美国浪漫主义Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman

A contrast between Emily Dickenson and Walt WhitmanAbstract: Being the America’s great poets, Emily Dickenson and Walt Whitman are both familiar to us. It is obvious to us that they are different in their thinking, faiths and writing styles. I will make a contrast of the two poets in this paper, meanwhile explore that the living environment really has a great influence on people.Key words: education religion writing style themeEmily Elizabeth Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massachusetts, where her father was a prominent lawyer and politician and where her grandfather had established an academy and college. Being the daughter of a prominent politician, Emily had the benefit of a good education and attended the Amherst Academy. Although she was successful at college, Emily returned after only one year at the seminary in 1848 to Amherst where she began her life of seclusion.In Emily's entire life, she took one trip to Philadelphia (due to eye problems), one to Washington, and a few trips to Boston. Other than those occasional ventures, Emily had no extended exposure to the world outside her home town. During this time, her early twenties, Emily began to write poetry seriously. Since she had her own belief in God and heaven, which was different from the views held by her peers, she refused to sign an oath to dedicate her life to Jesus Christ. Though she didn’t believe in the conventional religion of her family, she had studied Bible, and many of her poems resemble hymns in form.Because of the unconventional form of her poems, the press refused to publish her poems, but in the 1920s, the poems were rediscovered by the literary world. Her poems are short, and most of them based on a single image or symbol. But within her little lyrics Miss Dickinson writes about some of the most important things in life. She writes about mature, mortality and immortality, love and lover, whom she either never really found or else gave up. She writes about success, which she thought she never achieved, and about failure, which she considered her constant companion. She writes of these things so brilliantly that she is now ranked as one of America’s great poets.If Emily Dickenson is one of America’s great poets, she has to share the spotlight with Walt Whitman. Unlike Emily Dickenson, Walt Whitman was born in1819, in a poor family where his father was a carpenter and builder of houses. He was the second child of the nine children in his family, and in order to support his ever-growing family of nine children, four of whom were handicapped, Whitman had to withdrawn from public school at the age of eleven to help support the family. So he was not so high educated as Dickenson. He had done a lot of jobs to make money such as a carpenter, a printer, a journalist, and even a school teacher.Thought Whitman stopped going to school at an early age, he was bookish and almost interested in everything. He read voraciously and was mainly self-taught, and became acquainted with Homer, Dante, Shakespeare and Scott early in life, which was superior to Dickenson, since when Dickenson began writing poetry, she didn’t know Shakespeare and classical mythology. And he knew the Bible thoroughly, and as a God-intoxicated poet, desired to inaugurate a religion uniting all of humanity in bonds of friendship.Walt Whitman’s first book of poems was entitled “Leaves of Grass”. In which, most of the poems were written in free verse—that is, poetry without a fixed beat or regular rhyme scheme, which was invented by Whitman. He thought that the voice of democracy should not be haltered by traditional forms of verse. However, until Whitman, poetry had always had rhythm and rhyme. Most people who saw his poetry found it too weird, and many would not even consider it poetry.So Whitman paid for it entirely by hims elf because, like Dickinson’s poems, publishers thought they were too odd to take a costly chance on.Whitman needed a boost—a way of getting his work recognized. So he sent a free copy to Ralph Waldo Emerson. He was luckier than Dickinson, because Emerson was entranced by the poems and responded with a five-page reply. It became the most famous piece of literary sponsorship in American history. Emerson’s support then caused others to rethink and revisit Whitman’s poems.To sum up, Emily Dickenson and Walt Whitman are different in many aspects, such as family background, education level, religion and their pomes’ themes. It is the products of different living environments. Just as it mentioned above, Dickenson’s themes are about love, nature, immortality and so on, which are all based on her own experiences, while Whitman’s poems are more national. He writes about democracy, equality of things and beings and expansion of America. However, just as the saying goes, “every coin has two sides”, they also has something in common, for example, 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”. Technically, they both added to the lit erary 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.References: (1)赵彤. 华尔特·惠特曼:美国诗歌史上的一盏明灯[J]. 西华师范大学学报(哲学社会科学版), 2006,(06) .(2)王光碧,杨康昀. 寻找美国精神——浅析惠特曼的《自我之歌》[J]. 安徽文学(下半月), 2010,(05) .(3)黄修齐. 狄金森诗歌的现代感及死亡主题[J]. 福建师范大学学报(哲学社会科学版), 1994,(03) .(4) 张涛. 艾米莉·狄金森:探寻自我灵魂的诗人[J]. 中国科教创新导刊, 2008,(17) .。

