2.ColonialAmerica殖民时期的美国文学

1、COLONIAL AMERICA,Colonial America,At the beginning of the seventeenth century, the vast continental area that was to become the United States had been probed by European explorers. The first writings that we call American were the narratives and journals of the settlement.,Colonial America,I. Histor

2、ical Background,II. American Puritanism,IV. Literature of colonial America,III. General Features,Native American Literature Literature of Colonial Settlements Literature of Eighteenth Century,I. Historical Background,1. Early history: 1) In 1492, Christopher Columbus discovered America and he mistoo

3、k the native people on the new continent for Indians. 2) In 1607, Captain John Smith led some Englishmen across the ocean. 3) In 1620, 102 passengers sailed on the ship Mayflower across the sea and settled on the new continent “New England” shore at Plymouth,What do you know about American early his

4、tory?,John Smith,Jamestown Colony,I. Historical Background,2. People: native inhabitants: Indians Immigrants mostly from Europe: Spanish; Dutch; French English immigrants, Jamestown, Virginia, 1607,Puritans,a group of religious people,advocated religious living for glorifying God; believing predesti

5、nation（命运天定）, original sin (原罪，人生下来就是有罪的，因为人类的祖先亚当和夏娃是有罪的), total depravity(人类是完全堕落的，所以人要处处小心自己的行为，要尽可能做到最好以取悦上帝), limited atonement (有限救赎，只有被上帝选中的人才能得到上帝的拯救),Puritans clothing,II. American Puritanism,Features of American Puritan,idealist,dream,they would build the new land to an Eden on earth.,more

6、 practical, tougher,the severe conditions,struggle for survival,preoccupied with business and profits.,II. American Puritanism,Enduring shaping influence on literature Basis of American literature,went into the making of American literature,dreamed of living under a perfect order, worked with courag

7、e, hoped to build an Eden of Garden on earth, faced the worst of life with optimism.,All literature is based on a myth garden of Eden.,II. American Puritanism, Contributing to the development of Symbolism（象征主义）: a technique, widely used,Puritans thought that all the simple objects existing in the wo

8、rld connoted deep meaning.,Symbolism means using symbols in literary works. The symbol means something that represents or stands for abstract deep meaning.,II. American Puritanism, Influencing the style of literature: simple, fresh and direct (just as the style of the Authorized Version of Holy Bibl

9、e),Without understanding of Puritanism, there can be no good understanding of American culture and literature.,III. General Features,Types of writing: diaries, histories, letters, travel accounts, biographies, etc. Content: serving either God or colonial expansion or both Form: imitating English lit

10、erary traditions,IV. Literature of Colonial America,A. Native American Literature B. Literature of Colonial Settlements C. Literature of the Eighteenth Century,A. Native American Literature,1. Native peopleIndians 2. Oral literature: sacred stories, folktales, and tribal traditions, and narrative ac

11、counts of gods and heroes. 3. Changes of their literature: traditional transitional modern,B. Literature of Colonial Settlements,a literary expression of the Puritan idealism Types of writing: diaries, histories, letters, travel accounts, biographies, etc. Major figures: John Smith, William Bradford

12、, Anne Bradstreet, Roger Williams, Edward Taylor, Thomas Paine, Philip Freneau etc.,Based on the Biblical myth of the Garden of Eden,Major Figures: John Smith William Bradford 布拉德福德 John Winthrop 温斯罗普 Anne Bradstreet 安妮布拉德斯特里特 Edward Taylor 泰勒 Roger Williams John Woolman 伍尔夫 Thomas Paine 潘恩 Philip F

13、reneau 佛瑞诺,B. Literature of Colonial Settlements,The First American Writer,For defending the handling of the settlement and proclaiming the merits of the new land, Captain John Smith wrote series of books, and thus he became the first American writer.,The First American Writer,Smith publish eight bo

14、oks in all, but people were more willing to use his maps rather than read his adventures. They thought he had too much color and flamboyance for sober Puritan taste.,Smiths Statue in Virginia,风中奇缘,John Smiths Work,Smiths General History of Virginia contains his most famous tale of how the Indian Pri

