第一篇：美國文學教案

Lecture 1

The Literature of the Colonial America and

of Reason and Revolution Ⅰ Teaching Content Literature of the Colonial America;Literature of Reason and Revolution Ⅱ Time Allotment 2 periods Ⅲ Teaching Objectives and Requirements Make the students know clear about American Puritanism and its influence on American Literature.Help the students to know about the main literary form, content and theme in Colonial America and the representative writers of this period.Help the students know about the American history of Independence War and the representatives in the period of Reason and Revolution, especially their influence on American Literature.4 Make the students have a good understanding of Jonathan Edwards and Benjamin Franklin.Make sure the students understand clearly about Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography and its influence on the latter Americans.Ⅳ Key Points and Difficult Points in Teaching 1 American Puritanism Jonathan Edwards 3 Benjamin Franklin 4 Autobiography

Ⅴ Teaching Methods and Means

Lecture;Discussion;Multi-media Ⅵ Teaching Process 1 Literature of the Colonial America(1607-1765)1.1 Historical Background ● In 1492, Christopher Columbus found the new continent called America.● There were many immigrants: Spanish(they built the first town on the new continent);Dutch(they built New York city at the beginning stage);French(today still lots of people’s mother tongue is French in North America);English(they first settled in Jamestown and Virginia in 1607)● In1620, the famous ―May Flower‖ shipped 102 Puritans to Plymouth.(Q: transportation is not convenient, why some many immigrants left their hometown and came to such a remote place as America?)(A: Economic reasons: to seek fortune;Religious reasons: reformation and religious conflicts in Europe, persecution of Protestants, to seek a paradise of their own)1.2 Puritan Thought ● Puritans=Calvinists ◆ Puritans believed most doctrines preached by John Calvin, a theologian, so they were also called Calvinists.◆ Puritans wanted to ―purify the church‖ to its original state, because they thought the church was corrupted and had too many rituals.◆ To be a Puritan: taking religion as the most important thing;living for glorifying God;believing predestination（命運天定）, original sin（原罪，人生下來就是有罪的，因為人類的祖先亞當和夏娃是有罪的）, total depravity（人類是完全墮落的，所以人要處處小心自己的行為，要盡可能做到最好以取悅上帝）, limited atonement（有限救贖，只有被上帝選中的人才能得到上帝的拯救）

◆ Life style of Puritans: pious, austere of taste, diligent and thrift, rigid sense of morality, self-reliant(John Milton is a typical Puritan.)● American Puritan ◆ On the one hand, American Puritans were all idealist as their European brothers.They came to the new continent with the dream that they would built the new land to an Eden on earth.◆ On the other hand, American Puritans were more practical maybe because of the severe conditions they faced.● American Puritanism（清教主義）

◆

Puritanism is the practices and beliefs of the Puritans.The Puritans were originally members of a division of the Protestant Church, who came into existence in the reigns of Queen Elizabeth and King James I.The first settlers who became the founding fathers of the American nation were quite a few of them Puritans.They came to America out of various reasons, but it should be remembered that they were a group of serious, religious people, advocating highly religious and moral principles.◆ As the word itself hints, Puritans wanted to purify their religious beliefs and practices.They felt that the Church of England was too close to the Church of Rome in doctrine form of worship, and organization of authority.◆ The American Puritans, like their brothers back in England, were idealists, believing that the church should be restored to complete ―purity‖.They accepted the doctrine of predestination, original sin and total depravity, and limited atonement through a special infusion of grace from God.But in the grim struggle for survival that followed immediately after their arrival in America, they became more and more practical, as indeed they had to be.◆ Puritans’ lives were extremely disciplined and hard.Puritans tended to suspect joy and laughter as symptoms of sin: a Puritan woman was once

threatened with banishment for smiling in church.They drove out of their settlements all those opinions that seemed dangerous to them, and history has criticized their actions.Yet in the persecution of what they considered error, the Puritans were no worse than many other movements in history.As a culture heritage, Puritanism did have a profound influence on the early American mind.◆ American Puritanism also had a enduring influence on American literature.It had become, to some extent, so much a state of mind, so much a part of the national cultural atmosphere, rather than a set of tenets.● Influence of American Puritanism on literature ◆ Basis of American literature: the dream of building an Eden of Garden on earth(Early American literature were mainly optimistic because they believed that God sent them to the new continent to fulfill the sacred task so they would overcome all the difficulties they met at last.Gradually Americans found that their dreams would not be successful, so lots of pessimistic literary works were produced.)◆ Symbolism(象征主義): lots of American writers liked to employ symbolism in their works.(typical way of Puritans who thought that all the simple objects existing in the world connoted deep meaning.)Symbolism means using symbols in literary works.The symbol means something represents or stands for abstract deep meaning.◆ Style: simple, fresh and direct(just as the style of the Authorized Version of Holy Bible)1.3 Colonial Literature ● General features ◆ Humble origins: diaries, histories, letters etc.◆ In content: serving either God or colonial expansion or both ◆ In form: imitating English literary traditions ● Captain John Smith: the first American Writer, A Description of New England(P16)● William Bradford: The History of Plymouth Plantation(P16-17)● John Winthrop: The History of New England, A Model of Christian Charity

● Anne Bradstreet: first American woman poet;a Puritan poet;once called ―Tenth Muse‖;her first collection of poems, ―The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America‖ not containing any of her best known poems was the first book written by a woman to be published in the United States;her poems mainly about religious experience, family life and early settlers’ lives;her work also serves as a document of the struggles of a Puritan wife against the hardships of New England colonial life, and in some way is a testament to plight of the women of the age;her most famous poems—‖Contemplations‖(P17)

● Edward Taylor: the best of the puritan poets;a meditative poet;most of his work treated religious themes, with poems based directly on the Psalms

● Roger Williams: one of the greatest Puritan dissenters;begins with the history of religious toleration in America, and the history of the separation of church and state.Literature of Reason and Revolution(1765-End of 18th C)2.1 Historical Background ● American Revolution(Strict rules made by English government prevented the economic development of the colonies.It was unfair.So American Independence War broke.)◆ 1775, Lexington, beginning of the Independence War ◆ June 4th, 1776, Thomas Jefferson, Declaration of Independence ◆ 1778, alliance with France, turning point for American army ◆ 1778, English army surrendered ◆ 1783, formal recognition from Britain government ● Enlightenment(啟蒙運動)(Review English Literature, 18th century, Addison, Steele and Pope, Classicism)◆

Originated in Europe in the 17th century ◆

Resources: Newton’s theory;deism（自然神教派，課本P28，宗教與啟蒙精神相結合的產物）;French philosophy(Rousseau, Voltaire)◆

Basic principles: stressing education;stressing Reason(Order)(The age has been called Age of Reason.);employing Reason to reconsider the traditions and social realities;concerns for civil rights, such as equality and social justice ◆

Significance: accelerating social progress;freeing people from the limitations set by prevailing Puritanism;making spiritual preparation for American Revolution ◆

