1、AC o n ciseH is to ryo fA m e rica nL itera tureWhat is literature?Literatureis language artisticallyused to achieve identifiableliteraryqualitiesand toconveymeaningful messages.Chapter 1 Colonial PeriodBackground: Puritanismfeatures of PuritanismPredestination: God decided everything before things

2、occurred.Original sin: Human beings were born to be evil, and this original sin can be passed down from generation to generation.Total depravity(4)Limited atonement: Only the“ elect” can be saved.InfluenceA group of good qualities hard work, thrift, piety, sobriety (serious and thoughtful) influence

3、d American literature.(2)It led to the everlasting myth. All literature is based on a mythgarden of Eden.Symbolism: the American puritan metaphoricals mode of perception was chiefly instrumental in calling into being a literary symbolism which is distinctly American.With regard to their writing, the

4、 style is fresh, simple and direct; the rhetoric is plain and honest, not without a touch of nobility often traceable to the direct influence of the Bible.II.Overview of the literaturetypes of writingdiaries, histories, journals, letters, travel books, autobiographies/biographies, sermonswriters of

5、colonial periodAnne BradstreetEdward TaylorRoger WilliamsJohn WoolmanThomas PainePhilip FreneauJonathan EdwardslifeworksThe Freedom of the WillThe Great Doctrine of Original Sin DefendedThe Nature of True Virtueideas pioneer of transcendentalismThe spirit of revivalismRegeneration of manGod presence

6、Puritan idealismlifeworksPoor Richard AlmanacsAutobiographycontributionHe helped found the Pennsylvania Hospital and the American Philosophical Society.(2)He was called“ thenew Prometheus whohad stolenfire(electricity in this case) fromheaven ”.(3)Everything seems to meet in this one man“ Jackofallt

7、rades ”Herman. Melville thusdescribed him“ master of each and mastered by none”.Chapter 2 American RomanticismSection 1 Early Romantic PeriodWhat is Romanticism?An approach from ancient Greek: PlatoA literary trend: 18c in Britain (17981832)Schlegel Bros.Preview: Characteristics of romanticismsubjec

8、tivityfeeling and emotions, finding truthemphasis on imaginationemphasis on individualism personal freedom, no hero worship, natural goodness of human beingsback to medieval, esp medieval folk literatureunrestrained by classical rulesfull of imaginationcolloquial languagefreedom of imaginationgenuin

9、e in feelings: answer their call for classicsback to naturenature is“ breathing living thing” (Rousseau)American RomanticismBackgroundPolitical background and economic developmentRomantic movement in European countries Derivative foreign influencefeatures(1)American romanticism was in essence the ex

10、pression of“ a real new experience and contained“ an alien quality” for the simple reason that“ the spirit of the placealien.”was radicaThere is American Puritanism as a cultural heritage to consider. American romantic authors tended more to moralize. Many American romantic writings intended to edif

11、y more than they entertained.The “ newness ” of Americans as a nation is in connection with American Romanticism.As a logical result of the foreign and native factors at work, American romanticism was both imitative and independent.III.Washington Irvingseveral names attached to Irvingfirst American

12、writerthe messenger sent from the new world to the old worldfather of American literaturelifeworksA History of New York from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch DynastyThe Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. (He won a measure of international recognition with the publication of this

13、.)The History of the Life and V oyages of Christopher ColumbusA Chronicle of the Conquest of GranadaThe AlhambraLiterary career: two parts18091832Subjects are either English or EuropeanConservative love for the antique18321859: back to USstyle beautifulgentility, urbanity, pleasantnessavoiding moral

14、izing amusing and entertainingenveloping stories in an atmospherevivid and true charactershumour smiling while readingmusical languageIV.James Fenimore Cooperlifeworks(1)Precaution (1820, his first novel, imitating AustenPride and Prejudices)The Spy (his second novel and great success)Leatherstockin

15、g Tales (his masterpiece, a series of five novels)The Deerslayer, The Last of the Mohicans, The Pathfinder, The Pioneer, The Prairiepoint of viewthe theme of wilderness vs. civilization, freedom vs. law, order vs. change, aristocrat vs. democrat, natural rights vs. legal rightsstylehighly imaginativ

