colonial american literatur

美国文学重点和归纳The American CharacterPractical, Religious, Work Ethic,The American Dream. Freedom and liberty PurityFaithfulness .optimism. Idealist .Practical and hardworkingEnthusiasm in and call for business investmentEnthusiasm in charity-workRespect for Educationthe puritan beliefsColonial American literatureThe first American writer Captain John SmithGeneral featuresTypes of writing: diaries, histories, letters etc.Content: serving either God or colonial expansion or bothForm: imitating English literary traditionsAnne BradstreetThe first American female poetA Puritan poet, “Tenth Muse”“Contemplations”《沉思录》The literature of reason and revolutionBenjamin FranklinJack of all trades, Spokesman of Enlightenment ,Autobiography《自传》Poor Richard’s Almanac 《穷理查德历书》Edwards and Franklin made the whole of a true puritan, an AmericaThomas PaineAmerican CrisisThese are the times that try men’s souls: the summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. Common Sense 常识Thomas JeffersonThe Declaration of Independence 1976/7/4We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness,--That to secure their Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from theConsent of the Governed ,--That whenever any Form of government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Rights of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its Foundationon such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.Philip Freneau father of an poetryAmerican RomanticismWashington Irvingfather of American literature father of American short story The sketch Book 见闻札记Tales of a Traveller(first in installment in America, marked the beginning of American Romanticism)Rip Van Winkle, The Legend of the Sleepy Hollow 睡谷的传说James Fenimore CooperHe created a myth about the formative period of the American nation. The American Walter Hollow. The first important American novelist.The PilotThe Leatherstocking Tales 皮袜子故事集the Deers layer 杀鹿者The last of the Mohicans 最后的莫西干人Edgar Allen Poefather of modern short story father of detective story father of psychoanalytic criticism Annabel leeThe fall of the House of UsherDuring the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, I had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of country; and at length found myself, as the shades of the evening drew on, within view of the melancholy House of Usher.Had put forth, at no period, any enduring branch; in other words, that the entire family lay in the direct line of descent and had always, with very trifling and very temporary variation, so lain.Ralph Waldo Emersonresponsible for bringing TranscendentalismRalph Waldo Emerson = The chief spokesman of New England Transcendentalism 超验主义He was a descendent of a long line of New Englandclergymen牧师【pastor】.The American Scholar Spirit The Divinity School Address Representative Men English TraitsNatureIf the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe andadore; and preserve for many generations the remembrance of the city of God which had been shown! But every night come out there preachers of beauty, and light the universe with their admonishing smile.Thoreau Waldennot only fully demonstrates Emersonian ideas of self-reliance but also develops and tests Thoreau’s own transcendental philosophy.Waldena collection of nature essaysa great Transcendentalist worka book about man, what he is, and what he should be and must be.full of ideas expressed to persuade his neighbors out of their complacencyPolitical views: disapproved of slavery , condemn the government’s conduct of theMexican War.Nathaniel HawthorneThe Scarlet Letter the Blithedale Romance , Mosses from an Old Manse, The Marble FaunHerman MelvilieTypee Mody DickThe three great American authors of the last century who had no contemporary readers and yet became great in this century:ThoreauHerman MelvilleEmily DickinsonThe literature of realism1861-1865 the civil warWalt Whitman Leaves of Grass epic poem Song of myselfEmily Dickinson the greatest woman writer of the ageHarriet Beecher Stowe the author of uncle Tom's cabin.An American institution and the most famous literary woman in the worldWilliam Dean Howells 浪漫主义第一人Father of American realism in literatureEditor of the Atlantic MonthlyThe first president of American Literature and Arts AssociationThe Rise of Silas Lapham, 1885 《塞拉斯拉帕姆的发迹》A Modern Instance, 1882《现代婚姻》A Hazard of New Fortunes, 1890《新财富的危机》Henry JamesA writer who not only bridged the 19th and 20th centuries but connected America and Europe.Daisy Miller ,The Portrait of a Lady the AmericanMark Twain原名：Samuel Langhorne Clemens 美国真正作家之一The Adventures of Tom SawyerO. HenryPseudonym of William Sidney Porter“The Gift of the Magi" "The Cop and the Anthem“ Soapy "A Municipal Report"Collections：The Four Million, 1906 Heart of the West, 1910NaturalismJack Londonbefore London, the fictions are all for girl's sakeA Daughter of the SnowsThe Call of the Wild (1903) (an all-time best-seller)The Sea-Wolf (1904) White Fang (1906)The Iron Heel (1908) Martin Eden (1909)Theodore DreiserThe predominant naturalistic novelist from a German-speaking familySister Carrie An American Tragedy Janine Gerhardt Trilogy of DesireThe Financier The Titan The StoicThe Twentieth-Century LiteratureEugene O'NeillAmerican drama developed into a form of literaturethe Desire Under the Elm the Emperor JonesAnna Christie the Hairy ApeTennessee Williamsthe Streetcar Named Desire 欲望阶车Ezra pound The CantosEdwin Arlington Robinsonone of the most productive of the new poetsthe house on the hill . Richard Cory .Miniver cheeryRobert Frost“The father of American modern poetry” The national bardThe nation’s unofficial Poet LaureateNorth of Boston 《波士顿以北》Mountain Interval 《山间》New Hampshire 《新罕普什尔》West Running Brook 《西流的溪涧》A Further Range 《又一片牧场》A Witness Tree 《一棵见证的树》“The Road Not Taken” “St opping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”“The Wood Pile” “Design” ”Mending Wall “Ernest HemingwayThe lost generation ,A tough guyHemingway hero: A despairing courage Grace under pressure The Sun Also Rises (spokesman of The Lost Generation )A Farewell to Arms 1928 (a tragic story about war and love) (Hero and heroine: Frederic Henry and Catherine Barkley) For Whom the Bell Tolls 1940 (Spanish civil war)In Our Time“No man is an island.”The Old Man and the SeaCa quite special novel in all his novels ..theme: the importance of life lies in the process of searching and resistance The Torrents of the Spring 《春潮》Winner Take Nothing 《胜者无所得》Death in the Afternoon 《午后之死》Green Hills of Africa 《非洲的青山》To Have and Have Not 《富有与贫穷》The Fifth Column 《第五纵队》Across the River and into the Trees 《过河入林》Francis Scott FitzgeraldThe evaporation of the American DreamThe Jazz AgeThe Lost GenerationThe Great GatsbyJoseph HellerCatch-22 （Absurdist theme Black Humor）William FaulknerFather of American modern novela great plot weaverThe greatest writer of fiction that the US has yet produced Literary Scene in the SouthA Rose for Emily The Sound and the Fury 《喧嚣与愤怒》Go Down, Moses 《去吧，摩西》Absalom! Absalom! 《押沙龙！押沙龙！》Sanctuary 《圣殿》Light in August 《八月之光》As I Lay Dying《在我弥留之际》John Steinbeck the Grapes of WrathWhat is Puritanism?A code of values, a philosophy of life, a point of view, a state of mind, the most enduring influence in American thought and literature, a part of the national atmosphere.AutobiographyA story that a person writes about his or her own life is called an autobiography. Autobiographies are written in first-person point of view, and biographies, third-person point of view.RealismA time of disillusionment and loss of hope- a literary revulsion against the false imagination and sentimentality of Romanticism.Naturalism：Naturalist point of view: to achieve extreme objectivity and frankness C everything is determined by environment and heredity.ImagismTo express the momentary impression through the use of one dominant image.The Lost Generation（Ernest Hemingway，pound , Fitzgerald ）was a group of rebellious youth appeared in America after the First World War.Romanticismis a complex artistic ,literary, and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Western Europe, and gained strength during the Industrial Resolution.American TranscendentalismAs a philosophical and literary movement, American Transcendentalism (also known as “ American Renaissance”) flourshed in New England from the 1830s to the Civil War. It is the high tide of American romanticism and its doctrines found their greatest literary advocates in Emerson and Thoreau.Transcendentalists spoke for the cultural rejuvenation and against the materialism of American society.① The Transcendentalists placed emphasis on spirit, or the Oversoul, as the most important thing in the universe. 思想超灵宇宙② The Transcendentalists stressed the importance of the individual. To them, the individual is the most important element of Society. 个体+社会③ The Transcendentalists off ered a fresh perception of nature as symbolic of the Spirit or God. Nature was not purely matter. It was alive, filled with God’s overwhelming presence. 自然+上帝。

