of the iambic pentameter and exhibiting a freedom in form unknown before: they were pioneers in American poetry.(newness pioneers)2. differences:(1) Whitman seems to keep his eye on society at large; Dickinson explores the inner life of the individual.(2) Whereas Whitman is “national” in his outlook, Dickinson is “regional”.(3) Dickinson has the “catalogue technique” (concise, direct, simple style and diction) which Whitman doesn’t have (endless—all—inclusive catalogue sentences).。
美国文学史名词解释
1、the Lost GenerationIn general, the post-World War I generation, but specifically a group of U.S. writers who cameof age during the war and established their literary reputations in the 1920s. The term stems froma remark made by Gertrude Stein to Ernest Hemingway, “You a re all a lost generation.” Hemingway used it as an epigraph to The Sun Also Rises(1926). The generation was “lost” in the sense that its inherited values were no longer relevant in the postwar world and because of itsspiritual alienation from a U.S. that, basking under President Harding's “back to normalcy” policy, seemed to its members to be hopelessly provincial, materialistic, and emotionally barren.The term embraces Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Dos Passos, e.e. cummings and manyother writers who made Paris the centre of their literary activities in the '20s. They were never aliterary school. In the 1930s, as these writers turned in different directions, their works lost thedistinctive stamp of the postwar period. The last representative works of the era were Fitzgerald'sTenderLost generationThe lost generation is a term first used by Stein to describe the post-war I generation ofAmerican writers: men and women haunted by a sense of betrayal and emptiness brought aboutby the destructiveness of the war.2>full of youthful idealism, these individuals sought themeaning of life, drank excessively, had love affairs and created some of the finest Americanliterature to date.3>the three best-known representatives of lost generation are F.Scott Fitzgerald, Hemingway and John dos Passos.Lost generationThe Lost Generation is a group of expatriate American writers residing primarily in Paris duringthe 1920s and 1930s. The group was given its name by the American writer Gertrude Stein, whoto refer to expatriate Americans bitter about their World War Iused “a lost generation” experiences a nd disillusioned with American society. Hemingway later used the phrase as anepigraph for his novel The Sun Also Rises. It consisted of many influential American writers,including Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, William Carlos Williams and Archibald MacLeish.2、Iceberg TheoryIt is a term used to describe the writing style of American writer Ernest Hemingway. Themeaning of a piece is not immediately evident, because t he crux of the story lies below thesurface, just as most of the mass of a real iceberg similarly lies beneath the surface.Iceberg Theorys that the writer include in the text only a smallErnest Hemingway’s “iceberg theory” suggestportion of what he knows, leaving about ninety percent of the content a mystery that growsbeneath the surface of the writing. If a writer of prose knows enough about what he is writingabout he may omit things that will have a feeling of those things as strongly as though the writerhad stated them. The dignity of movement of an iceberg is due to only one-eighth of it beingabove water. A good writer does not need to reveal every detail of a character or actionThere is seven-eighths of it under water for every part that shows. Anything you know you can（PPT）eliminate and it only strengthens your iceberg. It is the part that doesn’t show. (193 3、Code heroThe Hemingway hero is an average man of decidedly masculine tastes, sensitive and intelligent,a man of action, and one of few words. That is an individualist keeping emotions under control,stoic and self-disciplined in a dreadful place. These people are usually spiritual strong, people ofcertain skills, and most of them encounter death many times. The heroes in his book are all have something in common which Hemingway values: they have seen the cold world and for onecause or another, they boldly and courageously face the reality; whatever the result is, they areready to live with grace under pressure. The Hemingway code hero has an indestructible spiritfor his optimistic view of life, though he is pessimistic that is Hemingway.4、Stream?of?consciousness?The?continuous?flow?of?sense-perceptions,?thoughts,?feelings,?and?memories?in?the?human? mind:?or?a?literary?method?of?representing?such?a?blending?of?mental?processes?infictional? characters,?usually?in?an?unpunctuated?or?disjoint?form?of?interior?monologue.