15、ncess Pocahontas saved him from the wrath of her father Powhatan by laying her head upon Smiths when the Indians were about to beat out his brains.,风中奇缘,William Bradford,Of Plymouth Plantation Records 普利茅斯种植园史 A masterful account of the separatist colony, the second permanent English settlement in P

16、lymouth.,Anne Bradstreet,the first American woman poet; a Puritan poet, once called “Tenth Muse”; her poems mainly about religious experience, family life and early settlers lives; most famous poems“Contemplations”沉思录,Contemplations-Anne Bradstreet,I heard the merry grasshopper then sing. The black-

17、clad cricket bear a second part; They kept one tune and played on the same string, Seeming to glory in their little art, Shall creatures abject thus their voices raise And in their kind resound their Makers praise, Whilst I, as mute can warble forth no higher lays?,我听见蚱蜢在欢快地歌唱。 黑翼的蟋蟀也附和出接下来的乐章； 它们整齐

18、列队，协调着彼此的曲调和唱腔， 在这小小的艺术天国，它们似乎光荣无上。 其他生物都低声无语，因而它们的歌声显得分外的高昂。 在那亲切的回响里，它们将造物主赞扬， 可此时，哑然的我难道还能向着前方，宛转地唱出更高层次的绝响？,Edward Taylor,a meditative poet writing his poems with vivid imagery as a mental exercise. The concern in his works: how his images speak for God. “Housewifery” 家务,the authors who called f

19、or independence,Roger Williams: “The Bloody Tenet of Persecution for the Cause of Conscience”血腥的迫害教义 John Woolman 伍尔夫: Some Considerations on the Keeping of Negroes 续奴的思索 A Plea for the Poor为穷人请愿 Journal日记: recording his spiritual experiences of inward communication with God,Thomas Paine (1737-1809)

20、,Common Sense 常识, attacked British monarchy, was received as a justification for their cause of independence and as an encouragement to the painfully fighting people. American Crisis美国危机, a booklet, was read to Washingtons troops, These are the times that try mens souls, The harder the conflict, the

21、 more glorious the triumph.“ The Rights of Man人权论, The Age of Reason理性时代, spread the ideals of the French Revolution,Philip Freneau (1752-1832),the most important poet in the 18th C. He was entitled “Father of American Poetry”. He wrote lots of poems supporting American Revolution and human liberty.

22、 His poems presented Romantic spirits but his form was mainly influenced by Classicism. Most famous poems: “The Indian Burying Ground”垂死的印第安人 and “The Wild Honey Suckle” 野地里的忍冬,一种灌木,The Wild Honey Suckle,Fair flower, that dost so comely grow,Hid in this silent, dull retreat,Untouched thy honeyed blo

23、ssoms blow,Unseen thy little branches greet: No roving foot shall crush thee here, No busy hand provoke a tear. 美丽的花儿啊，你长得那么美丽， 却暗藏在这僻静的地方， 摇曳的枝条也无人问津： 既无流浪的脚步将你踩碎， 也无忙碌的指端摧你落泪。,The Wild Honey Suckle,ByNaturesselfinwhitearrayed, Shebadetheeshunthevulgareye, Andplantedheretheguardianshade, Andsentsof

24、twatersmurmuringby; Thusquietlythysummergoes, Thydaysdecliningtorepose. 大自然把你打扮得一身洁白， 她叫你避开庸俗鄙夷的目光： 她布置树荫将你遮挡， 又让潺潺的溪水淌过你的身旁； 安静的夏天在静静地流逝， 却日见你萎蔫进而安睡。,The Wild Honey Suckle,Smitwiththosecharms, thatmustdecay, Igrievetoseeyourfuturedoom; Theydiednorwerethoseflowersmoregay. TheflowersthatdidinEdenbloo

25、m; Unpityingfrosts, andAutumnspower Shallleavenovestigeofthisflower. 那些不免消亡的美丽让我销魂， 看见你的结局我就悲伤： 别的花也并不比你幸运， 虽开放在伊甸园中也已凋零； 无情的寒霜，再加上威凛的秋风， 会让这花儿消失得无影无踪。,The Wild Honey Suckle,Frommorningsunsandeveningdews Atfirstthylittlebeingcame: Ifnothingonce, younothinglose, Forwhenyoudieyouarethesame; Thespacebe