（0171）《美国文学史及选读》复习思考题I. Write out the authors’ names of the following works. (15)1. Poor Richard’s Almanac2. The Wasteland3. The Pioneers4. The Leaves of Grass5. Go Tell it on the Mountain6. For Whom the Bell Tolls?7. Catch 22 8. Of Mice and Men9. The Sound and the Fury 10.Huck Finn11. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow 12. The Old Man and the Sea13. Mending Walls 14. Beloved15. Invisible Man 16. Beyond the Horizons17. Of Mice and Men 18. The Raven19. The Great Gatsby 20. The Streetcar Named Desire21. Rip van Winkle 22. Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening 23. The Scarlet Letter 24. Moby Dick25. Desire Under the Elms 26. The Gilded Age27. The Sound and Fury 28. The Road Not Taken29. The Death of a Salesman 30. The Pathfinder31. Walden 32. Daisy Miller33. Song of Myself 34. The Call of the Wild35. Martin Eden 36. Long Day’s Journey into NightII. Define the following literary terms. (20)1. Beat Generation2. Protagonist3. Biography4. Novel5. Anti-hero6. Free Verse7. Drama 8. Jazz Age9. Biography 10. Blank Verse11. Black Humor 12. Head Rhyme13. Surprise ending 14. Transcendentalism15. Imagery 16. Stream of Consciousness17. Lost Generation 18. Short storyIII. Give brief answers to the following questions. (15)1.Who is the father of American literature?2.Who is the father of American poetry?3.What is Poe’s theory concerning poetry?4.What is Poe’s theory concerning the short story?5.What are the major characteristics of Twain’s writing style?6.What are the major characteristics of Irving’s writing style?7.What is “black humor?8.What is the Harlem Renaissance?9.What is the New England Renaissance?10.What are the major characteristics of colonial American literature?11.What is the Lost Generation?12.What are Benjamin Franklin’s contributions to American culture?13.Why is colonial American literature neither American nor literary?14.What is the Jazz Age?15.What is American transcendentalism?16.What is imagism?17.What is O. Henry Ending?18.What is free verse?IV. Read the following poem and try to understand and explain it.(20)FogTHE FOG comesOn little cat feet.It sits lookingOver harbor and cityOn silent haunchesAnd then moves onIn a Station of the Metro(Ezra Pound)The Apparition of these faces in the crowd; Petals on a wet, black bough.(Consult your book)The Road Not Taken(By Robert Frost)TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel bothAnd be one traveler, long I stoodAnd looked down one as far as I couldTo where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, Though as for that, the passing thereHad worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally layIn leaves no step had trodden black.Oh, I kept the first for another day!Yet knowing how way leads to way,I doubted if I should ever come back.I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence:Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-I took the one less traveled by,And that has made all the difference. (Consult your book)Dreams(by Langston Hughes)Hold fast to dreamsFor if dreams dieLife is a broken-winged birdThat cannot fly.Hold fast to dreamsFor when dreams goLife is a barren fieldFrozen with snow.(Consult your book)（0171）《美国文学史及选读》复习思考题答案I. Write out the authors’ names of the following works. (15)Benjamin Franklin T. S. EliotJames Cooper Walt WhitmanJames Baldwell Ernest HemingwayJoseph Heller John SteinbeckWilliam Faulkner Mark TwainWashington Irving Ernest HemingwayRobert Frost Toni MorrisonRalph Ellison Eugene O’NeillJohn Steinbeck Allan PoeF. Scott Fitzgerald Tennessee WilliamsWashington Irving Robert FrostNathaniel Hawthorne Herman MelvilleEugene O’Neill Mark TwainWilliam Faulkner Robert FrostArthur Miller James CooperH. D. Thoreau Henry JamesWhitman Jack LondonJack London O’NeillII. Define the following literary terms. (20)Beat generation:The term was coined by Jack Kerouac in 1948 to refer to a group of disillusioned writers following World War Two. Later, this literary and cultural movement continued into the 1960s. The Beat Generation must not be confused with the Lost Generation of writers. Spokesmen and representatives of the Beat Generation were Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and others. They revolted against an America that was materialistic, belligerent and frustrating. Social, intellectual and sexual freedom was advocated. Traditional culture and normal social behavior were attacked and violated. Many of them were drug addicts wearing long hair and dirty clothes. They were fond of slangs and jazz. Masterpieces created by writers of this group include Kerouac’s On the Road and Ginsberg’s Howl and Other Poems, which were regarded as pocket Bibles of that generation. Other prominent Beats include William S. Burroughs, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Gregory Corso, Michael McClure, and Neal Cassady. The Beat Generation, had greatly influenced the countercultural movements of the 1960s and the adolescents and adults in other countries. In England, the “angry young men” made an echo and imitated the American “beatnik.”Protagonist: the principal character in a play or story; the central character