英美文学选读(美国文学要点)

1、第一章 美国浪漫主义时期一、美国浪漫主义时期概述 .本章学习目的和要求：通过本章学习，了解世纪初期至中叶美国文学产生的历史、文化背景；认识该时期文学创作的基本待征、基本主张，及其对同时代和后期美国文学的影响；了解该时期主要作家的文学创作生涯、创作思想、艺术特色及其代表作品的主题思想、人物刻画、语言风格等；同时结合注释，读懂所选作品并了解其思想内容和艺术特色，培养理解和欣赏文学作品的能力。.本章重点及难点： 1浪漫主义时期美国文学的特点2主要作家的创作思想、艺术特色及其代表作品的主题结构、人物刻画、语言风格、思想意义。3分析讨论选读作品.本章考核知识点和考核要求：1.美国浪漫主义时期概述：(1)

2、识记内容：美国浪漫主义文学产生的社会历史及文化背景 (2)领会内容： 美国浪漫主义在 文学上的表现：a.欧洲浪漫主义文学的影响 b.美国本土文学的崛起及其特证(3)应用内容：清教主义、超验主义、象征主义、自由诗等名词的解释2.美国浪漫主义时期的主要作家华盛顿欧文1一般识记：欧文的生平及创作主涯 2识记：纽约外史见闻札记3领会：欧文的创作领域、创作思想，及其作品的艺术风格4.应用：选读瑞普凡温可尔的主题及其艺术特色拉尔夫华尔多爱默生1一般识记：爱默生的生平及创作生涯2识记：爱默生的超验主义思想3领会：（1）爱默生的散文论自然论自助论美国学者等（2）爱默生与梭罗：梭罗的超验主义思想和他的沃尔登4

3、应用：论自然节选：爱默生的基本哲 学思想及自然观纳撒尼尔霍桑1一般识记：霍桑的生平及创作主涯2识记：霍桑的长短篇小说3领会：（1）红字的主题、心理描写、象征手法和、小说结构 （2）霍桑的清教主义思想及加尔文教条中的原罪对霍桑的影响（人性本恶的观点）（3）霍桑对浪漫主义小说的贡献4应用：选读小伙子布朗的主题结构、象征手法及语言特色华尔特惠特曼1一般识记：惠特曼的生平及其创作生涯 2识记：惠特曼的民主思想3领会：（1）惠特曼的草叶集的主创意图、思想感情及诗体形式、语言风格（2）惠特曼的个人主义4应用：选读草叶集诗选：一个孩子的成长、涉水的骑兵、自己之歌的主题结构、诗歌的艺术特色、语言风格赫尔曼麦尔

4、维尔1一般识记：麦尔维尔的生平及创作生涯2识记：麦尔维尔的早期作品：玛地雷得本白外衣，后期作品皮埃尔骗子的化装表演比利伯德等3领会：白鲸的（1）主题：表层及深层意义（2）小说结构：浪漫主义和现实主义的统一（3）象征手法和寓言的运用（4）语言特色4应用：选读白鲸最后一章的节选：主题思想、人物刻画、象征手法、语言特色chapter l the romantic period(一)识记内容：1.the origin of romantic american literature the romantic period, one of the most important periods in the

5、history of american literature, stretches from the end of the 18th century to the outbreak of the civil war. it started with the publication of washington irvings the sketch book and ended with whitmans leaves of grass.2.the american renaissance or new england renaissance is a period of the great fl

6、owering of american literature, from the i830s roughly until the end of the american civil war. it came of age as an expression of a national spirit. one of the most important influences in the period was that of the transcendentalists, including ralph waldo emerson, henry david thoreau. the transce

7、ndentalists contributed to the founding of a new national culture based on native elements. apart from the transcendentalists, there emerged during this period great imaginative writers -nathaniel hawthorne, herman melville, and walt whitman-whose novels and poetry left a permanent imprint on americ

8、an literature.3.its social historical and cultural backgroundthe development of the american society nurtured the literature of a great nation. america was flourishing into a politically, economically and culturally independent country. historically, it was the time of westward expansion in america

