英美文学选读要点下篇美国文学.docx

英美文学选读要点下篇美国文学.docx

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英美文学选读要点下篇美国文学

下篇：

美国文学

第一章　美国浪漫主义时期

一、美国浪漫主义时期概述

Ⅰ.本章学习目的和要求

　　通过本章学习，了解１９世纪初期至中叶美国文学产生的历史、文化背景；认识该时期文学创作的基本待征、基本主张，及其对同时代和后期美国文学的影响；了解该时期主要作家的文学创作生涯、创作思想、艺术特色及其代表作品的主题思想、人物刻画、语言风格等；同时结合注释，读懂所选作品并了解其思想内容和艺术特色，培养理解和欣赏文学作品的能力。

Ⅱ.本章重点及难点：

　　1．浪漫主义时期美国文学的特点

　　2．主要作家的创作思想、艺术特色及其代表作品的主题结构、人物刻画、语言风格、思想意义。

　　3．分析讨论选读作品

Ⅲ.本章考核知识点和考核要求：

　1.美国浪漫主义时期概述

（1）．"识记"内容：

美国浪漫主义文学产生的社会历史及文化背景

（2）．"领会"内容：

美国浪漫主义在文学上的表现

　　　　a.欧洲浪漫主义文学的影响

　　　　b.美国本土文学的崛起及其待证

　　（3）．"应用"内容：

清教主义、超验主义、象征主义、自由诗等名词的解释

　2.美国浪漫主义时期的主要作家

Ａ．华盛顿·欧文

　1．一般识记：

欧文的生平及创作主涯

　2．识记：

《纽约外史》《见闻札记》

　3．领会：

欧文的创作领域、创作思想，及其作品的艺术风格

　4.应用：

选读《瑞普·凡·温可尔》的主题及其艺术特色

Ｂ．拉尔夫·华尔多·爱默生

　1．一般识记：

．爱默生的生平及创作生涯

　2．识记：

爱默生的超验主义思想

　3．领会：

（1）爱默生的散文：

《论自然》《论自助》《论美国学者》等

（2）．爱默生与梭罗：

梭罗的超验主义思想和他的《沃尔登》

　4．应用：

《论自然》节选：

爱默生的基本哲学思想及自然观

Ｃ．纳撒尼尔·霍桑

　1．一般识记：

霍桑的生平及创作主涯

　2．识记：

霍桑的长短篇小说

　3．领会：

（1）《红字》的主题、心理描写、象征手法和、小说结构

（2）霍桑的清教主义思想及加尔文教条中的"原罪"对霍桑的影响（人性本恶的观点）

　　（3）霍桑对浪漫主义小说的贡献

　4．应用：

选读《小伙子布朗》的主题结构、象征手法及语言特色

Ｄ．华尔特·惠特曼

　1．一般识记：

惠特曼的生平及其创作生涯

　2．识记：

惠特曼的民主思想

　3．领会：

（1）惠特曼的《草叶集》的主创意图、思想感情及诗体形式、语言风格

（2）．惠特曼的个人主义

　4．应用：

选读《草叶集》诗选：

"一个孩子的成长"、"涉水的骑兵'"、"自己之歌"的主题结构、诗歌的艺术特色、语言风格

Ｅ．赫尔曼·麦尔维尔

　1．一般识记：

麦尔维尔的生平及创作生涯

　2．识记：

麦尔维尔的早期作品：

《玛地》《雷得本》《白外衣》，后期作品《皮埃尔》《骗子的化装表演》《比利伯德》等

　3．领会：

《白鲸》的

（1）主题：

表层及深层意义

（2）小说结构：

浪漫主义和现实主义的统一

　（3）象征手法和寓言的运用

　（4）语言特色

　4．应用：

选读《白鲸》最后一章的节选：

主题思想、人物刻画、象征手法、语言特色

ChapterlTheRomanticPeriod　

（一）"识记"内容：

　　1.TheoriginofRomanticAmericanliterature

　　TheRomanticPeriod,oneofthemostimportantperiodsinthe　historyofAmericanliterature,stretchesfromtheendofthe18thcenturytotheoutbreakoftheCivilWar.ItstartedwiththepublicationofWashingtonIrving'sTheSketchBookandendedwithWhitman'sLeavesofGrass.