who serves as a focus for the work’s themes and incidents and as the principal rationale for its development; and one who is opposed to the antagonist. In the beginning of ancient Greek drama, there were only a chorus and one actor—the leader of the chorus. Thespis invented the first actor. Then Aeschylus and Sophocles added the second and third actors to the tragedy respectively. The three actors were names Protagonist, Deuteragonist and Tritagonist. In discussions of modern literature, the protagonist is sometimes referred to as the hero or anti-hero.Biography:an account of a person’s life written by somebody else, or biographical writing as aform of literature.Novel: Generally speaking, it is an imaginative prose narrative of extended length dealing with fictional characters and events. The constituent elements of a novel include plot, character, conflict, and setting. But there can be exceptions. Some novels are short. Some novels are not fictional. Some novels are in verse. And some novels do not even tell a story. There have been many debates over the appropriate length of a novel. No established length for a novel has been agreed upon. It is generally held, however, that a full-length novel is longer than a novella or short novel, and a short novel is longer than a shot story. A novel should be long enough so as to appear in print in an independent volume. The great length of a novel makes it possible for the characters and themes in it to be developed more fully and subtly.Antihero: a main character in a story, novel, play or film who behaves in a completely different way from what people expect a hero to do. A non-hero is without the qualities and features of a traditional or old-fashioned hero. He is doomed to fail. Antiheroes of early days were Don Quixote, Macbeth, Rip Van Winkle, and Tristram Shandy. Examples of antiheroes in modern literature include Leopold Bloom, Jim Dixon, Jimmy Porter, Herzog, and Yassarian.Free verse:a form of poetry without rhyme, meter, regular line length, and regular stanzaic structure. It depends on natural speech for rhythm. Robert Frost compared it to “playing tennis with the net down.” Though much simpler and less restrictive than conventional poetry and blank verse, free verse does no mean “formlessness.” T. S. Eliot once said that “no verse is free for the man who wants to do a good job.” Though its origin is unknown, it was attempted by such early poets as Surrey, Milton, Blake, and Macpherson. It was Whitman who did the greatest contribution to the development and popularity of free verse. Whitman favored the simplicity and freedom of expression. According to him, “The art of art, the glory of expression and the sunshine of light of letters is simplicity. Not ing is better than simplicity.”Drama: a form of literature written for actors to perform. A drama is divided into acts. An act can be subdivided into scenes. The constituent elements of a drama include dialogue, plot, characters, setting, stage direction, and others. A drama can be as long as three parts called trilogy, or as short as one act only. Greek drama originated in religious ceremonial in honor of Dionysus. Medieval drama developed out of rites celebrating the life events of Jesus Christ. Dramatists of great importance in literary history include Sophocles, Shakespeare, Ibsen, and Shaw. In America, thefirs important dramatist was Eugene O’Neill who wrote the first serious plays. Before O’Neill, America had theatre. Starting from O’Neill, it began to have drama.Jazz age: Jazz is a form of dance music that is derived from early Afro-American folk music, ragtime, and Negro blues. It is marked with exciting rhythm, pronounced syncopation, and constant improvisation. The musical instruments used are mainly drums, trumpets, and saxophones. Major composers of Jazz music include Irvin Berlin and W. C. Handy. The term Jazz Age was specifically employed by Fitzgerald to denote the 1920s, which was characterized by the loss of traditional moral standards, indulgence in romantic yearnings, and great social excitement. According to Malcolm Cowley, the Jazz Age was “a legend of glitter, of recklessness, and of talent in such profusion that it was sown broadcast like wild oats.” F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Tales of the Jazz Age, like Mark Twain’s The Gilded Age, was an epoch-making work.Autobiography: a story a writer writes about his or her own life experiences. It is narrated from the first-person point of view. The term was probably first used by Southey. But the first important autobiography was Confessions written by Augustine of Hippo. Other examples include Franklin’s Autobiography, Adams’s The Education of Henry Adams, John Stuart Mill’s Autobiography, Carlyle’s Reminiscences, Henry David Thoreau’s Walden, and so on. Sometimes, an autobiography can be fictionalized. An example of this kind is Rousseau’s Confessions. Some novels and long poems are used for autobiography. Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Whitman’s “Song of Myself” and Wordsworth’s The Prelude fall in this category. Dickens’s David Copperfield, Lawrence’s Sons and Lovers and O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey into Night have strong autobiographical elements in them.Blank verse: poetry that does not rhyme but has iambic pentameter lines. Though not originated in England or America, it has been the most important and most widely used English verse form. Blank verse is popular because it is closest to the rhythm of daily English speech. Thus most English poems which are dramatic, reflective or narrative are in the form of blank verse. This verse was probably first used in England by Surrey who translated Aeneid, by Sackville and Norton who composed Gorboduc. It was developed and perfected by Marlowe, Shakespeare and Milton. In the 18th century, most poets favored heroic couplets. But Young and Thomson were able to write in the tradition of blank verse. The 19th century saw a renewed interest in this poetic form. Masters of blank verse included Wordsworth, Coleridge and Bryant. The fact that blank verse isstill practiced by writers like T.S. Eliot, Yeats, Frost and Stevens shows how influential and favorable it really is.Black humor:a term frequently used in modern literary criticism. It is sometimes called ‘black comedy’ or ‘tragic farce.’ It is humor or laughter resulting from great pain, despair, horror and the absurdity of human existence. Black humor is a common quality of modern anti-novels and anti-dramas. Examples are Franz Kafka’s stories like “Metamorphosis”, “The Castle” and “The Tria l”, Joseph Heller’s novel Catch-22and Albee’s The Zoo Story. Other writers who did much contribution to the popularity of black humor were Beckett, Camus, Ionesco, V onnegut, Pynchon and so on.Head rhyme: the use in verse or prose of several words close together which all begin with the same letter. It is done for special musical effect comparable to the effects of end rhyme. In most cases, alliteration is the repetition of identical initial consonant sounds. Examples are Pope’s “For fools rush in where an gels fear to tread,” Poe’s “The weary, wayworn wanderer bore,” and Coleridge’s “Five miles meandering with a mazy motion.” Alliteration of initial vowels is quite limited in number. An example of vowel alliteration is “It is impossible to enjoy idling thor oughly unless one has plenty of work to do.”Surprise Ending:Also called “O. Henry ending,” it is a completely unexpected turn or revelation of events at the conclusion of a story or play. An example is “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant. Another instanc e is O. Henry’s story “The Gift of the Magi.”III. Give brief answers to the following questions. (15)19.Who is the father of American literature? (Consult your book)20.Who is the father of American poetry? (Consult your book)21.What is Poe’s theory concerning p oetry? (Consult your book)22.What is Poe’s theory concerning the short story? (Consult your book)23.What are the major characteristics of Twain’s writing style? (Consult your book)24.What are the major characteristics of Irving’s writing style? (Consult your book)25.What is “black humor? (Consult your book)26.What is the Harlem Renaissance? (Consult your book)27.What is the New England Renaissance? (Consult your book)28.What are the major characteristics of colonial American literature? (See your book)29.What is the Lost Generation? (Consult your book)30.What are Benjamin Franklin’s contributions to American culture? (See your book)31.Why is colonial American literature neither American nor literary? (See your book)32.What is the Jazz Age? (Consult your book)33.What is American transcendentalism? (Consult your book)34.What is imagism? (Consult your book)35.What is O. Henry Ending? (Consult your book)36.What is free verse? (Consult your book)IV. Read the following poem and try to understand and explain it.(20)FogTHE FOG comesOn little cat feet.It sits lookingOver harbor and cityOn silent haunchesAnd then moves on(An imagist poem by Carl Sandburg; depicting the fog and its movement; free verse written in the tradition of Whiman.)In a Station of the Metro(Ezra Pound)The Apparition of these faces in the crowd;Petals on a wet, black bough.( a poem of the Imagist school, written by Ezra Pound.)The Road Not Taken(By Robert Frost)TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,And sorry I could not travel bothAnd be one traveler, long I stoodAnd looked down one as far as I couldTo where it bent in the undergrowth;Then took the other, as just as fair,Though as for that, the passing thereHad worn them really about the same,And both that morning equally layIn leaves no step had trodden black.Oh, I kept the first for another day!Yet knowing how way leads to way,I doubted if I should ever come back.I shall be telling this with a sighSomewhere ages and ages hence:Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-I took the one less traveled by,And that has made all the difference.(A poem by Robert Frost. It is about the difficulty of making a choice.)Dreams(by Langston Hughes)Hold fast to dreamsFor if dreams dieLife is a broken-winged birdThat cannot fly.Hold fast to dreamsFor when dreams goLife is a barren fieldFrozen with snow.(Consult your book)。