16、egood at inventing talesgood at landscape descriptionconservativecharacterization wooden and lacking in probabilitylanguage and use of dialect not authenticliterary achievementsHe created a myth about the formative period of the American nation. If the history of the United States is, in a sense, th

17、e process of the American settlers exploring and pushing the American frontier forever westward, then Cooper Leatherstocking Tales effectively approximates the American national experience of adventure into the West. He turned the west and frontier as a useable past and he helped to introduce wester

18、n tradition to American literature.Background: four sourcesUnitarianismFatherhood of GodBrotherhood of menLeadership of Jesus(4)Salvation by character (perfection of one s character)Continued progress of mankindDivinity of mankindDepravity of mankindRomantic IdealismCenter of the world is spirit, ab

19、solute spirit (Kant)Oriental mysticismPuritanismEloquent expression in transcendentalismAppearance1836,“ Nature ” by EmersonFeaturesspirit/oversoulimportance of individualismnature symbol of spirit/God garment of the oversoulfocus in intuition (irrationalism and subconsciousness)IV.InfluenceIt serve

20、d as an ethical guide to life for a young nation and brought about the idea that human can be perfected by nature. It stressed religious tolerance, called to throw off shackles of customs and traditions and go forward to the development of a new and distinctly American culture.It advocated idealism

21、that was great needed in a rapidly expanded economy where opportunityoften becam e opportunism, and the desire to“ get on ” obscured the moral necessity for rising tospiritual height.3.It helped to create the first American renaissanceone of the most prolific period in Americanliterature.V.Ralph Wal

22、do Emerson1.life2.worksNatureTwo essays: The American Scholar, The Poetpoint of viewOne major element of his philosophy is his firm belief in the transcendence of theHe regards nature as the purest, and the most sanctifying moral influence on man, and advocated a direct intuition of a spiritual and

23、immanent God in nature.If man depends upon himself, cultivates himself and brings out the divine in himself, he canhope to become better and even perfect. This is what Emerson means by “ the infinitude of man”.Everyone should understand that he makes himself by making his world, and that he makes th

24、e world by making himself.aesthetic ideasHe is a complete man, an eternal man.True poetry and true art should ennoble.The poet should express his thought in symbols.As to theme, Emerson called upon American authors to celebrate America which was to him a lone poem in itself.his influencelifeworksA W

25、eek on the Concord and Merrimack RiverWaldenA Plea for John Brown (an essay)point of viewHe did not like the way a materialistic America was developing and was vehemently outspoken on the point.He hated the human injustice as represented by the slavery system.Like Emerson, but more than him, Thoreau

26、 saw nature as a genuine restorative, healthyinfluence on man s spiritual-beingwell.He has faith in the inner virtue and inward, spiritual grace of man.He was very critical of modern civilization.(6)“ Simplicity simplify!”(7)He was sorely disgusted with“ the inundations of the dirty institutionsmeno

27、f s odd-fellowsociety ”.He has calm trust in the future and his ardent belief in a new generation of men. Section 3 Late RomanticismI.Nathaniel HawthornelifeworksTwo collections of short stories: Twice-told Tales, Mosses from and Old ManseThe Scarlet LetterThe House of the Seven GablesThe Marble Fau

28、npoint of view(1)Evil is at the core of human life,“ that blackness in Hawthorne”Whenever there is sin, there is punishment. Sin or evil can be passed from generation to generation (causality).He is of the opinion that evil educates.He has disgust in science.aesthetic ideasHe took a great interest i

29、n history and antiquity. To him these furnish the soil on which his mind grows to fruition.He was convinced that romance was the predestined form of American narrative. To tell the truth and satirize and yet not to offend: That was what Hawthorne had in mind to achieve.style typical romantic writert

30、he use of symbols(2)revelation of characters psychologythe use of supernatural mixed with the actualhis stories are parable (parable inform) to teach a lesson(5)use of ambiguity to keep the reader in the world of uncertainty multiple point of viewII.Herman Melville1.life2.works(1)Typee(2)Omio(3)Mard