Representatives: Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson etc.◆

Influence on literature In form: imitating English classical（古典主義）writers In content: utilitarian tendency(for political or educational purpose)2.2 Representatives in the period of Reason and Revolution 2.2.1 Jonathan Edwards(1703—1758)(last important figure in Puritan tradition)(In most course books, Jonathan Edwards is not included in the period of Reason Revolution and is put to the Colonial Period.However, Philip Freneau should be included in this period.Maybe for the sake of comparing Jonathan Edwards and Benjamin Franklin, the author of the course book put them together.)● Life ◆ Born in a very religious New England family ◆ Graduated from Yale ◆ Worked 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(P29)

● Analysis ◆ Influenced by the new ideas of Enlightenment, such as empiricism ◆ Still a pious Puritan ◆ His sense of God’s overwhelming presence in nature and in soul anticipated the Transcendentalism.(P32)◆ First modern American and the country’s last medieval man 2.2.3 Benjamin Franklin(1706-1790)● Life—Jack of all trades ◆ Born in a poor candle maker’s family in Boston ◆ No regular education ◆ Became an apprentice of a printer when he was 12 ◆ An editor of a newspaper and published lots of essays when he was 16 ◆ Went to Philadelphia when he was 17 ◆ A successful printer and publisher ◆ Retired when he was 42 ◆ A scientist with lots of inventions and a famous experiment(kite, electricity, thunderstorm)◆ A famous statesman(the only American who once signed all the four documents that created the new country)(P33)◆ An example who made American Dream come true ● Literary works ◆ Poor Richard’s Almanac《窮查理的年歷》

Modeled on farmers’ annual calendar;kept publishing for many years;includes many classical sayings, such as ―A penny saved is a penny earned.‖(P34)

◆

The Autobiography—first of its kind in literature Writing when he was 65 An introduction of his life to his own son Including four parts written in different time Puritanism’s influence, such as self-examination and self-improvement(timetable, thirteen virtues, life style)Enlightenment spirits(man is basically good and free by nature, endowed by god with certain inalienable rights of liberty and the pursuit of happiness;virtues includes ―order‖)

Style: simple, clear in order, direct and concise(―Nothing should be expressed in two words that can as well be expressed in one.‖)(Puritanism’s influence)

Popular, still well-read today, his values and style influenced lots of Americans 2.2.4 Other Representatives ● Thomas Paine(1737-1809): ◆

with his natural gift for pamphleteering and rebellion ◆

His chief contribution was a series of 16 pamphlets entitled American Crisis

and signed ―Common Sense‖.◆

In Common Sense he boldly advocated a ―Declaration for Independence‖.● Thomas Jefferson(1743-1826): ◆

His thought and personality have influenced his countrymen more deeply, and remained effectively alive, than those of any other American ◆

For him, government, a necessary evil, found sanction only in the common consent of a social contract, its purpose was the benefit of the individual, not his exploitation;it must provide freedom of speech, thought, association, press, worship, education, and enterprise(a concept of democracy ◆

Declaration of Independence

● Philip Freneau(1752-1832)◆ He is the most important poet in the 18th century.◆ He was entitled ―Father of American Poetry‖.◆ He was called ―The poet of the Revolution‖

◆ He was born in New York and graduated from Princeton University.◆ He wrote lots of poems supporting American Revolution and human liberty.◆ He was the most notable representative of dawning American nationalism in literature.◆ His poems presented Romantic spirits but his form and taste were mainly influenced by Classicism.◆ Most famous poems: ―The Wild Honey Suckle‖ and ―The Indian Burying Ground‖

◆ Analyze and discuss the theme, rhyme scheme and some difficult dictions in ―The Wild Honey Suckle‖.Ⅶ Reflection Questions and Assignments Reflection Questions 1 How did Franklin and his writings help the formation of the American Dream? What figures of speech are used in ―The Declaration of Independence‖? Analyze and discuss the theme, rhyme scheme and some difficult dictions in ―The Wild Honey Suckle‖.Assignments 1 Discuss the influence of Puritanism in American literature, with emphasis on the elements of Puritan thought in the works of the colonial writers.2 Compare Jonathan Edwards and Benjamin Franklin.Lecture 2 American Romanticism and New England Literature: Washington Irving and James Fenimore Cooper Ⅰ Teaching Content

American Romanticism;Washington Irving;James Fenimore Cooper Ⅱ Time Allotment 2 periods Ⅲ Teaching Objectives and Requirements Make the students know clear about American Romanticism and its difference from European and British Romanticism.Help the students to know about the main literary form, content and theme in American Romantic Period.Help the students know about the early two romantic writers, Washington Irving and James Fenimore Cooper, especially their contributions to American Literature.4 Make the students have a general idea about Irving’s short story ―The Legend of Sleepy Hollow‖ and have a good understanding of Irving’s short story ―Rip Van Winkle‖.Make sure the students understand clearly about James Fenimore Cooper’s ―Leather stocking Tales‖

Ⅳ Key Points and Difficult Points in Teaching 1 American Romanticism Washington Irving James Fenimore Cooper 4 ―Rip Van Winkle‖

Ⅴ Teaching Methods and Means

Lecture;Discussion;Multi-media Ⅵ Teaching Process 1 American Romanticism 1.1 General Introduction(Review Romanticism in British literature)● Time: from the end of the 18th century to the outbreak of the Civil War ● Reasons(Why American Romanticism emerged?)◆ Fast development of the new nation(Historically: the time of westward expansion;Economically: industrialization, flood of immigrants, pioneers pushing the frontier further west—economic boom;Politically: democracy and political equality—the ideals of the new nation)—a promising new land with prevailed optimistic moods ◆ Development of journalism(Some influential periodicals appeared, such as The Atlantic Monthly.They need more literary productions.)◆ Foreign influences(Review history of English literature.)(from the 18th century classicism to sentimentalism to Pre-Romanticism to Romanticism

which can be divided into passive group and active group)(most influential British writers to American Romanticists-Walter Scott)● General features of Romanticism ◆ Stressing emotion rather than reason ◆ Stressing freedom and individuality ◆ Stressing idealism rather than materialism ◆ Writing about nature, medieval legends and with supernatural elements 1.2 Features of American Romanticism(P43-44)● Imitative

◆ against the literary forms and ideas of classicism, developing some relatively new forms of fiction and or poetry, emphasizing upon the imaginative and emotional qualities of literature, a liking for the picturesque, the exotic, the sensuous, the sensational, and the supernatural(P41)● Independent

◆ peculiar American experience(landscape, pioneering to the West, Indian

civilization, new nation’s democracy and dreams)(P41-42)

◆ Puritan heritage(more moralizing, edifying more than mere entertainment)(careful about love and sex.example: Scarlet Letter)(P42)◆ American national consciousness—the sense of mission 1.3 Two periods and representatives ● 1770s to 1830s—Early period ◆ Representatives: Washington Irving, James Fenimore Cooper and New England poet ◆ Two famous poets: William Cullen Bryant(first distinctive American lyric poet;writing about nature, religion and life;famous poems―A Psalm of Life‖)