注：sense-perceptions：认知，观念?blending：混合物?unpunctuated:未加标点的?Disjoint：脱节5、ImagismA poetic movement of England and the U.S. that flourished from 1909 to 1917. The movementinsists on the creation of images in poetry by “the direct treatment of the thing”of wording. “poetic techniques to record exactly the momentary impressions”The lead movement were Ezra Pound and Amy Lowell.Three main principles of the Imagist Movement (1912) :[1] direct treatment of poetic subjects[2] elimination of merely ornamental or superfluous words, to use no word that does notcontribute to the presentation.[3] rhythmical composition in the sequence of the musical phrase rather than in the sequence of a metronome.etro is a well-known poem.[4]pound’s In a Station of the MMajor features:--- it was one of the most essential technique of writing poetry in modern period.--- with a spirit of revolt against conventions, imagism was anti—romantic and anti-victorian--- In a sense, imagism was equivalent to naturalism in fiction--- it produced free verse without imposing a rhythmical pattern.--- Imagism tried to record objective observations of an object or a situation without interpretation or comment by the poet.--- it produced free verse without imposing a rhythmical pattern.--- Imagism tried to record objective observations of an object or a situation without interpretation or comment by the poet.The most outstanding figures:Ezra Pound Amy Lowell Hilda DoolittleThe form of free verse (Ezra Loomis Pound)影响its influence1)the imagist theories call for brief language, describing the precise picture in as few words aspossible. This new way of poetry composition has a lasting influence in the 20th century poetry.2)the second lasting influence of Imagism is the form of free verse. There are no metrical rules.There are apparent indiscriminate line breaks, which reflects the discontinuity of life itself. Thatis art of the poem. The poet uses the length of the lines and the strange groupings of words toshow how life itself can be broken up into somehow meaningless clusters6、ModernismModern writing is marked by a strong and conscious break with traditional forms and techniques of expression; it believes that we create the world in the act of perceiving it. Modernism implies historical discontinuity, a sense of alienation, of loss, and of despair. It elevates the individual and his inner being over social man and prefers the unconscious to the self-conscious. Modernism（来自老师的PPT)A general term applied retrospectively to the wide range of experimental and avant-garde trends in the literature and other arts of the early 20th century, including Symbolism, Futurism, Expressionism, Imagism, Vorticism, Dada, and Surrealism, along with the innovations of unaffiliated writers.7、The Harlem RenaissanceThe Harlem Renaissance, a flowering of literature (and to a lesser extent other arts) in New York City during the 1920s and 1930s, has long been considered by many to be the high point in African American writing. It probably had its foundation in the works of W.E. B. Du Bois who believed that an educated Black elite should lead Blacks to liberation. He further believed thathis people could not achieve social equality by emulating white ideals; that equality could be achieved only by teaching Black racial pride with an emphasis on an African cultural heritage. Although the Renaissance w as not a school, nor did the writers associated with it share a common purpose, nevertheless they had a common bond: they dealt with Black life from a Black perspective. Among the major writers who are usually viewed as part of the Harlem Renaissance are Claude McKay, Countee Cullen, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Rudolph Fisher, James Weldon Johnson, and Jean Toomer.Harlem Renaissance主要作品：The Weary Blues, The Dream keeper and Other Poems, Fine Clothes to the Jew8、Postmodernism(F rom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)Postmodernism is a term which describes the postmodernist movement in the arts, its set of cultural tendencies and associated cultural movements. It is in general the era that follows Modernism.It frequently serves as an ambiguous overarching term forskeptical interpretations of culture, literature, art, philosophy, economics, architecture, fiction, and literary criticism. It is often associated with deconstruction and post-structuralism because its usage as a term g ained significant popularity at the same time as twentieth-century post-structural thought.后现代主义是一个术语，它描述了后现代主义运动在艺术，文化倾向和相关的文化运动。
美国文学史术语解释