31、i(4)Redburn(5)White Jacket(6)Moby Dick(7)Pierre(8)Billy Budd3.point of view(1)He never seems able to say an affirmative yes to life: His is the attitude of“ Ever(negative attitude towards life).One of the major themes of his is alienation (far away from each other).Other themes: loneliness, suicidal

32、 individualism (individualism causing disaster and death), rejection and quest, confrontation of innocence and evil, doubts over the comforting 19c idea of progressstyleLike Hawthorne, Melville manages to achieve the effect of ambiguity through employing the technique of multiple view of his narrati

33、ves.He tends to write periodic chapters.His rich rhythmical prose and his poetic power have been profusely commented upon and praised.His works are symbolic and metaphorical.He includes many non-narrative chapters of factual background or description of what goes on board the ship or on the route (M

34、oby Dick)Walt Whitmanlifework: Leaves of Grass (9 editions)Song of MyselfThere Was a Child Went ForthCrossing Brooklyn FerryDemocratic VistasPassage to IndiaOut of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking3.themes “ Catalogue of American and European thought”He had been influencedby many American and European th

35、oughts: enlightenment, idealism,transcendentalism, science, evolution ideas, western frontierspirits, Jefferson s individualism,Civil War Unionism, Orientalism.Major themes in his poems (almost everything):equality of things and beingsdivinity of everythingimmanence of Goddemocracyevolution of cosmo

36、smultiplicity of natureself-reliant spiritdeath, beauty of deathexpansion of Americabrotherhood and social solidarity (unity of nations in the world)pursuit of love and happiness4.style:“ free verse”no fixed rhyme or schemeparallelism, a rhythm of thoughtphonetic recurrencethe habit of using snapsho

37、ts(5)the use of a certain pronoun“ I ”a looser and more open-ended syntactic structureuse of conventional imagestrong tendency to use oral Englishvocabulary powerful, colourful, rarely used words of foreign origins, some even wrongsentences catalogue technique: long list of names, long poem linesinf

38、luenceHis best work has become part of the common property of Western culture.He took over Whitman s vision of the poet-prophet and poet-teacher and recast it in a more sophisticated and Europeanized mood.He has been compared to a mountain in American literary history.Contemporary American poetry, w

39、hatever school or form, bears witness to his great influence.II.Emily DickensonlifeworksMy Life Closed Twice before Its CloseBecause I Can t Stop for DeathI Heard a Fly Buzz When I diedMine by the Right of the White ElectionWild Nights Wild Nightsthemes: based on her own experiences/joys/sorrowsreli

40、gion doubt and belief about religious subjectsdeath and immortalitylove suffering and frustration caused by lovephysical aspect of desirenature kind and cruelfree will and human responsibilitystylepoems without titlessevere economy of expressiondirectness, brevitymusical device to create cadence (rh

41、ythm)capital letters emphasisshort poems, mainly two stanzas(7)rhetoric techniques: personificationmake some of abstract ideas vividComparison: Whitman vs. DickinsonSimilarities:Thematically, they both extolled, in their different ways, an emergent America, its expansion,its individual ism and its A

42、mericanness, their poetry being part of“ American RenaissanceTechnically, they both added to the literary independence of the new nation by breaking free of the convention of the iambic pentameter and exhibiting a freedom in form unknown before: they were pioneers in American poetry.differences:Whit

43、man seems to keep his eye on society at large; Dickinson explores the inner life of the individual.(2)Whereas Whitman is“ national ” in his outlook, Dickinson is“ regional”.(3)Dickinson has the“ catalogue technique” (direct, simple style) which Whitman doesnLifeWorksshort storiesratiocinative storie

44、sMs Found in a BottleThe Murders in the Rue MorgueThe Purloined LetterRevenge, death and rebirthThe Fall of the House of UsherLigeiaThe Masque of the Red DeathLiterary theoryThe Philosophy of CompositionThe Poetic Principlec.Review of HawthorneTwices-told TalesThemes1.death predominant theme in Poe

45、s writing“ Poe is not interested in anything alive. Everything in Poe s writings is dead.”2.disintegration (separation) of life3.horror4.negative thoughts of scienceIV.Aesthetic ideasThe short stories should be of brevity, totality, single effect, compression and finality.The poems should be short,

