美国文学简史复习纲要

1、美 国 文学 简 史 复 习纲要 ?Colonial Period殖民时期？(1600s-1790s) ?America n Purita nism美国清教主义： self-exam in ati on/self-improveme nt :Calvinist 加尔文教徒 l.?jo natha nEdwards (1703-1758) II ? BenjaminFranklin本杰明富兰克林？(1706-1790) ?PoorRichard s Almanac ?The Autobiography自传 ?Early America nRoma nticism早期美国浪漫主义时期(1800s-

2、1840s ) 1.?features (1) ?As alogical result of the foreign and native factors at work, America n roma nticismwas both ?imitative and in depe ndent II. ?Washingtonlrving华盛顿欧文?(1783-1859) 1. ?several n ames attached to Irving (1) ?firstAmerican writer (2) ?themesse nger sent from the new world to the

3、old world (3) ?father ofAmerica n literature美国文学之父 2. ?works (1) ?The Sketch Book见闻札记:?Rip Van Win kle ,?The Lege nd of Sleepy Hollow III. ?JamesFenimore Cooper库柏？(1789-1851) 1 ? works (1) ?Leatherstocking Tales皮袜子故事集?: TheDeerslayer, The Last of the Mohicans, The Pathfinder, The Pioneer, The Prairi

4、e 2 ? ?literary achieveme nts Cooper s?Leatherstocking Tales effectively approximates the America n n ati onal experie nee of adve nture into theWest. He tur ned the west and fron tier as a useable past and he helped toin troduce western traditi on to America n literature. Summitof Roma nticismNew E

5、n gla ndTra nsce nden talism/America nRen aissa nee新英格兰超验主 义-美国浪漫主义鼎盛时期(1840s-) I. ?Appearanee提出？1836, “Nature ” by Emerson 爱默生、论 自然 II ?Features 1. ?spirit/oversoul 2. ?importa nee of in dividualism 3. ?nature- symbol of spirit/God 4. ?focus in intuition (irrationalism andsubconsciousness) III. ?in

6、fluence 1. ?lt helped to create the first America n ren aissa nee美国文学复 兴? one ofthe most prolific period in America n literature、 in depe ndent America nculture. IV. ?RaiphWaldo Emers on(1802-1882 ) 1. ? works (1) ?Nature the mani festo ofAmerica n Tran sce nden talism. 论自然的发表是美国超验主义出现的标志。 (2) ?The

7、American Scholar美国学者regarded as the “ Declaration of IntellectualIndependence” . V. ?He nryDavid Thoreau亨利大卫梭罗(1817-1862 ) (1) ?Walden 瓦尔登湖？“Simplicity simplify! ” (2) ?A Plea forJohn Brown (an essay) : He hated the human injustice as represe nted bythe? slavery system . ?Late Roma nticism浪漫主义后期 I.?

8、Natha nielHawthorne(1804-1864 ) 1 ? works (1)?The Scarlet Letter 红字：？HesterPrynne 女主人公、Arthur Dimmesdale 通奸的牧师、Roger Chilli ngworth化名的丈夫、 Pearl女儿 2. ?po int of view (1)?Evil is atthe core of huma n life, “ that black ness in Hawthor ne (2) ?Whe neverthere is si n, there is puni shme nt. Sin or evil

9、can be passed from gen erati on toge neratio n (causality). 3. ?style typical roma ntic writer II. ?HermanMelville(1819-1891 ) Moby Dick 白鲸 Roma nticPoets I. ?WaltWhitman沃尔特惠特曼(1819-1892 ) 1. ?work: ?Leaves of Grass ?(9 editions)草叶集 (1) ?So ng ofMyself自我之歌 (2) ?WhenLilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom

10、d?为纪念林肯总 统而写 (3) ?I HearAmerica si nging 2. ?style:“freeverse ” 自由诗体 3. ?i nflue nce (1) ?His bestwork has become part of the com mon property of Wester n culture. (2) ?He hasbee n compared to a mountain in America n literary history. II ? Emily Dicki nson艾米丽迪金森(1830-1886 ) 1 ? works (1) ?My LifeClo

11、sed Twice before Its Close (2) ?Because ICan t Stop for Death (3) ?l Heard aFly Buzz Whe n I died 2. ?themes: based on her own experie nces/joys/sorrows 3. ?style (1) ?poemswithout titles (2) ?direct ness,brevity ? ?capitalletters emphasis (4) ?shortpoems, mainly two sta nzas III. ?Comparison:Whitma

