现实主义.docx

现实主义.docx

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现实主义

PartIVTheRealisticPeriod（1861-1914）theSecondHalfofthe19thCentury

I.Historicalbackground:

In1804,thenewnationbeganitswestwardexpedition,encouragingpeopletosearchfornewlandtofarm.By1860thewesternboundaryhadreachedtothePacific,andthenthenumberofitsstateshadincreasedfromtheoriginalthirteenatthetimeofitsindependenceto21.

AsAmericanexpandedwestward,theopeningupofeachnewterritorythreatenedthedelicatebalancebetweenfreeandslavestates,increasingtheanimositybetweenNorthandSouthandpushingthenationclosertoconflict.Thoughthecontroversyflaredupbrieflyinthefoundingofthecountry,thenewcountrydidnotresolvethegraveissueonslavery.Throughoutthefirsthalfofthenineteenthcentury,tensionontheissuegrew,andtheconflictbetweenNorthandSouthbecamemoreandmoreintense,andfinallybroughtabouttheCivilWar.

In1865whenthecivilwarended,NorthernindustrialismhadtriumphedoverSouthernagrarianismandfromthatvictorycameasocietybasedonmasslaborandmassconsumption.Thus,thisledtomechanization,industrialization,doubled-popularizationandthenaruraleconomyshiftedtoanurbanone.Asweknow,anation’sliteratureislikeamirrorreflectingthenationitself,anditsvariousconditions:

social,cultural,economical,andpoliticalaswell.Theurbaneconomybroughtthesocialills,whichbegantoappearinAmericanliterature.

II.LiteratureintheRealisticPeriod:

Withsuchhistoricalbackground,romanticoutlookonlifewasdestroyed.Thereappearedsomerealistswhotendedtodealwiththesocialproblemsofrealpersonsinrealplacesinthepresent,tryingtopresentthelifeasitreallyis.RealismhadoriginatedinFranceasrealisme,aliterarydoctrinethatcalledfor“realityandtruth”inthedepictionofordinarylife.AsWilliamsDeanHowellsdefined,“nothingmoreandnothinglessthanthetruthfultreatmentofmaterial”.

RealismfirstappearedintheUnitedStatesintheliteratureoflocalcolor.Itreacheditspeakofpopularityinthe1880s,butbytheturnofcenturyithadbeguntodeclineasitslimitedresourceswereexhaustedorturnedtootherliterarymodes.Thelocalcolorwritersportrayedinaccuratedetailthecustoms,attitudes,charactersanddialectsoftheirparticularregionswhichtheyknewwell.Althoughsomeregionalwritings——especiallyinthe70s——wasromanticinthesensethateachoftheauthorstendedtoidealizehispicturesbystressingthepicturesquecharacteristicsofhisownregion,butthemovementasawholehasbeendescribedasfundamentallyrealistic.Thesewritersstrovetowritedialoguethatsoundedthewaypersonsactuallyspoke;theygenerallydescribedplaceswithgreatfidelityofdetail;andtheywerebasicallyinterestedinportrayingandanalyzingordinarypeoplegoingabouttheirday-to-dayaffairs.

Attheendofthecentury,anew,extreme,andharsherrealism—naturalismappeared.Likerealists,thenaturalisttriedtoportraypeopleandeventsaccurately.Butunliketherealists,naturalistsbelievedthatpeoplehavenocontrolovertheirfates,feelingthathumanbeingsaresimplyvictimsoftheirsurroundingsandoftheirowndrivesanddesires.Theyattemptedtoachieveextremeobjectivityandfrankness,presentingcharactersoflowsocialandeconomicclasseswhoweredominatedbytheirenvironmentandheredity.

III.Majorrealisticwriters:

BretHarte—BretHartewasthefirstAmericanwriteroflocalcolortoachievewidepopularity.Hechosetopresentstoriesofwesternminingtownswithcolorfulgamblers,andscandalouswomen.ThecollectionTheLuckofRoaringCampandOtherSketches（1870）broughthimnationalfameandmarkedhisliterarypeak.

HarrietB.Stowe—theauthorofUncleTom’sCabin;onlyonefemaleprosewriterin19thcentury;

WaltWhitman—afamousliterarymanforhismonumentalworkLeavesofGrass,thefirstgenuineAmericanepicpoem;

EmilyDickinson—aprivatepoetesswhohadnointentiontopublishherpoems,soshecreatedtheveryuniqueandunconventionalpoems,inwhichsheexpressedherselfinasubtleway;hermasterpiecesare“IdiedforBeauty”,“BecauseIcouldnotstopforDeath”,ITasteaLiquorNeverBrewed,etc.

MarkTwain—awriterintherealisticperiod,veryfamousforhishumor/satire;hismasterpiecesareTheAdventuresofTomSawyer,AdventuresofHuckleberryFinn,TheGildedAge,LifeontheMississippi;hisbiggestcontributionistomakecolloquialspeechacceptedasliterarymedium.

TheodoreDreiser—atypicalnaturalistknownforhisSisterCarrie;

              TrilogyofDesire：

TheFinancier，TheTitan，TheStoic；

AnAmericanTragedy—Hisgreatestandmostsuccessfulnovel.

O.Henry—afamouswriterofshortstories;hisworkstellaboutthelivesofpoorpeople;plotsareexceedinglycleverandinterestingandtheendisalwayssurprising;hislanguagecontainsagreatdealofslangandcolloquialexpressions,withwhichhumorabounds.Hismasterpieces:

TheFourMillion,TheGiftofMagi,TheCopandtheAnthem.

