美国文学史考试复习资料全
1
美国文学史复习（colonialism)
第一部分殖民主义时期的文学
一、时期综述
1、清教徒采用的文学体裁：a、narratives 日记b、journals 游记
2、清教徒在美国的写作内容：
1）their voyage to the new land
2) Adapting themselves to unfamiliar climates and crops 3) About deal ing with Indians
4) Guide to the new land, endless bounty, invitation to bold spirit
3、清教徒的思想：
1）
puritan want to make up pure their religious beliefs and practices 2) Wish to restore simplicity to church and the authority of the Bible to the theology.
3look upon themselves as chosen people, and it follow logically tha t anyone who challenged their way of life is opposing God's will and is not to be accepted.
4）
puritan opposition to pleasure and the arts sometimes has been exagge rated. 步5）
religious teaching tended to emphasize the image of a wrathful God.。
4、典型的清教徒：John Cotton & Roger William
他们的不同：
John Cotton was much more concerned with authority than with democrac y;
William begins the history of religious toleration in America.
5、William的宗教观点：
Toleration did not stem from a lack of religious convictions. Instead , it sprang from the idea that simply to be virtuous in conduct an d devout in belief did not give anyone the right to force belief o n others. He also felt that no political order or church system cou ld identify itself directly with Go
6、英国最早移民到美国的诗人：Anne Bradstreet
7、在殖民时期最好的清教徒诗人：
the best of Puritan poets is Edward Tayor.
学习指南：
1、Could you give a description of American Puritans? 关于美国清教徒的描绘
Like their brothers back in England, were idealists, believing that the church should be restored to the "purity" of the first·c entury church as established by Jesus Christ himself. To them religio
n was a matter of primary importance. They made it their chief busi ness to see that man lived and thought and acted in a way which t ended to the glory of God. They accepted the doctrine of predestinat ion, original sin and total depravity, and limited atonement through a special infusion of grace from God, all that John Calvin, the gre at French theologian who lived in Geneva had preached It was this kind of religious belief that they brought with them into the wild ness. There they meaant to prove that were God's chosen people enjoy ing his blessings on this earth as in Heaven.
2，，
Hard work, thrift, piety and sobriety were the Puritan values that d ominated much of the earliest American writing.
3、
The work of two writers, Anne Bradstreet & Edward Taylor, rose to t he level of real poetry.
4．The earliest settlers included Dutch, Swedes, Germans, French, Spani ards Italian, and Portuguese.
美国文学史复习2（reasoning and revolution) )
一、美国的性质：
The war for Independence ended in the formation of a Federative bourgeois democratic republic - the United States of America. 联邦的资产阶级民主共和国--美利坚合众国。
二、代表作家：
1、Benjamin Franklin 本杰明·富兰克林1706-1790
1）"Poor Richard's Almanac" 穷人查理德的年
鉴annual collection of proverbs 流行谚语
It soon became the most popular book of its kind, largely beca use of Franklin's shrewd humor, and first spread his reputation
2) Founded the Junto, a club for informal discussion of scientifi
c, economic and political ideas.
3）
established America's first circulating library, founded the college --University of Pennsylvania.
4.first applied the terms "positive" and "negative" to electrical
charges.
5)As a representative of the Colonies, he tried in vain to couns
el the British toward policies that would let America grow and f lourish in association with England. He conducted the difficulty n egotiations with France that brought financial and military support for America in the war.
6）
As an author he had power of expression, simplicity, a subtle hu mor, sarcastic.
7）The Way to Wealth 致富之道The Autobiography
2、Thomas Paine 托马斯·佩因1737-1809
"Great Common of Mankind" 最平凡的人
1）famous pamphlet "Common Sense" 著名的政治小册子《常
识》it boldly advocated a
"Declaration for Independence", and brought the separatist agitation to a crisis. 拥护独立宣言，是分裂活动发展成最后危机。
2）"American Crisis" 《美国危机》，signed "Common Sense" (p31,第一
段）
The Case of the Officers of Excise税务员问题；Common Sense常识；
American Crisis美国危机；Rights of Man人的权利：Downfall of Despotism 专制体制的崩溃；The Age of Reason理性时代
3、Thomas Jefferson 托马斯·杰弗逊
1）drafted the Declaration of Independence. 起草了独立宣言
2）与清教徒不同，主张追求幸福。
All Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creato r with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Lib erty and the Pursuit of happiness. 人人生而平等，他们都从“造物主”那边被赋予了某些不可转让的权利，其中包括生命权、自由权和追求幸福的权利。
4、Philip Freneau 菲利普·费瑞诺poet and political journalist 诗人和政治方面的新闻记者
1）perhaps the most outstanding writer of the post-
revolutionary period.