Colonial America Chapter oneAmerican literature is the youngest literature, because America was not discovered until the end of 16th C, and it is believed that American literature didn’t begin until the 19th C.Our first lecture will be brief about American literature of the Colonial Period, which is from the early 17th C through the end of the 18th C, that is, from the settlement of America through American Revolution.The settlement of the North American Continent by the English began in the early part of the 17thC. In Nov, 1620, May Flower, with more than 100 immigrants from England arrived in America. They became the founding fathers of the American nation. The New England emerged, thus began the history of America. Many of these immigrants were puritans. The puritans were so suppressed in England that they sought escape. They carried Puritanism with them to America and hoped that they could build a kingdom of freedom here.Puritanism was one of the most enduring shaping influence in American thought and literature. The beliefs can be summarized as the following:1. Original sin(total depravity) God created the first man-Adam, but Adam sinned by eating forbidden fruit. In Adam’s fall, we sinned all. As a result, much emphasis was placed on “original sin”.2. Predestination. God has decided in advance that certain souls will be saved and others will not. When one is born, God has already determined whether he will be saved or not. He and no one else can decide who is to be saved and who is to go to hell.In this period, most of the American literature was personal literature, such as diaries, journals, letters, travel books, sermons. The most popular genre was poetry, most of which were religious. In form, English literature were imitated and transplanted.The first book published in North America wasThe Bay Psalm Book.Writers worth to be mentioned:Anne Bradstreet(1617-1672): a puritan poet.At 18, she came to America with her husband and settled in the Masachusetts Bay Colony. Both her husband and husband were once governor of it. She received better education than most women of her day. Her poem made such a stir in England that she became known as the “tenth Muse” who appeared in America.Her famous poems:1. “The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung up in America”( Her first volume published in London)2. Contemplations (convey her personal feelings for New England and family life)3. Upon theBurning ofOour House.Besides, she wrote in support of women, defending women’s ability, and also conveyed her love for her husband.Edward Taylor (puritan poet, regarded as a major figure in Colonial America)He liked using metaphors and imagery, and was concerned about how his images speak for god.In Huswifery, he saw religious significance in a simply daily incident like a housewife spinning. p23. However, Colonial America did not always write the way Anne and Edward wrote. Some people wrote for civil and religious freedom, some called for independence from Britain.Roger Williams (1603-1683)Came to America in 1630 and began to preach for civil and religious liberty. He calls for democratic government opposes the eviction of the Indians.In 1644, he published “The Bloody Tenet of Persecution for the Cause of Conscience”, upheld the spiritual freedom of the individual. He will go down in American history as a staunch fighter for freedom and democracy.John Woolman.(1720-1772 successor of democratic idea of Roger Williams)1. “Some considerations on the Keeping of Negroes”2. “A Plea for the Poor”He tried to plea for the rights of all men., for the abolition of the slavery system.Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758)Born into a very religious New England family. His father was a powerful minister. He learned Latin at 6. Being bright and intelligent, he entered Yale University at 13. In 1723, he returned to Yale and took his M>A and became a tutor(assistant lecturer). Later, he became a minister. He was well-known as a powerful and strong preacher. His sermons taught the power of God and the depravity of man.He was one of the most influential writer of the Colonial America, the greatest theologist and the most profound philosopher in America.1. The Freedom of the Will2. The Great Doctrine of Original Sin Defended3. Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God (He spoke with great eagerness which humbled his people and made them trembled before an angry God. It was reported that his listeners screamed in pain as he spoke.。

