1、 American Literature The Romantic Period (the end of the 18th century - the outbreak of the Civil War. )the first American RenaissanceHistorical background(1) American westward expansion (美国西部扩展美国西部扩展)- “拓荒小说拓荒小说”(2) New England Transcendental Movement (新英格兰超验主义运动)-”宗教性”、“象征”New England Transcendent
2、al MovementNature: the bible of New England TranscendentalismThis book pushed American Romanticism into a new phase, the phase of New England Transcendentalism, the summit of American Romanticism. the Oversoul- nature as symbol the individualFeatures of literature of this period(1) Description of na
3、tional experience of “pioneering into the west” (西部开拓)(2) Fascination about the past and the exotic(3) free expression of emotion and display of the psychic states of the characters.(4) Pay attention to the description of the individual and the common man(5) Description of the role of nature and Ame
4、rican landscape(6) strongly influenced by the PuritanismMajor writers and their works of Major writers and their works of the periodthe periodWashington Irving (华盛顿华盛顿. 欧文欧文)James Fenimore Cooper(1789-1851)Ralph Waldo Emerson (拉尔夫拉尔夫. 华尔多华尔多. 爱默生爱默生)Henry David ThoreauNathaniel Hawthorne (纳撒尼尔纳撒尼尔.
5、霍桑霍桑)Herman Melville (赫尔曼赫尔曼. 麦尔维尔麦尔维尔)Edgar Allan PoeWalt Whitman (华尔特华尔特. 惠特曼惠特曼)Emily Dickinson Washington Irving (华盛顿华盛顿. 欧文欧文, 1783-1859) The father of American Literature short story writer, essayist, poet, travel book writer, best known for the short stories “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (睡谷的传
6、说睡谷的传说)” and “Rip Van Winkle (瑞普瑞普. 凡凡. 温克尔温克尔).BiographyBiographyBorn of a wealthy merchant in New York City as the youngest of 11 children. Early in his life Irving developed a passion for books. He studied law privately but practiced only briefly. From 1804 to 1806 he travelled widely in Europe.
7、Irvings career as a writer started in journals and newspapers.Major pointsMajor pointsthe first American writer of imaginative literature to gain international fame.father of American literature. The short story as a genre in American literature probably began with Irvings The Sketch Book, a collect
8、ion of essays, sketches, and tales, the most famous story are “Rip Van Winkle” ( (瑞普瑞普. . 凡凡. . 温克尔温克尔) ) and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” ( (睡谷的传说睡谷的传说) ) Rip Van Winkle (瑞普瑞普. 凡凡. 温克尔温克尔) It tells the story of the hero Rip Van Winkles peculiar encounter. The hero, Rip Van Winkle, is a naive (天真的天
9、真的), honest, and warmhearted but poor farmer. The other day, he met a short man and helped him to carry his belongings and then was treated with drink. Winkle was drunk and slept for 20 years from then on. Winkle found that everything was enormously changed after he woke up from the long sleep. The
10、undisturbed (peaceful) and uncultured small village where he used to live became a modern town which is full of noise and crowd. Winkle who used to a quiet life was unable to understand all those “tragic changes”. The theme: The author, through this novel, reveals his conservative view about the bou
11、rgeois revolution (i.e. the independent war through which the emperor was overthrown), and criticized that the revolution didnt bring benefits to American people. However, the figure of Winkle become an absurd remainder (时代的落伍者时代的落伍者). James Fenimore Cooper(1789-1851)Natty BumppoLeatherstocking Tale
12、s: a serious of five novels about the frontier life of American settles The Pioneers The Last of the Mohicans The Prairie The Pathfinder The Deerslayer Ralph Waldo Emerson (拉尔夫拉尔夫. 华尔多华尔多. 爱默生爱默生, 1803-1882) A major American poet, essayist, philosopher. The major representative of the American Trans
13、cendental Movement. Emerson was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Most of his ancestors were clergymen as was his father. He was educated in Boston and Harvard, and graduated in 1821. In 1825 he began to study at the Harvard Divinity School and next year he was licensed to preach by the Middlesex Assoc
14、iation of Ministers. Emerson became a pastor at the Second Unitarian Church of Boston in 1830. Three years later he had a crisis of faith , finding that he was not interested in the rite (仪式) of Communion (宗教团体). Emersons controversial views caused his resignation (辞职). Harvard ostracized (排斥) him f
15、or many years, but his message attracted young disciples (信徒), who joined the informal Transcendental Club (established in 1836). In 1840 Emerson helped Margaret Fuller to launch The Dial (1840-44), an open forum for new ideas on the reformation of society. Emersons health started to fail after the
16、partial burning of his house in 1872. He made his last tour abroad in 1872-1873, and then withdrew more and more from public life. Emerson died on April 27, 1882 in Concord. Principles of Emersonian TranscendentalismThe over-soul: According to Emerson, the oversoul is a supreme reality of mind, a sp