美国⽂学史术语解释Stream of consciousness（意识流）：It is one of the modern literary techniques. It is the style of writing that attempts to imitate the natural flow of a character’s thoughts, feelings, reflections, memories, and mental images as the character experiences them. It was first used in 1922 by the Irish novelist James Joyce. Those novels broke through the bounds of time and space, and depicted vividly and skillfully the unconscious activity of the mind fast changing and flowing incessantly Imagism（意象派）: It?s a poetic movement of England and the U.S. flourished from 1909 to 1917.The movement insists on the creation of images in poetry by “the direct treatment of the thing”and the economy of wording. The leaders of this movement were Ezra Pound and Amy Lowell. Modernism（现代主义）: It is term referring to the art, poetry, literature, architecture, and philosophy of Europe and America in the early twentieth-century. In general, modernism is marked by the following characteristics: (1) the desire to break away from established traditions, (2) a quest to find fresh ways to view man's position or function in the universe, (3) experiments in form and style, particularly with fragmentation--as opposed to the "organic" theories of literary unity appearing in the Romantic and Victorian periods.The Lost generation：The term Last Generation was coined by Gertrude Stein to refer to a group of American literary notables who lived in Paris from the time period which saw the end of Word War I to the beginning of the Great Depression .Significant members included Ernest Hemingway ,F.Scott Fitzgerald ,Ezra Pound ,Sherwood Anderson ,T.S .Eliot ,and Gertrude Stein herself .Hemingway likely popularized the term ,quoting Stein as epigraph to his novel ,The Sun Also Rises .More generally ,the term is being used for the young adults of Europe and America during World War I.They were“lost”because after the war many of them were disillusioned with the world in general and unwilling to move into a settled life .The Beat Generation :The Beat Generation applied to certain American artists and writers who were popular during the 1950s.Essential anarchic ,member of the beat generation rejected traditional social and artistic forms.The beats sought immediate expression in multiple ,intense experiences and beatific illumination like that of some Eastern religions .In literature they adopted rhythms of simple American speech and of jazz.Among those associated with the movement were the novelist Jack Kerouac and numerous poets as Allen Ginsberg ,and Gregory Corso ,and others,many of whom worked in and around San Francisco.Harlem Renaissance: The Harlem Renaissance was a flowering of the arts in the 1920?s and 30s.African Americans used writing, music, and art to demonstrate strong beliefs.Many of these beliefs were mphasized the necessity of black liberation, retaining black cultural pride, and not giving into white standards.Especially the awareness of the black?s identity.//Harlem became the biggest hot spot in America for any aspiring African American artist. The city came alive at night as bars and clubs burst with music and dancing.//Responding to the heady intellectual atmosphere of the time and place, writers and artists, many of whom lived in Harlem, began to produce a wide variety of fine and highly original works dealing with African-American life.//These works attracted many black readers.//HR was more than just a literary movement: it included racial consciousness, …the back to Africa? movement led by Marcus Garvey, racial integration, the exploring of music particularly jazz, spirituals and blues, painting, dramatic revues, and others. It was a huge leap for black liberation and culture.Black Humor: In literature ,is drama ,novel ,and film ,grotesque or morbid humor used toabsurdity,insensitivity,paradox ,and cruelty of modern world.Ordinary characters or situations are usually exaggerated far beyond the limits of normal satire or irony.Black humor uses devices often associated with tragedy and is sometimes equated with tragic farce .The novels of such writers as Kurt V onnegut ,Thomas Pynchon ,John Barth ,Joseph Heller ,and Philip Roth contain elements of black humor.Iceberg Principle:It is a term used to describe the writing style of American writer Ernest Hemingway. The meaning of a piece is not immediately evident, because the crux of the story lies below the surface, just as most of the mass of a real iceberg similarly lies beneath the surface. Southern Renaissanceb:1) In the 20th century, southern literature became not only distinguished but very diverse, yet it has often root its works in the south 2)By 1920s’, a literary movement known as the southern Renaissance emerged. There was a domination of southern literature for at least 4 decades in American Literature. Magic realism :It is a kind of modern fiction in which fabulous and fantastical events are included in a