1.The Literature of Colonial America殖民主义时期的文学17世纪早期English and European explorers开始登陆美洲。

在他们之前100多年Caribbean Islands, Mexico and other Parts of South America已被the Spanish占领。

17th早期English settlements in Virginia and Massachusetts(弗吉尼亚和马萨诸塞)开始了美国历史美国最早殖民者(earliest settlers)included Dutch ,Swedes ,Germans ,French ,Spaniards ,Italians and Portuguese (荷兰人，瑞典人，德国人，法国人，西班牙人，意大利人及葡萄牙人等)。

美国早期文学主要为the narratives and journals of these settlements采用in diaries and in journals(日记和日志)，他们写关于the land with dense forests and deep-blue lakes and rich soil. 第一批美国永久居民：the first permanent English settlement in North America was established at Jamestown,Virginia in 1607(北美弗吉尼亚詹姆斯顿)。

船长约翰·史密斯Captain John Smith他的作品(reports of exploration)17th早期出版，被认为是美国第一部真正意义上的文学作品in the early 1600s,have been described as the first distinctly American literature written in English.他讲述了filled with themes, myths, images, scenes, character and events,吸引了朝圣者和清教徒前往lure the Pilgrims and the Puritans.美国第一位作家：1608年Captain John Smith写了封信《自殖民地第一次在弗吉尼亚垦荒以来发生的各种事件的真实介绍》“A True Relation of Such Occurrences and Accidents of Note as Hath Happened in Virginia Since the First Planting of That Colony”.他的第二本书1612年《弗吉尼亚地图，附：一个乡村的描述》“A Map of Virginia: with a Description of the Country”.他一共出版了八本书，其中有关于新英格兰的历史及描述。