2)has been called the "Father of American Poetry" 美国诗歌之父
The Rising Glory of America蒸蒸日上的美洲；The British Prison Ship 英国囚船；To the Memory of the Brave Americans纪念美国勇士-----同类诗中最佳；The Wild Honeysuckle野生的金银花；The Indian Burying Ground 印第安人殡葬地
学习指南：
1.Theology dominated the Puritan phase of American writing. Politic
s was the next great suject to command the attention of the bes t minds.
2、
Freneau was neoclassical by training and taste ye romantic in ess ential spirit.
美国文学史复习3（Romanticisms)
一、文学特征：
1、Environment:
1)shaped by their New World environment 美洲大陆新环境
2）
array of ideas inherited from the romantic traditons of Europe 欧洲早期浪漫主义思潮
2、美国文学特点：
pluralistic多元化manifestations varied 表现形式多样Individualistic个人主义conflicting 矛盾
3、Romanticism的特点：
frequently shared certain general characteristics, moral enthusiasm, fai th in the value of individualism and intuitive perception, and a pre sumption that he natural world was a source of corruption.
4、Transcendentalism 超验主义
1,as a moral philosophy, transcendentalism was neither logical nor s ystematized. It exalted feeling over reason, individual expression ov er the restraints of law and custom.
2)they spoke for cultural rejuvenation and against the materialism o
f American society.
3）they believe in the transcendence of "over soul", an all-pervading power for goodness from which all things come and of whi ch all things are a part.
4it could exe
rcise a healthy and restorative influence on the human mind. “Go back to nature, sink yourself back into its influence and you’ll become spiritually whole again.”
5）代表人物：Emerson爱默生，
believed that man was a part of absolute good。人性本善
Thoreau 梭罗，
beheld divinity in the “unspotted innocence”of nature. 自然才是神圣的“洁白无瑕”
5、Literary forms文学形式：
Novels, short stories, and poems replaced sermons and manifestos as A merica’s principal literary forms.
6、Imaginative literature想象类文学
7、
the wilderness came to function almost as a dramatic character that illustrated moral law.戏剧化特色的野性讽喻了时代的道德准则。
8,The desire for an escape from society and a return to nature beca me a permanent convention of American literature. 逃离社会，回到自然成为了美国文学永恒的创作习惯。
9、Nationalism stimulated a greater literary interest in America’
s language. In 1828 Noah Webster published “An American Dictionary o f the English Language”. American character types speaking local dial ects appeared in poetry and fiction with increasing frequency. 受民族主义影响，作家的目光转向了美国本土的语言，具有美国特征的本土方言开始在诗歌和小
说中大量涌现。
10,At midcentury a cultural reawakening brought a “flowering of New England.”Led by Hawthorne, Emerson, and Thoreau. New England →Tra nscendentalism, 从新英格兰文学到超验主义
二、代表作家：
1、Washington Irving华盛顿.欧文the first great belletrist 第一个纯文学作家，划线部分为三个主要contribution
①the first great prose stylist of American romanticism. 美国第一
位浪漫主义散文文体作家
②“Sketch Book”《见闻札
记》, the first modern short stories and the first great American juvenile literature.
③
Irving restored the waning Gothic romances which Poe soon infused with psychological subtleties.重振了没落的哥特式浪漫主义小说，随后坡在此基础上，把心理学的一些知识融入了这种体裁。
④“Legends of the Conquest of Spain”《西班牙征服记》
A History of New York 纽约的历史-----美国人写的第一部诙谐文学杰
作；
The Sketch Book见闻札记The Legend of Sleepy Hollow睡谷的传说-----使之成为美国第一个获得国际声誉的作家；Bracebridge Hall布雷斯布里奇田庄；
Talks of Travellers旅客谈；The Alhambra阿尔罕伯拉
2、James Fenimore Cooper 詹姆斯.芬尼莫.库珀
①
contribution: launched two kinds of immensely popular stories →t he sea adventure tale and the frontier saga 开创了两种流传极广的小说体裁，边疆传奇小说和海上传奇小说。②“Leatherstocking Tales”《皮袜子故事集》，包括“The Deerslayer”《杀鹿者》、“The Last of the Mohicans”《最后的莫希干人》、“The Pathfinder”《探路人》、“The Pioneers”《拓荒者》、
“The Prairie”《大草
原》, regard as “the nearest approach yet to an American epic.”
