专八人文常识辅导材料(美国文学)

1、American Literature: A Concise History I. Review1. Who wrote The American? (2008) A. Herman MelvilleB. Nathaniel Hawthorne C. Henry JamesD. Theodore Dreiser 2. Death of a Salesman was written by_. (2007)A. Arthur MillerB. Ernest HemingwayC. Ralph EllisonD. James Baldwin3. The novel For Whom the Bell

2、 Tolls is written by_. (2006)A. Scott FitzgeraldB. William FaulknerC. Eugene ONeilD. Ernest Hemingway4. William Sydney Porter, known as OHenry, is most famous for_. (2005)A. his poemsB. his playsC. his short storiesD. his novelsII. Historical Periods1. Colonial Period: 17th18th (faith reason)2. Roma

3、ntic Period: end of 18th to the Civil War 3. The Age of Realism: 1865-1890 4. The Age of Naturalism: 1890-19005. Modern Period: 1912-1945 6. Postwar Realism: 1950s-1960s7. Postmodernism: 1960s-1980sIII. Key Figures1. Benjamin Franklin2. James Fenimore Cooper, Washington Irving; Edgar Allan Poe, Walt

4、 Whitman, Emily Dickinson/Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville (R. W. Emerson, H.D. Thoreau)3. OHenry, Henry James, Mark Twain 4. Stephan Crane, Theodore Dreiser, Jack London5. Ezra Pound, T.S. Eliot, R.L. Frost/Ernest Hemingway, F.S. Fitzgerald, Sinclair Lewis, John Steinbeck/Eugene ONeill, Tenness

5、ee Williams, Arthur Miller6. Jerome Salinger7. NabokovMark Twain: Trend: realism (local colorism) Genre: fiction Masterpiece: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Distinctive Style: vernacular language Other Important WorksIV. Sample1. American literature produced only one female poet during the 19th

6、century. She was _. A. Anne BradstreetB. Jane Austen C. Katherine Anne Porter D. Emily Dickinson2. The first American to win the Nobel Prize for Literature was a sharp social critic, whose name was _. A. T.S. Eliot B. Sinclair Lewis C. Ernest Hemingway D. William Faulkner 3. Which of the following i

7、s NOT included in Dreiserstrilogy of desire concerning the ruthlessness ofcapitalists?A. The GeniusB. The Financier C. The TitanD. The Stoic 4. With Howells, James, and Mark Twain active on the scene, _ became the major trend in the seventies and eighties of the nineteenth century.A. sentimentalismB

8、. romanticismC. realismD. naturalism5. From 1732 to 1758, Franklin wrote and published his famous _, an annual collection of proverbs.A. AutobiographyB. Poor Richards AlmanacC. Common SenseD. The General Magazine6. “The American Renaissance” is the period of _ in the history of American literature.A

9、. local colorismB. RomanticismC. TranscendentalismD. Colonism7. _ is Mark Twains master work, the one book from which as Hemingway noted, “All modern American literature comes”.A. The Gilded AgeB. Life on the MississippiC. The Adventures of Tom SawyerD. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn8. _ is the

10、only American playwright awarded Nobel Prize of Literature.A. Arthur MillerB. Eugene ONeillC. Tennessee WilliamsD. Sinclair Lewis9. Which of the following does NOT belong to “Beat Generation”?A. Jack KerouacB. F. S. FitzgeraldC. Allen GinsbergD. William Burroughs10. _ is identified as the father of

11、modern American poetry, who also plays an important role in transmitting Chinese culture to the English-speaking world.A. T. S. EliotB. Robert FrostC. Ezra PoundD. Walt WhitmanI. Colonial Period: 17th18th The influence of Puritanism on writing:fresh, simple and plaintraceable to the direct influence

12、 of the Biblefrequent reference to the technique of symbolismAnne BradstreetThe Tenth Muse Lately Sprung up in AmericaMichael WigglesworthThe Day of DoomEdward Taylor: a metaphysical poetBenjamin Franklin: the spokesman of the American Enlightenment (Age of Reason/Great Awakening); created the image

13、 of the Yankeepseudonym: Silence DogoodPoor Richards AlmanacAutobiographyThomas Paine (his style: plain)Common Sensethe first pamphlet urging immediate independence from Britain; his most famous pamphlet; the greatest of the Revolutionary pamphletsPhilip FreneauThe first American-born poet; Poet of

14、the American RevolutionTheme: nationalismThe beginning of American RomanticismII. Romantic Period: 1) Early RomanticsNew England Poets (Fireside/Schoolroom Poets):Henry Wadsworth LongfellowThe song of Hiawathathe first American epic in blank verse about the American IndiansThe first American poet to