9、economically, the whole nation was experiencing an industrial transformation. politically, democracy and equa1ity became the ideal of the new nation, and the two-party system came into being. worthy of mention is the literary and cultural life of the country. with the founding of the american indepe

10、ndent government, the nation felt an urge to have its own literary expression, to make known its new experience that other nations did not have: the early puritan settlement, the confrontation with the indians, the frontiersmens life, and the wild west. besides, the nations literary milieu was ready

11、 for the romantic movement as we11. thus, with a strong sense of optimism, a spectacular outburst of romantic feeling was brought about in the first ha1f of the 19th century.4.major writers of this periodthere emerged a great host of men of letters during this period, among whom the better-known are

12、 poets such as philip freneau, william cullen bryant, henry wordsworth long fellow, james russel lowell, john greenleaf whitter, edgar ellen poe, and, especially, walt whitman, whose leaves of grass established him as the most popular american poet of the 19th century. the fiction of the american ro

13、mantic period is an original and diverse body of work. it ranges from the comic fables of washington irving to the the gothic tales of edgar allen poe, from the frontier adventures of james fenimore cooper to the narrative quests of herman melville, from the psycho1ogical romances of nathaniel hawth

14、orne to the social realism of rebecca harding davis.(二)领会内容1.the impact of european romanticism on american romanticismforeign literary masters, especially the english counterparts exerted a stimulating impact on the writers of the new world. born of one common cultural heritage, the american writer

15、s shared some common features with the english romanticists. they revolted against the literary forms and ideas of the period of classicism by developing some relatively new forms of fiction or poetry. (1) they put emphasis upon the imaginative and emotional qualities of literature, which included a

16、 liking for the picturesque, the exotic, the sensuous, the sensational, and the supernatural. (2) the americans also placed an increasing emphasis on the free expression of emotions and disp1ayed an increasing attention to the psychic states of their characters. heroes and heroines exhibited extreme

17、s of sensitivity and excitement.(3) the strong tendency to exalt the individual and the common man was almost a national religion in america. writers like freneau, bryant, and cooper showed a great interest in external nature in their respective works.(4) the literary use of the more colorfu1 aspect

18、s of the past was also to be found in irvings effort to exploit the legends of the hudson river region, and in coopers long series of historical tales.(5) in short, american romanticism is, in a certain way, derivative.2.the unique characteristics of american romanticismalthough greatly influenced b

19、y their english counterparts, the american romantic writers revealed unique characteristics of their own in their works and they grew on the native lands. for examp1e,(1) the american national experience of pioneering into the west proved to be a rich source of material for american writers to draw

20、upon. they celebrated americas landscape with its virgin forests, meadows, groves, endless prairies, streams, and vast oceans. the wilderness came to function almost as a dramatic character that symbolized moral 1aw. (2)the desire for an escape from society and a return to nature became a permanent

21、convention of american literature. such a desire is particularly evident in coopers leather stocking tales, in thoreaus walden and, later, in mark twains adventures of huckleberry finn. (3) with the growth of american national consciousness, american character types speaking local dialects appeared

22、in poetry and fiction with increasing frequency. (4) then the american puritanism as a cultural heritage exerted great influences over american moral values and american romanticism. one of the manifestations is the fact that american romantic writers tended more to moralize than their english and e

23、uropean counterparts. (5) besides, a preoccupation with the calvinistic view of origina1 sin and the mystery of evil marked the works of hawthorne, melville and a host of lesser writers. (三)应用内容1. the american puritanism and its great influence over american moral values, as is shown in american rom

24、antic writings.(1) american puritanismpuritanism is the practices and beliefs of the puritans. (the puritans were originally members of a division of the protestant church, who came into existence in the reigns queen elizabeth and king james .the first settlers who became the founding fathers of the

25、 american nation were quite a few of them puritans. they came to america out of various reasons, but it should be remembered that they were a group of serious, religious people, advocating highly religious and moral principles. as the word itself hints, puritans wanted to purify their religious beli

26、efs and practices. they felt that the church of england was too close to the church of rome in doctrine form of worship, and organization of authority.) the american puritans, like their brothers back in england, were idealists, believing that the church should be restored to complete purity. they a

27、ccepted the doctrine of predestination, original sin and total depravity, and limited atonement through a special infusion of grace from god. but in the grim struggle for survival that followed immediately after their arrival in america, they became more and more practical, as indeed they had to be.

