Colonial Period 1601.docx

Colonial Period 1601.docx

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ColonialPeriod1601

ColonialPeriod1607---1775

CaptainJohnSmith（1580----1631）thefirstdistinctAmericanliteraturewritteninEnglish.

TrueRelationofVirginia（1608）;DescriptionofNewEngland（1616）HisdescriptionsofAmericawerefilledwithmyths,images,scenes,characters,andeventsthatwereafoundationasalandofendlessbounty.Hisdescriptionarefascinating“advertisements”whichtrytopersuadethereadertosettleintheNewWorld.

GeneralHistoryofVirginia,NewEngland,andtheSummerIsles（1624）thefirstfamoustalefromAmericanliterature.

WilliamBradford（1590----1657）Bradford'schronicleOfPlimouthPlantationisaninvaluablerecordofearlyEnglishsettlementinNorthAmerica.

JohnWinthrop（1588----1649）TheHistoryofNewEngland.Throughadirectandvigorousprosestyle,eachaccountattainedliteraryexcellence.Thisworkisinthe“plainstyle”butveryeffective.

CottonMather（1663----1728）DeathMadeEasyandHappy;TheBestWayofLiving,WhichistoDieDaily;

MagnaliaChristiAmericana（1702）whichexhaustivelychroniclesthesettlementofNewEnglandthroughaseriesofbiographiesandwas“themightyactsofChristinAmerica”

AnneBradstreet（1612----1672）TheTenthMuseLatelySprungUpinAmerica;SeveralPoemsCompiledwithGreatWitandLearning（1678）.SomeofAnneBradstreet’spoeticventureswereoverambitious,butshewrotewellwhenshedealtwiththesimpleeventsofherdailylife.

EdwardTaylor（1645----1729）

ThePoeticalWorks（1939）;PoemsofEdwardTaylor（1960）;MetricalHistoryofChristianityTaylorwroteavarietyofverse:

funeralelegies,lyrics,amedieval"debate".HisbestworksaretheseriesofshortPreparatoryMeditations.

JonathanEdwardsHeembodiedthespiritofrevivalism（GreatAwakening）Hehas2goals:

toevoketheoriginalsenseofreligiouscommitmentandtospeakaboutthedifferencebetweenheadthinkingandheartfeeling

BenjaminFranklinAlmanacautobiographyHisStyleisClear,plain,formal（theorganizationofhismaterialisinformal）

TheAutobiographyofBenjaminFranklin

Anaccountofapoorboy’srisetowealthandfameandthefulfillmentoftheAmericandream;Ontheartofself-improvement;FranklinwasthespokesmanofAmericanenlightenment

RomanticPeriod（1828---1865）

1.WashingtonIrvingTheSketchBook（1819）;TheSketchGeoffreyGrayon;BracebridgeHall;TalesofaTraveller;TheHistoryoftheLifeandVoyagesofChristopherColumbus.

TheSketchBook（1819）,containstwomostenduringstories“RipVanWinkle”and“TheLegendofSleepyHollow”.Irvingaimsatcreatingapastinwhichhistoryandmythblendintoeachother,providingforarapidlychangingAmericansocietykindofhistoricaltraditionsoapparentinEnglandandsoapparentlyabsentinthenewnation.Inall,TheSketchBookisonEuropeansubjects,mostlyEnglish.Irvingfoundthattherich,oldercultureoftheOldWorldgavehimalotofmaterialforhisstories.

Comment:

1.heisthe1stprosestylistofAmericanromanticism.2.HewasthefirstAmericanauthortowininternationalrecognition,andwasextremelypopularinEurope.3His‘SketchBook’wastheFirstAmericanmodern,AmericanshortstoriesandthefirstgreatAmericanjuvenileliterature.4.HeperfectedthebestclassicstylethatAmericanliteratureeverproduced.5.Humor,ironic

JamesFenimoreCooper

TheSpy（1821）TheLeatherstockingTales（1823—1841）ThePilot（1824）TheRedRover（1827

LiteraryAchievements:

1.ThelstsuccessfulAmericannovelist2.Inhisfictionhedealtwiththethemesofwildernessversuscivilization,freedomversuslaw,orderversuschange,aristocratversusdemocrat,andnaturalrightsversuslegalrights.3.Cooperdeveloped3kindsofnovels:

the1stkindisthenovelsabouttherevolutionarypast（“TheSpy”）;the2ndistheseanovels（healsowasthe1stwritertowriteanovelonthesea,“ThePilot”）;the3rdisnovelsabouttheAmericanfrontier（“ThePioneers”,“ThePathfinder”and“TheDeerslayer”）

Comment:

1.thecharactersinhisfictionhelpcreatethatpartofAmericanmythology:

thestoryofthecowboy,thewinningoftheAmericanWest（daringfrontiersmanandfriendlyIndian）2.Amonghiscomtemporaries,CooperwasthebestinexploringthepossibilitiesoftheAmericanfrontierinfiction.

Transcendentalisms

RalphWaldoEmerson（1803----1882）:

Self-Reliance;Nature（1836）

Style:

1.hadareligioussenseofmission.2.accusedthechurchofemphasizingdogmawhilestiflingthespirit.3.avoidedbuildingalogicalintellectualsystembecausesucharationalsystemwouldhavenegatedhisRomanticbeliefinintuitionandflexibility.4calledforthebirthofAmericanindividualisminspiredbynature.5.Mostofhismajorideas,theneedforanewnationalvision,theuseofpersonalexperience,thenotionofthecosmicOver-Soul,andthedoctrineofcompensationaresuggestedinhisfirstpublication,Nature（1836）.

