美国文学选读复习

1、精选优质文档-倾情为你奉上History And Anthology of American Literature (Volume)美国文学史及选读1、2PartThe Literature of Colonial America殖民主义时期的文学(at the beginning of 17th century)Part The Literature of Reason And Revolution理性和革命时期文学(by the mid-18th century)1 Thomas Jefferson: Declaration of Independence 独立宣言 (1776年 18世纪

2、中后期)（仔细阅读知道意思）Benjamin Franklin: The Autobiography Thomas Paine: The American Crisis*一、 Benjamin Franklin 本杰明富兰克林1706-1790Symbol of America in the Age of Enlightenment殖民地时期作家。独立战争前惟一的杰出的美国作家in the colonial period, the only good American author before the Revolutionary War.1 其还是美国第一位主要作家the first maj

3、or writer非凡表达能力，简洁明了，有点幽默，还是一位讽刺天才as an author he had power of expression, simplicity, a subtle humor. He was also sarcastic.2 他最好作品收录在自传“Autobiography”。“对这个年青的国家来说，他的损失比其它任何人的都要大“his shadow lies heavier than any other mans on this young nation.二、 Thomas Jefferson托马斯杰弗逊（1743-1826）1 美国历史上最为广泛影响人物his

4、thought and personality have influenced his countryman more deeply and remained more effectively alive.同富兰克林一样具人道主义精神vigorous humanitarian sympathies.启蒙运动的产物a product of the Enlightenment.2 1776年同约翰亚当斯、本杰明富兰克林、罗杰谢尔曼、罗伯特R利文斯顿一起起草独立宣言with John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert R Livin

5、gston, he drafted the Declaration of Independence.3 1790-1793任华盛顿内阁中第一任国务卿，as the first American secretary of state. 1800起担任两届美国总统。4 教材作品：独立宣言(1776年7月4日)：“The Declaration of Independence”。三、 Thomas Paine 托马斯佩因（1737-1809）*1 1776-1783美国危机“American Crisis” signed “Common Sense” was a series of sixteen

6、pamphlets. 2 战争结束后perfecting the model of an iron bridge without piers。(1791-1792)人权“Rights of Man”。3 理性的时代“The Age of Reason”1794-1795, 他最后一部作品1797土地公平“Agrarian Justice”.4 教材作品：美国危机：“The American Crisis”.四、 Philip Freneau 菲利浦弗瑞诺（1752-1832）*1 革命战争后期最杰出作家perhaps the most outstanding writer of the Pos

7、t-Revolutionary period “美国革命诗人”（the poet of the Revolution）;“美国诗歌之父”（Father of American Poetry）.2 1770年第1部作品想象的力量（The Power of Fancy）.1775年因出版有关讽刺英国人作品而被认可as a satirist of the British.3 1776年出版夜屋（The House of Night）哥特式小说the Gothic mood. 4 1781写下名诗英国囚船(The British Prison Ship)5 教材作品：野忍冬花： “The Wild H

8、oney Suckle” 印第安人的坟地： “The Indian Burying Ground” 致凯提迪德： “To a Caty-Did”Part The Literature of Romanticism浪漫主义文学(1810-1860)1. 浪漫主义共同点romantics shared certain general characteristics:他们都注重道德，强调个人主义价值观及直觉感觉，并且认为自然是美的源头，人类社会是腐败之源moral enthusiasm, faith in the value of individualism and intuitive percep

9、tion, and a presumption that the natural world was a source of goodness and mans societies a source of corruption.3 超验主义（1830sthe Civil War）：(1830-1850) 既不讲究逻辑，也不讲究系统，它只强调超越理性的感受，超越法律和世俗束缚的个人表达，他们相信精神上的超越，相信无所不能的善的力量，强调善为万物之源，万物都是善的一部分Transcendentalism: (1830-1850) Defined as the recognition in man

10、of the capacity of acquiring knowledge transcending the reach of the five senses, or of knowing truth intuitively, or of reaching the divine without the need of an intercessor. It had some basic principles that were generally shared by its adherents. They believed that God is immanent in each person

11、 and in nature and that individual intuition is the highest source of knowledge led to an optimistic emphasis on individualism, self-reliance and rejection of traditional authority.1. Stress the power of intuition, believing that people could learn things both from the outside world by means of the