17、iritual unity of all beings, and a religion regarded as an emotional communication between an individual soul and the universal oversoul of which it is a part.the individual : Emerson strongly believes in the divinity and infinity of man as an individual.Nature: Emersons nature is the garment of the
18、 over-soul.Major works: Nature (1836), The American scholar (1837), Self-Reliance (1841), The Over-Soul (1841) Emersons first book, Nature (论自然, 1836), appeared when he was 33. Emerson emphasized individualism and rejected traditional authority. He also believed that people should try to live a simp
19、le life in harmony with nature and with others. His lectures The American Scholar (论美国学者, 1837) and Address at Divinity College (在美国神学院致辞, 1838) challenged the Harvard intelligentsia (知识界) and warned about a lifeless Christian tradition. As an essayist Emerson was a master of style. He encouraged Am
20、erican scholars to break free of European influences and create a new American culture. ”The American Scholar” has been regarded as “Americas Declaration of Intellectual Independence”. Self-trust is the first secret of success.自信乃成功之第一秘诀。 A great man is always willing to be little.伟人总愿当个平常人 The firs
21、t wealth is health.健康是人生第一财富 Dont waste life in doubts and fears. 不要把生命浪费在怀疑与恐惧中 We are all wise for other people, none for himself 替别人考虑人人都很明智，轮到自己却总是当局者迷 A Successful life To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of h
22、onest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch (小块地小块地), or a redeemed social condition;” - Ralph Waldo Emerson -Henry David ThoreauAn active TranscendentalistMajor
23、works:WaldenA Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers Nathaniel Hawthorne (纳撒尼尔纳撒尼尔. 霍霍桑桑, 1804-1864) American novelist and short story writer, most famous for his novel The Scarlet Letter (红字红字, 1850)Biography and works# He was born at Salem, Mass., on July 4th, 1804, son of a sea captain. He led
24、there a shy and rather over protected life. Hawthorne turned to writing after his graduation from Bowdoin College. He wrote several successful short stories such as The Ministers Black Veil (牧师的黑面纱牧师的黑面纱, 1836) which were collected in Twice-Told Tales (尽人皆知的故事尽人皆知的故事, 1837).# Insufficient earnings a
25、s a writer forced Hawthorne to take a job in the Salem Custom House (海关). By 1842, he was able to earn enough to marry Sophia Peabody and move to Concord, which was then the center of the Transcendental Movement.# Hawthorne returned to Salem in 1845 and in 1850, his most famous novel, The Scarlet Le
26、tter (1850) was published. His following novels were The House of the Seven Gables (七个七个尖角阁的房子尖角阁的房子, 1851), The Blithedate Romance (福谷传奇福谷传奇, 1852) and The Marble Faun (玉石雕像玉石雕像, 1860)Points of view(1) Black vision of human nature: Human beings are evil-natured and sinful and this sin and evil is e
27、ver present in human heart and will pass on from one generation to another. Besides, Hawthorne believes that human beings continuously sin and sin will get punished one way or another. (2) Hawthorne vs. Emersonian TranscendentalismThe Ministers Black Veil (牧师的黑面纱牧师的黑面纱)The Scarlet Letter (1850)The p
28、lot The Scarlet Letter is set in the 17th-century Boston and opens as Hester Prynne walks out of the prison to stand exposed on the public scaffold (绞刑台绞刑台) with a scarlet letter “A” on her breast as a lifelong sign of her sin of adultery . Hester gives birth to her daughter Pearl but refuses to rev
29、eal her sexual partner. When her long-separated husband Dr. Chillingworth comes to America and discovers her relations with the minister Dimmesdale, he is determined to punish the lovers spiritually. When Dimmesdale cannot endure Chillingworths humiliation (羞辱羞辱) and inner torment any longer he conf
30、esses his sin on the public scaffold before his death. Hester sustains all humiliation and proves to be a strong-minded and capable woman. As she is ready to offer help and advice to other women in trouble, she is loved and respected by people in the town. She continues her life of penance (忏悔忏悔) an
31、d becomes a model of endurance, goodness, courage, and victory over sin. The red A becomes symbol of moral and glory.Special features: (1) Psychological conflict: Hawthornes approach to the theme and characters is generally psychological. (2) Allegory: Allegory in Hawthornes works is an outcome of t
32、he Puritan inheritance of Gods will in everything and the 19th century Romantic idea that the natural world is endowed fully with meaning. (3) Symbolism: Hawthorne is a master of symbolism, which he took from the Puritan. The Scarlet Letter provides the most conclusive proof.Herman Melville (1819-18
33、91)Major works: Moby-Dick( Pequad, Ahab, Mody Dick)(1)Themes: A. Self vs. the hostile world; B. Alienation; C. Symbolic quest of truth and knowledge.(2) Structure(3) Characterization: A. Ahab as a tragic hero; B. Ishmael; (4) Special features: A. Symbolism; B. Allegory; C. Narrative technique.Points
34、 of viewPessimistic view of mans quest of ultimate truth: In Moby-Dick Melville deals with the issue in its full length to show that though the world is a place of darkness, filled with sorrow and woes, yet man should be able to see beyond the darkness instead of plunging deep into the grief, immers