被认为是迄今为止美国最接近史诗的作品。
③the central figure in the novels, Natty Bumppo. 小说的中心人物，
纳蒂.班波Judge Temple: man remain savage without law and order The Spy 间谍The Pilot 领航
者The Littlepage Manuscripts 利特佩奇的手稿
3、William Cullen Bryant 威廉.卡伦.布莱恩特poet 诗人
①
as Irving had shown that American prose had cone of age, so Bry ant demonstrated to European readers that American poetry was read y to demand serious attention.当欧文预示美国散文时代的到来时，布莱恩特向欧洲读者证实了美国的诗歌达到相当高的水平。
②
He was the first American to gain the stature of a major poet.
第一个获得美国主要诗人称号的作家。
③“To a Waterfowl”《致水鸟》
the most perfect brief poem in the language. 用美国英语写作的最完美的短诗。
4、Edgar Allan Poe 埃德加.阿伦.坡
①show his true talents as an editor, poet, literary critic. 编
辑、诗人、文学评论家。
②Graham’s Magazine 格雷厄姆杂志（坡的工作场所）
③“The Fall of the House of Usher”《鄂谢府崩溃记》、“The Raven”《乌
鸦》the title poem of a collection,
“Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque”《述异集》
first collection of short stories. 第一部短篇小说集。
④often use grotesque or fantastic events.擅长描写哥特式和幻想类的小
说。
5、Ralph Waldo Emersion 拉尔夫.沃尔多.爱默生
①be responsible for bringing Transcendentalism to New England, 是
把超验主义引入新英格兰的先驱。
②Emerson believed above all in individualism个人主
义, independence of mind思想独立, and self-reliance自强.
③作品：“Nature”《论自然》、“Essays”《随笔录》、“The American Scholar”
《美国学者》, our intellectual Declaration of Independence.我们知识分子的独立宣言。
④his most important works are “Representative Men ”《代表》
and “English Traits”《英国人》、“Poems”《诗集》⑤摘自《论自然》：
Standing on the bare ground, -
my head bathed by the blithe air, and uplifted into infinite spa ce, -all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent eye-
ball. 人形的约束没有了。
6、Henry David Thoreau 亨利.戴维.梭罗
①Emerson’s truest disciple. Put into practice many of Emerson’
s theories 爱默生最忠实的信徒，把爱默生的许多理论付诸于实践。
②“In Walden”《沃尔登》成名作。“Civil Disobedience”《平民反抗》essay 随
笔。非暴力不合作
③教义：
I would not have anyone adopt my mode of living, each should fi
nd out his own way, not his neighbor’s or his parents. 我不希望人们接受我的生活模式，每一个都应该发现自己的生活方式，不是邻居的，也不是他父母的。
★7、Nathaniel Hawthorne 纳萨尼尔.霍桑
①
background: one of his ancestors was Judge Hawthorne, who harm a p erson.曾经有个做法官的祖辈害人。
②“The House of the Seven Gables”七尖角阁房，是霍桑著名神秘小说中的一个房屋名称。
美国文学史及选读试卷 (1)
美国文学史及选读试卷 Ⅰ.Each of the following statements below is followed by four alternatives. Choose the one that would best complete the statement. (60points in all, 2 for each) 1. Which of following can be said of the common features which are shared by the English and American Romanticists ? A. An increasing emphasis on the free expression of emotions. B. An increasing attention to the psychic states of their characters. C. An increasing emphasis on the desire to return to nature. D. both A and B. 2. Which of the following statements about the Romantic period in the history of American literature is NOT true? （） A. In most of the American writings of this period there was a new emphasis upon the imaginative and emotional qualities of literature. B. The writers of this period placed an increasing emphasis on the free expression of emotions and displayed an increasing attention to the psychic states of their characters. C. There was a strong tendency to exalt the individual and the common man. D. Most heroes and heroines in the writings of this period exhibited extremes of reason and nationality. 3.______ is unanimously agreed to be the summit of the American Romanticism in the history of American literature. A. New England Transcendentalism B. England Transcendentalism C. the Harlem Renaissance D. New Transcendentalism 4.Hawthorn e’s unique gift was for the creation of ______ which touch the deepest roots of man’s moral nature. A. symbolic stories B. romantic stories
美国文学史及选读自考考点