● 1830s to 1860s—Late period ◆ Flowering of American literature ◆ Representatives: Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, Edgar Allan Poe etc.1.4 Significance of American Romanticism

Creative period of a native American culture and literature 2 Washington Irving(17831851)● Life story ◆ born in a rich family ◆ attended Yale but expelled ◆ five years at sea ◆ inherited fortune then a comfortable life ◆ wrote lots of novels because he one day was disgusted by one novel ● Major works ◆ ―Leather stocking Tales‖(a series of five novels about the frontier life): The

Pioneers, The Prairie, The Last of the Mohicans, The Pathfinder, The Deerslayer

◆ Central character: Natty Bumppo(several names for same character: Hawk-eye, the Pathfinder, the Deer slayer, Leather stocking)(a typical frontier man: honest, simple, innocent, generous)(represents brotherhood of man, nature and freedom)◆ Theme: modern civilization advancing on the wilderness and the contradiction between them ● Features ◆.Good at inventing plots(Cooper had never been to the frontier area personally.)◆ Style: powerful, yet clumsy and dreadful ◆ Wooden Characters

◆ Use of dialect, but not authentic(criticized by Mark Twain)

● Contributions ◆ Finding ―the West‖ and ―the frontier life‖ as materials for literary works ◆ Introducing Western tradition into American literature Ⅶ Reflection Questions and Assignments Reflection Questions American Romanticism grew as a result of a combination of internal and external factors at work then.Discuss.Assignments 1 Explain Washington Irving’s significance in American literary history.Read Rip Van Winkle or The Last of the Mohicans and make comments on one of the aspects in either work.Lecture 3 American Romanticism and New England Literature: Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau Ⅰ Teaching Content New England Transcendentalism;Ralph Waldo Emerson;J Henry David Thoreau Ⅱ Time Allotment 2 periods Ⅲ Teaching Objectives and Requirements Make the students know clear about New England Transcendentalism 2 Make the students have a good understanding of Ralph Waldo Emerson and the excerpt from his ―Self-Reliance‖ Make sure the students understand clearly about Henry David Thoreau

Ⅳ Key Points and Difficult Points in Teaching 1 New England Transcendentalism Ralph Waldo Emerson 3 ―Self-Reliance‖Henry David Thoreau Ⅴ Teaching Methods and Means

Lecture;Discussion;Multi-media Ⅵ Teaching Process 1 New England Transcendentalism

(a special kind of philosophy appeared in the 1830s in US)(quite influential)1.1 Resources ● Puritan heritage ◆ At the end of the 18th century people gradually felt boring about the strict Calvinism.At the same time with the development of science and technology, Americans suspected the old religion.Thus, Unitarianism（唯一神教）—a religious term(belief in the unity of God, not the Trinity of God)appeared.It was a developed school from the Calvinism.Its principles include the fatherhood of God, the brotherhood of men, the leadership of Jesus(which ignores Jesus’ divinity), salvation by character, and ―continual progress of mankind‖ rather than old religion’s ―man’s total depravity‖.It was an obvious improvement on Calvinism that never accepted the prospect of man’s perfectibility.It influenced Emerson.(P59)

◆ Emerson once was a preacher of Unitarianism, but he thought there were too many rituals in this religious school.Then he resigned from the position and sought a way for people to worship more freely.◆ Emerson also believed in individuality and the dream of making a Garden of Eden on earth held by old generation Puritans.◆ Emerson inherited the ideas of inward communication with God and the divine symbolism of nature from Jonathan Edwards.● Foreign influence ◆ German Philosophy, especially Kant（康德）, a famous German philosopher ◆ Ancient Indian and Chinese works, such as Confucius and Mencius 1.2 Features(P57)● Emphasis on Spirit(Oversoul)(超靈)（愛默生在超驗主義里強調的超靈相當于過去宗教里上帝的這個角色，在超驗主義里超靈是無形的，人生活的世界里所有的一切都來自超靈，超靈在人生活的世界里也無所不在。）against ―world is made of matter‖;

against ―neglecting of spiritual life in capitalist world‖ ● Emphasis on individuals Old Puritan views: self-reliance and self-improvement Through communication with Oversoul, human being can be divine.against ―total depravity‖ in Old Puritan doctrines against dehumanization of capitalist world ● Taking nature as the symbol of the Spirit(Oversoul)encouraging people to find goodness and beauty from nature against materialism in the society and the actions which broke the harmony between human and nature only for profits ● Brotherhood of man(equal and liberty)interested in social reforms;endeavor to create an ideal society;against ―everything for money‖ in the capitalist world 1.3 Significance

● influenced a large group of writers ● summit of American Romanticism

● marked the independence of American literature 2 Ralph Waldo Emerson(1803 – 1882)2.1 Life

● born in a clergyman’s family in New England ● graduated from Harvard ● a Unitarian minister ● abandoned Unitarianism and went to Europe searching for truth ● founded a Transcendentalists’ Club and published a journal, the Dial

● traveled and gave lectures;quite influential 2.2 Major works

● Nature(a book which declared the birth of Transcendentalism), establishing

Emerson as the most eloquent spokesman of New England Transcendentalism ● Some other essays preaching his thoughts: Essays: First Series, including The ―Oversoul‖, ―Self-reliance‖ and ―The American Scholar‖(American’s Declaration of Intellectual Independence);Essays: Second Series, including ―The Poet‖ and ―Experience‖ 2.3 Aesthetics and significance ● Aesthetics ◆In Emerson’s opinion, poets should function as preachers who gave

directions to the mass.◆ True poetry should serve as a moral purification.◆ The argument(or his thought or experience)should decide the form of the poem instead of traditional techniques.◆ The poets should express his thought in symbols.◆ Poets should use words for their pictorial and imaginative meaning.◆ As to theme, Emerson called upon American authors to writer about peculiar American matters.● Significance Emerson’s aesthetics brought about a revolution in American literature in general and in American poetry in particular.It marked the birth of true American poetry and true American poets such as Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson.● Limitation His reputation fell in the 20th century because he firmly believed human and human society could be better.It seemed that he had no sense of evil and too optimistic about human nature and the society.Somebody once called this kind of optimism ―Transcendental folly‖.(愛默生的散文富于哲理，多格言警句，在中國有多種譯文。中國著名的女作家張愛玲曾經翻譯過愛默生的散文，目前她的譯本已由三聯書店出版。)2.4 Nature and Self-reliance

● Nature

◆ Published anonymously in 1836, the essay contains an introduction and eight brief Chapters, which discuss the love of nature, the uses of nature, the idealist philosophy in relation to nature, evidences of spirit in the material universe, and the potential expansion of human souls and words that will

result from a general return to direct, immediate contact with the natural environment.◆ In the essay Emerson clearly expresses the main principles of his Transcendentalist pursuit and his love for nature.In expressing his belief in the mystical ―unity of Nature,‖ Emerson develops his concept of the ―Over-soul‖ ―Universal Mind.‖ This essay has become so important that most people consider it an unofficial manifesto for the ―Transcendental Club.‖