Comparing Emily Dickinson and Walt WhitmanBeing the America’s great poets, Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman are both familiar to us. It is obvious that they are different in their whole lives and writing styles. I will make a contrast of the two poets in this paper.Their lives are like chalk and cheese.Emily Dickinson was born in a wealthy family,so that she had the benefit of a good education and attended the Amherst Academy. Although she was successful at college, Emily returned after only one year at the seminary in 1848 to Amherst where she began h er life of seclusion.After 1872,she scarcely ever left her own house and yard.She kept in touch with her friends through letters,short poems,and small gifts.Though she didn’t believe in the conventional religion of her family, she had studied Bible and many of her poems resemble hymns in form. Because of the unconventional form of her poems, the press refused to publish her poems. But in the 1920s, the poems were rediscovered by the literary world. She never married,and died in 1886.Unlike Emily Dickinson,Walt Whitman was born in a poorfamily.In order to support his impecunious and miserable family,Whitman had to withdrawn from public school at the age of eleven. So he was not so high educated as Dickinson. He had done a lot of jobs to make money such as a carpenter, a printer, a journalist, and even a school teacher.But he was bookish and almost interested in everything. He read voraciously and was mainly self-taught.After doing various jobs,he began his literary career.But most people who saw his poetry found it too weird, and many would not even consider it poetry. Like Dickinson’s poems, publishers thought they were too odd to take a costly chance on.He didn’t give up.Then he sent a free copy to Ralp h Waldo Emerson. He was luckier than Dickinson, because Emerson was entranced by the poems and responded with a five-page reply. It became the most famous piece of literary sponsorship in American history. Emerson’s support caused others to rethink and rev isit Whitman’s poems.After 1880,he gained his recognition as a poet.He was poor all his life and never married.There are some similarities and differences between Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman’s poems.Firstly,they both are interest in self-expression,loving nature and seeing nature as a symbol for what is going on inside human heart.Walt Whitman seems to keep his eyes on society at large, while Emily Dickinson explores the inner life of the individual.Secondly, they praise a rising America, its individualism and Americanism.Whitman is national in his outlook, yet Emily Dickinson is regional.Thirdly,both of them break free of the traditional poetry form.Whitman employs free verse as the form of his poetry.His lines are comparatively long and complex. His language is direct, plain and even vulgar. However, Dickinson prefers off-rhythm. Her poetry is short, concise, simple and pr ecise. She is idiosyncratic in her frequent use of dashes and unique use of capitals. What’s more,Whitman shows great optimism and confidence towards the future of America, while Emily Dickinson is tragic in tone.。

美国浪漫主义文学(1820-1860)：小说类2008.05.03埃德加•艾伦•坡(Edgar Allan Poe，1809-1849)(© AP Images)(此为《美国文学纲要》（Outline of American Literature）修订本第四章，由美国国务院国际信息局翻译。

)作者：凯瑟琳·文斯潘克仁（Kathryn VanSpanckeren）沃尔特∙惠特曼（Walt Whitman）、纳撒尼尔∙霍桑（Nathaniel Hawthorne）、赫尔曼∙麦尔维尔（Herman Melville）、埃德加∙爱伦∙坡（Edgar Allan Poe）、艾米莉∙狄更生（Emily Dickinson）以及超验主义作家代表了美国本土涌现的第一代文学大师。