The literature of colonial America John Smith 1）The1st American writer 2）作品“reports of exploration”have been de scribed as the1st distinctly American literatur e written in English,attracted Pilgrims(朝圣者) &the Puritans. 3）1608，写了封信“A true Relation of Such O ccurance&Accidents of Note as Hath Happen ed in Virginia Since the1st planting of That c olony” 4）1612，第二本书“A map of Virginia:with a Description of the Country” 5）他一共出版了八本书，公司破产以后做了向导，he sought a post as guide to the pilgrims. 1624，“General History of Virginia”讲述How the Indian princess Pocahonats Saved him. 6）他早期记录和反映的思想慢慢演变成了美国历史的基本思想，这种思想推动了美国边疆的西移。7）早期英格兰文学主要关于theological(神学), moral(道德),historical and political.
The Puritans in New England embraced hards hips,together with the discipline of a harsh church.They had toughness,purpose and cha racter,they grappled strongly with challenges they set themselves.他们的基本价值观：hard w ork,thrift,piety and sobriety.（也是美国作品的主导思想） William Bradford&John Withrop 1）William Bradford：“The History of Plymouth Plantation”（从1630年写起，关于一群清教徒从英国出发到Amsterdam最后到新大陆的过程）Cotton Mather评价：“a common blessing and father to them all.” 2）John Withrop：“The History of New England”（1630，登上Arbella号去Massachusetts并keep a journal and to the rest of his life.1826年出版）3）Puritans -Puritans wanted to make pure their religious beliefs and practices.The Puritan was Would-be purifier. -Looked upon themselves as a choosen peol
美国文学史及选读期末复习题
1.Captain John Smith became the first American writer. 2.The puritans looked upon themselves as a chosen people. is an annual collection of proverbs written by Benjamin Franklin. 4.Thomas Paine’s famous pamphlet Common Sense boldly advocated a “Declaration for Independence”. 5.Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence with John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston.
has been called the “Father of American Poetry”. 7.In Washington I rving’s appeared the first modern short stories and the first great American juvenile literature. 8.Cooper’s enduring fame rests on his William Cullen Bryant’s wok. is considered “father of American detective stories and American gothic stories”. 10.Emerson believed above all in
美国文学史-知识点梳理
Part I The Literature of Colonial America I．Historical Introduction The colonial period stretched roughly from the settlement of America in the early 17th century through the end of the 18th. The first permanent settlement in America was established by English in 1607. ( A group of people was sent by the English King James I to hunt for gold. They arrived at Virginia in 1607. They named the James River and build the James town.) II．The pre-revolutionary writing in the colonies was essentially of two kinds: 1) Practical matter-of-fact accounts of farming, hunting, travel, etc. designed to inform people "at home" what life was like in the new world, and, often, to induce their immigration 2) Highly theoretical, generally polemical, discussions of religious questions. III．The First American Writer The first writings that we call American were the narratives and journals of these settlements. They wrote about their voyage to the new land, their lives in the new land, their dealings with Indians. Captain John Smith is the first American writer. A True Relation of such Occurrences and Accidents of Note as Hath Happened in Virginia Since the First Planting of That Colony (1608) A Map of Virginia: A Description of the Country (1612) General History of Virgini a (1624): the Indian princess Pocahontas Captain John Smith was one of the first early 17th-century British settlers in North America. He was one of the founders of the colony of Jamestown, Virginia. His writings about North America became the source of information about the New World for later settlers. One of the things he wrote about that has become an American legend was his capture by the Indians and his rescue by the famous Indian Princess, Pocahontas. IV．Early New England Literature William Bradford and John Winthrop John Cotton and Roger Williams Anne Bradstreet and Edward Taylor V．Puritan Thoughts 1. The origin of puritan In the mediaeval Europe, there was widespread religious revolution. In the 16th Century, the English King Henry VIII (At that time, the Catholics were not allowed to divorce unless they have the Pope's permission. Henry VIII wanted to divorce his wife because she couldn't bear him a son. But the Pope didn't allow him to divorce, so he) broke away from the Roman Catholic Church & established the Church of