● Self-reliance(Selected Readings, P20-24)

◆ The Theme is ―Be yourself.Trust your own inner voice.‖ Emerson repeats that theme throughout the essay in different ways.For example, he urges his readers to retain the outspokenness of a small child who freely speaks his mind–because he has not yet been corrupted by adults who tell him to do otherwise.He also urges readers to avoid envying or imitating others viewed as models of perfection;instead, he says, readers should take pride in their own unique individuality and never be afraid to express their own original ideas.In addition, he says, they should refuse to conform to the ways of the popular culture and its shallow ideals;rather they should live up to their own ideals–even if doing so reaps them criticism and denunciation.◆ In this essay, Emerson uses first-, second-, and third-person point of view.◆ Among the most notable characteristics of Emerson’s writing style are these: ▼ thorough development of his thesis through examples, repetition, and reinforcement;

▼ coinage of memorable statements of principle, or aphorisms;

▼ frequent references(allusions)to historical and literary figures, such as Socrates, Galileo, Copernicus, Napoleon, Shakespeare, Franklin, Dante, and Scipio(Roman general who defeated Hannibal), who embody qualities Emerson discusses;

▼ frequent use of figurative language to make a point, such as ―An institution is the lengthened shadow of one man‖(metaphor)and ―They who made England, Italy, or Greece venerable in the imagination did so by sticking fast where they were, like an axis of the earth‖(simile).Henry David Thoreau(1817-1862)3.1 Life

● Born in a common family in New England ● Graduated from Harvard, but only stayed at home and helped family business ● A friend of Emerson ● Active in social life and had a strong sense of justice(Example: He once refused to pay a poll-tax of 2 dollars because he felt the tax was unfair, and thus he was jailed.And later he wrote an essay named ―Civil Disobedience‖ which advocated passive resistance to unjust laws and influenced Gandhi in India.甘地的非暴力不合作運動)● not successful as a writer and lived in obscurity all his life 3.2 Works

● A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers

● Walden（《瓦爾登湖》）(description of his life near the pond called Walden belonging to Emerson;the author lived there for nearly two years with only an axe at the beginning)(This book was a failure in his own time but became very popular in the 20th century.)Walden presented Thoreau’s unusual interests in nature and showed his individualism which inherited from American Puritanism.The book described the author’s extremely simple life and regeneration he experienced when he lived near the Walden pond.Comparing with Emerson who was a great thinker, Thoreau was a great experimentalist who put Emerson’s Transcendental doctrines into practice in the actual life.(《瓦爾登湖》在二十世紀已經成為了一本美國文學中的經典著作，在中國有多個譯本，其中比較常見的一個譯本由徐遲翻譯，在中國非常流行。)(《瓦爾登湖》中的名劇：‖我可以用28.12元建立一個家，0.27元過一周的生活。每年我用6個星期賺一年的生活費，剩余的46個星期做自己想做的事。‖ 對于在20世紀的繁忙的現代社會中奔波的人，《瓦爾登湖》中記述的作者親近自然的簡單生活自然別有一番魅力，它就像現代人的一個夢想，這也是為什么此書在20世紀非常流行的原因之一。

(一位梭羅研究專家曾經說《瓦爾登湖》有5種讀法：1，關于自然的書；2，關于自立更生，簡單生活的書；3，對現代生活的批評；4，文學名著；5，神圣的書。)(梭羅在《瓦爾登湖》記述的生活方式很像中國古代的隱士，有興趣的同學可以對他們進行一個比較。)Ⅶ Reflection Questions and Assignments Reflection Questions Compare Wordsworth and Emerson.Assignments 1 According to Ralph Waldo Emerson, how does nature delight, purify and ennoble man and compensate for his solitude? 2 Comment on Walden.

第二篇：美國文學教案

Lecture 1

The American Literature

I.Teaching Aim: through introduction, the students should get an idea about the history and development of American nation and how did the American literature came into being and what is the characteristic of its early literature.II.Teaching method: Teacher’s Presentation.III.Teaching Tool: multi-medium.Key points: the characteristics of literature.一、基本概況

國名

美利堅合眾國（United States of America），簡稱美國（U.S.A.），舊稱花旗國。【面積】9629091平方公里（其中陸地面積915.8960萬平方公里），本土東西長4500公里，南北寬2700公里，海岸線長22680公里。

【人口】2.96億（2005年7月）。白人占75%，拉美裔占12.5%，黑人占12.3%，亞裔占3.6%，華人約243萬，占0.9%，多已入美國籍（2000年美人口普查數據）。通用英語。56%的居民信奉基督教新教，28%信奉天主教，2%信奉猶太教，信奉其他宗教的占4%，不屬于任何教派的占10%。

【首都】 華盛頓哥倫比亞特區（Washington D.C.），人口約55.4萬（2004年）。

【國慶日】7月4日（美國獨立日，1776年）。美國文學的歷史不長，它幾乎是和美國自由資本主義同時出現，較少受到封建貴族文化的束縛。美國早期人口稀少，有大片未開發的土地，為個人理想的實現提供了很大的可能性。

美國人民富于民主自由精神，個人主義、個性解放的觀念較為強烈，這在文學中有突出的反映。美國又是一個多民族的國家，移民不斷涌入，各自帶來了本民族的文化，這決定了美國文學風格的多樣性和龐雜性。美國文學發展的過程就是不斷吸取、融化各民族文學特點的過程。許多美國作家來自社會下層，這使得美國文學生活氣息和平民色彩都比較濃厚，總的特點是開朗、豪放。內容龐雜與色彩鮮明是美國文學的另一特點。個性自由與自我克制、清教主義與實用主義、激進與反動、反叛和順從、高雅與庸俗、高級趣味與低級趣味、深刻與膚淺、積極進取與玩世不恭、明快與晦澀、犀利的諷刺與陰郁的幽默、精心雕琢與粗制濫造、對人類命運的思考和探索等傾向，不僅可以同時并存，而且形成強烈的對照。

美國文學表現為平民化，多元化，富于陽剛之氣，熱愛自由，追求以個人幸福為中心的美國夢。美國文學大致出現過3次繁榮：19世紀前期形成民族文學，第一和第二次世界大戰后，美國文學兩度繁榮，并產生世界影響，已有近10位作家獲得諾貝爾文學獎。

從來沒有一種潮流或傾向能夠在一個時期內一統美國文學的天下。美國作家敏感、好奇，往往是一個浪潮未落，另一浪潮又起。作家們永遠處在探索和試驗的過程之中。20世紀以來，許多文**流起源于美國，給世界文學同時帶來積極的與消極的影響。

Lecture 2

The American Literature

IV.Teaching Aim: through introduction, the students should get an idea about the history and development of American nation and how did the American literature came into being and what is the characteristic of its early literature.V.Teaching method: Teacher’s Presentation.VI.Teaching Tool: multi-medium.Key points: the characteristics of literature.按照體裁分類:

一、自傳

二、詩歌

三、戲劇

四、小說

最初的美國文學既不是美國的，也不是真正的文學。它不是美國文學是因為它主要是從英格蘭來的移民的作品。它不是文學是因為正如我們知道的—不是以詩歌、散文或小說的形式出現的—而是些頗有情趣的旅行記載和宗教作品。

殖民時期文學:這一時期的文學并不發達，主要以模仿為主，沒有自己的鮮明特點，但那時的政治，經濟和社會發展對美國文學的形成還是有很大的影響。例如：當年來美洲大陸移民的人基本上屬于兩種人，一類是為逃避國內政治迫害，追求宗教自由的英國清教徒，他們來到新英格蘭地區，扎根發展；另一類是謀求發財致富的歐洲平民百姓，包括野心勃勃的冒險家。不論是哪一種人都相信在新大陸都可以得到自由平等的待遇，都有機會實現自己的理想。這種觀點是“美國夢”成為日后美國文學的永恒主題。清教主義有關人生來有罪及上帝主宰一切等思想也影響了美國作家不斷思考人性與原罪、人與上帝的關系。由于這一時期文學不很發達，主要文學形式多為講經布道之作，也有游記、書信等其他文學作品。

這一時期大約從1607年約翰·史密斯船長領導第一批移民在北美大陸建立第一個英國殖民地詹姆斯敦到1765年殖民地人民憤怒抗議英國政府頒布的印花稅法。總的來說，殖民時期人們忙于生存，無暇吟詩作曲，清教主義反對虛構的小說戲劇，因此文學不很發達。當時的宗教領袖和殖民區領導人物如布雷福德（William Bradford，1590－1657）、溫思羅普（John Winthrop，1588－1649）等人撰寫的書籍多半是講道布經等有關神學的材料或日記。此外還有一些為歐洲讀者或親人撰寫的介紹新大陸的山水風貌和日常生活的小冊子或游記書信，最著名的作者是為英國人在北美建立第一個永久性殖民地的工作起重要作用的約翰.史密斯船長（Captain John Smith,1580-1631）.即便是詩歌也拜托不了宗教內容。比較出色的詩人有安妮.布雷特茲里特（Anne Bradstreet,約1612－1672）和愛德華.泰勒（Edward Taylor, 約1642-1729)。前者是北美第一位女詩人，她的詩歌雖然宗教氣息較濃，但她描寫夫妻恩愛，家庭美滿等日常生活題材的詩歌感情真摯，富有感染力。泰勒是位牧師，虔誠的情教徒，詩歌創作也是為上帝服務，有些跟他的講道有密切關系。他的作品在生前并未發表，直到20世紀30年代才被發現并整理出版。兩位詩人的一個共同特點是都受英國玄學派詩人的影響，詩歌有較大的模仿性。

二、啟蒙時期與獨立革命（1765－18世紀末）這是北美人民爭取獨立、建立美利堅合眾國的時期。17世紀末18世紀初，由于經濟的發展，殖民者的注意力開始轉向世俗生活，在歐洲啟蒙主義和自然神論等哲學思潮的影響下，上帝的作用大大削弱，清教主義的統治逐漸衰落。18世紀美國啟蒙運動的代表人物富蘭克林（Benjamin Frankin,1706－1790）。富蘭克林是個人文主義者，相信人性善良、主張人權天賦、政治平等，認為行善是忠于上帝的最好表示。他出身貧苦，但意志堅定，頑強奮斗，從商、參政，寫文章、研究科學，終于成為文學家、科學家和在美國立國過程中起重大作用的政治家。他的《格言歷書》（Poor Richard's Almanac）通過大量的格言警句宣傳創業持家、待人處世的道德原則和勤奮致富的生活道路。他在獨立革命期間撰寫的《自傳》（Autobiography）以親身經歷再次說明，美國有的是機會，只要勤奮便能成功。富蘭克林的成功經驗對美國人的人生觀、事業觀和道德觀產生過深遠的影響。他的《自傳》還開創了美國名人寫傳記的風氣，建立了傳記文學的傳統。

從1765年英國殖民者第一次反對英國政府的印花稅到1789年美國聯邦政府成立的20多年里，北美大陸的政治形勢發展很快，1775年獨立戰爭爆發，1776年宣布獨立，1783年對英戰爭勝利，1789年新憲法生效，華盛頓當選第一任總統。獨立革命時期文學的主要形式跟殖民時期一樣以理性的敬文為主。主要是各派政治力量對于革命的必要性、革命的前途與方向、政府的形式與性質等重大問題展開激烈爭論時所產生的大批論點鮮明、充滿戰斗力和說服力的雜文、政論文和演講辭，如潘恩（Thomas Paine，1737－1809）的《常識》（Common Sense）、杰弗遜（Thomas Jefferson,1743－1826）的《獨立宣言》（The Declaration of Independence）

三、浪漫主義時期（1800－1865）19世紀初，美國完全擺脫了對英國的依賴，以獨立國家的身份進入世界政治舞臺。民族文學開始全面繁榮，逐漸打破英國文學在美國的壟斷局面。這時期作家們跟英國浪漫主義作家一樣，強調文學的想象力和感情色彩，反對古典主義的形式與觀點，歌頌大自然，崇尚個人和普通人的思想感情，并且尋根問祖發幽古之思情。但他們雖然模仿美國作家，素材卻完全取自美國現實，如西部開發與拓荒經歷。他們贊美美國山水，謳歌美國生活，反映美國人民的樂觀與熱情。

早期浪漫主義的主要代表作家是歐文（Washington Irving，1783－1859）、庫柏（James Fenimore Cooper，1789－1851）和布賴恩特（William Cullen Bryant，1794－1878）。歐文以短篇小說見長，他的《見聞札記》（The Sketch Book）開創了美國短篇小說的傳統，使他成為第一個享有國際聲譽的美國作家。庫柏主要寫長篇小說，而且有三種不同類型的小說：歷史小說、細節準確詳盡的冒險小說和對后來西部文學影響甚大的邊疆小說--《皮襪子故事集》（The Leather Stocking Tales）五部曲。布賴恩特是美國第一個浪漫主義詩人，也是第一個受到英國詩壇贊賞的美國詩人。《致水鳥》（To a Waterfowl）

19世紀的浪漫主義運動的中心在新英格蘭地區，主要表現形式為超驗主義（Transcendentalism）。超驗主義理論崇尚直覺，反對理性和權威，強調人有能力憑直覺直接認識真理，人能超越感覺獲得知識，因此，人的存在就是神的存在的一部分，人在一定范圍內就是上帝，自然界是神對人的啟示，人可以從自然界認識真理，了解物質發展規律，得到精神道德原則方面的啟示。超驗主義理論的奠基人是愛默生（Ralph Waldo Emerson，1803－1882）。愛默生的《論自然》（Nature）、《論自立》(Self-Reliance）等著作對打破神學統治，摒棄以神為中心的清教教義，強調人在宇宙萬物中的地位，確立民主思想和發展民族文化起了極大的作用。《論自然》曾被稱為超驗主義理論的“圣經”。