narrative that otherwise maintains the German fiction of the early 1950s ,but is now associated chiefly with certain leading novelties of Central and south American .The term has also been extended to works from very different cultures ,designating a tendency of the modern novel to reach beyond the confines of realism and draw upon the energies of fable ,folktale and myth while retaining a strong contemporary social relevance .Jazz age: The Jazz age describes the period from 1918-1929; the years after the end of WWI, continuing through the Roaring Twenties and ending with the rise of the Great Depression.The traditional values of the previous period saw great decline while the American stock market soared. The focus of the elements of the Jazz Age, in some contrast with the Roaring Twenties, in historical and cultural studies, are somewhat different, with a greater emphasis on all Modernism. The age takes its name from jazz, which saw a tremendous surge in popularity among many segments of society. Among the prominent concerns and trends of the period are the public embrace of technological developments (typically seen as progress)-cars, air travel and the telephone, as well as new modernist trends in social behavior, the arts, and culture.Feminism: It is the belief that women should have equal political, social, sexual, intellectual and economic rights to men. It involves various movements, theories, and philosophies, all concerned with issues of gender difference, that advocate equality for women and that campaign for women's rights and interests. Feminism has altered predominant perspectives in a wide range of areas within Western society, ranging from culture to law. Feminist activists have campaigned for women's legal rights ; for women's right to bodily integrity and autonomy, for abortion rights, and for reproductive rights ; for protection from domestic violence, sexual harassment and rape;for workplace rights, including maternity leave and equal pay; and against other forms of discriminationCode hero: The Hemingway hero is an average man of decidedly masculine tastes, sensitive and intelligent, a man of action, and one of few words. That is an individualist keeping emotions under control, stoic and self-disciplined in a dreadful place. These people are usually spiritual strong, people of certain skills, and most of them encounter death many times. The heroes in his book are all have something in common which Hemingway values: they have seen the cold world and for one cause or another, they boldly and courageously face the reality; whatever the result is, they are ready to live with grace under pressure. The Hemingway code hero has an indestructible spirit for his optimistic view of life, though he is pessimistic that is Hemingway.。
美国文学史名词解释
1.American Puritanism:The first setters who became the founding fathers of the American nation.they were a group of serious,religious people,advocating highly religious and moral principle.they carried with them to American a code of values,a philosophy of life,and a point of a view,in time,took root in the new world.Puritanism:a r eligious reform movement in the late 16th and 17th centuries that sought to “purify”the Church of England of remnants ([ˈremnənt)遗迹of the Roman Catholic “popery” that the Puritans claimed had been retained after the religious settlement reached early in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Puritans became noted in the 17th century for a spirit of moral and religious earnestness that informed their whole way of life, and they sought through church reform to make their lifestyle the pattern for the whole nation.2.Transcendentalism:it was a literary movement that flourished during the middle 19th century.it began as a rebellion against traditionally beliefs held by the english church that the god superseded the individual.it stressed intuitive understanding of god without help of church,and advocated independence of the mind.transcendentalists departed from orthodox Calvinism in that the importance and efficacy of human striving,as opposed to the bleaker puritan picture ofcomplete and inescapable depravity堕落.3.American Romanticism:an artistic and intellectual movement originating in Europe in the late 18th century and characterized by a heightened interest in nature,emphasis on individual’s emotion and imagination,departure背离from attitudes and forms of classicism,and rebellion 反抗from established rules and conventions.4.American naturalism：it is a literary movement taking place from the 1880s to 1940s that used detailed realism to suggest that social conditions, heredity, and environment had inescapable force in shaping human character. It was depicted as a literary movement that seeks to replicate a believable everyday reality, as opposed to such movements as Romanticism or Surrealism, in which subjects may receive highly symbolic, idealistic, or even supernatural treatment. Naturalism is the outgrowth of literary realism, a prominent literary movement in mid-19th-century France and elsewhere. Naturalistic writers were influenced by Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.