12、five senses and from the inner world by intuition.2. Place spirit (oversoul) first and matter second3. Take nature as symbolic of spirit or God. Nature could exercise a healthy and restorative influence on human mind. People should come close to nature for instructions4. Stress the importance of the

13、 individual (the ideal kind of individual is self-reliant and unselfish (individuality).5. Exalt feeling (subjectivity, imagination, heart thinking) over reason (rationalism, head thinking), individual expression over the restraints of law and custom.代表：Ralph Waldo Emerson：Nature, Self-reliance；Henr

14、y David Thoreau：Walden As a moral philosophy, transcendentalism was neither logical nor systematized. It exalted feeling over reason, individual expression over the restraints of law and custom. They believed in the transcendence of the “Oversoul”, an all-pervading power for goodness from which all

15、things come and of which all things are a part. 4 Dark Romanticism19 century America (often conflated with Gothicism or called American Romanticism) is a literary centered on writers: The Raven(death, beauty),: The scarlet letterand: Moby Dick(dark, glooming, mysterious). As opposed to the perfectio

16、nist beliefs of, the Dark Romantics emphasized human fallibility and proneness toand, as well as the difficulties inherent in attempts at. The Dark Romantics adapted images of anthropomorphized evil in the form of Satan, devils, ghosts, werewolves, vampires, and ghouls, as more telling guides to man

17、s inherent nature.5 American Renaissance (1836-1855): American Romanticism culminated达到顶峰 around the 1840s in what has come to be known as “New England Transcendentalism” or “American Renaissance”6 The differences of American Romanticism and British Romanticism.The UK is one of the earliest countrie

18、s of romantic literature. The British romanticism writers discontented in the development of the capitalist urban civilization, and they tended to be cynical and have the tendency of going back to nature and live in seclusion. In mid-to-late 18th century poet Robert burns (1759-1796) and William Bla

19、ke (1757-1827) was a pioneer of the romantic literature. And the American romantic literature is influenced by western European romantic literature. In the early 19th century, (1810-1840) the American capitalism developed rapidly, which caused strong national consciousness and patriotic enthusiasm o

20、f Americans. They wanted to get rid of the bondage of British literature and American romanticism attaches great importance to the spirit of creation and the pursuit of free transcendentalism. AlthoughgreatlyinfluencedbytheirEnglishcounterparts，theAmericanromanticwritersrevealeduniquecharacteristics

21、oftheirownintheirworksandtheygrewonthenativelands.Forexamp1e，1.TheAmericannationalexperienceofpioneeringintothewestprovedtobearichsourceofmaterialforAmericanwriterstodrawupon.TheycelebratedAmericaslandscapewithitsvirginforests，meadows，groves，endlessprairies，streams，andvastoceans.Thewildernesscametof

22、unctionalmostasadramaticcharacterthatsymbolizedmoral1aw.2.ThedesireforanescapefromsocietyandareturntonaturebecameapermanentconventionofAmericanliterature.SuchadesireisparticularlyevidentinCoopersLeatherStockingTales，inThoreausWaldenand，later，inMarkTwainsAdventuresofHuckleberryFinn.3.WiththegrowthofA

23、mericannationalconsciousness，Americancharactertypesspeakinglocaldialectsappearedinpoetryandfictionwithincreasingfrequency.4.ThentheAmericanPuritanismasaculturalheritageexertedgreatinfluencesoverAmericanmoralvaluesandAmericanRomanticism.OneofthemanifestationsisthefactthatAmericanromanticwriterstended

24、moretomoralizethantheirEnglishandEuropeancounterparts.5.Besides，apreoccupationwiththeCalvinisticviewoforigina1sinandthemysteryofevilmarkedtheworksofHawthorne，Melvilleandahostoflesserwriters.一、 Washington Irving华盛顿欧文1783-18591. 他是美国第一位浪漫主义散文文体作家，大众化风格was the first great prose stylist of American roma

