thehistoryofamericanliterature.docx

1、thehistoryofamericanliteratureA Brief Summary of the History of American LiteratureName：黄月红Class：0904Student ID: 2009212721Score: _Introduction Although the history of America just has around 200 years, it has made many great achievements in all the fields of human civilianization. And American Lite

2、rature is one among them. From the time that Europeans laughed at America without its own literature to the time that the 10th American writer got the Nobel Prize in Literature, American literature is widely accepted in the whole world. Generally speaking, American literature can be divided into 5 p

3、arts: the Early American Literature, American Romanticism, American Realism and Naturalism, American Modernism, and American Post-modernism. Each period has an intimate relationship with some historical events. The early American literature, to some degree, is a descendant of European literature. Fr

4、om the period of Romanticism, American literature began to form its own features. As the industrialization developing, American society become more and more complicated, so literature in this land gradually varies in style. The theories of Romanticism, Realism and Naturalism are borrowed from Europe

5、. But the situation inverts since the age of Modernism. America becomes the original land of both Modernism and Post-modernism. From then on, American literature has established its own stage on the world literature stage. 1 The American Romanticism (1810-1865)1) Period and Background The American R

6、omantic period stretched from 1810 to 1865, which was crucial to the development of American literary traditions. It saw miraculous achievements in American literature. Both the outside and inside environment in the country contributed to the booming of American Romanticism.For one hand, American Ro

7、manticism came from Europe. At the end of 18th century, Romanticism gained its strength in Western Europe after the Industrial Revolution. Many American literary creations were inspired by the European Romanticists like William Wordsworth, Byron. To some degree, a lot of literary works in that era w

8、ere created by imitating Europeans. For the other hand, politically, the country has gradually developed its new social order which contributed to building a democratic country. Economically, the Industrial Revolution was spread all around the country; as a result that America became a land of wealt

9、h and hope. People in such a circumstance began to seek the American own value to secure their existence. Owning to reasons above, the American Romanticism began to root in this fertile soil.2) The Early RomanticismIn the early romanticism writers mainly focused on feelings when the country was foun

10、ded newly. The vast land provides peoples great passion on building their country. The themes in works usually were something on human rights and individualism. Heroes would die at the ending for protecting country. Washington Irving and William Cullen Bryant were representatives of this part. There

11、 was a group of poets called “fireside poets” because they often read their poems when families or friends sat around a fire. The poets were haunted with the traditional European culture. The most famous one was Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.3) The TranscendentalismTranscendentalism was the most import

12、ant part of American Romanticism. It was put forward by Ralph Waldo Emerson. The major concepts about transcendentalism could be summarized as following four points: first, it stresses the power of intuition. Second, it takes nature as symbolic of spirit of god. Third, it emphasizes the significance

13、 of the individual. Fourth, religion is an emotional communication between an individual soul and the universal” over-soul”. In this period, there are a large amount of successful writers and poets, such as, George Putnam, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson. 4

14、) A Special Group: the Gothic The Transcendentalists believed the kindness of humans nature, while the Gothic writers thought the evilness of humans nature. Edgar Allan Poe belonged to the group. Most Poes works were illustrated in the Gothic way like Tell-tale Heart and the Black Cat. Nathaniel Haw

15、thorne also belonged to this group. The criticism toward Puritanism often appeared in his works. His works, like Young Goodman brown, the Scarlet Letter, showed it clearly.5) The Features of Literary WorksThis literary period was regarded as 1st American Renaissance. It was not only because American

16、 writers used American as subjects in their works but because all the literary forms (except for drama), like fiction, non-fiction prose and poetry occurred. At this moment, America began to have its own literature works. It is writers or poets from Washington Irving who make contribution to this qu

17、ick development. And different literary style owns its special function on it. For example, the fictions tending to explore in to the hidden recession of the spirit of the individuals was that America was lacking in settled and traditional community life. Although American romanticism was divided in