就小说家而言，浪漫主义流派大多采取霍桑所说的―浪漫文学‖(Romance)手法，以笔触激昂、情感浓郁和饱含象征性见长，成为小说创作的一种样式。

浪漫主义作品不同于爱情小说，属利用特殊的技巧表达复杂、细腻的意蕴的严肃小说。

大多数英国或欧洲大陆小说家一般通过大量的细节刻划现实人物，但霍桑、麦尔维尔、爱伦∙坡反其道而行之，塑造的是超于生活的神异人物，不时爆发出神秘主义的火花。

美国浪漫主义作品中的典型人物往往神魂颠倒、情态恍惚。

例如霍桑作品《红字》（The Scarlet Letter）中的亚瑟∙丁梅斯代尔(Dimmesdale)和海斯特·白兰(Hester Prynne)、麦尔维尔作品《白鲸》(Moby-Dick)中的亚哈（Ahab）及爱伦∙坡小说中许多性情乖戾和心神不定的人物，均作为孤独的主人公与不可知的、暗淡的命运进行抗争，其行为方式带有某种神秘性，发自于内心最深层的下意识。

这些象征性的情节揭示了痛苦的精神背后隐藏的种种行为。

这类作品以小说的形式探索隐蔽的灵魂深处，原因之一是因为美国缺乏根深蒂固的传统社区生活。

英国小说家──简∙奥斯汀（Jane Austen）、狄更斯（Charles Dickens ）(享有盛誉的作家)、安东尼∙特罗洛普（Anthony Trollope）、乔治∙艾略特（George Eliot）、威廉∙萨克雷（William Thackeray）──都生活在纷扰繁杂、具有鲜明特色的传统社会，与读者有共同的喜怒哀乐，可从中为他们的现实主义小说汲取素材。

History And Anthology of American Literature （6）附：作者及作品一、殖民主义时期The Literature of Colonial America1．船长约翰·史密斯Captain John Smith《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”《弗吉尼亚地图，附：一个乡村的描述》“A Map of Virginia: with a Description of the Country”《弗吉尼亚通史》“General History of Virginia”2．威廉·布拉德福德William Bradford《普利茅斯开发历史》“The History of Plymouth Plantation”3．约翰·温思罗普John Winthrop《新英格兰历史》“The History of New England”4．罗杰·威廉姆斯Roger Williams《开启美国语言的钥匙》”A Key into the Language of America”或叫《美洲新英格兰部分土著居民语言指南》Or “A Help to the Language of the Natives in That Part of America Called New England ”5．安妮·布莱德斯特Anne Bradstreet《在美洲诞生的第十个谬斯》”The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America”二、理性和革命时期文学The Literature of Reason and Revolution 1。

Test 1一、单选题（共2题，10分）1、Which of the following values doesn't belong to that of Puritans'?A、hard workB、thriftC、self-relianceD、Patriotism正确答案： D解析：Patriotism指爱国主义，早期清教徒初到北美时，当地并不是一个国家，同时，当时人们的宗教信仰更强烈2、________ is a book written by Benjamin Franklin to recollect his life and encourage young people to strive for a better life.A、Poor Richards AlmanacB、The AutobiographyC、The Arrival in PhiladelphiaD、The Way to Wealth正确答案：B二、多选题（共3题，15分）1、How much do you know about Benjamin Franklin?A、He is one of the founding fathers of America.B、He is a self-made man and set a good example for American Dream.C、He made a lot of contributions to America and has a colorful life.D、He is very proud of his achievements and shows his pride in his work The Autobiography.正确答案：ABC解析：Franklin 一直很谦虚，他写的《自传》全文语气温和，平易近人，死后墓碑上的铭文也只留下简单的一个身份词：A Printer。

