美国文学（American literature 美国文学的雏形 早期的美国文学是从欧洲文学的样式和风格中衍生出来的。例如，维兰德和查尔斯·布罗克
登·布朗的小说创作就是对英格兰哥特小说的模仿。就连华盛顿·欧文Washington Irving的杰
作《李伯大梦》和《睡谷传奇》The Legend of Sleeping Hollow也是十足的欧洲风格，只是
故事发生的场景改为美国而已。
美国文学的诞生 美国第一位在小说和诗歌创作领域取得显著成就的作家是艾德加·爱伦·坡Edgar Allen Poe
（1809－1849），他于1835年开始短篇小说的创作，其作品包括《红死病》The Red Death、
《陷坑与钟摆》、《颓败之屋》和《莫尔格街凶杀案》The Murder of the Rue Morgue。他的
创作触及了前人很少涉及的心理学领域，并且将神秘、幻想等元素融入小说创作之中。 1837年，年轻的作家纳撒尼尔·霍桑Nathanial Howthorne（1804－1864）将他的一些短篇
小说集结成册出版，名为《重讲一遍的故事》Twice Told Tales。这是一部包含了丰富的象
征主义及神秘主义元素的作品。后来，霍桑又开始写作长篇的传奇小说、类寓言小说，他的
本土小说《新英格兰》New England以人类的内疚、荣耀和情感上的压抑为主题。霍桑的代
表作是《红字》The Scarlet Letter，讲述一个因通奸adultary行为而被驱逐出社区的女人的
故事。 [hide] 霍桑的小说创作对他的朋友，作家赫尔曼·麦尔维尔（1819－1891）产生了深远的影
响。麦尔维尔以自己早期的水手经历为蓝本创作了许多富有异国情调的小说。在霍桑的影响
下，麦尔维尔的小说中也融入了很多哲学上的思索。在其代表作《白鲸》中，作家通过对一
场惊心动魄的捕鲸历程的描述，表达了对人类痴迷状态、人性中罪恶成分以及人类如何战胜这些天性的思索。在他的另一部短篇杰作《比利·巴德》中，麦尔维尔则戏剧性的描写了战
美国文学名词解释。。仅供参考
American Puritanism: Puritanism is the practices and beliefs of the puritans. The
Puritans were originally members of a division of the protestant church who wanted to
purify their religious beliefs and practices. They accepted the doctrines of predestination,
original sin and total depravity, and limited atonement through a special infusion of grace
from God. American literature in the 17th century mostly consisted of Puritan literature.
Puritanism had an enduring influence on American literature. It had become, to some
extent, so much a state of mind, so much a part of national cultural atmosphere, rather
than a set of tenets.
American Puritanism
it comes from the American puritans, who were the first immigrants moved to American
continent in the 17th century. Original sin, predestination（预言） and salvation（拯救）
美国文学文学名词解释
1 Modernism(现代主义)
Modernism is comprehensive but vague term for a
movement , which begin in the late
19th century and which has had a wide influence
internationally during much of the 20th century、
2> modernism takes the irrational philosophy and the theory
of psycho-analysis as its theoretical case、
3> the term pertains to all the creative arts、Especially
poetry, fiction, drama, painting, music and architecture、
现代主义就是全面但运动模糊的术语,在19世纪末期开始,在国际上有广泛影响的在20世纪的大部分时间。2 >现代主义以非理性哲学与精神分析理论为其理论的情况。3 >这个词属于所有的创造性艺术。特别就是诗歌、小说、戏剧、绘画、音乐与建筑。
2 Transcendentalism(超验主义)
Transcendentalism is literature, philosophical and literary
movement that flourished in new England from about 1836 to
1860、it is the summit of American Romanticism、it originated
among a small group of intellectuals who were reacting against
American Puritanism: Puritanism is the practices and beliefs of the Puritans. The Puritans were
originally members of a division of the Protestant Church. As the word itself hints, Puritans wanted to
purify their religious beliefs and practices. They accepted the doctrine of predestination, original sin
and total depravity, and limited atonement through a special infusion of grace form God. As a culture
heritage, Puritanism did have a profound influence on the early American mind.
American Romanticism: The Romantic Period covers the first half of the 19th century. 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 was a source of corruption. Romantic values were prominent in American politics, art, and
