irving and cooper

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American Romanticism
The
Romantic Period, one of the most important periods in the history of American literature, stretches from the end of the 18th century to the outbreak of the Civil War.
1).Walter Scott: Waverly novels, The Lady of the Lake 2).Byron: Oriental romances 3).Gothic tradition, the cult of solitude and of gloom
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Romanticism
started
ended
Backgrounds of American Romanticism
National
influences influences
International
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National Influences

A. In politics: democracy and political equality lay the foundation of Romanticism; B. In economics: the spread of industrialism; the sudden influx of immigration and the pioneers pushing the frontier further west; C. In culture: the publication of Webster’s Dictionary marked the beginning of the American English; the appearance of many magazines and newspapers.

·PART ONETHE AGE OF ROMANISMPuritanism（清教主义）：Puritans came from the Established Church of England in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. They were so called because they wishedto purify the forms and rituals of the Church. Though it waspilgrims thatfirst came to New England, yet Puritanism soon became the dominant faith with its rather gloomy outlook on life. The Puritans held that man lived to suffer and he must toil mightily for the glory of God. Their doctrine waswidely known for its extremely rigid and strict morality.Romanticism（浪漫主义）：Romanticism rose in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In contrast to classicism it is associated with imagination and creation of individuality. Romantic writers attach importance to the portrayal of figures of distinctive characters. They reproduce life in their writings according to their ideal and prefer imaginative, even fantastic vision to restriction of objective depiction, passion to elegance, and irregular beauty to perfect proportion.The first representatives of Romantic movement (浪漫主义代表人物)：Irving, Cooper and PoeJames Fenimore Cooper: He was the first American novelist. His enduring fame came from his “Leather Stocking Tales”Edgar Allan Poe: In point of fact his poetry had a profound effect on the French symbolists and his story of horror and detection initiated a very popular literary genre.Transcendentalism(超验主义): It held that man can intuitively transcend the limits of his sensesand directly reach truth.Most outstanding of the transcendentalists were two literary figures: Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau Famous essay: Thoreau-WaldenA philosophical allegorist, Herman Melville was not acknowledged to be a first-rate novelist until al least twenty years after his death.Harriet Beecher Stowe- Uncle Tom’s cabin,the greatest of all antislavery manifestoes, which had the effect of arousing widespread indignation at the evils of slavery.Walt Whitman: all his life Whitman sang the praises of INDIVIDUALISM and DEMOCRACY Emily Dickenson: A sensitive poet, she wrote over a thousand short lyrics on love and death.Ⅰ.Rip Van WinkleWashington Irving: Rip Van winkle and The legend of Sleepy HollowWriting style: graceful, refined, fluent and dignified humorous sentimental romanticOn the SelectionAdapted from a German folk tale, Rip Van Winkle views astriking contrast between the independent United States and theformer British colony from the eye of a native inhabitant after his20-year sleep. The charm of the story comes fromheroRip Vanwhose character is drawn by Irving in a Romantic way.Author: Here Irving is found to have more of his sympathy with Rip rather than with younger generationStyle: Irving has no American literary masters to model his writing on. His style is European. His picturesque description of the natural environment as well as his precise and humorous language make the story even more fascinating.Ⅲ.NATHANIEL HAWTHORNEWriting theme: For a long time, Hawthorne was preoccupied by a bitter feelingabout his family guilt. As a moralist and allegorist, he probed deeply into the human soul, concerning himself with the mysteryof sin and suffering from crime. He was adept at psychologicalexploration andwas regardedas an interpreter of the spiritualhistory of New England.Compared with Emerson and Thoreau he seemed to be not so certain, and even pessimistic, when confronted with social problems. Symbolism was another effective and profound with which Hawthorne enriched the meaning in his fiction.Representative Works: Yong Goodman Brown and The blithedale RomanceTHE SCARLET LETTERHester Prynne是个什么样的人？