15、 be honored by having his bust placed in the Poets Corner of Westminster AbbeyWilliam Cullen Bryant: the American WordsworthThanatopsis (pondering on death)his greatest poemNovelist:James Fenimore Cooper: the first successful American novelist 32 novels3 kinds: about the revolutionary pastThe Spy ab

16、out the seaThe pilot about the frontierThe Leatherstocking Tales (The Pioneers, The Last of the Mohicans, The Prairie, The Pathfinder, and The Deerslayer; protagonist: Natty Bumppo- “the essential American soul” by D. H. Lawrence)Story Writer and Prose Stylist:Washington IrvingThe Sketch Book won hi

17、m international fame “Rip Van Winkle” & “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”“Crayon” styleIntroduced the familiar essay to AmericaII. Romantic Period: 2) TranscendentalistsNew England Transcendentalism=American RenaissanceFeatures:It stressed the power of intuition.It placed spirit first and matter sec

18、ond.It took nature as symbolic of spirit or God.It emphasized the significance of the individual.It envisioned religion as an emotional communication between an individual soul and the universal “Oversoul”.It held that commerce was degrading.The Transcendental Club & their journal The DialEssayi

19、sts:Ralph Waldo EmersonTranscendentalisms most seminal forceThe Lyceum MovementNature “the manifesto of American transcendentalism”The American Scholar “Americas Declaration of Intellectual Independence”Henry David ThoreauHis first major influence: nonviolent struggle as expressed in his “Civil Diso

20、bedience”His second major influence: call of “Back to Nature”Waldena classic of American prose; reads like a diary of a nature loverSymbolismII. Romantic Period: 3) High RomanticsEdgar Allan PoeLiterary theories: 1) A theory of PoetryThe most important purpose of poetry is the creation of beauty (En

21、glish as a medium of pure musical and rhythmic beauty). The tone of its highest manifestation is one of sadness.The death of a beautiful woman is the most potential topic.death predominant theme in Poes writing“Poe is not interested in anything alive. Everything in Poes writings is dead.”2) About Hi

22、s FictionThe mental world of the people should be illuminated.The principle of concentration and thematic totality should be stressed.Truth rather than beauty is often the aim of the tale.Literary achievements:The Ravenhis most famous narrative poemDetective stories, ratiocinative stories & scie

23、nce fictionThe Murders in the Rue MorgueThe Fall of the House of UsherThe Masque of the Red DeathWalt WhitmanLeaves of Grass (9 editions)Americas first genuine epic poem Style: free verseThe envelope structure, catalogue technique, thought rhythmRepresents a turning point in the history of American

24、poetryEmily DickinsonFor the whole 19th century she was the only woman poet who enjoys high academic esteem today.PoemsThemes:religion doubt and belief about religious subjectsdeath and immortalitylove suffering and frustration caused by lovephysical aspect of desirenature kind and cruelfree will an

25、d human responsibility Nathaniel Hawthornethe first American romancer; the first major novelist in English to wed morality to artHis novels were perhaps the deepest and most psychological in the 19th century.The Scarlet LetterHester Prynne, Pearl, Chillingworth, DimmesdalePoint of view: Evil is at t

26、he core of human life. Wherever there is sin, there is punishment. Sin or evil can be passed from generation to generation.Herman Meivillean adventure writer, known as “a man who lived with cannibals”Moby Dickthe first American prose epic; the greatest American novel by some criticsA symbol to repre

27、sent cruel, brutal, malicious powers of natureThe technique of multiple viewsStyle: highly symbolic and metaphoricalIII. The Age of RealismFeatures: truthful description of lifetypical character under typical circumstanceobjective rather than idealized, close observation and investigation of life“Re

28、alistic writers are like scientists.”open-ending:Life is complex and cannot be fully understood. It leaves much room for readers to think by themselves.William Dean HowellsProductive except the genre of poetryThe Rise of Silas LaphamWilliam Sydney Porter (O. Henry)The surprise ending is his specialt

29、y, e.g. “The Cop and the Anthem”.Sherwood Anderson: Winesburg, OhioHenry James: novels of mannersDeveloped the international novelDaisy Miller established his reputation at home and abroad (theme: American innocence vs. European sophistication)The Ambassadors: his most “perfect” work of art, claimed

30、 by himself3 influential subjects: children, new women and artistsTheory of fiction in his The Art of FictionChief criterion: showing rather than tellinghonors: the first of the “modern psychological novelists”A “realist of the inner life”A bridge of American and European culturesLocal ColorismThe l

31、ate 1860s to early 1870sTo write or present local characters of their regions in truthful depiction distinguished from others, usually a very small part of the world.Hamlin Garlands “Under the Lions Paw”Harriet Beecher Stowe: Uncle Toms Cabinthe greatest of all anti-slavery literatureMark Twain (Sam

