Henry___James_英文版

1、Henry James His Life The Three Periods Major Subjects Writing Style Literary Features of James Famous persons criticism Literary contributions Shortcomings in his writingBorn 15 April 1843New York City, USADied 28 February 1916(aged 72)London EnglandHis Life Henry James was born into a wealthy cultu

2、red family of New York City. His father, Henry James, Sr., was an eminent emnnt philosopher and reformer, and his brother, William James, was to be the famous philosopher and psychologist. Henry James was one of the few authors in American literary history who did not have to worry about money. His

3、early upbringing was unusual: he was exposed to the cultural influence of Europe at a early age. His Life For a while he attended the Harvard Law School, where he read, instead of law, French novelists and critics. He toured England, France and Italy. At first, James tried to live and work as an art

4、 and drama critic in New York, but found that its lack of culture and sophistication intolerable. He settled down in London in 1876 and, except for some visits to America, spent the rest of his life there. In 1915 he became a naturalized British citizen. James was not married. He once loved his attr

5、active cousinMinny Temple who died young. Henry James is a productive writer. He once wrote novels, novellas, tales, travelling writings, plays, autobiographies and so on. But he never took part in public affairs or showed much interest in the economic and social changes of that period. He was deepl

6、y interested in the contrast between the old world and the new one. The Periods of James Literary Career Early period (1865-1882):”international theme” Major works: 一个美国人The American (1877) 黛西米勒Daisy Miller （1878 ） 欧洲人The Europeans （1878） 一位女士的画像The Portrait of a Lady （1881） Middle period(1882-1895)

7、:experiments with different themes and forms Major Works: 波士顿人The Bostonian（1886） 名流之死The death of the lion(1894) Late period (1895-1916):a revival of the theme of innocence in corrupted world and “the international theme” Major Works: 螺丝在拧紧The Turn of the Screw （1898） 鸽翼The Wings of the Dove （1902）

8、 金碗The Golden Bowl （1904）Major Subjects 1.Children: James wrote children as children, not as small adults. He examined their mind, their psychology and accepted it as valid. 2.New women: James fiction is filled with female characters, not as sexual objects, never married, reticent from sexual passio

9、n. Men were engaged in business in making money at that time, and women maintained culture. 3.Artist: Many of James novels and short stories deal with the artist, whether he is painter, sculptor, author or playwright.Literary Features of James 1.The cultural conflict between Europe and America 2.The

10、 psychological activities of character 3.Dramatic effect 4.Ambiguity in attitude towards many thingsWriting Style Over-elaborate Language: highly-refined, polished, insightful, accurate Construction: complicated, intricate他（亨利.詹姆斯）在小说史上的地位，就和莎士比亚在诗歌史上的地位一样。 格雷厄姆.格林名人评价我试图像亨利詹姆斯那样保持冷静他是一位伟大的作家。海明威 He

11、nry James is a great author ! 1.International theme(国际主题) 2. Psychological realism(心理现实主义） 3.Literary criticism(文学评论)Literary contributionsInternational theme During his lifetime, his fame rested largely upon his handing of his major fictional theme. his novels are always set against a larger intern

12、ational background, usually between Europe and America and centered on the confrontation of the two different cultures with two different groups of people representing two different value systems James seemed to value both the sophistication(精明，精明，老练老练) of Europe and the idealism of America. “The in

13、ternational theme” James presented through his fiction aimed to compare some of the values of the New World to those of the Old .American personalities ofEuropean personalities ofinnocence, enthusiasm, vulgarity(庸俗庸俗), ignorance, unsophistication, freshness, freedom, individualityAmerican heroes and

14、 heroines, who confronted European sophistication, either triumphed(克服，战胜克服，战胜)over it or were overwhelmed. highly cultivated, elegant (优优雅雅的的)in manners, but sophisticated. contrast with1.Henry James is generally regarded as the forerunner of the 20th century stream of consciousness novels and the

15、founder of psychological realism. 2.James changed the method of presentation in a novel, shifting the centre of gravity from action to its intellectual and fantastic aspect: internal circumstances .He believed that the writer should not simply present the surface of social life but probe the deepest

16、 reaches of the psychological and moral nature of human beings. His fictional world is concerned more with the inner life of human beings than with overt human actions. he pays more attention on psychological analysis and emphasizes the inner awareness and inward movement of charactersThe emphasis o

17、n psychology and human consciousness is a breakthrough in novel writing and had great influence on the coming generations. James has been called the first of the modern psychological novelists, and a realist of the inner life. 螺丝在拧紧螺丝在拧紧For the next three days，my worries increased .I could not under

18、stand why that man had been there. And because I could not explain it to myself, my fear grew larger than before. It was possible that the servants might have been playing a trick on me. But no one behave unusually towards me. No laughing could be heard and no strange looks were given.Jamescontribut

19、ions to literary criticism is immense .Himself a dedicated artist ,He wrote for half a century to help perfect the art of writing .His criticism is both concerned with form and devoted to human values.1.He regards “real” as the basic principle of writing.In his famous essay “The art of Fiction” express