American-Literature

1、American Literature殷艳芳Benjamin FranklinMark Twain Edgar Allan PoeNathaniel HawthorneRalph Waldo EmersonThomas JeffersonWalt WhitmanEzra PoundT.S. EliotErnest HemingwayWilliam FaulknerF. Scott FitzgeraldEmily DickinsonHarriet Beecher StowePearl BuckToni MorrisonMaxine Hong KingstonOutline The Literat

2、ure of Colonial America The Literature of Reason and Revolution The Literature of Romanticism The Literature of Realism Twentieth Century LiteratureChapter One The Literature of Colonial America1. Dominant Thoughts 1) Puritanism 2) Calvinism 3) Deism 2. The Literary Scene (simple both in its form an

3、d themes) Form: faithfully imitated and transplanted English traditions Themes: God, Revolution, nature and family lifeWriters worth to be mentioned:lAnne Bradstreet and Edward Taylor ( puritan poets) Roger Williams and John Cotton ( poets with democratic ideas)Chapter Two Literature of Reason and R

4、evolution ( The Age of Enlightenment)lI. Social Background 1. Natural Science 2. Social Science II. Famous Writers 1. Benjamin Franklin(1706-1790) a person of all trades: a great politician, a famous scientist, and an outstanding writer works: The Poor Richardss Almanac(格言历书), Autobiography( 自传）l2.

5、Thomas Pane ( 潘恩）（1737-1809）l a leading figure in American Revolutionl Pamphlets: Common Sense, American Crisisl3. Philip Freneau (弗瑞诺）（1752-1832）l “the Poet of the Revolution”l “Father of American Poetry”l poems: The Rising Glory of America(美洲光辉的升起）， The Wild Honey Suckle( 野金银花）Chapter Three Litera

6、ture of Romanticism (the American Renaissance)l. Social Background 1. political: independence, ideals of democracy and equality 2. economic: industrialism, immigrants, economic boom 3. historical: westwardA sense of hope and optimismlCharacteristicsl1. Derivative or imitativel2. Independent: the exp

7、ression of a real new experiencel3. Puritan influencel Famous writersl1. Washington Irving( 1783- 1859 华盛顿 欧文） works: A History of New York 纽约外史 The Sketch Book 见闻札记 Rip Van Winkle瑞普 凡 温克尔 The Legend of Sleepy Hollow 睡谷的传说Achievements:l“ Father of American Literature”lThe short story as a genre in A

8、merican literature probably began with his “the Sketch Book”lHis writings marked the beginning of American Romanticisml2. James Fennimore Cooper (1789-1851)Works: chiefly about sea adventures tales and frontier saga Leatherstocking Tales 皮袜子故事集Deerslayer 打鹿将The Last of the Mohigan最后的莫西干人Pathfinder探路

9、者Prairie草原The pioneers开拓者3. Summit of Romanticism- American Transcendentalism (超验主义）超验主义）l1) Features:lSpirit/ oversoullImportance of individualismlNature- symbol of spirit/ God, garment of the oversoullFocus on intuition ( irrationalism and subconsciousness)l2) Appearance:l1836, “ Nature” by Emerso

10、nl3) Representative writers: l Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)l Nature 论自然l Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)l Walden 瓦尔登湖Ralph Waldo EmersonHenry David Thoreau4. Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) 埃德加 艾伦 坡l1) works:l The Fall of the House of Usher厄舍府的倒塌 lMs. Found in a Bottle瓶中手稿lThe Murders in the Rue Morg

11、ue 莫格街谋杀案 lPoems: To Helen 致海伦l The Raven乌鸦l Annabel Lee安娜贝尔李 2). His Major Points Death is a predominant theme. He usually wrote the evil side of the 19th century. interested in deduction and induction, created the detective stories writing as a critic5. Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) (纳撒尼尔 霍桑）l1)

12、 Works: l Twice-Told Tales (重讲一遍的故事）l Mosses From an Old Manse ( 古屋青苔）l The Marble Faun ( 玉石雕像）l The Scarlet Letter ( 红字）l2) Psychological analysis and symbolisml3) Point of viewl Evil is at the core of human life.l Sin or evil can be passed from generation to generation.l He has disgust in science.