1.Early Colonial Literature. 1607-17002.The literature of Reason And Revolution(18th century) The 18th-century American Enlightenment was a movement marked by an emphasis on rationality rather than tradition, scientific inquiry instead of unquestioning religious dogma, and representative government in place of monarchy. Enlightenment thinkers and writers were devoted to the ideals of justice, liberty, and equality as the natural rights of man.3. American RomanticismFeatures:1)From the end of the 18th century to the outbreak of he Civil War. It started with the publication of Washington Irving’s The Sketch Book and ended with Whitman’s Leaves of Grass. It is also called “the American Renaissance”.2)The desire for an escape from society and a return to nature became a permanent convention of American literature.3) The American Puritanism as a cultural heritage exerted great influences over American moral values.4) Besides, a preoccupation with the Calvinistic view of original sin and the mystery of evil marked the works of Hawthorne, Melville and a host of lesser writers5)The most clearly defined Romantic literary movement in this period is New England Transcendentalism6)It ranges from the comic fables of Washington Irving to the Gothic tales of Edgar Allen Poe, from the frontier adventures of James Fenimore Cooper to the narrative quests of Herman Melville, from the psychological romances of Nathaniel Hawthorne to the social realism of Rebecca Harding.4. The literature of Realism (1865-1918)1. This new attitude was characterized by a great interest in the realities of life.2.Interpreting sympathetically the “common feelings of commonplace people” was best suited as a technique to express the spirit of America.3.They introduced industrial workers and farmers , ambitious businessmen and vagrants流浪者, prostitutes妓女and unheroic胆怯的soldiers as major characters in fiction .4.They approached the harsh realities and pressures in the post Civil War society either by a comprehensive picture of modern life , or by a psychological exploration of man's subconsciousness .5.Artistically ,naturalistic writings are usually unpolished in language , lacking in academic skills and unwieldy in structure . Philosophically , the naturalists believe that the real and true is always partially hiddenfrom the eyes of the individual , or beyond this control . In a word , naturalism is evolved from realism when the author's tone in writing becomes less serious and less sympathetic but more ironic and more pessimistic .5. The Modern Period of literature1.The idea of “seize the day” or “enjoy the present” was pervasive, as opposed to placing all hope in the future.2.the writer’s task was to develop techniques that could represent a break with the past. Thus, the defining formal characteristics of the modernistic works are discontinuity and fragmentation.3.A typical modern work will seem to begin arbitrarily, to advance without explanation, and to end without resolution.4.They usually “screen himself” and speak ind irectly through an impersonal and objective story, which is usually a myth or a piece of the earlier literature, or a “mask”, that is, a persona.On the Characteristics and Speciality of Literature in Each Stage美国文学各个时期特点文理学院11级英语二班陈佳雯02。

American Literature in the colonial（殖民） and Revolutionary （革命）:Benjamin Franklin （本杰明富兰克林）1) "Poor Richard's Almanac" 穷人理查德的年鉴（以笔名Richard Sunders)2) "annual collection of proverbs " 流行谚语集 (It soon became the most popular book of its kind, largely because of Franklin's shrewd（精明） humor, and first spread his reputation)3) The Way to Wealth (Father Abraham's Sermon) 致富之道(as the preface（前言） to Poor Richard Improved)4) The Autobiography 自传 (18世纪美国唯一流传至今的自传)5) Founded the Junto, a club for informal discussion of scientific, economic and political ideas. 建立了一个俱乐部，讨论的主题是政治、经济和科学等时事方面的问题。