A strong, self-reliant woman who endures years of shame and scorn, and supports herself and her daughter all by her needlework. Years of alienation makes her a social outcast, but puts her in a position to make acute observations about the community, to think independently.embodiment of the American myth;A rebellious woman who transgresses repressive human law and finally transforms human relations of the self-righteous and intolerant society.Hawthorne对传统思想的态度Itis true that Hawthorne is a moralist and allegorist, especially when he says “Be true! B e true! Be true! Show freely to the world, if not your worst, yet some trait whereby the worst may be inferred” But this does not mean that he stands on the Puritan side. Actually he is in uncompromising conflict with the ossified morality which is unreasonable and goes against what is called “Nature’s laws.” More attention should be paid to another sentence in his “Conclusion”: “But, in the lapse of the toilsome thoughtful, and self-devoted years that made up Hester’s life, the scarlet letter ceased to be a stigma which attracted the world’s scorn and bitterness, and became something to be sorrowed over, and looked upon with awe, yet with reverence too.”After fiercely attacking society for its persecution of those who violate man’s conventions , but none of Nature’s laws, heaffirms that a new truth would be revealed, in order to establishthewhole relation between man and woman on a surer ground of mutual happiness.”Yet the novelist goes no further than merely to point out an approximate direction—“sacred love”—for that new truth.Theme of THE SCARLET LETTER: tragic rise born of the fortunate fall.Ⅳ.W ALT WHITMANWalt Whitman, the best and the most influential poet in the nineteenth century.Whitman’s first edition of Leaves of Grass, consisting of twelve poems, came out in 1855. He developed a unique style of free verse.Whitman在civil war后写作风格的变化During the Civil War in 1863 Whitman went to Washington and began attending, as a volunteer, on wounded soldiers which he persisted in almost daily until the end of the War. An eyewitness, telling of his hospital visits, said,“His devotion surpassed the devotion of woman.”His life of this period produced his Drum-Taps and Memories of President Lincoln. Whitman considered his poems during the Civil War a part of the most important of his poetry. In 1873, Whitman had a paralytic stroke, possibly induced by an infection gained during his hospital work. By this time he had transformed his realistic style into one of indirection and suggestion, probably owing to hisfresh under-standing of America. He both hailed the rapid development in industry and assailed the decadence in bourgeois politics, as in his important essay “Democratic Vistas” (1871). During his last nineteen years he lived at Camden, New Jersey，going on with his revision of Leaves of Grass and with creation of new works.Whitman的地位以及写作特点Whitman was a great poet such as could have been produced by no other country than United states, His Leaves of Grass manifested American’s ideal of people sense everywhere the feeling of pride, freedom, heartiness and the pulse of the country.On the SelectionSong of Myself中myself是谁？The “self”here is not exclusively Whitman, but at the same time his idealized American, the typical democratic self.After the Civil War, egoism and greed developed to such a degree that Whitman realized the importance of an emphasis on love and brotherhood.PART TWOTHE AGE OF REALISMREALISM(现实主义) : It aimed at an interpretation of the actualities of any aspect of life, free from subjective prejudice, idealism, or romantic color.Initiator(创始人): William Dean HowellsHowells remained optimistic. He there objected to any reflection of a profoundly tragic note in American fiction and called for the treatment of “the more smiling aspects of life”Mark Twain and Henry: Two greatest of American’s realist writers.Mark Twain built up his reputation as a humorist.Henry James was Europeanized and aristocratic. A master of “psychological realism,” he probed deeply into the human heart.O. Henry who was famous for his distinctive style in contriving a surprise.He was always sympathetic with the underdog.Naturalism: It applied scientific objectivity and precision in the observation and treatment of life and natural man, without idealizing, imposing value judgments, or avoiding what was regard as repulsive.Frank Norris—the Epic of WheatStephen Grane wrote about seamy underside of life in urban, industrial American. First book, MaggieJack London—The Call of the WildTheodore Dreiser showed his concern for the function of circumstances, both social and economic.ⅤMARK TWAINMark twain’s true name Samuel Langhorne ClemensRepresentative Work: The adventures of Tom Sawyer and The adventures Huckleberry Finn小说的重要性The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn is the best novel by Mark Twain, a masterpiece that had a profound impact on the development of American writing. “All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn…” wrote by Ernest Hemingway.