13、6.Herman Melville (1819- 1891) （赫尔曼（赫尔曼 梅尔维尔）梅尔维尔）l1) Masterpiece: Moby Dick 白鲸The book is steeped in symbolism.2) Point of view:The world is godless and purposeless.Melvilles idea of alienationMelvilles attack on transcendentalism.Chapter Four Literature of Realism Background 1. the three conflicts

14、 that reached breaking point in this periodl1) industrialism vs. agrarianl2) culturally-measured east vs. newly-developed westl3) plantation gentility vs. commercial gentility 2. 1880s urbanization: from free competition to monopoly capitalism 3. the closing of American frontierII Characteristicsltr

15、uthful description of lifeltypical character under typical circumstancelobjective rather than idealized, close observation and investigation of lifel“Realistic writers are like scientists.”lopen-ending:l concerned with social and psychological problems, revealing the frustrations of characters in an

16、 environment of sordidness and depravityIII Famous Writers: 1. Walt Whitman (沃尔特 惠特曼)Leaves of Grassthe first genuine epic poem l1) Major themes in his poems (almost everything):lequality of things and beingsldivinity of everythinglimmanence of Godldemocracylmultiplicity of naturelself-reliant spiri

17、tldeath, beauty of deathlexpansion of Americalbrotherhood and social solidarity (unity of nations in the world)lpursuit of love and happinessl2) style: free verse (without a fixed beat or regular rhyme scheme)l2. Emily Dickenson 艾米丽艾米丽 迪金森迪金森1.）worksMy Life Closed Twice before Its CloseBecause I Can

18、t Stop for DeathI Heard a Fly Buzz When I diedMine by the Right of the White ElectionWild Nights Wild Nights2) Themes: based on her own experiences/joys/sorrowslreligion doubt and belief about religious subjectsldeath and immortalityllove suffering and frustration caused by lovelphysical aspect of d

19、esirelnature kind and cruellfree will and human responsibility3) stylelpoems without titleslsevere economy of expressionldirectness, brevitylmusical device to create cadence (rhythm)lcapital letters emphasislshort poems, mainly two stanzaslrhetoric techniques: personification make some of abstract i

20、deas vivid3. Three Giants in Realistic Period1) William Dean Howells威廉迪安豪威尔斯l “Dean of American Realism”WorksThe Rise of Silas Lapham塞拉斯拉帕姆的发迹A Chance AcquaintanceA Modern InstanceFeatures of His WorksOptimistic toneMoral development/ethicsLacking of psychological depth2) Henry James 亨利 詹姆斯-founder

21、of psychological analysis-precursor of stream of consciousness Works: The American 美国人Daisy Miller黛西 米勒The Portrait of a Lady一个贵妇的肖像 The Ambassadors 使节The Wings of the Dove鸽翼The Golden Bowl金碗3) Mark Twain 马克 吐温Works:The Gilded Age镀金时代The Adventures of Tom Sawyer 汤姆索亚历险记Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

22、哈克贝利费恩历险记 Life on the Mississippi密西西比河上的生涯 Local colorist: a unique variation of American literary realism. It refers to the particular concern about the local character of a region.stylelcolloquial language, vernacular language, dialectsllocal colourlsyntactic feature: sentences are simple, brief,

23、sometimes ungrammaticallhumourltall tales (highly exaggerated)lsocial criticism (satire on the different ugly things in society)4) Comparison of the three “giants” of American RealismlThemelHowells middle classlJames upper classlTwain lower classlTechniquelHowells smiling/genteel realismlJames psych

24、ological realismlTwain local colourism and colloquialism4. American Naturalisml1) BackgroundlDarwins theory: “natural selection”lSpensers idea: “social Darwinism”lFrench Naturalism: Zoral2)Featureslenvironment and hereditylscientific accuracy and a lot of detailslgeneral tone: hopelessness, despair,

25、 gloom, ugly side of the societyl3)significancelIt prepares the way for the writing of 1920s “lost generation” and T. S. Eliot.4)Writers:lStephen Crane （克莱恩 1871-1900）He was a pioneer writing in the naturalistic tradition, died at only 27.He is one of the first to treat slums, prostitution, alcoholi

26、sm and other unpleasant subjects which are associated with the school of naturalism.He was the first American to portray war realistically from the point of view of the individual soldier.His basic theme: environment and heredity will defeat man.Works: Maggie: A Girl of the Streets街头女郎梅季 The Red Bad

