十八世纪 美国文学

1、The 18th Century Englandcomparatively peaceful developmentIn politicsa constitutional monarchyThe Parliament and the cabinet ministers has the power.In industryIndustrial Revolution, which influenced the way of social life. The 18th Century EnglandIn rural Englandthe Enclosure Movement, expropriatio

2、n,the landless peasants, workers in cities,new industrial proletariat无产阶级无产阶级unbearable conditions of life, numerous uprisingsAn Overview of the 18th Literaturethe Development of Poetrythe Prosperity of Prosethe Rising of Novelsthe Decline of DramaPope, Blake, BurnsSteele, Addison, SwiftDefoe, Field

3、ing, SmollettGoldsmith, Sheridan classicism: classicistsrealism: realistssentimentalism: sentimentalistspre-romanticistsPope, Steele, Addison Blake, BurnsThe Enlightenment Gray, Sheridan The Important Terms 1) neo-classicism 2) realism 3) sentimentalism 4) pre-romanticism The Enlightenment Movement

4、(启蒙运动启蒙运动)n1) What is the Enlightenment Movement?n2) The Features of English Enlightenmentn (1)English enlighteners believed in the power of reason. That is why the 18th century has often been called “the age of reason” or “the kingdom of reason”.n (2) Most of the enlighteners believed that social p

5、roblems could be solved by human intelligence.The Enlightenment Movement (启蒙运动启蒙运动)n(3) English Enlighteners of the 18th century criticized different aspects of contemporary England, discussed social life according to a more reasonable principle.n(4) The literature of the Enlightenment in England ma

6、inly appealed to the middle class readers.English Classicistsclassicismmodeled onfixed laws and rules from Greek and Latin authorsstandards of drama1) the three unities of time, place and action2) regularity in construction3)the representation of typespoetry: lyric, epic, didactic, satiric or dramat

7、ic guided by certain principlesprose:precise, direct and flexiblesentimentalismo One of the significant and popular trends in English literature in the second half of the 18th century is sentimentalism. o Sentimentalism is overindulgence in ones emotion for the sake of his overwhelming discontent to

8、wards the social reality, and pessimistic belief and emphasis upon the virtue of man. Representatives of Sentimentalismo Thomas Gray 托马斯托马斯格雷格雷o William Cowper 威廉威廉柯伯柯伯o George Crabbe 乔治乔治格拉伯格拉伯Pre-Romanticismo Another conspicuous trend in the English literature of the latter half of the 18th centur

9、y was the so-called pre-romanticism.o It originated among the conservative groups of men of letters as a reaction against Enlightenment and found its most manifest expression in the “Gothic novel,” the term arising from the fact that the greater part of such romances were devoted to the medieval tim

10、es. The more notable of the Gothic Novels is The Castle of Otranto (1765) by Horace Walpole (1727-1797).o But the more important pre-romanticist writers are the two famous poets, William Blake (1757-1821) and Robert Burns (1759-1796). o -oThe realistic novel- subject matter: the life of the middle c

11、lass people- representatives: Daniel Defoe: the discoverer of the modern novelJonathan Swift: a master of satireHenry Fielding: the real founder of English novelDaniel DefoeDaniel Defoe (1661 - 1731)o Master of plain prose and powerful narrativeo Travel adventure: Robinson Crusoe, 1719o Contemporary

12、 chronicle: Journal of the Plague Year , 1722 o Picaresques: Moll Flanders, 1722 and Roxana 1724Defoe as a Novelist o A great realist: the charm of his novels is their intense sense of reality, able to give to his story the quality of factual truth from his observation of nature and society.o A nove

13、list of imagination: able to create his credible adventurous stories through the use of minute and matter-of-fact details. o A storyteller: a gift for organizing details so vividly that his stories are both credible and fascinating. Theme of Robinson Crusoeo The book expresses the epic theme of the

14、power of the average man to preserve life and to organize economy in the face of unpromising environment. o Defoe depicts Crusoe as a hero struggling against nature and human fate with his indomitable will and hand, and eulogizes creative labour, physical and mental.o Crusoe seems to have gone throu

15、gh various stages of human civilization, creating a visual picture that manifests how mans history has developed from the primitive to the feudal, and then to the capitalistic in the 18th century. Robinson Crusoe o On the voyage to Africa to buy slaves he met with the most unfortunate shipwreck. o B

16、eing cast on an island, he decided to stay there and managed his livelihood for himself. o In order to protect himself he built a house. o Footprint-I stood like one thunder-struck, or as if I had seen an apparition. o He fought against cannibal savages coming from the neighbouring islands. o Later

17、he rescued one savage from death and named him Friday.o In the hope of returning to Europe, he built a boat. o Finally an English ship came and took him to Europe. Footprint Questions 1.What does Crusoe react on his sudden discovery of a footprint? 2. What is the symbolic meaning of footprint?The Sy

18、mbolic meaning of the footprint Crusoes shocking discovery of a single footprint on the sand is one of the most famous moments in the novel, and it symbolizes our heros conflicted feelings about human companionship. Crusoe has earlier confessed how much he misses companionship, yet the evidence of a

19、 man on his island sends him into a panic. Immediately he interprets the footprint negatively, as the print of the devil or of an aggressor. This instinctively negative and fearful attitude toward others makes us consider the possibility that Crusoe may not want to return to human society after all,

20、 and that the isolation he is experiencing may actually be his ideal state.Jonathan Swift (16671745)Swifts Works(1)A Tale of a Tub (2) The Battle of Books 一个木桶的故事一个木桶的故事1704 书的战争书的战争书战书战1704in the form of a parable(寓言故事寓言故事)a satire upon all religious sects an attack on Christianity itselfa keen sat

21、ire upon both parties in controversyBickerstaff Almanac (比克斯塔夫先生的历书比克斯塔夫先生的历书) 1708(3) Predictions for the Year 1708对对1708的预言的预言(4) Vindication of Isaac Bickerstaff 比克斯塔夫先生第一个预言的应验比克斯塔夫先生第一个预言的应验 (5) Gullivers Travels格林佛游记格林佛游记1706 Lilliput (小人国小人国) a satire on the Tories(托利党托利党) & the Whigs(辉格党

22、辉格党)Brobdingnag(大人国大人国)a satire on English lords and ladiesFlying Island（飞岛）（飞岛）a satire on corrupted philosophers & projectorscountry of horses(马岛马岛) a satire on the conflicts of English societySwifts WorksPamphlets on Ireland: Irish Series(6) The Drapiers Letters 一个麻布商的书信一个麻布商的书信（1724）(7) A Mo

23、dest Proposal 一个小小的建议一个小小的建议 （1729） Denounce the cruel and unjust treatment of Ireland by the English government and stir up the Irish people to fight.Swifts Artistic Features Satireo His satire is usually masked by an outward gravity and an apparent earnestness which renders his satire all the more

24、 powerful. Simplicity and Directnesso Swift is always most unsurpassed in the writing style of simple, direct, precise prose. He defined a good style as “proper words in proper places.” Clear, simple, concrete diction, uncomplicated sentence structure, economic and conciseness of language mark all his writingsessays, poems and novels.A Modest ProposalHistorical BackgroundEnglish landlords owned much of Irelands property.They