HenryJames:

  withhisspecialfamilybackground（hisfatherisaphilosopher,andhisbrotherisapsychologist,philosopher）,heisnotonlyanovelistandaliteraturetheoretician,butalsothefounderofpsychologicalrealism.Heprobeddeeplyintotheindividualpsychologyofhischaracters,writinginarichandintricatestylethatsupportedhisintensescrutinyofcomplexhumanexperience.Inthissense,hewascalled“FreudinAmericanNovelcircles.”In1915,hechosetobecomeaBritishcitizenduetohisdissatisfactionwiththeneutralityofAmericangovernmentintheWWII.Hismajorworks:

TheAmerican,DaisyMiller,ThePortraitofaLady;Lastfull-lengthnovel（hiscreativepeak）:

TheWingsoftheDove,TheAmbassadors,TheGoldenBowl.

   WaltWhitman（1819-1892）

1.Familybackground

—bornintoahousebuilder’sfamily（LongIsland—inBrooklyn）;

—Only6-yearformaleducation;

Seekingemploymenttosupportthefamily

—Anofficeboy—aprinter—ateacher—aneditor;

AWriter

—LeavesofGrass（1855）:

apoetrycollection

—MemorandaDuringtheWar;Beat,BeatDrums;Drum-Traps;

Hisdecliningyears

—workingonadditionsandrevisionstoaneweditionofhisLeavesofGrass;

—preparinghisfinalvolumeofpoemsandprose,Good-bye,MyFancy;

—buriedinatombonalotinHarleighCemetery. 

2.CriticalresponsetoLeavesofGrass

—praisesnatureandtheindividualhuman’sroleinit;

—elevatesthehumanmind,thinkingbothworthyofpoeticpraise;

Emerson:

—urgedWhitmantotonedownthesexualimagery;

RufusWilmotGriswold:

—"amassofstupidfilth“;

—“thathorriblesinnottobementionedamongChristians”

3.Featuresofhispoems

Theoriginofhisthoughts

—ThomasPaine;GermanTranscendentalism

Themes

—freedom,equality,sexuality,death,individual,democracy;

Poeticform

—“freeverse”withtwocharacteristics:

Parallelismandphoneticrecurrence

FreeVerse:

“openform”verse

—withoutafixedbeatorregularrhymescheme;

—dependingonnaturalspeechrhythmsrelatedtotheactualcadenceofthepoetexpressinghimself.

Parallelism

—atechniqueoftheBiblicalpoetry,ofrepeatingtheideainverselines,buttheremightbeminorchangesinwording.

 T.S.Eliot：

"Noverseisfreeforthemanwhowantstodoagoodjob."

DonaldHall：

"theformoffreeverseisasbindingandaliberatingastheformofarondeau."

Evaluation

“ThegreatestAmericanpoetsofar”:

—America'sfirst"poetofdemocracy”;

—blazinganewtrailforlaterpoetstofollow;

—insertingagreatinfluenceonthelaterpoetsinmanyaspects;

—“YoucannotreallyunderstandAmericawithoutWaltWhitman”;

EmilyDickinson（1830-1886）

I.LifeExperience

Shewasbornasthesecondchildintoapoliticallyprominentfamily.TheDickinsonswerestrongadvocatesforeducationandEmilytoobenefitedfromanearlyeducationinclassicliterature.Sheprovedtobeadazzlingstudent,andattheageofseventeen,thoughshewasalreadysomewhatofa‘homebody’,EmilylefthometoattendtheMountHolyokeFemaleSeminary,butreturnedhomeafteroneyearduetoherhomesicknessandpoorhealth.Sincethenon,shebegantograduallywithdrawfromvillageactivitiesandceasedtoleavehomeexceptforshorttripstovisitrelatives.Unmarried,shediedinherfather’shousein1886.ShenowrestsintheWestCemeteryofAmherst,HampshireCounty,Massachusetts.Today,EmilyDickinsonisconsideredoneofthegreatestAmericanpoets.However,itwasnotuntilafterherdeaththatherpoetrybecameknown.Shewrotevoluminously.Afterherdeathin1886,hersisterfoundnearly1800poemsthatshehadwritten,butduringherlifetimeonlysevenofthepoemswerepublishedandbeforeherdeathsheinstructedherfamilytodestroyallherwritings.Manyoftheletterswereburned,butfortunatelyherrelativesdecidedthatthepoetrybelongedtotheworld.In1890thefirstcollectionofherpoemswasprintedandshehadsomeadmirers.In1920whenalargenumberofherpoemswerepublished,peoplerealizedshewasagenius.

II.MajorWorks

+Mylifeclosedtwicebeforeitsclosed;

+“IHeardaBuzz---WhenIDied”;

+Itastealiquorneverbrewed;

+BecauseIcouldnotstopfordeath;

+WildNights—WildNights;

+Idiedforbeauty;

+ABirdcamedowntheWalk;

+Ifeltafuneral,inmyBrain.

III.PoemAppreciation

1.“ITasteaLiquorNeverBrewed”

2.“BecauseIcouldnotstopfordeath”

IV.FeaturesofherPoetry

—Highlysubjective.One-fifthofthembeginwith"I".Thewiderangeofherpoetrysuggestsnotherlimitedexperiencesbutthepowerofcreativityandimagination.

—Concreteness-itisnearlyatheorem