　　2.TheAmericanRenaissanceorNewEnglandRenaissanceisaperiodofthegreatfloweringofAmericanliterature,fromthei830sroughlyuntiltheendoftheAmericanCivilWar.Itcameofageasanexpressionofanationalspirit.OneofthemostimportantinfluencesintheperiodwasthatoftheTranscendentalists,includingRalphWaldoEmerson,HenryDavidThoreau.TheTranscendentalistscontributedtothefoundingofanewnationalculturebasedonnativeelements.ApartfromtheTranscendentalists,thereemergedduringthisperiodgreatimaginativewriters---NathanielHawthorne,HermanMelville,andWaltWhitman---whosenovelsandpoetryleftapermanentimprintonAmericanliterature.

　　3.Itssocialhistoricalandculturalbackground

　　ThedevelopmentoftheAmericansocietynurtured"theliteratureofagreatnation."Americawasflourishingintoapolitically,economicallyandculturallyindependentcountry.Historically,itwasthetimeofwestwardexpansioninAmericaeconomically,thewholenationwasexperiencinganindustrialtransformation.Politically,democracyandequa1itybecametheidealofthenewnation,andthetwo-partysystemcameintobeing.Worthyofmentionistheliteraryandculturallifeofthecountry.WiththefoundingoftheAmericanIndependentGovernment,thenationfeltanurgetohaveitsownliteraryexpression,tomakeknownitsnewexperiencethatothernationsdidnothave:

theearlyPuritansettlement,theconfrontationwiththeIndians,thefrontiersmen'slife,andthewildwest.Besides,thenation'sliterarymilieuwasreadyfortheRomanticmovementaswe11.Thus,withastrongsenseofoptimism,aspectacularoutburstofromanticfeelingwasbroughtaboutinthefirstha1fofthe19thcentury.

　　4.Majorwritersofthisperiod

　　Thereemergedagreathostofmenoflettersduringthisperiod,amongwhomthebetter-knownarepoetssuchasPhilipFreneau,WilliamCullenBryant,HenryWordsworthLongFellow,JamesRusselLowell,JohnGreenleafWhitter,EdgarEllenPoe,and,especially,WaltWhitman,whoseLeavesOfGrassestablishedhimasthemostpopularAmericanpoetofthe19thcentury.ThefictionoftheAmericanRomanticperiodisanoriginalanddiversebodyofwork.ItrangesfromthecomicfablesofWashingtonIrvingtotheTheGothictalesofEdgarAllenPoe,fromthefrontieradventuresofJamesFenimoreCoopertothenarrativequestsofHermanMelville,fromthepsycho1ogicalromancesofNathanielHawthornetothesocialrealismofRebeccaHardingDavis.

（二）．领会内容

　　1.TheimpactofEuropeanRomanticismonAmericanRomanticism

Foreignliterarymasters,especiallytheEnglishcounterpartsexertedastimulatingimpactonthewritersofthenewworld.Bornofonecommonculturalheritage,theAmericanwriterssharedsomecommonfeatureswiththeEnglishRomanticists.Theyrevoltedagainsttheliteraryformsandideasoftheperiodofclassicismbydevelopingsomerelativelynewformsoffictionorpoetry.

（1）Theyputemphasisupontheimaginativeandemotionalqualitiesofliterature,whichincludedalikingforthepicturesque,theexotic,thesensuous,thesensational,andthesupernatural.

（2）TheAmericansalsoplacedanincreasingemphasisonthefreeexpressionofemotionsanddisp1ayedanincreasingattentiontothepsychicstatesoftheircharacters.Heroesandheroinesexhibitedextremesofsensitivityandexcitement.

　　（3）ThestrongtendencytoexalttheindividualandthecommonmanwasalmostanationalreligioninAmerica.WriterslikeFreneau,Bryant,andCoopershowedagreatinterestinexternalnatureintheirrespectiveworks.

　　（4）Theliteraryuseofthemorecolorfu1aspectsofthepastwasalsotobefoundinIrving'sefforttoexploitthelegendsoftheHudsonRiverregion,andinCooper'slongseriesofhistoricaltales.

　　（5）Inshort,AmericanRomanticismis,inacertainway,derivative.