6) Established America's first circulating library, founded the college-University ofPennsylvania 建立了美国第一个可租借的图书馆,还创办了一所大学——就是现在的宾夕法尼亚大学7) first applied the terms "positive" and "negative" to electrical （电气） charges.8) Writer, printer, publisher, scientist, philanthropist（慈善家）, and diplomat（外交官）. He was the most famous and respected private （私人的）figure（人物）of his time.Fhilip Freneau（菲利普费瑞诺）The Rising Glory of America 蒸蒸日上的美洲;The British Prison Ship 英国囚船;To the Memory of the Brave Americans 纪念美国勇士----同类诗中最佳;The Wild Honeysuckle 野生的金银花The Indian Burying Ground 印第安人殡葬地(1)poet and political journalist 诗人和政治方面的新闻记者(2)perhaps the most outstanding writer of the post-revolutionary period（后革命时期）.(3)has been called the "Father of American Poetry"(4)imaginative（富有想象力的） and melancholy（忧郁的）treatment of nature and human life, and sharp satire（讽刺）against the British tyranny（暴政）19 Century American LiteratureWashington Irving（华盛顿欧文）1. James Fenimore Cooper（詹姆斯芬尼莫库珀）2. Nathaniel Hawthorne（纳撒尼尔霍桑）3. Edgar Allan Poe （埃德加爱伦坡）4. Henry Daived Thoreau （亨利戴维梭罗）5. Herman Melville（赫尔曼麦尔维尔）6. Walt Whiteman（沃尔特惠特曼）The Rise of American Romanticism（浪漫主义）：One of the most important periods in the history of American literature, stretches from the end of the 18th century to the outbreak（爆发） of the Civil War(1861 - 1865)（内战）It started with the publication of Washington Irving's The h Sketch Book（《见闻札记》）(1820) and ended with Whitman's Leaves f of Grass(1855)（《草叶集》）Romanticism 特点 : frequently shared certain general characteristics（特征）, moral（道德） enthusiasm（热情）, faith（信仰） in the value（价值） of individualism（个人主义） and intuitive（直觉的） perception（洞察力，）, and a presumption（假定） that he naturalworld was a source of corruption（腐败）.浪漫主义之间大多是相通的，都注重道德，强调个人主义价值观和直觉感受，并且认为自然是美的源头，人类社会是腐败之源。

美国文学知识一．殖民地时期（The Literature of Colonial American）北美的第一本书：《海湾圣诗》（The Bay Psalmbook）约翰·史密斯（John Smith）：被誉为美国文学的第一位作家。

代表作《关于弗吉尼亚的真实叙述》（A True Relation of Virginia）是美国文学第一书。

纳撒尼尔·沃德（Nathaniel Ward）：被誉为“北美讽刺文学第一笔”。

代表作《北美的阿格瓦姆鞋匠》（The Simple Cobbler of Aggawam in America）。

威廉·布拉福德（William Bradford）：被誉为“美国历史之父”。

代表作《普利茅斯种植园史》（History of Plymouth Plantation）。

安妮·布拉德斯特里特（Anne Bradstreet）：殖民地时期的第一位诗人。

代表作《最近在北美出现的第十位缪斯》（The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America）。

迈克尔·威格尔斯沃斯（Michael Wigglesworth）：诗人。

代表作《判决日》（The Day Of Doom）。

爱德华·泰勒（Edward Taylor）：诗人。

代表作《上帝对其选民有影响的决定》（Gods Determinations Touching His Elect）。

乔纳森·爱德华兹（Jonathan Edwards）：“大觉醒”（The Great Awakening）运动中的主要思想家。

代表作《愤怒是上帝手中之罪人》。

二．独立战争到南北战争（American Literature between the War of Independence and the Civil War）本杰明·富兰克林（Benjamin Franklin）：美国启蒙运动的开创者、科学家、实业家、政治家和革命家，参与撰写了《独立宣言》（Declaration of Independence）。

A Survey of American Literature 美国文学简史1. John Smith（He is a captain）A Description of New England2. William Bradford (first governor of the Plymouth)Of Plymouth Plantation3. John WinthropA Model of Christian Charity4. Anne Bradstreet ( 1617-1672 )（know as The Tenth Muse）ContemplationsOn the Burning of Our House5. Edward Taylor (the finest poet in colonial period)HuswiferyUpon a Spider Catching a FlyPreparatory Meditation6.Roger Williams（A puritan dissenters）The Bloody Tenet of Persecution for the Cause of ConscienceJohn Woolman Journal7.Thomas Paine Comman Sense8.Philip Freneau9. Jonathan Edwards pioneer of transcendentalismThe Freedom of the Will The Great Doctrine of Original Sin Defended The Nature of True Virtue10. Benjamin FranklinPoor Richard’s Almanac Autobiography11. Nathaniel HawthorneTwo collections of short stories: Twice-told Tales, Mosses from and Old Manse The Scarlet Letter The House of the Seven Gables The Marble Faun12. Herman Melville Moby Dick13. Walt WhitmanLeaves of Grass (9 editions)Song of Myself There Was a Child Went Forth Crossing Brooklyn Ferry Democratic Vistas Passage to India Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking14. Emily DickensonMy Life Closed Twice before Its Close Because I Can’t Stop for Death I Heard a Fly Buzz – When I died Mine – by the Right of the White Election Wild Nights – Wild Nights15. Edgar Allen PoeThe Fall of the House of Usher The Raven Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque16. William Dean HowellsThe Rise of Silas Lapham17. Mark Twain。