18、to four parts, anyway works all belonging to this era, had some features in common. Firstly, all of them are close to nature. Secondly, individualism, equality, freedom and simplicity were emphasized. Thirdly, Puritanism was attacked. 2 The American Realism and Naturalism (1865-1914)1) Period and Ba

19、ckgroundRanging from 1865 to 1914, it is the period of American Realism and Naturalism. They dominated the spirit of American literature, especially American fictions. The 50 years between the end of the Civil War and the outbreak of world war is a period full of changes, in every aspect of American

20、 life, politically, economically, culturally, and religiously. The scale of the change was so vast that it indicated a fundamental redirection in the nature and ideology of the American society. With the appearance of industrialism the nature of labor changed. However, beyond peoples expectation, af

21、ter the Civil War, ordinary peoples life was not improved at all but became tougher and tougher, although the national economy increased rapidly. All the fortune went into capitalists hands, as a result that the social gap broadened, and the polarization between the rich and the poor became larger a

22、nd larger. Some acute writers realized it and began their realistic creations so that a great literary era was coming. 2) The American Realism (1865-1890s)Realism is, in a broadest sense, simply to actuality in literature. Williams dean Howells defined it: “realism is nothing less than the truth tre

23、atment of material”. Hence the subject of realistic fiction tends to be contemporary, ordinary, and middle-class. The representatives in this era were William dean Howells, Mark Twain, and Henry James. The three literary giants in that period stood for three realistic styles: genteel realism, psycho

24、logical realism and Local Colorism. Howells was good at writing the tradition of genteel realism, who called for the treatment of the “smiling aspect of life”. James was famous for psychological realism with theme of the ideology of the new world and old world. And Mark Twain reached the mount of th

25、e Local Colorism which was the description of local places and people he knew best. 3) The American Naturalism (1890s-1914)When Charles Darwins evolutionary theory: the struggle for existence, survival of the fittest, natural selection and the amoral world appeared, it offered people to think the ne

26、w world in a totally new perspectives. Finally they found answers to their puzzles. It is Frank Norris who introduced Naturalism into American land. Naturalists advocated writing like the way of scientists conducting experiment. The process should be as the followings: In naturalistic a work, fatali

27、sm and pessimism were the characteristics. In naturalists view, peoples fates were determined by three things: Heredity, Environment and Chance. The famous Naturalists in America were Frank Norris, Stephen Crane, Theodore Dreiser, and Jack London. The slum girls were very common protagonists. And in

28、 many works human were described like animals who only knew to eat and sleep like McTeague. Naturalists usually did not give comments on the protagonists in their work. All in all, American Naturalists did share some similarities in theme and technique. In theme, they represented the lower classes l

29、ives truthfully and broke into such forbidden regions as violence, death, and sex; in technique, their works exhibit honest skills and artistry. 4) A Comparison between American Realism and Naturalism Some people regarded Naturalism as an extension of Realism, while others viewed it as a bridge betw

30、een Realism and Modernism. Anyway, these two periods have their unique writing styles. Here is a chart of comparison between the two as the following: Realism NaturalismEmphasizing the ordinaryEmphasizing on the extraordinaryA mirror / an auto focusing cameraA lens / a focusing cameraAn observer A s

31、cientistMoral / rational Accidental / physiologicalFrom the chart, we can see their differences clearly. First, Realists chose a very genteel way to describe the harsh reality which naturalists disapprove of. In Naturalists minds, peoples attention can be attracted only by using some extraordinary c

32、ase, like a focusing camera. Second, realists use a rational way to reveal reality, and Naturalists prefer to the physiological method. In short, the purpose of these two is to reveal life reality. Naturalism use a more power way instead of Realisms genteel way. 3 The American Modernism (1914-1945)1) Period and Background Between the beginning of WWand the end of WW, America entered into a new literary era: Modernism. As the science highly developed, lots of inventions were produced; Life in the early 20th century was totally different from th