12、n vs. Dickinson 1. ?Similarities: (1) ?Thematically,they both extolled, in their differe nt ways, an emerge nt America, itsexpa nsion, its in dividualism and its America nn ess, their poetry being part of“ America n Renaissanee ” . (2) ?Tech ni cally,they both added to the literary in depe ndence of

13、 the new n ati on by break ing freeof the conven ti on of the iambic pen tameter and exhibit ing a freedom in form unknown before: they were pion eers in America n poetry. 2. ?differe nces: (1)?Whitma nseems to keep his eye on society at large; Dick inson explores the inner life of the in dividual.

14、(2)?WhereasWhitman is n ati onal in his outlook, Dickinsonis“regional ” . (3) ?Dickinson?has the“catalogue technique ” (direct, simple style) which Whitman doesn t have. EdgarAlle n Poe埃德加爱伦坡() I ? Works 1.?short stories (1) ?detectivestories推理小说和侦探小说之父 a. ?Ms Fou ndin a Bottle 瓶中手稿 b. ?TheMurders i

15、n the Rue Morgue莫格街杀人案 (2) ?Revenge,death and rebirth 、gothic novels哥特小说 a.?The Fall of the House of Usher亚舍古屋的倒塌 (3) ?Literarytheory a. ?The PoeticPri nciple:最诗意的莫过于美丽女人的早逝 b. ?Poems:?The Raven 乌鸦、？Annabel Lee 安娜贝尔李 II. ?Themes: ? “Poe isnot interested in anything alive. Everything in Poe s writing

16、s is dead. ” .horror. III. ?Style-raditi on al, but not easy to read ?The Age ofRealism 现实主义时期：内战(1861-1865 )- 一战 I. ?Backgr oun d:From Roma nticism to Realism 1. ?1880 s urbanization: from free competition to mon opolycapitalism 2 ? the closing of American frontier II ? ThreeGiants in Realistic Per

17、iod 1. ?WilliamDean Howells(1837-1920 ) ? - “ Dean of American Realism ” (1) ?Realisticprinciples: habitualmoods/motives (2) ?Works:? The Rise of Silas Lapham 2 ? Hen ryJames(1843-1916 ) a.?theme:?i nternatio nal theme ?DaisyMiller ?ThePortrait of a Lady ?The Ambassadors 大使：Strether 主人公 ?The Win gso

18、f the Dove ?The Golde nBowl (1)?Po int ofview a. ? Psychologicala nalysis, ?forefather of stream ofcon scious ness b. ?Psychologicalrealism c. ?Highly-refi nedla nguage 3.?Mark Twa in ?(see n extsecti on) Local Colorism 1860s,1870s1890s ?Hamli n Garla nd:Crumbli ng Idols ?Bret Harte:The Luck of Roar

19、i ng Camp ?Kate Chopin - The Awakening 觉醒 I. ?Mark Twa in (1835-1910 ) ? - Mississippi 1. ?Samuel Lan ghor ne Cleme ns真名 2. ?works (1) ?The GildedAge 镀金时代 (2) ?The advantages of Huckleberry Finn?:Jim、raft 木筏 (3) ?TheAdve ntures of Tom Sawyer (4) ?Life on the Mississippi 3. ?style (1) ?colloquialstyl

20、e, vern acular Ian guage, dialects口语方言的 运用 (2) ?localcolour (3) ?humour (4) ?socialcriticism (satire on the different ugly things in society) II ? Comparisonof the three“giants ” of American Realism 1.?Theme Howells middle class James - upper class Twain - lower class 2 ? ?Tech nique Howells smili n

21、g/ge nteel realism James - psychological realism Twain - local colourism and colloquialism ?America n Naturalism美国自然主义 I ?Background 1 ?Darwi n s theory: “natural selection ” 2. ?Spenser s idea: “social Darwinism ” 3. ?Fre nch Naturalism: Zora II ?Features 1. ?e nvir onment and heredity 2. ?ge neral

22、 tone: hopeless ness, despair, gloom, ugly sideof the society III. ?significanee It prepares the way for the writi ng of 1920s“ lost gen erati on ” and T.S. Eliot. IV. ?stephenCrane:? Maggie : A Girlof the Streets 、?The Red Badge of Courage V. ?FrankNorris:? McTeague、?The Octopus? railway VI. ?Theod