46、and the aim should be beauty, the tone melancholy. Poems should not be of moralizing. He calls for pure poetry and stresses rhythm.Style traditional, but not easy to readVI.Reputation:“ the jingle man” (Emerson)VII.His influencesChapter 3 The Age of RealismBackground: From Romanticism to Realismthe

47、three conflicts that reached breaking point in this periodindustrialism vs. agrarianculturely-measured east vs. newly-developed westplantation gentility vs. commercial gentility1880 s urbanization: from freecompetition to monopoly capitalismthe closing of American frontierCharacteristicstruthful des

48、cription of lifetypical character under typical circumstanceobjective rather than idealized, close observation and investigation of life“ Realistic writers are like scientists.”open-ending:Life is complex and cannot be fully understood. It leaves much room for readers to think bythemselves.concerned

49、 with social and psychological problems, revealing the frustrations of characters in an environment of sordidness and depravityThree Giants in Realistic Period1.William Dean Howells“ Dean of American Realism”Realistic principlesa.Realism is“ fidelity to experience and probability of motive”.b.The ai

50、m is“ talk of some ordinary traits of American life”.Man in hi s natural and unaffected dullness was the object of Howells sfictional representation.Realism is by no means mere photographic pictures of externals but includes a central concern with “ motives ” and psychological conflicts.e.He condemn

51、s novels of sentimentality andmorbid self-sacrifice, and avoids such themes asillicit love.f.Authors should minimize plot and the artificial ordering of the sense of somethingunfinished, imperfect”.“Characters should have solidity of specification and be real.h.Interpreting sympathetically the“ comm

52、on feelings of commonplace people”as a technique to express the spirit of America.was best suitHe urged writers to winnow tradition and write in keeping with current humanitarian ideals.Truth is the highest beauty, but it includes the view that morality penetrates all things.With regard to literary

53、criticism, Howells felt that the literary critic should not try to imposearbitrary or subjective evaluations on books but should follow the detached scientist in accurate description, interpretation, and classification.WorksThe Rise of Silas LaphamA Chance AcquaintanceA Modern InstanceFeatures of Hi

54、s WorksOptimistic toneMoral development/ethicsLacking of psychological depthHenry JamesLifeLiterary career: three stages18651882: international theme The AmericanDaisy MillerThe Portrait of a Lady18821895: inter-personal relationships and some plays Daisy Miller (play)18951900: novellas and tales de

55、aling with childhood and adolescence, then back to international themeThe Turn of the Screw When Maisie Knew The AmbassadorsAesthetic ideasThe aim of novel: represent lifeCommon, even ugly side of lifeSocial function of artAvoiding omniscient point of viewPoint of viewPsychological analysis, forefat

56、her of stream of consciousnessPsychological realismHighly-refined language(5)Style “ stylist”Language: highly-refined, polished, insightful, accurateVocabulary: largeConstruction: complicated, intricateMark Twain (see next section)Local Colorism1860s, 1870s1890sAppearanceuneven development in econom

57、y in Americaculture: flourishing of frontier literature, humouristsmagazines appeared to let writer publish their worksII.What is“ Local Colour”?Tasks of local colourists: to write or present local characters of their regions in truthful depiction distinguished from others, usually a very small part

58、 of the world.Regional literature (similar, but larger in world)Garland, Harte the westEggleston IndianaMrs StoweJewett MaineChopin LouisianaMark Twain MississippilifeworksThe Gilded Age(2)“ the two advantages”Life on the MississippiThe Man That Corrupted Hardleybugstylecolloquial language, vernacul

59、ar language, dialectslocal coloursyntactic feature: sentences are simple, brief, sometimes ungrammaticalhumourtall tales (highly exaggerated)social criticism (satire on the different ugly things in society)ThemeHowells middle class James upper class Twain lower classTechniqueHowells smiling/genteel

60、realism James psychological realismBackground1.Darwin s theory:“ natural selection”2.Spenser s idea:“ social Darwinism”French Naturalism: ZoraII.Featuresenvironment and heredityscientific accuracy and a lot of detailsgeneral tone: hopelessness, despair, gloom, ugly side of the societysignificanceIt