棱羅（Henry David Thoreau,1817－1862）是愛默生的朋友和門徒。他接受愛默生關于認識自我和研究自然的思想，并且身體力行，獨自在家鄉森林沃爾登湖畔生活了兩年，把超驗主義的原則和自己的哲理信念付諸實踐。《沃爾登湖》（Walden）詳細描寫他在湖畔的生活，宣傳自然的美好，批判資本主義文明的消極影響，呼吁人們返樸歸真，到自然中去尋找生活的意義和豐富的精神世界。梭羅富有正義感，反對美國對墨西哥的戰爭，譴責蓄奴制。他的《論公民的不服從》（Civil Disobedience）主張用和平斗爭的方式反對戰爭和奴隸制，對印度的甘地、60年代的美國黑人領袖馬丁·路德·金等人起過積極的影響。

在詩歌方面，新英格蘭地區比較出名的詩人有朗費羅（Henry Wadsworth Longfellow,1807-1882），霍姆斯（Oliver Wendell Holmes,1809-1894）和洛威爾（James Russell Lowell, 1810-1891）等。他們大都出身世家，有地位有名望，文化修養比較高，但又都比較守舊，缺乏創新精神，對社會問題雖有批評卻比較溫和。因此他們常被稱為波士頓的婆羅門（Brahmins）。19世紀美國最偉大的浪漫主義詩人是惠特曼（Walt Whitman，1819－1892），1855年出版的《草葉集》（Leaves of Grass）標志著美國文學進入了一個嶄新的時代。另一位革新詩歌的詩人是狄金森（Emily Dickinson，1830-1886）。1955年出版的《艾米莉·狄金森詩集》》確立了狄金森在美國文學史上的重要地位。

浪漫主義時期兩位重要的小說家是霍桑和梅爾維爾。霍桑（Nathaniel Hawthorne，1804－ 1864）不贊成超驗主義，尤其是“人即是神”的說法。《紅字》（The Scarlet Letter）描寫罪惡對人的精神面貌作用；《帶有七個尖角閣的房子》》（The House of the Seven Gables）表現祖上的罪孽對后代的報應。梅爾維爾（Herman Melville, 1819-1891）深受霍桑的影響，關心人類命運，相認邪惡的普遍性，懷疑超驗主義的樂觀主義理論，對社會進步持悲觀態度。他們兩人給美國文學帶來了戲劇色彩。但是梅爾維爾不像霍桑那樣安于命運、按受現實。他進行更為深刻的鉆研，探討上帝的本質、人類的天性和邪惡戰勝一切的原因。代表作《白鯨》（Moby Dick）對此作了深刻的反映。

四、現實主義時期（186－1918）南北戰爭（1861-1865）以后到第一次世界人戰爆發，美國完成了從農業社會到工業社會的轉化，社會面貌和經濟生活開始發生急劇的變化。

現實主義文學時期三位最重要的作家是豪威爾斯（William Dean Howells，1837-1920）馬克吐溫（Mark Twain，1835－1910）和詹姆斯（Henry James 1843－1916）。

五、現代主義時期（1918－1945）自20世紀開始，美國文學進入新的時代。第一次世界大戰對美國人的思想和精神面貌產生極大的影響。人們對自由民主的信念開始動搖，普遍感到迷惘，甚至絕望。

現代主義文學是從詩歌開始的。當時的詩人大致可分為三類：

（l）芝加哥詩人。他們無論在詩歌形式上還是題材上都堅持惠特曼的傳統，反映勞動人民的思想感情。（2）以龐德（Ezra Pound，1885-1972）和當時在倫敦居住尚未加入英國籍的艾略特（T．S．Eliot，1888－1965）為首的身居海外的詩人。（3）新英格蘭詩人弗洛斯特(Robert Frost，1874－1963)和羅賓遜（Edward Arlington Robinson，1869－1935）屬于第三類詩人，介乎上述兩派之間，受到新詩歌運動的感染，但并不全盤接受它的原則和主張。

很多在20年代發表作品的年輕作家往往被稱為“迷惘的一代”（the lost generation）。他們曾懷著自由民主的幻想參加過第一次世界大戰。然而，殘酷的戰爭、無謂的犧牲使他們的理想幻滅了。

菲茨杰拉德（F Scott Fitzgerald,1896－1940）雖然沒有去過前線，卻是典型的“迷惘的一代的作家。第一部長篇小說《人間天堂》和100多篇短篇小說真實地反映爵士時代人們醉生夢死的空虛的精神面貌，生動地再現了20年代美國青年認為”一切上帝都死亡了，一切戰爭都打完了和一切對人的信念都動搖了“的絕望心理。《了不起的蓋茨比》》和《夜色溫柔》（Tender is the Night）從內容到技巧都更為成熟，進一步揭露”美國夢“和”美國精神“的迷惑性和空虛。菲茨杰拉德是繼德萊塞以后又一個抨擊腐蝕人們靈魂的美國夢的作家。

海明威（Ernest Hemingway，1899－1961）是”迷惆的一代“作家的主要人物。《太陽照樣升起》》（The Sun Also Rises）反映大戰后在歐洲彷徨游蕩的美國青年絕望和幻滅的情緒。《永別了，武器》（A Farewell to Arms）表現戰爭如何粉碎人們的理想和生活目的。《喪鐘為誰而鳴》（For Whom the Bell Tolls）描寫西班牙的內戰。海明威小說的主人公常常是位心靈受過創傷、敏感而玩世不恭的年輕人，但他作品里往往又有一位勇敢正直的英雄。海明威筆下的英雄可能是不見經傳的獵人、士兵、斗中土、拳擊家，但他們都具有”硬漢“性格，曲折不撓，視死如歸。他們給海明威的主人公以啟示，教育他們在困難前面不低頭、在壓力下面不彎腰的處世原則。《老人與海》（The Old Man and the Sea）中的老漁民集中體現了海明威大力推崇的在失敗中保持尊嚴從而取得精神勝利的生活原則。海明威不僅為美國文學創造了”硬漢"形象；他那含蓄簡練，清新有力的文體對美國文學也產生了極大的影響。

第三篇：美國文學教案2

Section 2 Summit of Romanticism –American Transcendentalism I.Background: four sources

1.Unitarianism

(1)Fatherhood of God

(2)Brotherhood of men

(3)Leadership of Jesus

(4)Salvation by character(perfection of one’s character)

(5)Continued progress of mankind

(6)Divinity of mankind

(7)Depravity of mankind

2.Romantic Idealism

Center of the world is spirit, absolute spirit(Kant)

3.Oriental mysticism

Center of the world is “oversoul”