美国文学中的几个主义清教主义： Puritanism 代表人物： Anna Bradstreet ，Benjamin Franklin ，Thomas Paine ，Thomas Jefferson浪漫主义： Romanticism 代表人物：Washington Irving ，Edgar Allan PoeA超验主义：Transcendentalism ；代表人物：Ralph Waldo Emerson ，Emily Dickinson ，Walt Whitman自然主义：Naturalism ；代表人物：Henry D. Thoreau意向主义：Imagism ；代表人物：Ezra Pound心理现实主义：psychological realism ；代表人物：Henry James一清教主义对美国文学的影响清教徒文学传统形成于17世纪，清教主义与其它宗教相比,包含三个层面的价值体系,并对不同时期的美国文学产生了不同的影响,表现出不同时代特征,以清教主义作为参照系,可以说17世纪美国文学是“信仰时代的文学”,18世纪美国文学是“世俗时代的文学”,19世纪美国文学则可称为“宗教批判与宗教道德时代的文学”。

发端于英国的清教主义对美国社会有着更大的影响,“英格兰有过清教革命,却没有创建清教社会;美国没有经历清教革命,却创建了清教社会”①。

并且这种影响以其持久深厚而铸就了美利坚民族的灵魂。

正如朱世达先生所言:“清教传统像一条红线规范了从殖民时代到如今的美国的政治文化与社会文化”②。

作为美国文化一个独特的源头,清教主义在美国经历了由表及里、由明转暗的曲折发展,最终形成有美国特色的清教价值体系,从某种意义上说,文学是这一发展历程的最好见证。

一般而言,宗教都包含信仰与道德两个层面的价值体系。

清教主义的传播和渗入伴随着早期的移民拓荒、定居北美的整个过程。

作为一种教义 ,清教主义不再具有原有的意义 ,但它对新英格兰乃至整个美国由来已久的影响 ,却在美国形成了一种特殊的文化氛围 ,不仅与美国人性格中的个人主义有联系 ,对美国文学的发展和特点也起着重要作用。

