美国文学 诗人及作家主题与写作风格分析以及文学术语

3个重要作家Ernest HemingwayErnest Hemingway (1899-1961) is an American novelist, journalist and war correspondent. He is the leading spokesman of the “Lost Generation”, awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1954.(Thematic patterns)(1)The Lost Generation: described in “The Sun also Rises”(1926). The generation was “lost” in the sense that they were disillusioned with the war-wrecked world and spiritually alienated from a civilization and replaced by despair or a cynical hedonism.(2)The Hemingway Code Hero: described in “The Old Man and The Sea”(1952). A man can be physically destroyed but never defeated spiritually. (Life is full of tension and battles, the world is in chaos and man is always fighting desperately a losing battle. Those who survive and perhaps emerge victorious in the process of seeking to master the code with a set of principles such as honor, courage, endurance, wisdom are known as "the Hemingway code".)(3)Ice theory: The dignity of movement of an iceberg is due to only one-eighth of it being above water. Typical of this "iceberg" analogy is Hemingway's style. It means “Less is more”. (e.g: His novel “Indian Camp” has four “Icebergs” as the shadow.)Application: Hemingway’s Code Hero is embodied in “Indian Camp". It relates the story of young Nick watching his father deliver an Indian woman of a baby by caesarian section with a jack-knife and without anesthesia to relieve the pain. In this novel, Hemingway's concern about violence and death by revealing Nick's feeling of perplexity, anxiety and terror over the misery of life and death. Hemingway introduced us five medical knowledge in the novel through the father’s teaching.(Writing style)(1)Hemingway's novel are based on using short, simple and conventional words and sentences, precise imagery, and an impersonal, dramatic tone. No detail is wasted.("Less is more").(2) He is good at using “Iceberg Theory”, and colloquial style.(3) Hemingway develops the style of co1loquialism, understatement and symbolism.(4) The accents and mannerisms of human speech are well presented, so the characters are full of flesh and blood.Henry David ThoreauHenry David Thoreau (1817-1862) is an American essayist, poet and philosopher. He is the representative of the philosophical and literary school of American Transcendentalism. In 1845 he built a cabin beside the Walden Pond and lived there in a very simple manner for over two years, which gave birth to a great transcendentalistwork —Walden (1854).(Writing style)His literary style interweaves close natural observation, personal experience, pointed rhetoric, symbolic meanings, and historical lore, while displaying a poetic sensibility, philosophical austerity, and "Yankee" love of practical detail. Use precise language, long and complex paragraphs and sentences and vivid, detailed descriptions, made it lucid, simply wrought and unpretentious.(Theme)(1)For Thoreau, nature is not merely symbolic but divine in itself and human beings can receive precise communication from the natural world by way of pure senses. (2) He believed in self-culture and was eager to identify himself with the Transcendental image of the self-reliant man. he thinks, the most important thing for men to do with their lives is to be self- sufficient.(3)He emphasized individual conscience and even considered the society fetters of the freedom of individuals.Walden is a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, it emphasizes the importance of self-reliance, solitude, contemplation, and closeness to nature in transcending the "desperate" existence. Mainly expresses a critique of consumerism and capitalism. He does not perceive nature as a dead and passive object of conquest and exploitation.Walt WhitmanWhitman (1819-1892) is an American poet, essayist, journalist and humanist. He was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, and was also called “the father of verse”.(Writing style)(1) Whitman's poetic style is marked by the use of the poetic "I".(2) Whitman is also radically innovative in terms of the form of his poetry, such as adopted "free verse".(3)Whitman is conversational and casual, in the fluid, expansive, and unstructured style of talking. Using Parallelism and phonetic at the beginning of the lines.(4) His vocabulary is amazing, he is good at using powerful, colorful words and oral English.