4.Puritanism

Eloquent expression in transcendentalism

II.Appearance

1836, “Nature” by Emerson

III.Features

1.spirit/oversoul

2.importance of individualism

3.nature – symbol of spirit/God

garment of the oversoul

4.focus in intuition(irrationalism and subconsciousness)

IV.Influence

1.It served 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.2.It advocated idealism that was great needed in a rapidly expanded economy where opportunity often became opportunism, and the desire to “get on” obscured the moral necessity for rising to spiritual height.3.It helped to create the first American renaissance – one of the most prolific period in American literature.V.RalphWaldo Emerson

1.life

2.works

(1)Nature

(2)Two essays: The American Scholar, The Poet

3.point of view

(1)One major element of his philosophy is his firm belief in the

transcendence of the “oversoul”.(2)He regards nature as the purest, and the most sanctifying moral

influence on man, and advocated a direct intuition of a spiritual and immanent God in nature.(3)If man depends upon himself, cultivates himself and brings out the divine in himself, he can hope to become better and even perfect.This is what Emerson means by “the infinitude of man”.(4)Everyone should understand that he makes himself by making his world, and that he makes the world by making himself.4.aesthetic ideas

(1)He is a complete man, an eternal man.(2)True poetry and true art should ennoble.(3)The poet should express his thought in symbols.(4)As to theme, Emerson called upon American authors to celebrate America which was to him a lone poem in itself.5.his influence

VI.Henry David Thoreau

1.life

2.works

(1)A Week on the Concord and Merrimack River

(2)Walden

(3)A Plea for John Brown(an essay)

3.point of view

(1)He did not like the way a materialistic America was developing and was vehemently outspoken on the point.(2)He hated the human injustice as represented by the slavery system.(3)Like Emerson, but more than him, Thoreau saw nature as a genuine restorative, healthy influence on man’s spiritual well-being.(4)He has faith in the inner virtue and inward, spiritual grace of man.(5)He was very critical of modern civilization.(6)“Simplicity…simplify!”

(7)He was sorely disgusted with “the inundations of the dirty institutions of men’s odd-fellow society”.(8)He has calm trust in the future and his ardent belief in a new generation of men.Section 3 Late Romanticism

I.Nathaniel Hawthorne

1.life

2.works

(1)Two collections of short stories: Twice-told Tales, Mosses from and Old Manse

(2)The Scarlet Letter

(3)The House of the Seven Gables

(4)The Marble Faun

3.point of view

(1)Evil is at the core of human life, “that blackness in Hawthorne”

(2)Whenever there is sin, there is punishment.Sin or evil can be passed from generation to generation(causality).(3)He is of the opinion that evil educates.(4)He has disgust in science.4.aesthetic ideas

(1)He took a great interest in history and antiquity.To him these furnish the soil on which his mind grows to fruition.(2)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.5.style – typical romantic writer

(1)the use of symbols

(2)revelation of characters’ psychology

(3)the use of supernatural mixed with the actual

(4)his 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 view

II.Herman Melville

1.life

2.works

(1)Typee

(2)Omio

(3)Mardi

(4)Redburn

(5)White Jacket

(6)Moby Dick

(7)Pierre

(8)Billy Budd

3.point of view

(1)He never seems able to say an affirmative yes to life: His is the attitude of “Everlasting Nay”(negative attitude towards life).(2)One of the major themes of his is alienation(far away from each other).Other themes: loneliness, suicidal individualism(individualism causing disaster and death), rejection and quest, confrontation of innocence and evil, doubts over the comforting 19c idea of progress

4.style

(1)Like Hawthorne, Melville manages to achieve the effect of ambiguity through employing the technique of multiple view of his narratives.(2)He tends to write periodic chapters.(3)His rich rhythmical prose and his poetic power have been profusely commented upon and praised.(4)His works are symbolic and metaphorical.(5)He includes many non-narrative chapters of factual background or description of what goes on board the ship or on the route(Moby Dick)

第四篇：美國文學教案1

Chapter 1 Colonial Period I.Background: Puritanism 1.features of Puritanism(1)Predestination: God decided everything before things occurred.(2)Original sin: Human beings were born to be evil, and this original sin can be passed down from generation to generation.(3)Total depravity(4)Limited atonement: Only the “elect” can be saved.2.Influence(1)A group of good qualities – hard work, thrift, piety, sobriety(serious and thoughtful)influenced American literature.(2)It led to the everlasting myth.All literature is based on a myth – garden of Eden.(3)Symbolism: the American puritan’s metaphorical mode of perception was chiefly instrumental in calling into being a literary symbolism which is distinctly American.(4)With regard to their writing, the 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 literature 1.types of writing diaries, histories, journals, letters, travel books, autobiographies/biographies, sermons 2.writers of colonial period(1)Anne Bradstreet(2)Edward Taylor(3)Roger Williams(4)John Woolman(5)Thomas Paine(6)Philip Freneau IV.Benjamin Franklin 1.life 2.works(1)Poor Richard’s Almanac(2)Autobiography 3.contribution(1)He helped found the Pennsylvania Hospital and the American Philosophical Society.(2)He was called “the new Prometheus who had stolen fire(electricity in this case)from heaven”.(3)Everything seems to meet in this one man – “Jack of all trades”.Herman Melville thus described him “master of each and mastered by none”.Chapter 2 American Romanticism Section 1 Early Romantic Period What is Romanticism? An approach from ancient Greek: Plato A literary trend: 18c in Britain(1798~1832)Schlegel Bros.I.Preview: Characteristics of romanticism 1.subjectivity(1)feeling and emotions, finding truth(2)emphasis on imagination(3)emphasis on individualism – personal freedom, no hero worship, natural goodness of human beings 2.back to medieval, esp medieval folk literature(1)unrestrained by classical rules(2)full of imagination(3)colloquial language(4)freedom of imagination(5)genuine in feelings: answer their call for classics 3.back to nature nature is “breathing living thing”(Rousseau)II.American Romanticism 1.Background(1)Political background and economic development(2)Romantic movement in European countries Derivative – foreign influence 2.features(1)American romanticism was in essence the expression of “a real new experience and contained “an alien quality” for the simple reason that “the spirit of the place” was radically new and alien.(2)There is American Puritanism as a cultural heritage to consider.American romantic authors tended more to moralize.Many American romantic writings intended to edify more than they entertained.(3)The “newness” of Americans as a nation is in connection with American Romanticism.(4)As a logical result of the foreign and native factors at work, American romanticism was both imitative and independent.III.Washington Irving 1.several names attached to Irving(1)first American writer(2)the messenger sent from the new world to the old world(3)father of American literature 2.life 3.works(1)A History of New York from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty(2)The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.(He won a measure of international recognition with the publication of this.)(3)The History of the Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus(4)A Chronicle of the Conquest of Granada(5)The Alhambra 4.Literary career: two parts(1)1809~1832 a.Subjects are either English or European b.Conservative love for the antique(2)1832~1859: back to US 5.style – beautiful(1)gentility, urbanity, pleasantness(2)avoiding moralizing – amusing and entertaining(3)enveloping stories in an atmosphere(4)vivid and true characters(5)humour – smiling while reading(6)musical language IV.James Fenimore Cooper 1.life 2.works(1)Precaution(1820, his first novel, imitating Austen’s Pride and Prejudice)(2)The Spy(his second novel and great success)(3)Leatherstocking Tales(his masterpiece, a series of five novels)The Deerslayer, The Last of the Mohicans, The Pathfinder, The Pioneer, The Prairie 3.point of view the theme of wilderness vs.civilization, freedom vs.law, order vs.change, aristocrat vs.democrat, natural rights vs.legal rights 4.style(1)highly imaginative(2)good at inventing tales(3)good at landscape description(4)conservative(5)characterization wooden and lacking in probability(6)language and use of dialect not authentic 5.literary achievements He created a myth about the formative period of the American nation.If the history of the United States is, in a sense, the process of the American settlers exploring and pushing the American frontier forever westward, then Cooper’s 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 western tradition to American literature.Romantic Poets I.WaltWhitman 1.life 2.work: Leaves of Grass(9 editions)(1)Song of Myself(2)There Was a Child Went Forth(3)Crossing Brooklyn Ferry(4)Democratic Vistas(5)Passage to India(6)Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking 3.themes – “Catalogue of American and European thought”