背景The setting of the novel pre-industrialized American around the 30’s—40’s of the nineteenth century.Huck是个怎么样的人Huck is a rebel and a real hero.小说风格In writing this novel Mark Twain makes full use of comic jargon and dialect.ⅧTHEODORE DREISER代表作：Sister Carrie and Trilogy of DesireAn American Tragedy: The title itself conveys the social significance of the novel.小说的主题是什么？The tragedy has dual nature, why?It is both personal and social.PART THREEMODERN AMERICAN LITERATUREAnother influential doctrine that penetrated deeply into American intellectual was Freudianism. Freudianism (弗洛伊德主义):A Psychoanalysis, his emphasis on the unconscious aspects of the human mind. He introduced three basic structures in the anatomy of the personality: the id, the ego, the superego.Imagism(意象主义):It advocated complete freedom of subject matter for the poet, and the use of free verse, great exactness of diction, and perfect verbal rendition of an image.Roaring Twenties was the term to refer to the period during which the post-war generation rebelled against former ideals and values and indulged themselves in pleasure.T.S. Eliot: In his poem, symbols and archetypes played a specially important role and the language showed his “intolerable wrestle with words and meanings” as he once said himself.Robert Frost: He stayed aloof from the poetical experiments. He stuck to conventional forms. Sherwood Anderson—Winesburg, OhioRoaring Twenties were best summarized in The Great GatsbyWilliam Faulkner—The Sound and the Fury in which he used techniques of stream consciousness and multiple point of view.O’Neill: In many of his plays he explored possibilities of the Freudian and Jungian portrayal of human character. In his bold experimentation in theatrical action he successfully applied expressionism.American drama: Tennessee Williams and Arthur MillerWilliams—psychology misfits in his playsWorks of Williams: The Glass Menagerie and A Streetcar Named DesireBlack literature: Richard Wright-Native SonThe Harlem Renaissance was the first important movement in black American literature.Kurt Vonnegut and Joseph Heller are both writers of “black humor”ⅨROBERT FROSTA poet particular as to technique and artistry, Frost did not follow the free verse fashion of his contemporaries. He was traditional in form, and his poetic language was unelevated, plain clearly conveying a feeling in harmony with nature.Ⅻ EUGUNE O’NEILLWorks: Beyond the Horizon, Emperor Jones and Anna ChristieIn O’Neill’s plays can be found the influence of Greek tragedies, of symbolism, of expressionism He was highly creative and restlessly experimental.地位Can be said to have initiated American’s contemporary tragedyOn the selection主题The Hairy Ape is an expressionist play concerning the belonging of human being under technological progress.Yankee的意义Yank is a name by which the audiences are easily reminded of “Yankee” that actually refers to any American male.XIII F. SCOTT FITZGERALDThe Great Gatsby and Tender Is the NightOn the SelectionGatsby 是个怎么样的人、The Great Gatsby creates a special type of rich man, a product of the opportunity for quick wealth offered by Prohibition.ⅩⅣWILLIAM FAULKNERAs I Lay Dying and Sanctuarythree words: the Black, the declining aristocrat, and the degenerate middle class.Faulkner was innovational in styleBarn Buring主题Initiation storyⅩⅤERNEST HEMINGW AYWorks: The Sun Also Rises, A Farewell to Arms and The Old Man and the SeaThe Hemingway code: be stubborn, masculine, struggle against adversity, and betray no fear in an hour of danger even when one’s doom is inescapable.His hero is caught, endurance, courage, and dignity are the most important.I always try to write on the principle of the iceberg. There is seven eights of it under water for every part that shows.Old Anderson是个什么样的人.ⅩⅦRALPH ELLISONOn the SelectionThe nameless protagonist of Invisible Man is black youth with aspirations.The Invisible Man主题ⅩⅧSAUL BELLOW写作主题For the human are combined in his work.Work: Dangling man, The Adventures of AugieMarch and HerzogSaul Bellow的地位Saul Bellow is considered to be a major American novelist after Hemingway and Faulkner. Rogin是个什么样的人ⅩⅨARTHUR MILLER主要思想主要观点ⅩⅩJoseph HellerHis Catch-22, considered to be one of the most significant works of “protest literature” since WW Ⅱ，is an almost archetypal example of black humor.批判的目的To criticize bureaucracy through laying bare the irrationality and absurdity of the abuse of patriotic heroism on account of personal ambition.。

WASHINGTON
IRVING
Biography
CONTENTS
Writing style
Evaluation
Major works
Biography
CONTENTS
Writing style
Evaluation
Major works
Biography
ONE
Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American author, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century.