[5.Imagism：It was a movement in early 20th-century Anglo-American poetry that favoredprecision of imagery and clear, sharp language，As a poetic style it gave Modernism its start in the early 20th century，and is considered to be the first organized Modernist literary movement in the English language.Imagism is sometimes viewed as 'a succession of creative moments' rather than any continuous or sustained period of development6.Modernism:is loosely a synonym同义词of anything contemporary,strictly,,especially in literary criticism ,which began in the late 19th century and the theory psycho-analysis as its theoretical base,they pay more attention to psychic time than chronological 编年的one.7.Realism:it came as a reaction against the lie of romanticism.realism express the concern for commonplace and low.it offer an objective rather than an idealistic view of nature and experience.。
美国文学史名词解释_综合版
美国文学史名词解释_综合版第一篇：美国文学史名词解释_综合版美国文学选读复习资料the settlement of North American continent by English started in the early 17th century.Under siege from church and crown, it sent an offshoot in the third and fourth decades of the seventeenth century to the northern English colonies in the New World—a migration that laid the foundation for the religious, intellectual, and social order of New England.Puritanism, however was not only a historically specific phenomenon coincidentwith the founding of New Zealand;it was also a way of being in the world—a style of response to lived experience—that has reverberated through American life ever since.As a culture heritage, Puritanism did have a profound influence on the early American mind.American Puritanism also had a enduring influence on American literature.American Romanticism The Romantic Period stretches from the end of the 18th century through the outbreak of the Civil War.• Romanticism was a rebellion against the objectivity of rationalism.(subjectivity)• For romantics, the feelings, intuitions and emotions were more important thanreason and common sense.• They emphasized individualism, placing the individual against the group,against authority.• The affirmed the inner life of the self, and wanted to be free to develop andexpress his own inner thoughts.New England Poets: William Cullen Bryant;Henry Wadsworth Longfellow;Writers: James Fenimaore Cooper The Spy(1821)The Leatherstocking Tales(1823—1841)The Pilot(1824)The Red Rover(1827)Washington Irving（“The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Grayon” “Bracebridge Hall”“Tales of a Traveller”“The History of the Life and Voyages of ChristopherColumbus ”）American TranscendentalismIn the realm of art and literature it meant the shattering of pseudo-classic rules and forms in favor of a spirit of freedom, the creation of works filled with the new passion for nature and common humanity and incarnating a fresh sense of the wonder, promise, and romance of life.Transcendentalism① The Transcendentalists placed emphasis on spirit, or the Oversoul, as the most important thing in the universe.② The Transcendentalists stressed the importance of the individual.To them, the individual is the most important element of Societ y.③ The Transcendentalists offered a fresh perception of nature as symbolic of the Spirit or God.Nature was not purely matter.It was alive, filled with God’s overwhelming presence.Writers Emerson’s：Nature；Self-Reliance；The American Scholar；The Over-soul；H.D.Thoreau：WaldenHenry Wadsworth LongfellowWalt Whitman：Leaves of Grass Emily Dickinson：I Died for Beauty；Because I couldnot stop for DeathWilliam Faulkner(1897-19621949 Nobel priceAs I Lay Dying(1930)Light in the August(1932)Absalom, Absalom(1936)Go Down Moses(1942)Ernest HemingwayIceberg Principle(Theory)“grace under pressure”Major Works:The Sun Also Rises 1926(Jake Barnes)A Farewell to Arms 1928(a tragic story about war and love)(Frederic Henry andCatherine Barkley)For Whom the Bell Tolls 1940(Spanish civil war)(Robert Jordan)The Old Man and the Sea 1952(Santiago)Herman Melville代表作：白鲸Moby DickOther Works are: Billy Budd,Typee, Omoo, Mardi.Nathaniel HawthorneThe Scarlet LetterMosses from an Old Manse;Twice-Told Tales;The Marble Faun;The House of theSeven GablesRealismAs a literary movement, the Age of Realism came into existence after Romanticismwith the Civil War It was a reaction against “the lie” of Romanticism