美国文学欣赏Washington_Irving

1、(1783-1859) “Rip Van Winkle” （瑞普凡温克尔) Washington Irving(1783-1859) Position in American literature Life Works Literary Achievements Style Contributions Position in American literature the first American (true) literary writer the first American man of letters Americas first genuine internationally b

2、est- selling author the first belletrist in American literature, writing for pleasure at a time when writing was practical and for useful purposes - belletrist n. 纯文学作者纯文学作者 the first American writer to earn his living solely by his pen the first American literary humorist the first modern short sto

3、ry writer the first to write history and biography as entertainment His use of the gothic looks forward to Poe. the messenger sent from the new world to the old world “the American Goldsmith” Mark Twain also is called vthe Father of American Literature vthe true Father of American Literature II. lif

4、e and literary career vBorn: 3 April 1783 vBirthplace: New York, New York vDied: 28 November 1859 vnamed for George Washington; his parents were admirers of General Washington. vIrving was born in 1783, the year in which Benjamin Franklin signed at Paris the treaty of peace with England after the Re

5、volutionary War. vIrvings mother was born in England vstudied law vamused himself by writing for periodicals vFrom 1804 to 1806 his older brothers financed his tour of France and Italy. vUnder the pseudonym Diedrich Knickerbocker, he published A History of New York (1809), a satire that has been cal

6、led the first great book of comic literature written by an American. vIn 1820, Irving published The Sketch Book under the pseudonym Geoffrey Crayon. vThe hit book made Irving the first American author to gain real fame in Europe. vThe stories (including “Rip Van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hol

7、low”) appeared serially in 181920. vTheir enthusiastic reception made Irving the best-known figure in American literature both at home and abroad. vIn search of colorful material, he made a journey to the frontier and wrote about the American West in A Tour of the Prairies (大草原游大草原游 记记,1835). Late l

8、ife: va colossal 5-volume biography of George Washington va biography of Christopher Columbus is still considered a classic. Irvings grave Major Works v(1809: A History of New York纽约外 史 v 1820: The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. 见闻札记 v Two folktales: “Rip Van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy

9、 Hollow”(睡 谷传奇) v 1822: Bracebridge Hall布雷斯勃列 奇庄园 v 1824: Tales of a Traveller 游客谈 v 1835: A Tour of the Prairies大草原 游记 Style v graceful, refined, fluent and dignified v sentimental, romantic IV. Comment v The first American author to win international recognition v The first prose stylist of Americ

10、an romanticism v In his Sketch Book appeared the first modern American short stories. v His essays are models of perfect English. v Irving created humor by the way he said things: 1)He delighted in making ironic remarks which say just the opposite of what he meant. 2) He used dignified words to prod

11、uce a half-mocking effect. 3) He was also fond of exaggerating the seriousness of situations. v He not only provided a young nation with humorous, fictional accounts of the colonial past but also helped create an American mythology which is made up of stories about the American past so widely read a

12、s to be familiar to nearly every American. short story va prose narrative that is brief in nature valso has many of the same characteristics of a novel including characters, setting and plot. vHowever, due to length constraints, these characteristics and devices generally may not be as fully develop

13、ed or as complex as those developed for a full- length novel. vThe short story usually deals with a single episode and often a single character. vThe short story frequently also lacks denouement (n. 结结 局局 ), ending instead at its climax. vmany authors well known for it including Edgar Allan Poe, 埃德加

14、埃德加爱伦爱伦坡坡 O Henry, 欧欧亨利亨利 Ernest Hemingway, 海明威海明威 vPoe first theorized on the structure and purpose of the short story. Rip Van Winkle “Rip Van Winkle” introduction Rip Van Winkle: the protagonist The plot introduction vsimilar to a 3rd-century Chinese tale of Ranka retold in Lionel Giles in A Gall

15、ery of Chinese Immortals vpart of a collection entitled The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon vThe story is set in the years before and after the American Revolutionary War. Rip Van Winkle: the protagonist va villager of Dutch descent vlives in a nice village at the foot of New Yorks Catskill Mountains

16、 van amiable man whose home and farm suffer from his lazy neglect vhe is loved by all but his wife The plot vOne autumn day he escapes his nagging wife by wandering up the mountains. vThere he encounters strangely dressed men, rumored to be the ghosts of Henry Hudsons crew, who are playing nine-pins

17、. vAfter drinking some of their liquor, he settles down under a shady tree and falls asleep. vHe wakes and returns to his village, where he finds twenty years have passed. vHe finds out that his wife has died and that his close friends have died in a war or gone somewhere else. vHe immediately gets

18、into trouble when he proclaims himself a loyal subject of King George III, not knowing that the American Revolution has taken place. vAn old local recognizes him, however, and Rips now grown daughter takes him in. vRip resumes his habitual idleness, and his tale is solemnly believed by the old Dutch

19、 settlers, with certain hen-pecked husbands wishing they shared Rips good luck. VI. Topics for Discussion v 1. Compare the different situations in the village for Rip Van Winkle before and after his 20-year sleep. 1) changes in his family his daughter grew up and married; his wife died; his dog no l

20、onger recognized him. 2) changes in the village When Rip returned, children hollered at him and at first no one recognized him. The portrait of King George was replaced by that of Washington; a harangue about citizens rights 3) change in the life style: peaceful in the past but noisy after Rips long

21、 sleep v2. What is the authors opinion of Rip Van Winkle? And what is yours? Do you agree with Rips view as to the changes of states and empires? Why? v3. This selection is a good illustration of the humor characteristic of Irving. Analyze how Irving creates humor. v4. Do you think Rips wife is also

22、 a well- developed figure? How does this figure impress you? The protagonist Rip Van Winkle v good-natured, well-oiled, carefree, happy- go-lucky, showing no interest in political affairs va lazy farmer v a hen-pecked husband; an irresponsible head of his family v a good neighbor, ready to help othe

23、rs V. Style vConservative e.g. Rip felt into sleep before American Independence and woke after it love of old worlds tradition “an old gentleman speaking English not American vAim of writing: entertainment, not moralizing vmaster of a graceful and unobtrusively(不引人不引人 注意的注意的) sophisticated prose style vGentle, refined, lucid, beautiful vClassical in form though romantic in subjects vGood at creating atmosphere vHumorous vFinished(精致完美的精致完美的) and musical language vvivid characters VII. Contributions vA. He was