25、nticism familiar style.2. 1819-1820他第一部见闻札记是现代文学史上的第一部短篇小说，也是美国第一部伟大的青少年文学读物，他把历史与传说当作娱乐形式来写，把大众化的散文引入美国his “Sketch Book” appeared the first modern short stories and the first great American juvenile literature to write good history and biography as literary entertainment. He introduced the familiar

26、 essay to America 3. 1809年以迪德里奇尼克博克的名字出版纽约外史，轻松欢快的滑稽戏形式讲出了早期荷兰殖民者在美洲殖民时的真实历史成为了幽默作品中的经典“A History of New York” by Diedrich Knickerbocker a rollicking burlesque of a current serious history of the early Dutch settlers, has become a classic of humor.14教材作品：作者自叙：“The Authors Account of Himself”; 睡谷传奇：“

27、The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”.二、 Edgar Allan Poe埃德加阿伦坡1809-18491. 1833年，在一次小说比赛中他的金瓶子城的方德先生获奖he won a contest with his story “Ms. Found in a Bottle” .2. 发表了鄂榭府崩溃记“The Fall of the House of Usher”.3. 1840 年，第一部短篇小说集述异集his first collection of short stories “Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque”.4. 教材作品：

28、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”三、 Ralph Waldo Emerson 拉尔夫沃尔多爱默生1803-18821 他是把超验主义思想引入新英格兰的先驱，被看作是超验主义运动的领袖he was responsible for bringing Transcendentalism to New England and was recognized throughout his life as the leader of the movement 爱默生首先

29、强调的是个人主义、思想独立和自强 he believed above all in individualism, independence of mind and self-reliance他崇尚英勇，并不忌讳变化和有冲突的思想he admired courage, he was not afraid of changing or clashing ideas.2 The Style of Emersons Essays Emersons essays often have a casual style, for most of them were derived from his journ

30、als or lectures. They are usually characterized by a series of short, declarative sentences, which are not quite logically connected but will flower out into illustrative statements of truth and thoughts. Emersons philosophical discussion is sometimes difficult to understand but he uses comparisons

31、and metaphors to make the general idea of his work clearly expressed.Well-read in the classics of Western European literature,Emerson often employed these literary sources to make and enrich his own points but never let them take the full reins of his discussion. In general, Emerson was showing to t

32、he world a distinctive American style.3 1836 年出版了第一本书论自然“Nature”, 1847年他的诗集问世. Many of his lectures were later distilled into his famous “Essays”. Among his most important works are “Representative Men” and “English Traits” .His “Poems” appeared in 1847.4 人们认为他的诗作缺乏诗的形式，用语也太粗糙，但最后他的诗歌却受到了高度评价，他那样并不工

33、整的韵律和动人的形象如艺术品一样，非常适合现代读者的口味in his day, Emersons poems were criticized for their lack of form and polish. In recent years, hower, his poetry has received high praise. His harsh rhythms and striking images appeal to many modern readers as artful techniques.5 美国学者The American Scholar被称为“我们知识分子的独立宣言” “

34、our intellectual Declaration of Independence”6 教材作品：论自然：“Nature”; 论自助：“Self-Reliance”四、 Nathaniel Hawthorne纳撒尼尔霍桑1804-18641霍桑独特的才能主要表现在他能够通过一些极具象征意义的故事来触摸人类灵魂深处的道德品质，最好的例证便是波士顿清教徒引以自娱的红字，小说的每一个字，每一幅画面和每一个事件都能够达到了一个特定的效果，它讲述了关于罪的故事，罪对不同人的影响以及有些人获得拯救的故事Hawthornes unique gift was for the creation of st

35、rongly symbolic stories which touch the deepest roots of mans moral nature. The finest example is the recreation of Puritan Boston, “The Scarlet Letter”. In this novel each word, image, and event works toward a single effect. It is a complex story of guilt, its effects upon various persons, and how

36、deliverance is obtained for some of them.1 在他的短篇小说中，他通过活生生，极有象征意味的想象来体现人类社会的一些重大道德问题his ability to create vivid and symbolic images that embody great moral questions appear strongly in his short stories。霍桑同埃德加阿伦坡并称为美国短篇小说现代艺术大师，他们都创作了独一无二的小说形式样Hawthorne shares with Edgar Allan Poe the distinction of