He settled down in a small village and began the
writing of The Sketch Book
Youth 2
By the time when he was 23 years old (1809),he had roamed England, Holland, France Italy and Hudson Valley. After collecting sufficient original materials for writing and a good practice of editing a journal ,he formed his particular political Idea and writing style .
PHOTO
EARLY YEARS
The Irving family settled in Manhattan, New York
City, and was part of the city's small, vibrant merchant class when Washington Irving was born on April 3, 1783, the same week city residents learned of the British ceasefire that ended the American Revolution; Irving’s mother named him after the hero of the revolution, George Washington. At age six, with the help of a nanny, Irving met his namesake, who was then living in New York after his inauguration as president in 1789. The president blessed young Irving, an encounter Irving later commemorated in a small watercolor painting, which still hangs in his home today. The Irving's lived at 131 William Street at the time of Washington Irving's birth. The family later moved across the street to 128 William St. Several of Washington Irving's older brothers became active New York merchants, and they encouraged their younger brother's literary aspirations, often supporting him financially as he pursued his writing career.

超验主义的目的是要为那个世纪正在快速 走向分崩离析的思想找到一个整合的方法。 在‘理智’这个概念里,他们相信已经找到 了整合的钥匙。超验主义弥合了科学和宗 教,以一种新的、可行的方式复活基督教,并 使其成为可能;它弥合了思想和物质间的裂 口,在行动的世界中恢复了思想的地位;它为 一种新的社会秩序提供了基础,在这种秩序 里,人的尊严和自由将战胜金钱和机器的力 量。
美国文学
浪漫主义 现实主义
（四）美国：
1、前期代表： 前期代表： (1)欧文Irving (1)欧文 欧文Irving “美国文学之父” 美国文学之父” 见闻札记》 《见闻札记》
(2)库柏Cooper (2)库柏 库柏Cooper 间谍》 以《间谍》为代表的 革命历史小说 拓荒者》 以《拓荒者》为代表 的边疆题材小说 水手》 以《水手》为代表的 航海生活小说
另一些超验主义者则试图在现实中去实践 这种理想。这些实践者可以分为两类。一 类是以梭罗为代表的以个人实践为主的行 为,另一类是以布鲁克农场试验为代表的社 会实践。
在《瓦登湖》一书中,他说他到瓦登湖的目的是 “希望有意识地去生活,去直接面对生活的最基本 的事实,看看到底能不能知道生活要告诉的是什么, 到临死时可以发现是不是生活过了。” 梭罗说“统治得最少的政府是最好的政府,”他 说:“我们将永远不会有一个真正自由的、明治的国 家,直到这个国家承认个人是一种更高的、独立的 力量,国家的所有的力量权威都来自他们,因此对其 应平等对待。
1836 年,在年轻的单一神教牧师乔治·李普莱 (George Ripley) 波士顿的家里,一些单一神 教的牧师或信奉单一神教的人(大多数是年 轻人) 开始了一个关于单一神教思想的讨论 会,这个讨论会后来被称为超验主义俱乐部, 在此后的七年左右的时间里,这个俱乐部的 成员经常聚集在一起,讨论问题。