美国文学史及选读复习重点
Captain John Smith (first American writer). Anne Bradstreet；The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America （colonists living） Edward Taylor(the best puritan poet) John Cotton ”the Patriarch of New England” teacher spiritual leader Benjamin Franklin The Autobiography Poor Richard’s Almanack Thomas Jefferson： Political Career Thoughts The Declaration of Independence we hold truth to be self-evidence Philip Freneau“Father of American Poetry” The Wild Honey Suckle American Romanticism optimism and hope Nationalism Washington Irving“Father of American Literature short story”The first “Pure Writer” A History of New York The Sketch Book marked the beginning of American Romanticism! “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”Rip Van Winkle James Fenimore Cooper Father of American sea and frontier novels Leather stocking Tales The Last of the Mohicans The Pioneers The Prairie The Pathfinder The Deerslayer Edgar Allan Poe father of detective story and horror fiction Tales of the Grotesque and the Arabesque “MS. Found in a Bottle” “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” “The Fall of the House of Usher”“The Masque of the Red Death”“The
华师自考美国文学史及选读试题
美国文学史及选读试题 I. Multiple Choice 10’ 1. Who is different from others according to the division of writing period? A. Washington Irving B.William Cullen Bryant C. Captain John Smith D. James Fenimore Cooper 2. The American Romantic Period lasted roughly from ____ to ____. A. 1798-1832 B. 1810-1860 C. 1860-1864 D. 1776-1783 3. How many syllables are there in this first line of Raven? (“Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,”) A. 11 B. 12 C. 13 D. 16 4. What dominated the Puritan phase of American writing? A. theology B. literature C. esthetics D. revolution 5. At the initial period of the spread of ideas of the Enlightenment was largely due to ____. A. typography B. journalism C. revolution D. the development of paper-making industry 6. Who has been called the “Father of American Literature”? A. Walt Scott B. Geoffrey Chaucer
美国文学选读期末考试重点
1、The Colonial Period（1607-1765） American Puritanism ( in the early 17th century through the end of the 18th) 北美第一位女诗人Anne Bradstreet(宗教气息，夫妻恩爱) Edward Taylor 都受英国玄学派影响（metaphysical） 2、The Enlightenment and Revolution Period Benjamin Franklin:Poor Richard's Almanac The Autobiography---“美国梦”的根源 3、American Romanticism（end of 18th to the civil war） American writers emphasis upon the imaginative and emotional qualities of literature. 早期浪漫主义Washington Irving father of American Literature
美国文学史及选读期末复习题
1.C aptain John Smith became the first American writer. 2.T he puritans looked upon themselves as a chosen people. collection of proverbs written by Benjamin Franklin. 4.T homas Paine’s famous pamphlet Common Sense boldly advocated a “Declaration for Independence”.
5.T homas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence with John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston. has been called the “Father of American Poetry”. 7.I n Washington Irving’s appeared the first modern short stories and the first great American juvenile literature.
8.C ooper’s enduring fame rests on his frontier stories, especially the five novels that comprise the is perhaps the peak of William Cullen Bryant’s wok. “father of American detective stories and American gothic stories”.
美国文学史及选读考研复习笔记6.