37、 advancing the art of the short story, giving to the form qualities that are uniquely American。2 他的作品还有：伊桑布兰德、小伙子布朗、海德格博士的体验、野心勃勃的客人、巨石脸。“Ethan Brand”; “Young Goodman Brown”; “Dr. Heideggers Experiment”; “The Ambitious Guest”; “The Great Stone Face”.3 教材作品：红字：“The Scarlet Letter”五、 James Fenimore Co

38、oper詹姆斯芬尼莫库珀1789-1851*1美国第一位凭着胆识走上文坛的著名小说家the first important American novelist began his literary career on a dare.21821年他第二部小说间谍获得极大的成功，是一部引人入胜的探险类故事，事件发生在美国独立战争期间“The Spy” was successful, it was a rousing tale about espionage against the British during the Revolutionary War.5教材作品：最后的莫希干人：“The Las

39、t of the Mohicans”最后的莫西干人六、 William Cullen Bryant威廉卡伦布莱恩特1794-1878*1. 1817年伟大史诗死之思考（希腊语），人们一致认为这是当时美国最杰出的一篇诗作the stately poem called ” Thanatopsis” (Greek, meaning “view of death”) introduced the best poet to appear in American up to that time.2. 致水鸟是其巅峰之作，“用美国英语写作的最完美的短诗”，“To a Waterfowl” is perhap

40、s the peak of his work, “Most perfect brief poem in the language”.3. 当欧文用自己的作品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也达到了相当高的水平，他是第一个获得美国主要诗人称号的作家As Irving had shown that American prose had come of age, so Bryant demonstrated to European readers that American poetry was ready to demand serious attention. He

41、was the first American to gain the stature of a major poet.4. 教材作品：死之思考：“Thanatopsis”致水鸟：“To a Waterfowl”七、 Henry David Thoreau亨利戴维梭罗1817-1862*4 他是爱默生最忠实的信徒，是他把爱默生的许多理论付诸了实践he was Emersons truest disciple, who put into practice many of Emersons theories.5 1854年，梭罗根据他在沃尔登湖畔居住两年经历写出名作沃尔登“Walden”, the

42、superb book came out of his two-years residence at Walden Pond 在这部书中阐释了他去体验这种生活的原因，他认为一个一星期最好工作一天，而剩下的六天时间则用来思索，他也认为人类心灵的自助和独立最为重要，每个人都应该发现自己的生活方式he explained many of the beliefs that led him to try this kind of life. He thought it better for a man to work one day a week and the rest of the week cou

43、ld be devoted to thought. For Thoreau, as for Emerson, self-reliance and independence of mind ranked above all each should find out his own way of living.6 教材作品：沃尔登 我生活的地方；我为何生活：“Walden Where I Lived, and What I Lived For”八、Herman Melville赫尔曼麦尔维尔1819-1891*1. 白鲸主要讲述了一个为追捕一只想象中的神秘白鲸的漫长海上故事，这本书达到了象征主义手

44、法的创作高峰，这种写法强烈地吸引了现在社会的读者 “Moby Dick”, a tremendous chronicle of a whaling voyage in pursuit of a seemingly supernatural white whale. The book is steeped in symbolism, another strong appeal to readers of his century.2. 教材作品：白鲸：“Moby Dick”九、Henry Wadsworth Longfellow亨利沃兹沃思朗费罗1807-1882*1朗费罗去世后被安葬在威斯敏斯特

45、教堂的诗人之角，他也是美国惟一获此殊荣的诗人，他的诗歌因高雅宜人，纯正有韵味而大受欢迎after his death, he became the only American to be honored with a bust in the Poets corner of Westminster Abbey. The gentleness, sweetness, and purity for which his poetry was popular during his lifetime.2教材作品：人生礼赞：“A Psalm of Life”; 奴隶的梦：“The Slaves Dream”

46、; 逝去的青春；“My Lost Youth”; 海华沙之歌 海华沙的禁食“The Song of Hiawatha Hiawathas Fasting”Part The Literature Of Realism现实主义文学1860-一战前19141.19世纪，美国现实主义文学：他们寻找描写美国人真实生活的方法，他们声称平凡的、就近的事件同重大的、遥运的事件一样都是艺术创作的源泉they sought to portray American life as it really was, insisting that the ordinary and local were as suitabl