(Theme)His poetry is filled with optimistic expectation and enthusiasm about new things and new epoch.(1) He shows concern for the whole hard-working people and the burgeoning life of cities.(2) He advocates the realization of the individua1 value. Most of the poems in “Leaves of Grass” sing of the "en-mass" and the self as well.(3)Pursuit of love and happiness is approved of repeatedly and affectionately in his lines.(4) Some of Whitman's poems are politically committed.His major work “Leaves of Grass” commands great attention because of its uniquely poetic embodiment of American democratic ideals. He is the poet of the common people and the prophet and singer of democracy.In this poetry collection,(1)Openness, freedom, and individualism are all concerned.(2)It brings the hard-working farmers and laborers into American literature, attack the slavery system and racial discrimination.(3)It extols nature, democracy, labor and creation, and sings of man's dignity and equality, and of the brightest future of mankind . Most of the poems in “Leaves of Grass” sing of the "en-mass" and the self as well.The work was to express some new poetical feelings and to initiate a poetic tradition and he believed that poetry could play a vita1 part in the process of creating a new nation.文学术语1.Transcendentalism 超验主义Transcendentalism is also called “New England Transcendentalism”. As a philosophical and literary moment, It flourished from 1810 to 1836 around Concord, Massachusetts. It was represented by Walt Whitman, Herman Melville, and Nathaniel Hawthorne. It has five characteristics: individualism, self-reliance, returning to nature, intuition and national consciousness.2.Prose Epic 散文史诗It is a long narrative poem telling of heroic deeds of reflecting the values of the society from which it originated. The novel Moby-Dick by Herman Melville is regarded as the Great American Novel.3.Free Verse自由体It is poetry without a fixed beat or regular rhyme scheme. It was invented by Walt Whitman and popular used in “Leaves of Grass.”4.Hemingway Code Hero 海明威式的硬汉It refers to some protagonists in Hemingway's works. In his novels, life is full of tension and battles. The world is in chaos and man is always fighting desperately a losing battle. Those who survive and perhaps emerge victorious in the process of seeking to master the code with a set of principles such as honor, courage, endurance, wisdom, discipline and dignity are known as "the Hemingway code". A man can be physically destroyed but never defeated spiritually. It is described in“ TheOld Men and the Sea.”5. Lost Generation 迷惘一代The Lost Generation was a group of rebellious youth appeared in America after the First World War. It is represented by Hemingway. It’s described in “The Sun Also Rises.”The generation was “lost” in the sense that they were disillusioned with the war-wre cked world and spiritually alienated from a civilization and replaced by despair or a c ynical hedonism.6.Iceberg theory 冰山理论The dignity of movement of an iceberg is due to only one-eighth of it being above the water. Typical of this "iceberg" analogy is Hemingway's style. Hemingway's style is actually polished and tightly contro1led, but highly suggestive and connotative. It means “less is more.”7. International theme 国际主题Henry Jame’s treatment with the c1ashes between two different cultures and the emotional and moral problems of Americans in Europe, or Europeans in America.8. Local Colorism 地方色彩Local Colorism is a unique variation of American literary realism. Local colorism concerned with the life of a small, well-defined region or province, which are marked by its customs, dialects, customs, landscape or other peculiarities. It was represented by Mark Twain, especially in Mississippi life in Mississippi river.诗歌Historical background：Emily Dickinson（1830-1886), the best-known female poet in American literature. Her poems, as well as Walt Whitman's, were considered as a part of "American renaissance"; they were regarded as pioneers of imagism. (三首诗都可以写上去的，是诗人背景)1.I Died for Beauty（Emily Dickinson）我为美而死去（艾米莉·狄金森）I died for beauty－－but was scarce 我为美而死，却还不曾Adjusted in the Tomb 在墓中安息，When one who died for Truth，was lain 一个殉真理的烈士In the adjoining Room－－就成了我的近邻He questioned softly “Why I failed?”他轻声问我“你为何而丧生？“For beauty，”I replied－－我会说：“为了美”“And I－－for Truth－－Themself are One “我为真理，真与美本是一体“We Brethren，are，”He said－－他说：“我们也是兄弟”And so，as Kinsmen，met a Night－－于是，我们像亲戚在黑夜里相逢。