He had been influenced by many American and European thoughts: enlightenment, idealism, transcendentalism, science, evolution ideas, western frontier spirits, Jefferson’s individualism, Civil War Unionism, Orientalism.Major themes in his poems(almost everything): equality of things and beings divinity of everything immanence of God democracy evolution of cosmos multiplicity of nature self-reliant spirit death, beauty of death expansion of America brotherhood and social solidarity(unity of nations in the world)pursuit of love and happiness 4.style: “free verse”

(1)no fixed rhyme or scheme(2)parallelism, a rhythm of thought(3)phonetic recurrence(4)the habit of using snapshots(5)the use of a certain pronoun “I”

(6)a looser and more open-ended syntactic structure(7)use of conventional image(8)strong tendency to use oral English(9)vocabulary – powerful, colourful, rarely used words of foreign origins, some even wrong(10)sentences – catalogue technique: long list of names, long poem lines 5.influence(1)His best work has become part of the common property of Western culture.(2)He took over Whitman’s vision of the poet-prophet and poet-teacher and recast it in a more sophisticated and Europeanized mood.(3)He has been compared to a mountain in American literary history.(4)Contemporary American poetry, whatever school or form, bears witness to his great influence.II.Emily Dickenson 1.life 2.works(1)My Life Closed Twice before Its Close(2)Because I Can’t Stop for Death(3)I Heard a Fly Buzz – When I died(4)Mine – by the Right of the White Election(5)Wild Nights – Wild Nights 3.themes: based on her own experiences/joys/sorrows(1)religion – doubt and belief about religious subjects(2)death and immortality(3)love – suffering and frustration caused by love(4)physical aspect of desire(5)nature – kind and cruel(6)free will and human responsibility 4.style(1)poems without titles(2)severe economy of expression(3)directness, brevity(4)musical device to create cadence(rhythm)(5)capital letters – emphasis(6)short poems, mainly two stanzas(7)rhetoric techniques: personification – make some of abstract ideas vivid III.Comparison:Whitman vs.Dickinson 1.Similarities:(1)Thematically, they both extolled, in their different ways, an emergent America, its expansion, its individualism and its Americanness, their poetry being part of “American Renaissance”.(2)Technically, 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.2.differences:(1)Whitman 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 doesn’t have.Edgar Allen Poe I.Life II.Works 1.short stories(1)ratiocinative stories a.Ms Found in a Bottle b.The Murders in the Rue Morgue c.The Purloined Letter(2)Revenge, death and rebirth a.The Fall of the House of Usher b.Ligeia c.The Masque of the Red Death(3)Literary theory a.The Philosophy of Composition b.The Poetic Principle c.Review of Hawthorne’s Twice-told Tales III.Themes 1.death – predominant theme in Poe’s writing

“Poe is not interested in anything alive.Everything in Poe’s writings is dead.” 2.disintegration(separation)of life 3.horror 4.negative thoughts of science IV.Aesthetic ideas 1.The short stories should be of brevity, totality, single effect, compression and finality.2.The poems should be short, and the aim should be beauty, the tone melancholy.Poems should not be of moralizing.He calls for pure poetry and stresses rhythm.V.Style – traditional, but not easy to read VI.Reputation: “the jingle man”(Emerson)

第五篇：美國文學名詞解釋

1.Naturalism:American naturalism was a new and harsher realism.America’s literary naturalists dismissed the validity of comforting moral truths.They attempted to achieve extreme objectivity and frankness, presenting characters of low social and economic classes who were determined by their environment and heredity.Puritanism:Puritanism is the practices and beliefs of the Puritans.They accepted the doctrine of predestination, original sin and total depravity, and limited atonement through a special infusion of grace form God.3.Realism: Realism emphasizes on a faithful rendering of the ordinary, a slice of life as it is really lived.It expresses the concern for commonplace and the low, and it offers an objective rather than an idealistic view of human nature and human experience.4.Romanticism: romantics frequently shared certain general characteristics: moral enthusiasm, faith in value of individualism and intuitive perception, and a presumption that the natural world was a source of goodness and man’s societies a source of corruption.Transcendentalism:They spoke for cultural rejuvenation and stressed the importance of the individual.They offered a fresh perception of nature as symbolic of the Spirit or God.Nature was, to them, alive, filled with God’s overwhelming presence.6.Imagism意象主義: It’s a poetic movement of England and the U.S.flourished from 1909 to 1917.The movement insists on the creation of images in poetry by “the direct treatment of the thing” and the economy of wording.7.Local Colorism: fiction or poetry that focuses on specific features – including characters, dialects, customs, history, and landscape – of a particular region.8.Lost Generation: It describes the Americans who remained in Paris as a colony of “expatriates” or exiles.It describes the writers like Hemingway who lived in semi poverty.It describes the Americans who returned to their native land with an intense awareness of living in an unfamiliar changing world.9.Beat Generation: It was a group of American post-World War IIwho came to prominence in the 1950s.They rejected conventional social and moral values;expressed their alienation in their works from conventional “square” society by adopting a life style which featured sex, drugs, jazz and the freedom of the open road.10.Symbolism: Symbolism is the writing technique of using symbols.It enables poets to compress a very complex idea or set of ideas into one image or even one word.It’s one of the most powerful devices that poets employ in creation.11.Modernism：is loosely a synonym of anything contemporary.Strictly, Modernism began in the late 19th century and regarded the theory of psycho-analysis as its theoretical base.They pay more attention to the psychic time than the chronological one.12.A Jazz age(爵士時代):The Jazz Age describes the period of the 1920s and 1930s.With the rise of the great depression, the values of this age saw much decline.Highlighting what some describe as the decadence and hedonism, as well as the growth of individualism.