26、tween, isbutanhour, Thefraildurationofaflower. 朝阳晚霞曾把你养育， 把你这小小的生命带到世上： 你先前若是乌有，去时也是虚无， 因为你的死与你当初一样； 来去之间只不过是一个终点， 这便是花儿脆弱短暂的生命。,C. Literature of the Eighteenth Century,Benjamin Franklin,Jonathan Edwards,Edwards and Franklin,They were contemporaries, came from the same parent stock, the Puritanism o

27、f New England; they represented the whole of the colonial mind of America.,religious idealism (理想的宗教信仰),levelheaded common sense(明智冷静的判断力),Newtons Deism (自然神论),Calvinist beliefs,the Universe became something mechanical, like a clock, not controlled by the God,Man was evil and enslaved by his sense o

28、f sin, God was all, he would work for mans salvation,to study his handwork, the natural world, the human world,in collision with,to worship the God himself,Franklin,Edwards,Two basic patterns of thought,Life of Jonathan Edwards,Born in a very religious New England family; Graduated from Yale; Worked

29、 as a minister and was an important figure in “Great Awakening” (a serious of religious revivals which occurred in the 1730s and 1740s on North America continent); Dismissed from his position because of fierce religious controversy at that time; Lived and meditated in solitude; wrote some books.,Mor

30、e about His Life,Influenced by the new ideas of Enlightenment, such as empiricism 经验论 Still a pious Puritan； His sense of Gods overwhelming presence in nature and in soul anticipated the Transcendentalism. First modern American and the countrys last medieval man,Leader of the Great Awakening,Conside

31、red the leader of The Great Awakening in New England- a name given to a religious revival in 1730s which brought about the following changes in the Puritan theology:,Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758),Works: (1) The Freedom of the Will论意志自由 (2) The Great Doctrine of Original Sin Defended 论原罪 (3) The Natur

32、e of True Virtue论真实德行的本原,Jonathan Edwards Points of view,Ideas-reveal the medieval mind of the man Passion for the religion: “Personal Narrative” 自述，a spiritual autobiography,我感觉这样一股力量：.和耶稣单独相处， 用神圣而神圣的爱爱他，相信他，依仗他，追随他，奉献所有，满心虔诚。,I felt an ardency of soul to be. to be full of Christ alone; to love hi

33、m with a holy and pure love; to trust in him; to live upon him; to serve and follow him; and to be perfectly sanctified and made pure, with a divine and heavenly purity.,Jonathan Edwards Points of view,(2) Regeneration of man(人的来世): He urges his people to enjoy the sweetness of “conversion”(转变), the

34、 change of heart with the help of the grace of God.,Jonathan Edwards Points of view,Jonathan Edwards Points of view,(3) Gods presence: God is the source of all being, the substance of all life. God made the world by an extension of Himself, he manifests Himself in nature and man, and that man, being

35、 a part of God, is divine(神圣的).,Jonathan Edwards Points of view,(4) Puritan idealism：Everything is an image or shadow of the divine. the extreme fierceness and extraordinary power of lightning -the wrath of God the sun rise out of darkness and from under the earth-Jesus Christ rising from His grave

36、and from a state of death and bringing happiness, life and light to the world of man,Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790),printer, editor, inventor, scientist,opened his own print shop for 20 years,of the lightning rod,made experiment with a kite, proving that lightning was electricity,published the Pennsy

37、lvania Gazette (newspaper),Benjamin Franklin（17061790）,a member of the group that wrote the Declaration of Independence,founded the first public library, organized the first fire department and the first paid police force, founded a school and a hospital.,the great man of letters Autobiography自传 Poo

38、r Richards Almanac 穷理查德历书,politician, public-spirited citizen, prose writer,Poor Richards Almanac,was kept being published for a quarter of a century includes poems and essays, a good many adages (格言) and witticisms (妙语连珠) Lost time is never found again, A penny saved is a penny earned, God helps th

39、ose that help themselves, Fish and visitors stink in three days Early to bed, and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise,a book that is published every year giving information for that year,Autobiography,A story that a person writes about his or her own life is called an autobiography

40、. Autobiographies are written in first-person point of view, and biographies in third-person point of view.,Autobiography,It is regarded as one of the most important works of American literature produced during the 18th century. It is a record of a man rising to wealth and fame from a state of poverty and