美国文学的介绍Introduction of the American Literature.

American Literature

Literature

Preface

When you enter the world of literature, your life will be more colorful and meaningful!

Definition

-Literature is writing for the sake of art. --Art is the expression and creation of beauty.

--Beauty: combination of qualities that give pleasure to the senses or to the moral

sense or to the intellect.

----Aristotle: harmonious; symmetrical

----Kant: pure reasoning (subjective creativity) ----Confucian: generosity

-A body of written works related by subject-matter (e.g. the literature of

computing),by language or place of origin(e.g. Russian literature),or by prevailing

cultural standards of merit.

-Broader sense: a totality of written or printed works -Last sense: oral, dramatic, and broadcast compositions

-19th century: imaginative, creative, or artistic value

-More restrictive: poetry, drama, and fiction

美国文学之父the father of

American literature

Unit 2美国文学之父The Father of American Literature

2.1美国文学之父The Father of American Literature(1)

Mark Twain, the pen name of Samuel Clemens, was the first

American writer to specifically dwell on American themes,

American language and the American point of view. He was a

master at rendering the different colloquial dialects of American

English into writing so the reader can really “hear” the accent

while reading the words. Twain was known particularly for his

interest in portraying the American point of view. Tired of

European writers who came to tour the United States and then go

home to write critical things of it, Twain took to touring Europe

and writing frankly (and critically) of what he saw there. Twain

was also the first American writer to produce a tremendous

American Realism现实主义:Realism turned from an emphasis on the strange toward 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.

American Romanticism美国浪漫主义: 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. Romantic values were prominent in American politics, art, and philosophy until

the Civil War. The romantic exaltation of the individual suited the nation’s revolutionary

heritage and its frontier egalitarianism.

American Transcendentalism:美国超验主义They stressed the importance of the individual.

美国文学史浪漫主义时期文学

摘要：浪漫主义时期是美国文学史上最重要的时期之一。当美国人在大刀阔斧地建设自己的国家时，也开始逐渐意识到逐渐与欧洲的不同。随着不断增强的民族主义意识及民族自豪感，美国人开始希望见到自己的不同与欧洲模式，能表达他们字的美国风情的文学。这个时代伟大的作家充满热情地记录下这个伟大时代的乐观主义精神。随后美国文学进入了超验主义时代。超验主义十分强调个人主义、自立、拒绝传统权威思想。它实际上是对浪漫主义的发展。然后，美国的国家自信心受到了内战的动摇。内战过后，美国处在迷茫中。在1900年前后这段时期的文学由于美国国内环境的变化而由浪漫主义和超验主义乐观精神转向对社会和人类本质更直接的探讨。从某种角度，现实主义反对浪漫主义的理想主义和怀旧情绪。它主要关注中下层人民的日常生活，而在这种情况下人物性格是社会因素作用的结果，环境是整个事件发展不可分割的部分。

关键词：美国文学史；浪漫主义；文学特点

The Romantic Period Literature in the history of American

Literature

Abstract: Romantic Period is one of the most important periods in the history of

American literature. When Americans were constructing their country, they also

began to realize their differences from their European counterparts. They began to

hope to see an entirely different literature model which expressed American cultures.