　　2.TheuniquecharacteristicsofAmericanRomanticism

　　AlthoughgreatlyinfluencedbytheirEnglishcounterparts,theAmericanromanticwritersrevealeduniquecharacteristicsoftheirownintheirworksandtheygrewonthenativelands.Forexamp1e,

（1）theAmericannationalexperienceof"pioneeringintothewest"provedtobearichsourceofmaterialforAmericanwriterstodrawupon.TheycelebratedAmerica'slandscapewithitsvirginforests,meadows,groves,endlessprairies,streams,andvastoceans.Thewildernesscametofunctionalmostasadramaticcharacterthatsymbolizedmoral1aw.

（2）ThedesireforanescapefromsocietyandareturntonaturebecameapermanentconventionofAmericanliterature.SuchadesireisparticularlyevidentinCooper'sLeatherStockingTales,inThoreau'sWaldenand,later,inMarkTwain'sAdventuresofHuckleberryFinn.（3）WiththegrowthofAmericannationalconsciousness,Americancharactertypesspeakinglocaldialectsappearedinpoetryandfictionwithincreasingfrequency.（4）ThentheAmericanPuritanismasaculturalheritageexertedgreatinfluencesoverAmericanmoralvaluesandAmericanRomanticism.OneofthemanifestationsisthefactthatAmericanromanticwriterstendedmoretomoralizethantheirEnglishandEuropeancounterparts.（5）Besides,apreoccupationwiththeCalvinisticviewoforigina1sinandthemysteryofevilmarkedtheworksofHawthorne,Melvilleandahostoflesserwriters.

　（三）．应用内容

　　1.TheAmericanPuritanismanditsgreatinfluenceoverAmericanmoralvalues,asisshowninAmericanromanticwritings.

（1）AmericanPuritanism

PuritanismisthepracticesandbeliefsofthePuritans.（ThePuritanswereoriginallymembersofadivisionoftheProtestantChurch,whocameintoexistenceinthereignsQueenElizabethandKingJamesⅠ.ThefirstsettlerswhobecamethefoundingfathersoftheAmericannationwerequiteafewofthemPuritans.TheycametoAmericaoutofvariousreasons,butitshouldberememberedthattheywereagroupofserious,religiouspeople,advocatinghighlyreligiousandmoralprinciples.Astheworditselfhints,Puritanswantedtopurifytheirreligiousbeliefsandpractices.TheyfeltthattheChurchofEnglandwastooclosetotheChurchofRomeindoctrineformofworship,andorganizationofauthority.）TheAmericanPuritans,liketheirbrothersbackinEngland,wereidealists,believingthatthechurchshouldberestoredtocomplete"purity".Theyacceptedthedoctrineofpredestination,originalsinandtotaldepravity,andlimitedatonementthroughaspecialinfusionofgracefromGod.ButinthegrimstruggleforsurvivalthatfollowedimmediatelyaftertheirarrivalinAmerica,theybecamemoreandmorepractical,asindeedtheyhadtobe.Puritanswerenotedforaspiritofmoralandreligiousearnestnessthatdeterminatedtheirwholewayoflife.Puritans'liveswereextremelydisciplinedandhard.Theydroveoutoftheirsettlementsallthoseopinionsthatseemeddangeroustothem,andhistoryhascriticizedtheiractions.Yetinthepersecutionofwhattheyconsiderederror,thePuritanswerenoworsethanmanyothermovementsinhistory.Asacultureheritage,PuritanismdidhaveaprofoundinfluenceontheearlyAmericanmindandAmericanvalues.AmericanPuritanismalsohadaconspicuouslynoticeableandanenduringinfluenceonAmericanliterature.Ithadbecome,tosomeextent,somuchastateofmind,somuchapartofthenationalculturalatmosphere,ratherthanasetoftenets.

（2）OneofthemanifestationsisthefactthatAmericanromanticwriterstendedmoretomoralizethantheirEnglishandEuropeancounterparts.Besides,apreoccupationwiththeCalvinisticviewoforigina1sinandthemysteryofevilmarkedtheworksofHawthorne,Melvilleandahostoflesserwriters.

　　2.NewEnglandTranscendentalism

　　NewEnglandTranscendentalismisthemotclearlydefinedRomanticliterarymovementinthisperiod.ItwasstartedintheareaaroundConcord,Mass.byagroupofintellectualandtheliterarymenoftheUnitedStatessuchasEmerson,HenryDavidThoreauwhoweremembersofaninformalclub,i.e.theTranscendentalClubinNewEnglandinthel830s.Thetranscendenta