1.American-Literature

1.American-Literature

D美国文学

2 American Literature

Literature

What is literature?

• Literature has been the high skills of writing

with imagination since the 19th century.

• Types of literature:

Fiction

Poetry

Drama

Essay

Major Literary Schools

I. Classicism and neoclassicism

• Advocation of rationalism

(Reason should be above everything else.)

Samuel Johnson, Alexander Pope

II. Romanticism

• Opposition to neoclassicism

• Emphasis on emotion, imagination and

intuition.

William Wordsworth, Shelley, Byron…

III. Realism

• Focus on common lives of the average

people

• And unromantic observation of human 美国文学

3 • 美国文学

4 • began to receive international recognition,

and has had a great effect upon world

literature.

• I. Literature of the Colonial

Period

(1607—1776)★

• II. Literature of

Reason and Revolution

(1776--1820)★

• III. Romanticism (1820--1860)★

• IV. Rise of Realism (1860--1914)★

• V. Modern Period (1914--)★

1.Literature of the Colonial Period殖民统治时期文学

(1607-1776)

From my years young in days of youth,

God did make known to me His Truth,

And call’d me from my native place

For to enjoy the Means of Grace.

In wilderness He did me guide,

William Bradford

• God teaches me and guides me to a right

way

I. Historical Background

• Settlement★ 美国文学

5 The result of religious motives and

mercantile motives

• Puritanism★

• Puritan thoughts: ★

predestination (God decides everything

before things occur) ★

Original sin (Human beings were born to

be evil.)★

Puritan values:

Hard work, thrift, and piety.

• Individualism and American Dream

II. Features of Literature

• The first American literature was neither

American nor real literature. ★

• Types of Writing

Diary, history, journal, letter, narrative…

• It was the work mainly of immigrants from

England.★

• It was not in the form of poetry, essay or

fiction, but the mixture of travel accounts

and religious writings.★

III. Writers

• John Smith★ 美国文学

6 • As the first Amercan writer★

He is a British soldier of fortune,and strictly

speakly speaking,was not litirature at all.A

Ture Relation Of Such Occurences and

Accidents of Note as Hath Happened in

Virginia was a long report recording what he

saw and heard in the New World, which he

sent back to England and was printed in 1608

whitout his knowledge.

• Anne Bradstreet and Edward Taylor★

(English immigrants)

• The work of the two writers rose to the level

of real poetry.★

2.The Age of Reason and Revolution理性与革命时期文学

(1776--1820)

I. Historical Background

• The Age of Revolution

• The Age of Reason

The Age of Revolution★

American Revolution of Independence

(1776--1783)★

• Britain’s suppression on America in

economy and politics 美国文学

7 • Revolt against Britain

The Age of Reason★

Enlightenment

• Intellectual movement in Europe

(1660’s—1780’s)★

• Humanism: the equality and freedom

among men

(to stimulate Americans to strive

for the establishment of their independent and

democratic nation)

• Rationalism: reason and order

II. Features of Literature

• Utilitarian tendency

(Nothing is good or beautiful but in the

measure that is useful.)

• Clear, concise and powerful expression

• Essay as a prominent part

III. Writers and Works

Essayists

• Thomas Paine: Common Sense★

(to make Americans see the necessity to

have an independent nation of their own)

• Thomas Jefferson: Declaration of 美国文学

8 Independence★

(to inspire his contemporaries)

• Benjamin Franklin本杰明.富兰克林:

Autobiography★

Poor Richard’s

Almanac★

Poet

• Philip Freneau飞利浦.费瑞诺: To the

Memory of the Brave Americans★

The Wild

Honeysuckle★

Benjamin Franklin本杰明.富兰克林 (1706 – 1790)

Identity

• He’s a writer.

• He’s a scientist.

• He’s a businessman.

• He’s a politician.

• He’s an inventor.

• He’s the most versatile and enligh-tened

man of his generation

• Born on Milk Street in Boston,

Massachusetts from a very large family.

• At the age of 12, apprenticed to be a