美国文学,美国文学选读americanliterature.ppt

1、American Literature,The Outline of American Literature,I Colonial Period(16071765)II Revolutionary Period(17651800)III The Age of Romanticism(18001865)IV The Age of Realism(18651918)V American Modernism(19181945)VI Contemporary Literature(1945-),The Age of Romanticism,Section One:American Romanticis

2、m Section Two:New England Transcendentalism Section Three:Romantic Novelists Section Four:Romantic Poets Section Five:Edgar Allan Poe,American Romanticism,BackgroundsTermsDistinct Feature of American Romanticism Important Literary Figures of American Romanticism,Backgrounds,1 national influences2 in

3、ternational influences,national influences,In politics:democracy and political equality lay the foundation of Romanticism;In economics:the spread of industrialism;the sudden influx of immigration and the pioneers pushing the frontier further west;In culture:the publication of Webster Dictionary mark

4、ed the beginning of the American English;the appearance of many magazines and newspapers;,international influences,Romantic Movement in England and Europe proved to be a decisive influence;Many English and European master of poetry and prose made stimulating impact on American Romanticism.,Terms,Rom

5、ance Emotionally heightened,symbolic American novels associated with the Romantic period.Romanticism,Romanticism,a movement of the 18th and 19th century.It is the predominance of imagination over reason and formal rules and over the sense of fact or the actual,a psychological desire to escape from u

6、npleasant realities.,Detailed Information,Romanticism was a movement in literature,philosophy,music and art which developed in Europe in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.It emphasized individual values and aspirations above those of society as a reaction to the Industrial Revolution.It looked

7、to the Middle Ages and to direct contact with nature for inspiration.It gave impetus to the national liberation movement in 19th-century Europe.,Distinct Feature of American Romanticism,1 It was the expression of“a real new experience”and contained“an alien quality”for the simple reason that“the spi

8、rit of the place”was radically new and alien.2 It tended to be didactic because of Puritan influence.3 It was both imitative and independent.,Important Literary Figures of American Romanticism,Washington Irving James Fenimore Cooper,Washington Irving(17831895)华盛顿.欧文,His life His career and works His

9、 style His contribution to Am.Lit.,His Life(1),Born into a wealthy New York merchant familyBegan writing from a very early ageStudied law and led for a time the life of a gentleman lawyerLoved writing more and wrote his first book in 1809Went to England in 1815 to take care of family business but fa

10、iledHad to write to support himself The Sketch Book won him international fame,His Life(2),Went as diplomatic attache to Spain in 1826 and gathered material for writingSecretary of U.S.Legation in London from 18291832Returned to Am.at about 50 after being away for 17 yearsLived a leisure life and wr

11、ote the rest of his life except 4 years as Minister to SpainDied in 1859 and unmarried all his life,His career and works,1st phase:18091832“English phase”2nd phase:18321859“minor phase”,1st phase:18091832“English phase”主要阶段或英国阶段,A History of New York from the Beginning of the World to the End of the

12、 Dutch Dynasty 纽约外史(1809)The Sketch Book 见闻札记(18191820)/The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon,Gent.:“Rip Wan Winkle”瑞普.凡.温克尔“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”睡谷的传说 marked the beginning of short story as a genre in Am.literature marked the beginning of American RomanticismThe History of the Life and Voyages

13、of Christopher Columbus 哥仑布传(1828)A Chronicle of the Conquest of Granada 攻克格拉纳达(1829)The Alhambra 阿尔罕伯拉(1832),2nd phase:18321859“minor phase”次要阶段,Life of Goldsmith 歌德斯密传Life of Washington 华盛顿传The Crayon Miscellany:“A Tour on the Prairies”草原游记“Astoria”阿斯托里亚“Adventures of Captain Bonneville”博纳维尔船长历险记,

14、His Contribution to American Literature,He was the father of American literature He was the first romantic writer,first to get international fame;He made short story as a genre;His stories based on the legends of Europe and Spain gave his readers a glimpse of a world beyond their own shores His colo

15、rful legends of the Hudson River Valley helped awaken Am.to an appreciation of their nation and its native lit.,His style,imitative,but highly skillful;never shocking and a bit sentimental at times;“The style is the man”文如其人 avoided moralizing as much as possible;wrote to amuse and entertain;good at

16、 enveloping his stories in an atmosphere;his characters are vivid and true;his writing with great humor;,James Fenimore Cooper(17891851)詹姆斯.费尼莫.库柏,First author to write about Western MovementHis lifeHis worksHis styleHis contribution to Am.Lit.Analysis of Leatherstocking Tales,His life,Born into a r

17、ich land-holding family of New JerseyWent to Yale at 14 but was expelled in junior due to improper behaviorSpent 5 years at seaInherited fortune and settled down Began writing by accidentWrote thirty-odd novels(11 of sea)Best known and remembered by Leatherstocking Tales,His works,Social and Histori

