二战后的美国文学.docx

二战后的美国文学.docx

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二战后的美国文学

研究型美国文学学习资料

二战后的美国文学

AmericanPoetrySince1945:

TheAnti-Tradition

Ashiftawayfromanassumptionthattraditionalforms,ideas,andhistorycanprovidemeaningandcontinuitytohumanlifehasoccurredinthecontemporaryliteraryimaginationthroughoutmanypartsoftheworld,includingtheUnitedStates.EventssinceWorldWarIIhaveproducedasenseofhistoryasdiscontinuous:

Eachact,emotion,andmomentisseenasunique.Styleandformnowseemprovisional,makeshift,reflexiveoftheprocessofcompositionandthewriter'sself-awareness.Familiarcategoriesofexpressionaresuspect;originalityisbecominganewtradition.

ItisnothardtofindhistoricalcausesforthisdisassociatedsensibilityintheUnitedStates.WorldWarIIitself,theriseofanonymityandconsumerisminamassurbansociety,theprotestmovementsofthe1960s,thedecade-longVietnamconflict,theColdWar,environmentalthreats--thecatalogofshockstoAmericancultureislongandvaried.ThechangethathasmosttransformedAmericansociety,however,hasbeentheriseofthemassmediaandmassculture.Firstradio,thenmovies,andnowanall-powerful,ubiquitoustelevisionpresencehavechangedAmericanlifeatitsroots.Fromaprivate,literate,eliteculturebasedonthebook,theeye,andreading,theUnitedStateshasbecomeamediacultureattunedtothevoiceontheradio,themusicofcompactdiscsandcassettes,film,andtheimagesonthetelevisionscreen.

Americanpoetryhasbeendirectlyinfluencedbymassmediaandelectronictechnology.Films,videotapes,andtaperecordingsofpoetryreadingsandinterviewswithpoetshavebecomeavailable,andnewinexpensivephotographicmethodsofprintinghaveencouragedyoungpoetstoself-publishandyoungeditorstobeginliterarymagazines--ofwhichtherearenowwellover2,000.Fromthelate1950stothepresent,Americanshavebeenincreasinglyawarethattechnology,sousefulinitself,presentsdangersthroughthewrongkindsofstrikingimages.ToAmericansseekingalternatives,poetryseemsmorerelevantthanbefore:

Itofferspeopleawaytoexpresssubjectivelifeandarticulatetheimpactoftechnologyandmasssocietyontheindividual.

Ahostofstyles,someregional,someassociatedwithfamousschoolsorpoets,vieforattention;contemporaryAmericanpoetryisdecentralized,richlyvaried,andimpossibletosummarize.Forthesakeofdiscussion,however,itcanbearrangedalongaspectrum,producingthreeoverlappingcamps--thetraditionalononeend,theidiosyncraticinthemiddle,andtheexperimentalontheotherend.Traditionalpoetshavemaintainedorrevitalizedpoetictraditions.Idiosyncraticpoetshaveusedbothtraditionalandinnovativetechniquesincreatinguniquevoices.Experimentalpoetshavecourtednewculturalstyles.

TRADITIONALISM

Traditionalwritersincludeacknowledgedmastersoftraditionalformsanddictionwhowritewithareadilyrecognizablecraft,oftenusingrhymeorasetmetricalpattern.OftentheyarefromtheU.S.Easternseaboardorfromthesouthernpartofthecountry,andteachincollegesanduniversities.RichardEberhartandRichardWilbur;theolderFugitivepoetsJohnCroweRansom,AllenTate,andRobertPennWarren;suchaccomplishedyoungerpoetsasJohnHollanderandRichardHoward;andtheearlyRobertLowellareexamples.Theyareestablishedandfrequentlyanthologized.

Thepreviouschapterdiscussedtherefinement,respectfornature,andprofoundlyconservativevaluesoftheFugitives.Thesequalitiesgracemuchpoetryorientedtotraditionalmodes.Traditionalistpoetsaregenerallyprecise,realistic,andwitty;likeRichardWilbur（1921-）,theyareofteninfluencedinthesedirectionsby15th-and16th-centuryBritishmetaphysicalpoetsbroughttofavorbyT.S.Eliot.Wilbur'smostfamouspoem,"AWorldWithoutObjectsIsaSensibleEmptiness"（1950）,takesitstitlefromThomasTraherne,ametaphysicalpoet.Itsvividopeningillustratestheclaritysomepoetshavefoundwithinrhymeandformalregularity:

Thetallcamelsofthespirit

Steerfortheirdeserts,passingthelastgrovesloud

Withthesawmillshrillofthelocust,tothewholehoney

ofthearid

Sun.Theyareslow,proud...

Traditionalpoets,unlikemanyexperimentalistswhodistrust"toopoetic"diction,welcomeresoundingpoeticlines.RobertPennWarren（1905-1989）endedonepoemwiththewords"Tolovesowelltheworldthatwemaybelieve,intheend,inGod."AllenTate（1899-1979）endedapoem,"Sentinelofthegravewhocountsusall!

"Traditionalpoetsalsoattimesuseasomewhatrhetoricaldictionofobsoleteoroddwords,usingmanyadjectives（forexample,"sepulchralowl"）andinversions,inwhichthenatural,spokenwordorderofEnglishisalteredunnaturally.Sometimestheeffectisnoble,asinthelinebyWarren;othertimes,thepoetryseemsstiltedandoutof