Emily Dickinson艾米莉·狄金森(1830 - 1886)1.The usual beginning : her life1) Born to religious, well-to-do New England family•Well-behaved, well-educated, obedient•Expected to become a graceful woman, marry well, and settle into a life of church service2) Heartbreak :•Heartbreak At 24, travels with her father to Washington D.C. Escaping her love of an older lawyer, who was married, and would die of tuberculosis that same year•On the journey, falls in love with Charles Wadsworth, a married pastor of a church in Philadelphia In 1862, Wadsworth leaves for San Francisco, and Emily falls into despair3) The Nun of Amherst : 阿默斯特的女尼•Emily withdraws from social life – except for immediate family gatherings•Dresses all in white – like the wedding gown she would never wear •Communicates mostly through notes4) A Published Poet :•During her period of recluse, Emily send a few poems to be published.•Her poetry was never widely admired during her lifetime•and she assumed her audience would only be her family and few close friends. •Dickinson asked that upon her death, all of her poems be destroyed.5) After her death :•She wrote altogether 1775 poems, of which only seven appeared in print in her lifetime. •These were eventually published and Dickinson has become one of the most widely known of the American poets.2. Themes in her poetry1). The largest poetry concerns death and immortality.For Dickinson, death leads to immortality.•E. g: ―Because I could not Stop for Death‖因为我不能为死神止步Because I could Not Stop For Death因为我不能为死神止步•Beause I could not stop for Death—因为我不能为死神止步•He kindly stopped for me—他却慈祥地为我驻足.•The Carriage held but just Ourselves—那辆马车只能容下我们两个•And Immortality.还有不朽.•We slowly drove— He knew no haste,我们徐徐而行—他不慌不忙. •And I had put away•My labor and my leisure too我也把我的劳与闲统统丢掉一边，•For His Civility —为了他的礼让—•We passed the School where Children strove 我们路过学校,孩子们你推我搡，•At Recess —in the Ring —在休息时间，在圆形广场•We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain—我们走过在田间凝眸的麦田—. •We passed the Setting Sun—我们路过夕阳-•Or rather— He passed Us—或毋宁说，他走过我们身旁•The Dews drew quivering and chill—寒露降，身子冻得打颤•For only Gossamer, my Gown—因为我只披着薄纱长袍—•my Tippet —only Tulle—我的披肩如丝网•We paused before a House that seemed 我们停步在一所房子前•A swelling of the Ground—那是隆起的土地一片—•The Roof was scarcely visible—屋顶几乎看不见—•The Cornice —in the Ground—屋檐—在地里—•Since then — `tis Centuries— and yet离那时—已是几个世纪—然而•Feels shorter than the Day感觉却比一天还短•I first surmised the Horses' Heads•我开始猜想着马车•Were toward Eternity—•正驶向永恒—该诗的核心意象是通向永恒的生命旅程.Journey of life：•the School--childhood•the Field --adult/maturity•the Setting Sun - old age•the grave - end of life’s journey-death--EternityDetailed analysis of the poem•The first line hints that death is not the final stopping place or terminus of existence.•i had...too:figuratively I put behind me the labour and toil of worldly existence. Literally, as a courteous passenger she puts aside her work, possibly her knitting ("labour") and gives all her attention to the coach driver (Death).•where...ring: they pass children at playtime ("recess") actively engaged in playing a game (symbolic of the world, and/or of meaningless worldly striving).•fileds of gazing grain: cornfields,perhaps suggestive of harvest, or the cycle of the seasons, the natural world she is leaving behind. ("Gazing" is nicely alliterative but difficult to explain to expain-may mean simply something gazed at through the carriage window).•The dews: in the English culture, drew is traditionally associated with transience and also, because of a dew-drop's pearl like shape, with the soul.•My tippet only tulle:my fur was only soft fine silk (I wore little to protect me from the cold). •We...ground: a grave or tomb. ("paused"implies that burial in a grave signfied no more than a temporary restinplace before the soul attends to heaven).•Since then 'tis centuries:time is meaningless in terms of eternity,and therefore it seems no time at all since she first suspected("surmised")that the horse drawing Death's carriage were heading for Eternity. •"Surmised"is a beautifully apt word in this context because it tactfully suggeste something less than a certitude, but someting more than guess or conjecture-the sound of the word with its long drawn out second syllable counts for a good deal here(possibly about Cortez the explorer first viewing the continent of South America:"...and all his men Look'd at each other with a wild surmise..."). •Other poems dealing with death:•My life closed twice before its close在我生命结束之前已经结束过两次•I heard a fly buzz—when I died我死时听到了苍蝇的嗡嗡声She began to conceive of the process of dying.2). She regards nature as both kind and cruel•Extol the magnificence of sunrise in ―I’ll tell you how sun rise‖我将告诉你太阳如何升起,•In the meantime, reveal the cold indifference of nature.•In ―Apparently with no surprise‖显然地并无伴随惊讶, Frost kills a happy flower without being punished while both the sun and God look on.3). On the ethical level she emphasizes free-will and human responsibility.•In ―To fight aloud‖•The individual’s highest duty is to resist anything that will do harm to man’s self-respect and spiritual heritage.4). Like Emerson, she holds that beauty, truth and goodness are ultimately one.•In ―I died for beauty‖(我为美而死), discusses beauty and truth, concludes that the two are one.I Died for Beauty— But was scarce•I died for Beauty — but was scarce我为美而死—但还不怎么•Adjusted in the Tomb适应坟墓里的生活，•When One who died for Truth , was lain这时一位为真理而死的人被安放在•In an adjoining Room —隔壁墓室里—•He questioned softly"Why I failed?―他柔声问：―我为什么而亡？‖•"For Beauty ",I replied —―为了美‖，我回答说—•"And I — for Truth — Themself are One —―我—为了真理—美和真是一样的—•We Bretheren, are", He said —我们两是兄弟‖，他说•And so, as Kinsmen, met a Night —就这样，像亲人在夜里相遇。