andsentimentalism, and paved the way to Modernism.This literary interest in the so-called “reality” of life started a new period in theAmerican literary writing known as The Age of Realism.local colorism is a type of writing that was popular in the late 19th(1860s—1870s).The feature of local colorism are:(1)presenting a localedistinguished from the outside world;(2)describing the exoticof the picturesque;(3)glorifying the past;(4)showing things as they are;(5)influence of setting oncharacters.The well known local colorism authors were Mark Twain with his bookTom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Bret Harte’s with his TheLuck of the Roaring Camp.American naturalists accepted the more negativeinterpretation of Darwin’s evolutionary theory and used it to accout for the behaviorof those characters in literary works who were regarded as more or less complexcombinations of inherited attributes, their habits conditioned by social and economicforces.2)naturalism is evolved from realism when the author’s tone in writingbecomes less serious and less sympathetic but more ironic and more pessimistic.It isno more than a gloomy philosophical approach to reality, or to humanexistence.3>Dreiser with his Sister Carrie is a leading figure of his school.1917.The movement insists on the creation of images in poetry by “the directtreatment of the thing” and the economy of wording.“poetic techniques to recordexactly the momentary impressions”Three main principles of the Imagist Movement(1912):[1] direct treatment of poetic subjects[2] elimination of merely ornamental or superfluous words,to use no word that doesnot contribute to the presentation.[3] rhythmical composition in the sequence of the musical phrase rather than in thesequence of a metronome.4> pound’s In a Station of the Metro is a well-knownpoem.The Modern PeriodPart I The 1920s-1930s(the second renaissance of American literature)l The Roaring Twenties(economically)l The Jazz Age(socially)l“lost” and “waste land”(spiritually)There had been a big flush of new theories and new ideas in both social and naturalsciences.Darwinism(Darwin), Socialism(Karl Marx), Psychoanalysis(Sigmund Freud)The lost generation is a term first used by Stein to describe thepost-war I generation of American writers: men and women haunted by a sense ofbetrayal and emptiness brought about by the destructiveness of the war.2>full ofyouthful idealism, these individuals sought the meaning of life, drank excessively, hadlove affairs and created some of the finest American literature to date.3>the threebest-known representatives of lost generation are F.Scott Fitzgerald, Hemingway andJohn dos Passos.The Beat Generation is a group of American young writersand artists popular in the 1950s and early 1960s.the member of the beat generationwere new bohemian libertines, who engaged in a spontaneous, sometimes messy,creativity.The beat writers produced a body of written work controversial both for its advocacy of non conformity and for its non conforming style.The major writing are jack Kerouac’s on the road and Allen Ginsberg’s Howl.American DreamThe is the idea held by many in the United States that through hard work, courage and determination one could achieve prosperity.These were values held by many early European settlers, and have been passed on to subsequent generations.The term was first used by James Truslow Adams in his book The Epic of America.IMAGERY: A common term of variable meaning, imagery includes the “mental pictures” that readers experience with a passage of literature.It signifies all the sensory perceptions referred to in a poem, whether by literal description, allusion, simile, or metaphor.PuritanismAmerican Puritanism was practice and belief of Puritans.Puritans were the people who wanted to purify the Church of England and then were persecuted in England.They came to America for various reasons.But because they were a group of serious and religious people, they carried a code of value and a philosophy of life.To them, religion was the most important thing.They accepted the doctrine of predestination, original s in, total depravity and limited atonement for God’s grace.They also believed in hard working, piety and sobriety.In a word, American Puritanism exerted great influences upon American thought and literature.第二篇：美国文学史名词解释It were flourishing from the beginning of 17th to the middle period of 18th.They stressed predestination, original sin, total depravity, and limited atonement from God‟s grace.They went to America to prove that they were God‟s chosen people who would enjoy God‟s blessings on earth and in Heaven.Finally, they built a way of life that stressed hard work, thrift, piety, and sobriety.Both doctrinaire and an opportunist.Its Influence on literary were as follows:（影响）(1)American Literature is based on a myth------the Biblical myth of the Garden of Eden.