28、 puritans were noted for a spirit of moral and religious earnestness that determinated their whole way of life. puritans lives were extremely disciplined and hard. they drove out of their settlements all those opinions that seemed dangerous to them, and history has criticized their actions. yet in t

29、he persecution of what they considered error, the puritans were no worse than many other movements in history. as a culture heritage, puritanism did have a profound influence on the early american mind and american values. american puritanism also had a conspicuously noticeable and an enduring influ

30、ence on american literature. it had become, to some extent, so much a state of mind, so much a part of the national cultural atmosphere, rather than a set of tenets.(2) one of the manifestations is the fact that american romantic writers tended more to moralize than their english and european counte

31、rparts. besides, a preoccupation with the calvinistic view of origina1 sin and the mystery of evil marked the works of hawthorne, melville and a host of lesser writers.2. new england transcendentalism new england transcendentalism is the mot clearly defined romantic literary movement in this period.

32、 it was started in the area around concord, mass. by a group of intellectual and the literary men of the united states such as emerson, henry david thoreau who were members of an informal club, i. e. the transcendental club in new england in the l830s. the transcendentalists reacted against the cold

33、, rigid rationalism of unitarianism in boston. they adhered to an idealistic system of thought based on a belief in the essential unity of all creation , the innate goodness of man, and the supremacy of insight over logic and experience for the revelation of the deepest truths. the writings of the t

34、ranscendentalists prepared the ground of their contemporaries such as walt whitman, herman melville, and nathaniel hawthorne.the main issues involved in the debate were generally philosophical, concerning nature, man and the universe. basically, transcendentalism has been defined philosophical1y as

35、the recognition in man of the capacity of knowing truth intuitively, or of attaining knowledge transcending the reach of the senses. emerson once proclaimed in a speech, nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind. other concepts that accompanied transcendentalism inc1ude the idea t

36、hat nature is ennobling and the idea that the individual is divine and, therefore, self-re1iant.3. american romanticists differed in their understanding of human nature.to the transcendentalists such as emerson and thoreau, man is divine in nature and therefore forever perfectible; but to hawthorne

37、and melville, everybody is potentially a sinner, and great moral courage is therefore indispensab1e for the improvement of human nature, as is shown in hawthornes the scarlet letter.二.美国浪漫主义时期的主要作家. washington irving(1783-l859)irvings position in american literature washington irving was one of the

38、first american writers to earn an international reputation, and regarded as an early romantic writer in the merican literary history and father of the american short stories. 一一般识记his life and major workswashington irving was born in new york city in a wealthy family. from a very early age he began

39、to read widely and write juvenile poems, essays, and plays. in l798, he conc1uded his education at private schools and entered a law office, but he loved writing more.his first successful work is a history of new york from the beginning of the world to the end of the dutch dynasty, which, written un

40、der the name of diedrich knickerbocker, won him wide popularity after it came out in 1809. with the publication of the sketch book of geoffrey crayon, gent. in serials between 1819 and 1820, irving won a measure of international fame on both sides of the atlantic. the book contains familiar essays o

41、n the eng1ish life and americanized versions of european folk tales like rip van winkle, and the legend of sleepy hollow. geoffrey crayon is a carefully contrived persona and behind crayon stands irving, juxtaposing the old world and the new, and manipulating his own antiquarian interest with artist

42、ic perspectives.the major work of his later years was the life of george washington.二识记：1.irvings great indebtedness to european literaturemost of irvings subject matter are borrowed heavily from european sources, which are chiefly germanic. irvings relationship with the old world in terms of his li

