英语国家概况Poetry.docx

英语国家概况Poetry.docx

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英语国家概况Poetry

AmericanLiterature:

Poetry

I

INTRODUCTION

AmericanLiterature:

Poetry, verse in English thatoriginatesfromtheterritorynowknownastheUnitedStates.AmericanpoetrydiffersfromBritishorEnglishpoetrychieflybecauseAmerica’sculturallydiversetraditionsexertedpressureontheEnglishlanguage,alteringitstones,diction,forms,andrhythmsuntilsomethingidentifiableasAmericanEnglishemerged.AmericanpoetryisversewritteninthisalteredformofEnglish.

The term American poetryisinsomewaysacontradiction.AmericarepresentsabreakwithtraditionandtheinventionofanewcultureseparatefromtheEuropeanpast.Poetry,ontheotherhand,representstraditionitself,alonghistoryofexpressioncarriedtoAmericafromaEuropeanpast.Americanpoetrythusembodiesaclearlyidentifiabletensionbetweentraditionandinnovation,pastandfuture,andoldformsandnewforms.Americanpoetryremainsahybrid,aliteraturethattriestoseparateitselffromthetraditionofEnglishliteratureevenasitaddstoandaltersthattradition.

American poetry couldbedefineddifferently,however,especiallyifitisnotlimitedtopoetryinEnglish.Withoutthatqualifyingterm,AmericanpoetryhasitsoriginsintherichoraltraditionsofNativeAmericancultures.Eachoftheseculturesdevelopedcomplexsymbolictalesoftheoriginsandhistoryofitspeople,akintoepicpoemsintheEuropeantradition.Thesetaleswereperformedaspartofritualsandpassedonthroughmemorizationfromonegenerationtothenext.SomeofthemhavebeentranslatedintoEnglish.YettheseworkstendtovanishfrommosthistoriesofAmericanpoetrybecausetheywerepartofongoingperformancesbasedinspokenratherthanwrittenlanguage.Moreover,theirrhythmsandsoundsareboundtothenativelanguagesinwhichtheyevolved.Similarly,thereisarichheritageofSpanish-languagepoetrywritteninAmericafromthetimeoftheearliestSpanishexplorerstocurrentHispanicandChicanoandChicanapoetry.Americanpoetrytraditionsalsohavethrivedinmanyotherlanguages,fromChinesetoYiddish,astheresultofcenturiesofimmigrationtotheUnitedStates.

But most people mean byAmericanpoetrythoserhythmic,memorable,andsignificantverseformscomposedinEnglishintheUnitedStatesorinlandsthatbecametheUnitedStates.Thisoverviewofmorethan300yearsofAmericanpoetrytracksthecreationofanationalliteratureidentifiablydifferentfromthatofanyothernation.Inthe1600scolonialpoetsrespondedtothechallengesoftheirnewworldandexpressedthehopesandfearsofEuropeanswhosettledthere.IntheyearsfollowingtheDeclarationofIndependence（1776）Americanpoetscreatedapatrioticpoetryasadefiningliteratureforthenewnation.Apowerfulnewkindofpoetryfloweredinthemid-andlate19thcenturyamongthefirstpoetstobebornandraisedasactualcitizensoftheUnitedStates.Americanmodernistpoetryemergedinthefirsthalfofthe20thcentury,asmanywriterssoughttosubduenationalistimpulsesintheirpoetryanddefinethemselvesaspartofaninternationaladvanceinthearts.Finally,inthesecondhalfofthe20thcenturyamultiplicityofdiversevoicesredefinedAmericanpoetry.ForinformationonAmericanproseordrama,seeAmericanLiterature:

Prose;AmericanLiterature:

Drama.

II

BEGINNINGS:

1600STHROUGHTHEAMERICANREVOLUTION（1775-1783）

From the beginning untilwellintothe19thcentury,widespreadagreementexistedthatAmericanpoetrywouldbejudgedbyBritishstandards,andthatpoetrywritteninAmericawassimplyBritishpoetrycomposedontheothersideoftheAtlanticOcean.YetinrespondingtoBritishstyles,Americanpoetrytookinspirationfromthenewphysicalenvironmentandtheevolvingcultureofthecolonies.Intheprocessitrecordedasubtleshiftfrompoetswhoweredependentimitatorstopoetswhospokeforandinthelanguageofthenewnation.

A

NewEnglandPuritanPoetry

Puritans who had settledinNewEnglandwerethefirstpoetsoftheAmericancolonies.MostPuritanpoetssawthepurposeofpoetryascarefulChristianexaminationoftheirlives;andprivatepoems,likePuritandiaries,servedasaforumwheretheselfcouldbemeasureddailyagainstdevoutexpectations.Puritanleadersdeemedpoetryasafeandinspiritinggenre,sincetheyconsideredtheBibleitselftobeGod’spoetry.Thuspoetrybecametheliteraryformthatalloweddevoutbelieverstoexpress,withGod’shelp,divinelessons.Othergenres,suchasdramaandfiction,wereconsidereddangerous,capableofgeneratingliesandleadingtoidleentertainmentinsteadofmoraluplift.

Puritan poets had grownupinEnglandduringaperiodwhenChristianepicpoetry—culminatinginParadiseLost（1667）byJohnMilton—wasconsideredthehighestliteraryaccomplishment.WhentheycametoAmericatheymaintainedtheirculturalallegiancestoBritain.AnneBradstreetlookedtoBritishpoetsSirPhilipSidneyandEdmundSpenser;EdwardTaylorlookedtopoetsGeorgeHerbertandJohnDonne.