(2)The American Puritan‟s metaphorical made of perception----symbolism.The representatives were Edwards(The Freedom of the Will), Franklin(On the Art of Self-improvement), Crevecoeur(Letters from an American Farmer).代表作家及代表作：Captain John SmithTrue Relation of Virginia(1608)Anne Bradstreet“To My Dear and Loving Husband”Benjamin Franklin:The Autobiography of Benjamin FranklinRomanticism was a complex artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution.Elements of Romanticism1.Frontier: vast expanse, freedom, no geographic limitations.2.Optimism: greater than in Europe because of the presence of frontier.不要这么多，我就删掉了3、4、5条。
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1、the Lost GenerationIn general, the post-World War I generation, but specifically a group of . writers who came of age during the war and established their literary reputations in the 1920s. The term stems from a remark made by Gertrude Stein to Ernest Hemingway, “You are all a lost generation.” Hemingway used it as an epigraph to The Sun Also Rises (1926). The generation was “lost” in the sense that its inherited values were no longer relevant in the postwar world and because of its spiritual alienation from a . that, basking under President Harding's “back to normalcy” policy, seemed to its members to be hopelessly provincial, materialistic, and emotionally barren. The term embraces Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Dos Passos, . cummings and many other writers who made Paris the centre of their literary activities in the '20s. They were never a literary school. In the 1930s, as these writers turned in different directions, their works lost the distinctive stamp of the postwar period. The last representative works of the era were Fitzgerald's TenderLost generationThe lost generation is a term first used by Stein to describe the post-war I generation of American writers: men and women haunted by a sense of betrayal and emptiness brought about by the destructiveness of the >full of youthful idealism, these individuals sought the meaning of life, drank excessively, had love affairs and created some of the finest American literature to >the three best-known representatives of lost generation are Fitzgerald, Hemingway and John dos Passos.Lost generationThe Lost Generation is a group of expatriate American writers residing primarily in Paris during the 1920s and 1930s. The group was given its name by the American writer Gertrude Stein, who used “a lost generation” to refer to expatriate Americans bitter about their World War I experiences and disillusioned with American society. Hemingway later used the phrase as an epigraph for his novel The Sun Also Rises. It consisted of many influential American writers, including Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, William Carlos Williams and Archibald MacLeish.2、Iceberg TheoryIt is a term used to describe the of American writer . The meaning of a piece is not immediately evident, because the crux of the story lies below the surface, just as most of the mass of a real similarly lies beneath the surface.Iceberg TheoryErnest Hemingway’s “iceberg theory” suggests that the writer include in the text only a small portion of what he knows, leaving about ninetypercent of the content a mystery that grows beneath the surface of the writing. If a writer of prose knows enough about what he is writing about he may omit things that will have a feeling of those things as strongly as though the writer had stated them. The dignity of movement of an iceberg is due to only one-eighth of it being above water. A good writer does not need to reveal every detail of a character or actionThere is seven-eighths of it under water for every part that shows. Anything you know you can eliminate and it only strengthens your iceberg. It is the part that doesn’t show. (1938)（PPT）3、Code heroThe Hemingway hero is an average man of decidedly masculine tastes, sensitive and intelligent, a man of action, and one of few words. That is an individualist keeping emotions under control, stoic andself-disciplined in a dreadful place. These people are usually spiritual strong, people of certain skills, and most of them encounter death many times. The heroes in his book are all have something in common which Hemingway values: they have seen the cold world and for one cause or another, they boldly and courageously face the reality; whatever the result is, they are ready to live with grace under pressure. The Hemingway code hero has an indestructible spirit for his optimistic view of life, though he is pessimistic that is Hemingway.4、Stream?of?consciousness?The?continuous?flow?of?sense-perceptions,?thoughts,?feelings,?and?mem ories?in?the?human?mind:?or?a?literary?method?of?representing?such?a? blending?of?mental?processes?infictional?characters,?usually?in?an?un punctuated?or?disjoint?form?of?interior?monologue.