43、terary imagination can hardly be ignored considering his success both abroad and at home.a history of new york is a patchwork of references, echoes, and burlesques. he parodies or imitates homer, cervantes, fielding, swift and many other favorites of his. he was also absorbed in german literature an

44、d got ideas from german legends for two of his famous stories rip van winkle and the legend of sleepy hollow. the alhambra is usually regarded as irvings spanish sketch book simply because it has a strong flavor of spanish culture. most of the thirty-three essays in the sketch book were written in e

45、ngland, filled with english scenes and quotations from english authors and faithful to british orthography. washington irving brought to the new nation what its peop1e desired most in a man of 1etters the respect of the old world. 2.irvings unique contribution to american literatureirvings contribut

46、ion to american literature is unique in more than one way. he was the first american writer of imaginative literature to gain international fame. although greatly influenced by european literature, irving gave his works distinctive american flavor. rip van winkle or the legend of sleepy hol1ow, howe

47、ver exotic these stories are, are among the treasures of the american language and culture. these two stories easily trigger off american imagination with their focus on american subjects, american landscape, and, in irvings case, the legends of the hudson river region of the fresh young 1and. it is

48、 not the sketches about the old world but the tales about america that made washington irving a household word and his fame enduring. he was father of american short stories. and later in the hands of hawthorne and melville the short story attained a degree of perfection.三领会：1.irvings theme of conse

49、rvatism as is revealed in rip van winkleirvings taste was essentia1ly conservative and always exa1ted a disappearing past. this socia1 conservatism and literary preference for the past is revea1ed, to some extent, in his famous story rip van winkle. the story is a tale remembered mostly for rips 20-

50、year s1eep, set against the background of the inevitably changing america. rip went to sleep before the war of independence and woke up after it. the change that had occurred in the 20 years he slept was to him not always for the better. the revolution upset the natural order of things. in the story

51、 irving ski1lfu1ly presents to us paralleled juxtapositions of two totally different worlds before and after rips 20 years s1eep. by moving rip back and forth from a noisy world with his wife on the farm to a wild but peaceful natural world in the mountains, and from a pre-revolution village to a ge

52、orge washington era, lrving describes rips response and reaction in a dramatic way, so that we see clearly both the narrator and irving agree on the preferabi1ity of the past to the present, and the preferability of a dream-like world to the real one. irving never seemed to accept a modern democrati

53、c america.2.irvings literary craftsmanshipwashington irving has always been regarded as a writer who perfected the best classic style that american literature ever produced.(1) we get a strong sense impression as we read him along, since the language he used best reveals what a romantic writer can d

54、o with words. we hear rather than read, for there is musicality in almost every line of his prose.(2) we seldom learn a mora1 lesson because he wants us amused and relaxed. so we often find ourselves lost in a world that is permeated with a dreaming quality. (3) the gothic elements and the supernatu

55、ral atmosphere are manipulated in such a way that we could become so engaged and involved in what is happening in a seemingly exotic place. (4) yet irving never forgets to associate a certain place with the inward movement of a person and to charge his sentences with emotion so as to create a true a

56、nd vivid character. he is worth the honor of being the american goldsmith for his literary craftsmanship.四应用：selected reading:/an excerpt from rip van winkle/ the story of rip van winklerip, an indolent good-natured dutch-american, lives with his shrewish wife in a village on the hudson during the y

57、ears before the revolution. one day while hunting in the catskills with his dog wolf, he meets a dwarflike stranger dressed in the ancient dutch fashion. he helps him to carry a keg, and with him joins a party silently playing a game of ninepins. after drinking of the liquor they provide, rip falls

58、into a sleep which lasts 20 years, during which the revolutionary war takes place. he awakes as an old man and returns to his home village that has greatly altered. upon entering the village, he is greeted by his old dog, which dies of the excitement and then learns that his wife has long been dead. rip is almost forgotten but he goes to live with his daughter, now the mother of a family, and is soon befriended with his generosi