History And Anthology of American Literature （6） 附：作者及作品 一、殖民主义时期The Literature of Colonial America 1．船长约翰·史密斯Captain John Smith 《自殖民地第一次在弗吉尼亚垦荒以来发生的各种事件的真实介绍》 “A True Relation of Such Occurrences and Accidents of Note as Hath Happened in Virginia Since the First Planting of That Colony” 《弗吉尼亚地图，附：一个乡村的描述》 “A Map of Virginia: with a Description of the Country” 《弗吉尼亚通史》“General History of Virginia” 2．威廉·布拉德福德William Bradford 《普利茅斯开发历史》“The History of Plymouth Plantation”3．约翰·温思罗普John Winthrop 《新英格兰历史》“The History of New England” 4．罗杰·威廉姆斯Roger Williams 《开启美国语言的钥匙》”A Key into the Language of America” 或叫《美洲新英格兰部分土著居民语言指南》 Or “A Help to the Language of the Natives in That Part of America Called New England ” 5．安妮·布莱德斯特Anne Bradstreet 《在美洲诞生的第十个谬斯》 ”The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America” 二、理性和革命时期文学The Literature of Reason and Revolution 1。本杰明·富兰克林Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) ※《自传》“ The Autobiography ” 《穷人理查德的年鉴》“Poor Richard’s Almanac” 2。托马斯·佩因Thomas Paine (1737-1809) ※《美国危机》“The American Crisis” 《收税官的案子》“The Case of the Officers of the Excise”《常识》“Common Sense” 《人权》“Rights of Man” 《理性的时代》“The Age of Reason” 《土地公平》“Agrarian Justice” 3。托马斯·杰弗逊Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) ※《独立宣言》“The Declaration of I ndependence” 4。菲利浦·弗瑞诺Philip Freneau (1752-1832) ※《野忍冬花》“The Wild Honey Suckle” ※《印第安人的坟地》“The Indian Burying Ground” ※《致凯提·迪德》“To a Caty-Did” 《想象的力量》“The Power of Fancy” 《夜屋》“The House of Night” 《英国囚船》“The British Prison Ship” 《战争后期弗瑞诺主要诗歌集》 “The Poems of Philip Freneau Written Chiefly During the Late War” 《札记》“Miscellaneous Works” 三、浪漫主义文学The Literature of Romanticism 1。华盛顿·欧文Washington Irving (1783-1859) ※《作者自叙》“The Author’s Account of Himself” ※《睡谷传奇》“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” 《见闻札记》“Sketch Book” 《乔纳森·欧尔德斯泰尔》“Jonathan Oldstyle” 《纽约外史》“A History of New York” 《布雷斯布里奇庄园》“Bracebridge Hall” 《旅行者故事》“Tales of Traveller” 《查理二世》或《快乐君主》“Charles the Second” Or “The Merry Monarch” 《克里斯托弗·哥伦布生平及航海历史》 “A History of the Life and V oyages of Christopher Columbus” 《格拉纳达征服编年史》”A Chronicle of the Conquest of Grandada” 《哥伦布同伴航海及发现》 ”V oyages and Discoveries of the Companions of Columbus” 《阿尔罕布拉》“Alhambra” 《西班牙征服传说》“Legends of the Conquest of Spain” 《草原游记》“A Tour on the Prairies” 《阿斯托里亚》“Astoria” 《博纳维尔船长历险记》“The Adventures of Captain Bonneville” 《奥立弗·戈尔德史密斯》”Life of Oliver Goldsmith” 《乔治·华盛顿传》“Life of George Washington” 2．詹姆斯·芬尼莫·库珀James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851) ※《最后的莫希干人》“The Last of the Mohicans” 《间谍》“The Spy” 《领航者》“The Pilot” 《美国海军》“U.S. Navy” 《皮袜子故事集》“Leather Stocking Tales” 包括《杀鹿者》、《探路人》”The Deerslayer”, ”The Pathfinder” 《最后的莫希干人》“The Last of the Mohicans” 《拓荒者》、《大草原》“The Pioneers”, “The Praire” 3。威廉·卡伦·布莱恩特William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878) ※《死之思考》“Thanatopsis” ※《致水鸟》“To a Waterfowl” 4。埃德加·阿伦·坡Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) ※《给海伦》“To Helen” ※《乌鸦》“The Raven” ※《安娜贝尔·李》“Annabel Lee” ※《鄂榭府崩溃记》“The Fall of the House of Usher” 《金瓶子城的方德先生》“Ms. Found in a Bottle” 《述异集》“Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque” 5。拉尔夫·沃尔多·爱默生Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) ※《论自然》“Nature” ※《论自助》“Self-Reliance” 《美国学者》“The American Scholar” 《神学院致辞》“The Divinity School Address” 《随笔集》“Essays” 《代表》“Representative Men” 《英国人》“English Traits” 《诗集》“Poems” 6。亨利·戴维·梭罗Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) ※《沃尔登我生活的地方我为何生活》 1
美国文学史及选读考试整理