27、ge of Courage红色英勇勋章lTheodore Dreiser 西奥多 德莱塞Theodore DreiserSister Carrie嘉莉妹妹美国悲剧Jack London 杰克杰克 伦敦伦敦Works:The People of the Abyss 深渊里的人们The Call of the WildThe Sea WolfMartin Eden ( autobiographical novel) 马丁伊登 While embracing the socialism of Marx, London also believed in the triumph of the stron

28、gest individuals.Chapter Five The 20th Century Literature lSection1 The 1920s - “the second renaissance” of American Literaturel. Background 1.First World War “a war to end all wars”lEconomically: became rich from WWI. Economic boom: new inventions. Highly-consuming society.lSpiritually: dislocation

29、, fragmentation.2.wide-spread contempt for law (looking down upon law)3. Freuds theory Imagism1. Image: a writers description of specific concrete objects in a poem which strengthens our sense that what we are being told is real.2. Three principles followed by Imagists: 1) Direct treatment of the “t

30、hing” 2) To use absolutely no word that does not contribute to the presentation; 3) No unnecessary words may be included in order to make meter by a rhyme3. Ezra Pound ( 伊兹拉 庞德1885-1972 ）He was the volunteer of Imagism movement. He has helped, through theory and practice, to chart out the course of

31、modern poetry.Works: Cantos 诗章 Hugh Selwyn Mauberley休 塞尔温 莫伯利Features:Language: intricate and obscureTheme: complex subject mattersForm: no fixed framework, no central theme, no attention to poetic rules4. T. S. Eliot Chief WorkslThe Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock J. 阿尔弗雷德 普鲁弗洛克情歌 - the first maste

32、rpiece of modernism in English The Waste Land 荒原 - a milestone of the modern western poetry Murder in the Cathedral 大教堂谋杀案 Style Fresh visual imagery, flexible tone and highly expressive rhythm Difficult and disconnected images and symbols, quotations and allusions5 Robert Frost 罗伯特罗伯特 弗罗斯特弗罗斯特lwork

33、s poems the first: A Boys Will collections: North of Boston, Mountain Internal山间洼地 (mature), New Hampshire新罕不什尔 Stylethe old fashioned way to be new use the old form (blank verse) to express new idea content: romantic conservative-traditionalplain, everyday language Novels in the 1920sl1. F. Scott F

34、itzgerald菲茨杰拉德菲茨杰拉德 - the spokesman of “the Jazz AgeWorks:This Side of Paradise天堂的这一边The Great Gatsby 了不起的盖茨比Tender is the Night 夜色温柔2. Ernest Hemingway (1898- 1961) 海明威海明威- Spokesman of “the Lost Generation”Works:The Sun Also RisesA Farewell to ArmsFor Whom the Bell TollsThe Old Man and the SeaThem

35、es:Grace under pressureCode HeroStyle:Iceberg principlesymbolism Southern Literature - twisted, pessimistic, violent, distortedlWilliam Faulkner 福克纳福克纳 （1897-1962）The Sound and the Fury喧哗与骚动喧哗与骚动As I Lay Dying我弥留之际我弥留之际-Nobel PrizeLight in August八月之光八月之光Absalom, Absalom押沙龙！押沙龙！押沙龙！押沙龙！Go Down, Moses

36、下去，摩西下去，摩西style/features of his workslcomplex plotlstream of consciousnesslmultiple point of view, circular formlviolation of chronologylcourtroom rhetoric: formal languagelcharacterization: he was able to probe into the psychology of charactersl“anti-hero”: weak, vulnerable (true people in modern s

37、ociety)Section 2 The 1930s Background Great DepressionJohn Steinbeck (斯坦贝克斯坦贝克 1902-1968 ）In Dubious Battle 胜负未决Of Mice and Men人与鼠The Grapes of Wrath愤怒的葡萄Section 3 The Post-War Period: 50s & 60s Historical Background multi-facetedlCold WarlMcCarthyism (persecution of communists)lKorean WarlCivil

38、 Rights MovementlCounter-culture Movement political, economical and military achievement Literature in the 1950s & 1960slRegional literature emerged from the south, etc. Many women writers appeared.lDramatists wrote about people in everyday life, e.g. Arthur Miller.lMinority literature developed quickly. Writers worth to be mentioned:lPoetry: Allen Ginsberg 艾伦 金斯堡- Beat Generation Howl and other PoemsFiction:lOverviewlPost-war Realism: J. D. Salinger 塞林格l Catcher in the Rye 麦田的守望者lBlack Humour：Joseph Heller 约瑟夫 海勒 Catch-22