35、ed in and obsessed with it the way Ahab does.Edgar Allan Poe Poe was father of many things, one of which is psychoanalytic criticism, the other being the detective storyPoems:Annabel LeeTo HelenShort stories:The Fall of the House of UsherThe Purploined LetterThe Golden Bug Walt Whitman (华尔特华尔特. 惠特曼惠
36、特曼)The father ofAmerican Modern poetry American poet, journalist and essayist, best known for Leaves of Grass (草叶集草叶集, 1855), and the poems Song of Myself (自我之歌自我之歌). Biography Walt Whitman was born in Long Island, New York, the son of a carpenter. Whitmans mother was descended from Dutch farmers. I
37、n Whitmans childhood there were slaves employed on the farm. Whitman was early on filled with a love of nature. He read classics in his youth and was inspired by writers such as Goethe (歌德歌德), Hegel (黑格尔黑格尔), Carlyle (卡卡莱尔莱尔) and Emerson. He left school early to become a printers apprentice. He also
38、 in 1835 worked as a teacher and journeyman printer. After that he held a great variety of jobs while writing and editing for several periodicals (期刊期刊). Points of view (1)World outlook: In his opinion, people should be equally treated, whether southerners or northerners, Whites or Blacks. And this
39、ideal of equality and democracy has been incorporated in every single line of Whitmans poetry. Whitman is also a nationalist. One of the most obvious characteristics of Leaves of Grass is indeed that it is firmly and deeply rooted in American soil. (2) Pantheistic ideas: Religiously, Whitman is a pa
40、ntheist. (3) Artistic innovation: Literally, Whitman is one of the most important figures in American poetic history. He carried on a sort of experiment on the form of poetry by choosing free verse as his medium of expression. Free verse is a more flexible and variable poetic form, simple and prose-
41、like, which allows him to express freely his ideas in colloquial English, regardless of the prevailing principles of rhyme or meter. Major works: Leaves of Grass (草叶集草叶集, 1855), which include the following famous poems: “Song of Myself” (自我之歌自我之歌), “There Was a Child Went Forth” (有个小孩在长有个小孩在长大大) “I
42、Hear America Singing” (我听见美国在歌唱我听见美国在歌唱)Free Verse:Free verse is a kind of poetry that lacks regular meter or pattern and may or may not rhyme. Depending on natural speech rhythms, its lines may be of different lengths and may switch abruptly from one rhythm to another. Walt Whitman was the first Am
43、erican poet to use free verse extensively, because it is an appropriate form for his liberating view of life and for his poetry that would allow every aspect of life to speak without restraint. Special features(1) Form: Whitmans originality lies first in the new poetic form he innovates, free verse,
44、 i.e. poetry without a fixed beat or regular rhyme scheme.(2) The first person narrator: Whitmans poetry is distinctively noted for the use of the first-person narrator “I”. Speaking in the voice of “I”, he makes his poems direct and sympathetic to the reader.(3) Language: Whitmans language is chara
45、cteristically oral and powerful. His use of powerful and sometimes unusual word might give the reader a sense that his poems are not shallow but deep.(4) Sexuality 3. Emily Dickinson (艾米莉艾米莉. 狄金森狄金森, 1830-1886) Biography (P. 328) A great American poet. She wrote 1775 poems in her life. The major the
46、mes of her poems: religion, death, love and nature. The precursor of the Imagist MovementPoints of view:(1) Ideas on nature: To Emily Dickinson, nature is both simple and harmonious. Dickinson observed nature closely and described it vividly but never with the feeling of being lost in it, or altoget
47、her part of it, nor was she surprised when its creatures also kept their distance. She thought that nature was both kind and cruel, which was similar to Tennyson.(2) Ideas on death: She wrote about nearly 600 poems on death. Her attitude toward immortality was contradictory. It is clear always that
48、for Dickinson life and consciousness are inseparable. To be transmuted into grass or transcendentally made one with the ocean or the over-soul are as irrelevant and meaningless to this individualist as the idea would have been to her puritan ancestors.(3) Ideas on poetry writing: She seemed to consi
49、der poetry writing as a private thing. She says “Tell All the Truth but Tell it Slant.” Her poems are terse and suggestive. They are just the realization of her ideas on poetry writing.2. Major works: (449) “I Died for Beautybut Was Scarce”, (1624) “Apparently with No Surprise”, (1129) “tell All the
50、 Truth but tell it Slant”.Topic Discussion: (ChangYaoxin,88)Both Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson were American poets in theme and technique. Thematically, both extolled, in their different ways, and emergent America, its expansion, its individualism, and its Americanness, their poetry being part of