47、e for artistic portrayal as the magnificent and the remote.2.美国新的现实主义即自然主义大师们不再崇尚过去粉饰太平的写作方法，他们设法尽力客观，真实地展现出受环境与出身局限的下层人民和各种经济阶层人物的真正生活，他们强调世界的非道德性，他们认为，人们并没有意志的自由，他们的生活状况往往受到了生活的环境与自己的出身所局限；他们还认宗教上的“真理”是虚幻的，人类世俗的现实生活是痛苦的，死亡以后，一切又烟消云散了现实主义的分支Naturalism: (in the late nineteenth century), Americannatu

48、ralismwasanewandharsherrealism. Americas literary naturalists dismissed the validity of comforting moral truths. They attempted to achieve extreme objectivity and frankness, presenting characters of low social and economic classed who were dominated by their environment and heredity, the naturalists

49、 emphasized that the world was amoral, that men and women had no free will, that their lives were controlled by heredity and the environment, that religious “truths” were illusory, that the destiny of humanity was misery in life and oblivion in death.代表：Jack London: The Call of the Wild, Martin Eden

50、; Theodore Dreiser: Sister CarrieFree verse is rhymed or unrhymed poetry free from conventional rules of meter; instead, it uses the cadences(抑扬顿挫) of natural speech.Poets famous for their works composed in free verse include Walt Whitman, Ezra Pound, T.S. Eliot, Amy Lowell and Carl Sandburg.一、Walt

51、Whitman沃尔特惠特曼1819-18921. 美国文学史上极其重要的、具有创新精神的作家之一，他的草叶集中系列诗歌是美国文学史上第一部真正的史诗one of the great innovators in American literature. In the cluster of poems he called “Leaves of Grass” he gave America its first genuine epic poem.他所创造的这种诗体叫做自由诗，在这种诗歌中，没有固定的节拍，也没有有规律的韵脚，惠特曼认为传统的格律诗不适合表达民主之声the poetic style h

52、e devised is now called free verse-that is, poetry without a fixed beat or regular rhyme scheme. Whitman thought that the voice of democracy should not be haltered by traditional forms of verse.2. 1855年出版草叶集第一部，其中的大部分作品表达的主题是人类与大自然。他给诗人重新进行了定义，他认为诗人是一个英雄，是一个救世主，还是先知，诗人通过对真理的表达来引导大众in his poetry, Whi

53、man combined the ideal of the democratic common man and that of the rugged individual. He envisioned the poet as a hero, a savior and a prophet, one who leads the community by his expressions of the truth.Special Features of his Poems1. Poetic structures: 1.1 Lines: often long1.2 Envelope structure1

54、.3 Unique verse unit:w No regular pattern w Each verse unit is usu. an independent clausew Each verse unit is a complete statement. 1.4 Thought rhythm1.5 Composed like mosaics 马赛克Languagew Slang words, foreign words, technical words, sexual words, and learned wordsw Coined new words, and gave old wo

55、rds new meaningsw Rough and uncivilized. Rhetorical devicesw few metaphors or other kinds of symbolic languagew parallelism: a technique of the Biblical poetryw The parallel lines say the same thing but use different words.Poetic style: religiousw Whitmans desire to express spiritual truth based on

56、his w mystical experience3.教材作品：自己之歌：”Song of Myself”我坐在这儿眺望着：”I Sit and Look Out”敲呀！敲呀！鼓啊！：”Drum-Taps Beat! Beat! Drums”二、Emily Dickinson爱米丽狄金森1830-18861.她的诗歌古怪、简洁，她对做任何大众或流行诗人的概念保持惊人冷漠，她往往是通过一件具体的家庭小事，和一种闲适的生活来阐明事理，并把这些描写成为令人痴迷的诗歌she wrote her whimsical, darting verse with sublime indifference to

57、any notion of being a democratic or popular poet. Her work illustrated the fact that one could take a single household and an inactive life, and make enchanting poetry out of it.Features of Dickinsons PoetryOriginal Style: No titles Extensive use of Dashes Unconventional Capitalization Idiosyncratic (有个人特点的)Vocabulary and Imager