Bradstreet was the firstpoetinAmericatopublishavolumeofpoetry.TheTenthMuseLatelySprungUpinAmericawaspublishedinEnglandin1650.BradstreethadlivedinEnglanduntil1630,whenattheageof18shearrivedintheMassachusettsBayColony,whereshespenttherestofherlife.AlthoughBradstreetwrotemanypoemsonfamiliarBritishthemesandproducedskilledimitationsofBritishforms,hermostremarkableworksrespondeddirectlytoherexperiencesincolonialNewEngland.Theyrevealherattractiontohernewworld,evenasthediscomfortsoflifeinthewildernesssickenedher.Herpoetrycontainsamuteddeclarationofindependencefromthepastandachallengetoauthority.AlthoughBradstreet’sversesontheburningofherhousein1666andpoemsonthedeathofthreegrandchildrenendbyreaffirmingtheGod-fearingPuritanbeliefsystem,alongthewaytheyalsoquestiontheharshPuritanGod.Further,Bradstreet’sworkrecordsearlystirringsoffemaleresistancetoasocialandreligioussysteminwhichwomenaresubservienttomen.In“ThePrologue”（1650）,Bradstreetwrites,“Iamobnoxioustoeachcarpingtongue/Whosaysmyhandaneedlebetterfits,/[than]Apoet’spen.…”Bradstreet’sinstinctsweretolovethisworldmorethanthepromisednextworldofPuritantheology,andherstruggletoovercomeherlovefortheworldofnatureenergizesherpoetry.

Taylor, a poet of greattechnicalskill,wrotepowerfulmeditativepoemsinwhichhetestedhimselfmorallyandsoughttoidentifyandrootoutsinfultendencies.In“God'sDeterminationsTouchingHisElect”（written1680?

）,oneofTaylor’smostimportantworks,hecelebratesGod'spowerinthetriumphofgoodoverevilinthehumansoul.AllofTaylor’spoetryandmuchofBradstreet’sservedgenerallypersonalends,andtheiraudienceoftenconsistedofthemselvesandtheirfamilyandclosestfriends.Thistraditionofprivatepoetry,keptinmanuscriptandcirculatedamongasmallandintimatecircle,continuedthroughoutthecolonialperiod,andnumerouspoetsofthe17thand18thcenturiesremainedunknowntothegeneralpublicuntillongaftertheirdeaths.Forthem,poetrywasakindofheightenedletterwritingthatreaffirmedthetiesoffamilyandfriends.Taylor’spoemsremainedunpublisheduntil1939,whenThePoeticalWorksofEdwardTaylorappeared.ManyofBradstreet’smostpersonalpoemsalsoremainedunpublishedduringherlifetime.

Public poetry for thePuritanswasmoredidacticorinstructiveinnatureandofteninvolvedthetransformationintoverseofimportantbiblicallessonsthatguidedPuritanbelief.PoetandministerMichaelWigglesworthwrotetheologicalverseinballadmeter,suchasTheDayofDoom（1662）,whichturnedtheBookofRevelationintoaneasilymemorizedsing-songepic.Puritanpoetryalsoincludedelaborateelegies,orpoemshonoringapersonwhohadrecentlydied.Puritansusedthesepoemstoexplorethenatureoftheself,readingthecharacterofthedeadpersonasatextandseeingthelifeasacollectionofhiddenmeanings.

B

SouthernSatire

Colonial poets of the18thcenturystilllookedtoBritishpoetsoftheirtime,suchasAlexanderPopeandAmbrosePhilips.Bothweremastersofpastoralverse—poetrythatcelebratedanidealizedEnglishcountrysideandrurallife—andofsatiricalverse.Initially,thissatirictonewasmoreprevalentinthesoutherncoloniesthaninNewEngland.

Two poets from the MarylandColony,EbenezerCookandRichardLewis,wroteaccomplishedsatiricalpoemsbasedonBritishpastoralmodels.ButtheirpoemscleverlyunderminethosemodelsbypokingfunattheBritish.Cook’sTheSot-WeedFactor（1708）isalongnarrativepoemwritteninrhymingcoupletsthatmocksAmericansasabackwardpeoplebutaimsitssatiremosteffectivelyatthepoem’snarrator,whoisaBritishsnob.Americansmaybelaughable,Cooksuggests,buttheyarenotasridiculousastheBritishwiththeirignoranceandprejudiceaboutAmericans.

C

RevolutionaryEraPatrioticPoetry

A penchant for satirecontinuedintheAmericanRevolutionaryera,whenAmericanpoetrywascenteredonConnecticutandagroupofpoetsknownastheConnecticutWits（orHartfordWits）.Thisgroup,mostofwhosememberswereassociatedwithYaleUniversity,includedDavidHumphreys,JohnTrumbull,andJoelBarlow.AlongwithotherwriterstheyproducedTheAnarchiad（1786-1787）,amockepicpoemwarningagainstthechaosthatwouldensueifastrongcentralgovernment,asadvocatedbytheFederalists,wasnotimplementedintheUnitedStates.AmericanpoetsusedtheBritishliterarymodelofthemockepicasatooltosatirizeandcriticizeBritishculture.Trumbull’smock