注：sense-perceptions：认知，观念?blending：混合物?unpunctuated:未加标点的?Disjoint：脱节5、ImagismA poetic movement of England and the . that flourished from 1909 to 1917. The movement insists on the creation of images in poetry by “the direct treatment of the thing”and the economy of wording. “poetic techniques to record exactly the momentary impressions”The leaders of this movement were Ezra Pound and Amy Lowell.Three main principles of the Imagist Movement (1912) :[1] direct treatment of poetic subjects[2] elimination of merely ornamental or superfluous words, to use no word that does not contribute to the presentation.[3] rhythmical composition in the sequence of the musical phrase rather than in the sequence of a metronome.[4]pound’s In a Station of the Me tro is a well-known poem.Major features:--- it was one of the most essential technique of writing poetry in modern period.--- with a spirit of revolt against conventions, imagism was anti—romantic and anti-victorian--- In a sense, imagism was equivalent to naturalism in fiction--- it produced free verse without imposing a rhythmical pattern.--- Imagism tried to record objective observations of an object or a situation without interpretation or comment by the poet.--- it produced free verse without imposing a rhythmical pattern.--- Imagism tried to record objective observations of an object or a situation without interpretation or comment by the poet.The most outstanding figures:Ezra Pound Amy Lowell Hilda DoolittleThe form of free verse (Ezra Loomis Pound)影响its influence1)the imagist theories call for brief language, describing the precise picture in as few words as possible. This new way of poetry composition has a lasting influence in the 20th century poetry.2)the second lasting influence of Imagism is the form of free verse. There are no metrical rules. There are apparent indiscriminate line breaks, which reflects the discontinuity of life itself. That is art of the poem. The poet uses the length of the lines and the strange groupings of words to show how life itself can be broken up into somehow meaningless clusters 6、ModernismModern writing is marked by a strong and conscious break with traditional forms and techniques of expression; it believes that we create the world in the act of perceiving it. Modernism implies historical discontinuity, a sense of alienation, of loss, and of despair. It elevates the individual and his inner being over social man and prefers the unconscious to the self-conscious.Modernism（来自老师的PPT)A general term applied retrospectively to the wide range of experimental and avant-garde trends in the literature and other arts of the early 20th century, including Symbolism, Futurism, Expressionism, Imagism, Vorticism, Dada, and Surrealism, along with the innovations of unaffiliated writers.7、The Harlem RenaissanceThe Harlem Renaissance, a flowering of literature (and to a lesser extent other arts) in New York City during the 1920s and 1930s, has long been considered by many to be the high point in African American writing. It probably had its foundation in the works of . B. Du Bois who believed that an educated Black elite should lead Blacks to liberation. He further believed that his people could not achieve social equality by emulating white ideals; that equality could be achieved only by teaching Black racial pride with an emphasis on an African cultural heritage. Although the Renaissance was not a school, nor did the writers associated with itshare a common purpose, nevertheless they had a common bond: they dealt with Black life from a Black perspective. Among the major writers who are usually viewed as part of the Harlem Renaissance are Claude McKay, Countee Cullen, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Rudolph Fisher, James Weldon Johnson, and Jean Toomer.Harlem Renaissance主要作品：The Weary Blues, The Dream keeper and Other Poems, Fine Clothes to the Jew8、Postmodernism(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) Postmodernism is a term which describes the postmodernist movement in the arts, its set of cultural tendencies and associated cultural movements. It is in general the era that follows frequently serves as an ambiguous overarching term for interpretations of , , , , , , , and . It is often associated with and because its usage as a term gained significant popularity at the same time as twentieth-century post-structural thought.后现代主义是一个术语，它描述了后现代主义运动在艺术，文化倾向和相关的文化运动。