18、cal novels:Sea novelsBorder novels:Leatherstocking TalesOther works,Social&Historical novel,The Spy 间谍(1821)Satanstoe 萨坦斯托(1845)The Chainbearer 持锁链者The Red Skins 红色人(1846)The Water Witch 水巫(1830)The Two Admirals 两位海军上将(1842)Lionel Lincoln 莱那尔.林肯(1825)The Bravo 亡命徒(1831)The Headsman 头人(1833)The Ways

19、of the Hour 世风(1850),Sea novel,The Pilot 领航者The Red Rover 红色的海盗（1827）Afloat and Ashore 海上与岸上(1844)Jack Tier 杰克.梯耶尔(1848)The Sea Lions 海狮(1849),Other works,Notions of American 美国人的思想Homeward Bound 返乡路上(1838)Home as Found 故乡风貌(1838)The Crater 火山口(1847)The Oak Openings 橡树林间空地(1848),His style,His writin

20、g is powerful yet clumsy.He is good at inventing plots.His style is dreadful,his characterization wooden and lacking in probability,and his language,his use of dialect,is not authentic.,His contribution to Am.Lit.,He was the first writer of sea novels.He was the first excellent writer of border nove

21、ls.He was the first writer of series novels.He was the first romantic writer with rationalism.He was the first writer in Am.appreciated by many writers of different nationalities and different generations.He was a mythic writer and created a myth about the formative period of the Am.nation.,Analysis

22、 of Leatherstocking Tales,1)It contains five ones:2)Coopers ambivalence:3)The Ending 4)Who are the pioneers?,Coopers ambivalence,He realized his ambivalence-nature and civilization,freedom and law-in“The Pioneers”,The Ending,Of the 5 tales:three ended in Nattys departure for the wilderness-The Pione

23、ers-The Pathfinder-The Deerslayer two ended in his staying with an Indian tribe-The Last of the Mohicans-The Prairie,Who are the pioneers?,-maybe Natty Bumppo,-maybe Judge Temple,-maybe both.,Leatherstocking Tales,The Pioneers（1823）The Last of the Mohicans(1826)The Prairie(1827)The Pathfinder(1840)T

24、he Deerslayer(1841),Another way of making up the collections,The Deerslayer-youthThe Last of the Mohicans-middle-age maturity The Pathfinder-in the late 30s and fall in love The Pioneers-old The Prairie-dying,New England Transcendentalism,Transcendentalism 超验主义Factors influence its coming Features o

25、f New England Transcendentalism Literary representatives of New England Transcendentalism-,Transcendentalism,A broad,philosophical movement in New England during the Romantic era(peaking between 1835 and 1845).It stressed the role of divinity in nature and the individual s intuition,and exalted feel

26、ing over reason.,More information,The phase of New England Transcendentalism is the summit of American Romanticism.It was,in essence,romanticism on Puritan soil.It was started by a group of people who were members of an informal club,i.e.the Transcendental Club in New England in the 1830s.They expre

27、ssed their views,published the journal,The Dial.Transcendentalism has been defined philosophically as the recognition in man of the capacity of knowing truth intuitively,or of attaining knowledge transcending the reach of the senses.Other concepts that accompanied Transcendentalism include the idea

28、that nature is ennobling and the idea that the individual is divine and,therefore,self-reliant.The representative writers of Transcendentalism are Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau,Factors influence its coming,foreign influences:1)introduction of idealistic philosophy from Germany and Fran

29、ce;2)Oriental mysticism such as Hinduism and philosophy of the Chinese Confucius and Mencius;native influence:American Puritan tradition,Features of New England Transcendentalism,1 The Transcendentalists placed emphasis on spirit,or the Oversoul,as the most important thing in the universe.2 The Tran

30、scendentalists stressed the importance of the individual.3 The Transcendentalists offered a fresh perception of nature as symbolic of the Spirit or God.,Literary representatives of New England Transcendentalism,Ralph Waldo Emerson(1803-1882)拉尔夫.瓦尔多.爱默生 Henry David Thoreau(1817-1862)亨利.大卫.梭罗,Ralph Wa

31、ldo Emerson(1803-1882)拉尔夫.瓦尔多.爱默生,His LifeHis WorksHis Influence on American literatureComment on him,Comments on him,A founder of the Transcendental movement.Moreover,Emerson was not only the shaper of a distinctly American philosophy embracing optimism,individuality,and mysticism,but one of the mo

32、st influential figures of the nineteenth century.“The American Scholar”,an address delivered before Harvards Phi Beta Kappa Society,attacked American dependence on European thought and urged the creation of a new literary heritage.,His life,Descendant of New England clergymenExperienced“genteel pove

33、rty”as a child Went to Harvard,reconsider Calvinist belief,embraced UnitarianismBecame a Unitarian minister to the Second church of BostonLeft his job to Europe and brought back European RomanticismFormed Transcendentalist Club and its journal“the Dial”,became spokesman of New England Transcendentalism“preach”in the lecture-room instead of at the pulpitTraveled around and spread his transcendental