Washington Irving Bracebridge Hall 布雷斯布里奇田庄 (1822) The Legend of Sleepy Hollow Tales of a Traveller 旅客谈 (1824) Christopher Columbus (1828) c. writing characteristics (1) humorous: the function of his writing is to amuse, to entertain instead of teaching or instruction (2) vivid and true character portrayal (3) finished (refined) and musical language, thus regarded as “the Amn. Goldsmith ” d. analysis on The Legend of Sleepy Hollow(选自the sketch book 见闻札记 ) 1. the story:setting,character, plot 2. theme:conflicts and praise conflict betw. Ichabod and Brom conflict betw. the village and the outside world James Fenimore Cooper The Spy (1821): a historical novel The Pilot (1824): a sea novel Leatherstocking Tales 皮裹腿故事集(1823-1841): frontier novels The Last Mohicans (1826) (Colonial War betw. Britain and France) e. writing features: strong points: we can see a variety of incidents and tensions, complicated plot and structure and a beautiful description of nature. Weak points: characterization is weak. There is unsatisfactory description of characters (esp. female). He is not free from syntactical awkwardness, heavy-handed attempt at humor. “Where Irving excels Cooper is weak.” Dialect is not authentic. Edgar Allan Poe The Fall of the House Usher Feature: i. brevity (15 pages) ii. Single effect iii. originality in theme To Helen It was inspired by the beauty of the mother of a schoolmate of Poe in Richmond, Virginia. The poem is famous for a number of things: 1. its rhyme scheme: ababb 2. its varied line lengths 3. its metaphor of a travel on the sea 4. its oft-quoted lines: "To the glory that was Greece,/And the grandeur that was Rome." theme: praise the ideal love and beauty and ancient Greek and Roman civilizations The Raven 乌鸦 theme: the lament over the death of a beautiful woman tone: melancholy Transcendentalism (essayists, poets, novelists) Their journal is “The Dial ” . Definition: Transcendentalism is idealism. (Emerson) b. features (1) stress on Oversoul, that is spirit. (2) stress the importance of individual. (3) fresh conception of nature. c. significance (1) inspired a whole generation of writers such as Whitman, Melville and Dickinson. (2) dresses man ’s subjective initiative as opposed to materialism. (3) liberated people from Calvin ’s original sin d. limitation (1) shallow: cut off from real life or reality; initiated by the rich, they were limited in a certain circle. So, in some degree, they have been cut off from social life and can ’t understand the sufferings of the common people. (2) inward contradiction: gain knowledge by intuition, shows its idealistic aspect. R.W. Emerson (Ralph Waldo) Nature (1836): the Bible of New England transcendentalism The American Scholar (1837): "America's Declaration of Intellectual The Divinity School Address 神学院致辞 (1838) Essays (1841/1847) Representative Men (1850) English Traits (1856)
美国文学史及选读试卷 (4)
美国文学史及选读试卷 Ⅰ. Multiple choices. (60 points in total, 2 for each) 1. The Romantic Period in American literature started from the publication of Washington Irving's ______ and ended with Whitman's Leaves of Grass. A. The Sketch Book B. Tales of a Traveller C. A History of New York D. The Scarlet Letter 2. At the middle of 19th century, America witnessed a cultural flowering which is called “_____”. A. the English Renaissance B. the Second Renaissance C. the American Renaissance D. the Salem Renaissance 3. As a philosophical and literary movement, the main issues involved in the debate of Transcendentalism are generally concerning ______. A. nature , man and the universe B. the relationship between man and woman C. the development of Romanticism in American literature D. the cold, rigid rationalism of Unitarianism 14. In the following statements, _________ is NOT true about Washington Irving’s famous story “Rip Van Winkle.” A. The story is not only well-kno wn for Rip’s 20-year sleep but also considered a model of perfect English in American literature. B. The story is set against the background of the inevitably changing America. C. The social conservatism and literary preference for the past is revealed, to some extent, in the story. D. Irving describes Rip’s response and reaction in a dramatic way, so that we see clearly both the narrator and Irving agree on the preferability of the present to the past. 15. Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay Experience is a serous discussion about the conflict between _________ and ordinary life.