23、oreDreiser:? Sister Carrie、？An American Tragedy VII. ?JackLondon: ?Martin Eden The Moder n Period The1920s:? Roaring 20s、Jazz Age The 1920s is a flowering period of American literature. It is con sidered “ the sec ond ren aissa nee ” of America n literature. (第一 次是超验主义) Background : FirstWorld War -

24、 “a war to end all wars ” 一战 lmagism(1908-1917) I. Backgro und ?magism was in flue need by French symbolism, an cie nt Chinese poetry andJapanese literature“ haiku ” II. ? Developme nt:three stages 1. ?19081909: Lon do n, Hulme 2. ?19121914: En gla nd -America, Ezra Pou nd 3. ?19141917： Amy Lowell I

25、II. ? Whatis an “image ” ? ? An image is defi ned by Poun das that which prese nts an in tellectual and emoti onal complex in an in sta nt oftime,“ a vortex or cluster of fused ideas ” “endowed with energy”. The exactword must bring the effect of the object before the reader as it had prese nteditse

26、lf to the poet s mind at the time of writ in g.? VI. ? EzraPou nd(1885-1972) 1 ? works (1) ?In aStation of the Metro ? Cantos :“the intellectual diarysinee 1915” ？?Hugh Selw yn Mauberley 2. ?C on tributi on He is regarded as the? father of modernAmerica n poetry VII. ? T. S. Eliot 1. ? works ?The Lo

27、ve Song of J. Alfred Prufrock 订 he Waste La nd ?(epic) ?Four Quarters ?Murder in the Cathedral?(play) 2.?Principle:? objective correlative客观对应物 VIII. ?Wallace Stevens(1879-1955):? Anecdote of the Jar 、?The Emperor of Ice-Cream IX. ?William Carlos Williams (1883-1963 ) :?The Red Wheelbarrow 、Spring a

28、nd All 、?Paterson X. ?Robert Frost(1874-1963):? 在总统就职典礼上朗诵自己的诗 歌？nation sunofficial Poet Laureate 1.?works poems North of Bost on:?The Road Not Taken、Stoppi ng by Woods on a Snowy Evening、Picking Apples style/features of his poems (1)?Most of his poems took?New En gla nd ?as sett ing, and the subjec

29、tswere chose n from daily life of ord inary people. (2) ?Although he was popular during 1920s, he didn experime nt like othermoder n poets. He used? conven ti onal forms, pla in Ianguage,? traditional metre, and wrote in a pastured traditi on. IX. CarlSandburg(1878-1967) :?Chicago Poems、？Fog? “the w

30、ord of thepeople ” E. E. Cummi ngs(1894-1963):“ a juggler with syn tax, grammar and dictio nrn dividualism,pain ter poet Hart Cran e(1899-1932):?The Bridge Maria nne Moore:?The Fish Novelsin the 1920s I. ? F. ScottFitzgerald(1896-1940) 1 ? works (1) ?This Sideof Paradise (2) ?The Great Gatsby :? Dai

31、sy、Tom Buchanan 、NickCarraway (3) ?Tender isthe Night ?Tales ofthe?Jazz Age 2. ?po int of view (1) ?Heexpressed what the young people believed in the 1920s, the so-called America nDream is false in n ature. (2) ?His novelsfollow a pattern: dream- lack of attraction failure and despair. 3. ?The Great

32、Gatsby Narrative point of view - Nick He is related to every one in the no vel and is calm and detected observerwho is n ever quick to make judgeme nts. Selected omni scie nt point of view II. ?ErnestHemingway(1899-1961): the spokesman of the Lost Gen eration by?Gertrude Stein(1874-1946 ) 1. ?Works:

33、 protag oni st: the typical Hemin gway hero (1) ?The SunAlso Rises : Jack Barnes、? (2) ?A Farewell to Arms: FredericHenry、?Catherine (3) ?For Whomthe Bell Tolls (4) ?The OldMa n and the Sea: San tiago 2. ?themes - “grace under pressure” (1) ?war andin flue nee of war on people, with sce nes conn ect

34、ed with hunting, bull fighti ngwhich dema nd stami na and courage, and with the questio n“ how to live withpain ” , “ how human being live gracefully under pressure . (2) ? “ codehero ” The Hemin gway hero is an average man of decidedly masculi ne tastes,se nsitive and in tellige nt, a man of acti o