32、uel Clemens) “the Lincoln of our literature”; the true father of American literatureOne famous essay: “To the Person Sitting in Darkness”His greatest achievement: The Adventures of Huckleberry FinnOther works: His penname was made famous by “The Notorious Jumping Frog of the Calaverus County”;The Gi

33、lded Age: a satire against corruptionThe Adventures of Tom Sawyer; Life on the Mississippicolloquial language, vernacular language, dialectslocal coloursyntactic feature: sentences are simple, brief, sometimes ungrammaticalhumourtall tales (highly exaggerated)social criticism (satire on the differen

34、t ugly things in society)III. The Age of Realism: ComparisonThemeHowells middle classJames upper classTwain lower classTechniqueHowells genteel realismJames psychological realismTwain local colorism and colloquialismIV. The Age of NaturalismRealism vs. Naturalism:Though naturalists also describe rea

35、l life, they present harsher reality, usually the violent, sensational, unpleasant, and ugly aspects of life.Their writing style and technique were more innovative.Stephan Crane-pessimismMaggie, A Girl of the Streetsthe first naturalistic novel written by an AmericanThe Red Badge of Couragehis most

36、famous book about the American Civil WarStyle: realistic, naturalistic, and impressionisticFrank Norris-optimismMcTeaguethe first full-bodied naturalistic American novelThe Octopushis most impressive prose epicTheodore Dreiser“the wheelhouse of American naturalism”Sister Carrie: a slave to her hered

37、ity and to her environmentAn American Tragedy: his masterpieceStyle: journalistic method of reiteration, word-pictures, sharp contrast, stubborn honestyJack LondonThe Son of the Wolffirst collection of the storiesThe Call of the Wildan all-time best sellerHis fiction has the unusual and intriguing p

38、ower of ancient myth.The originator of a new type of writing: rough realismV. Modern Period: 1) PoetrySub-branches:Imagism, symbolism, impressionism, futurism, constructivism, surrealism, etcFeatures:Modernism dramatized discontinuity.Modernists had a sense of fragmentation.It has a strong and consc

39、ious break with tradition. (stream of consciousness)V. Modern Period 1) PoetryEzra Poundthe father of modern American poetryCantoshis major work of poetryCathaya volume of Chinese translationsStyle: clarity, precision and a direct conversational diction, economy of verseImagismT. S. Eliota poet, a p

40、laywright, and a literary criticHe declared himself a “classicist in literature, royalist in politics, and Anglo-Catholic in religion”The Waste Landa central poem of modernism; reads like a manifesto of the “Lost Generation”Five segmentsOrganizing principle: the myth of death and rebirthNew England

41、Poets:E. A. Robinson won Pulitzer for three times.Robert Lee Frostthe most popular American poet from 1914 to his deathHe won Pulitzer for four times.Pastoral poetryV. Modern Period 2) FictionLost Generation:The term was first used by Gertrude Stein.Ernest Hemingwaya Nobel Prize Winner (1954)The Sun

42、 also RisesA Farewell to Arms: established his reputation as a great American writerFor Whom the Bell TollsThe Old Man and the SeaTelegraphic styleIceberg theory of writing“the code hero”Francis Scott FitzgeraldThis Side of Paradisehis first novel; the first American novel depicting the casual dissi

43、pations of “flaming youth”The Great Gatsbyhis best novel which deals with the frustration and despair resulting from the failure of the American dreamSinclair Lewisthe first American writer to receive the Nobel Prize for literature (1930)Main Street satirizes the smug provincial complacency of the m

44、iddle classBabbitthis masterpieceThe word “babbittry” means energetic shallowness and self-satisfactionSatiric monologueJohn Steinbeckthe foremost writer of the Great DepressionThe Grapes of Wrathhis masterpiece, won a Pulitzer PrizeA combination of naturalist and symbolist techniqueV. Modern Period

45、: 3) DramaEugene ONeillthe founder of modern American drama3 Pulitzer Prizes & the Nobel PrizeIntroduced trends of realism, naturalism and expressionismBeyond the HorizonLong Days Journey into NightTennessee WilliamsThe Glass MenagerieA Streetcar Named Desirewon him his first Pulitzer PrizeCollo

46、quial southern speechArthur MillerDeath of a Salesmanhis masterpiece; an American myth and a contemporary tragedyVI. Postwar RealismJohn Cheevershort fictionJohn Updikethe most realistic of all the postwar realists; “Olinger” storiesJames Thurberthe greatest American literary humorist of the 20th ce

47、nturyJerome Salingera representative of alienated young Americans; generation gapThe Catcher in the Ryea modern Huck FinnVII. Post-modernism: FictionModernism vs. post-modernismUnlike modernism, which suggested a historic period, post-modernism described a sensibility, a feeling for innovation.Controll