35、n, and one of few words. That is anin dividualist keep ing emoti ons un der con trol, stoic and self-discipli ned in adreadful place. These people are usually spiritual strong, people of certa in skills, and most of them encoun ter death many times. 3.?style (1)?Iceberg prin ciple: un derstateme nt,

36、implied things电报式 对话 III. ?SinclairLewis “the worst important writer in American literature ”美国第一位诺贝尔文学奖获得者。A sociological writer 1. ?Works : Main Street IV. ?ThomasWolfe:? a pers onal writer . V. ?SherwoodA nderso n(1876-1941):?Win esburg, Ohio? grotesque s小镇下层民众的精神世界。 VI. ?WillaCather(1873-1947) :

37、 women protagonists、 prairie?state of the Nebraska 、immigrants 1 ? works (1) ?The Songof the Lark (2) ?My Antonia?:? Jim Burden SouthernLiterature/ Ren aissa nee |.?WilliamFaulk ner(1897-1962): ?The Sound and the Fury?:theComps ons 、 Benjy/Caddy/Quentin/Jason、Dilsey Lena ?As I LayDy ing ?Light in Au

38、gust?:JoeChristmas、Joanna Burden Grove、Hightower ?Absalom,Absalom ?A Rose for Emily 1. ?Themes: ?no stalgia (1) ?historya nd race He expla ins the prese nt by exam ining the past, by telli ng the stories ofseveral gen erati ons of family to show how history cha nges life. He was in terested in the r

39、elati on ship betwee n blacks and whites, especially concern edabout the problems of the people who were of the mixed race of black and white, un acceptable to both races. 2. ?style/features of his works (1) ? “anti-hero ” : weak, fable, vulnerable (truepeople in moder n society) (2) ?Jeffers on,?Yo

40、kn apatawpha coun ty,?the America n Deep South I ? Eudora welty: Death of a Traveli ngSalesma n II. ?The New Criticism新批评主义：注重对文本本身的分析 Sectio n2 The 1930s?Radical 1930s III. ?Background: Great Depression (1929“Black Thursday ” ) IV. ? Writers of 1930s 1. ?social concern and social invo Iveme nt 2. ?

41、revival of naturalistic tradition of Dreiser andNorris V. ?John Dos Psssos(1896-1970)?U.S.A?:?Newsreel/ Biographies/ Camera Eye VI. ?John Steinbeck(1902-1968) 1.?Works (1) ?Of Mice and Men? : twomigrant workers (2) ?TheGrapes of Wrath?:crisis novel 危机小说、bible、 OklahomaCalifornia、the Joads ,?Roseof s

42、haron ?:?as injustice isbuildi ng up and up, somethi ng is going to explore into viole nee. America n Drama I ? Eugene O Neill(1888-1953) 1. ?TheHairy Ape : Yank、self-identity/senseof belonging 2. ?long Day sJourney into Night : the Tyrones、 3. ?His positi on: He was the first playwright to explore

43、serious themes in theatre. Withhim, America n drama developed into a form of literature. And in him, Americandrama came of age (mature). He came only after Shakespeare and Bernard Shaw in the world of drama. II. ?ArthurMiller(1915-2005) 1. ?AII My Sons 2. ?TheCrucible?炼狱 3. ?Death Ofa Salesma n?:Wil

44、ly Loman Tenn essee Williams (1) ?The GlassMe nagerie (2) ?AStreetcar Named Desire Edward Albee a.?Who sAfraid of Virginia Woolf? III. ?Literaturein the 1960s Secti on1 Poetry I. ?Schools ofPoetry (time, represe ntatives, major features) 1. ?Confessional school:?自白派诗人 Sylvia Plath(1932-1963) The Col

45、ossus and Other Poems 、?Ariel、?The Bell Jar、 “Daddy ”、? “Lady Lazarus ” 2. ?The Beat Gen erati on: Allen Ginsberg(1926-1997) Howl?嚎叫、垮掉一代的写照 Secti on2 Ficti on I. ? Post-WarRealism 1. ?VladimirNabokov(1899-1977):?Lolita:? HumbertHumbert 2. ?JackKerouac:? On the Road?: Dean Moriarty 、SalParadise? a丄” spontan eous prose 3. ?J. D.Sal in ger(1919-2010 ) (1) ?The Catcherin the Rye:?Holden Caulfield 、Phoebe、 phony 4. ?Truman Capote(1924-1984) Breakfast at Tiffany s?： HollyGolightlydreamchaser/drifter 、 Paul、Fred In Cold Bloo