Achievement:

1.‘Nature’hasbeencalled“themanifestionofAmericantranscendentalism”2.‘TheAmericanScholar’hasbeencalled“America’sDeclarationofIntellectualIndependence”3.Americanwayinsteadofimitatingthingsforeign.4.Thecontributionbothforphilosophyandliterature.HeinfluencedalonglineofAmericanpoets,includingWaltWhitman,EmilyDickinson,etc,andthephilosophiesofJohnDewey,GeorgeSantayana,etc5.HisperceptionofhumanityandnatureassymbolsofuniversaltruthencouragedthedevelopmentoftheAmericansymbolistmovement.6.Emphasizethecommonlifeworthofhighestart.7.Believedthework’sformwasdeterminedbythewriter’sperceptionofthehighertruthhefoundsymbolizedinnature.

HenryDavidThoreau（1817----1862）Walden;CivilDisobedience

Walden:

From1841–1843Thoreaudecidedtoconductanexperimentofself-sufficiencybybuildinghisownhouseontheshoresofWaldenPondandlivingoffthefoodhegrewonhisfarm.

Comment:

aspiritualbook;adiaryofanaturelover,aclassicofAmericanprose（thisisabookofessaysputtogether,exploringsubjectsconcernedwithNature,withthemeaningoflife,andwithmorality）

3aimsinwritingthebook:

tomakepeopleevaluatethewayhelivedandthought;torevealthehiddenspiritualpossibilitiesineveryone’slife;tocondemntheweaknessanderrorsofsociety

subjects:

1.hisessentialsoflife:

livingratherthangettingaliving2.Itisacondemnationofmakingsocialimprovementandcomfortallimportant.3.Itstressestheimportanceofthoughtovermaterialcircumstance.4.Ithasconfidenceintheindividualandholdsthatindividualfreedombreaksdowntherulesandbarriersofsocietysothattheindividualcanexpresshimselfandactonhisownprinciples.5.Thereisthepossibilityforandimportanceofchangeinone’sspirituallifewhichisinharmonywithnature.

Style:

Propheticvoice;Directforcefulsentence;Conversationalintone;Humor;Proverbialexpressions;Brieftales,fablesandallegories;Metaphors

HighRomantics

NathanielHawthorne（1804-1864）Twice-toldTales;MossesfromanOldManse;TheHouseoftheSevenGables;TheBlithedaleRomance;TheMarbleFaun;TheScarletLetter（Hismasterpiece,whichestablishedhimastheleadingAmericannativenovelistofthe19thcentury）

ThemesinWritings:

Moralallegories;Thesinfulman;Hypocrisy;TheDarksideofhumannature;Religiousinnature.

Hawthorne’sPointofView:

1.Evilisatthecoreofhumanlife.2.Wheneverthereissin,thereispunishment.Sinorevilcanbepassedfromgenerationtogeneration.3.Evileducates;4.Evilhasdisgustinscience.Onesourceofevilisoverweeningintellect.Hisintellectualcharactersarevillains,dreadfulandcold-blooded.

Hawthorne’saestheticideas:

1.hetookagreatinterestinhistoryandantiquity.2.Tohimthesefurnishthesoilonwhichhismindgrowstofruition.3.Tryingtoconnectabygonetimewiththeverypresentandmakethedreamstrangethingslookliketruth.4.hewasconvincedthatromancewasthebestformtodescribeAmerica.5.Thepovertyofmaterialsandtheavoidanceofoffendingthepuritantaste——romancesratherthannovelstotellthetruthandsatirizeandyetnottheoffend;

Heusedambiguitytokeepthereaderinaworldofuncertainty.

Hawthorne’sWritingStyle:

1Theuseofsymbol;2.Revelationofcharacters’psychology;3.Theuseofsupernaturalmixedwiththeactual;4.Hisstoriesareparabletoteachalesson;4.Useofambiguitytokeepthereaderintheworldofuncertainty.5.Hisstyleissoft,flowing,andalmostfeminine.

HermanMelville（1819–1891）MobyDick

Maincontent:

Ahabisreadytosacrificehiswholecrewforhispersonalgoal-hisrevengefulobsessiontofindandkillMobyDick

Comment:

1.thegreatestAmericannovel.2.Thebooksuggeststhebeauty,terror,andmysteryofcreation.3.MobyDickisasymbolofnature.4.Natureiscapableofdestroyingthehumanworld.Naturethreatenshumanityandthuscallsouttheheroicpowersofthehumanbeings.Sothepoweroftheuniverseisbothofblessingandcurse.

style:

1.Allusionstoclassicalmyths;2.Athreefoldqualityinhiswriting:

thestyleoffact,thestyleoforatorycelebratingthefact,andthestyleofmeditaion.3.anovelwithmixedstyle:

fictionaladventure;storyhistoricaldetail;scientificdiscussion.

Elementsofthequestmyth:

1.challenge;2.Theheroisalwaysnoble,heisalwaysonthesideofgoodness,hisenemiesarealwaysevil）3.Undergoestrials（physicaltest–slayingadragon,battlingpowerfulopponents,rescuingmaidensindistressetc.）4.Havingcompletedhisquesttheheroreturnstosocietytobringaboutspiritualtransformationandrestoretheperfecthumancommunity.

EdgarAllenPoe（1809—1849）poetry:

TheRaven;IsrafelAnnabelLee;ToHelen;ASonnet:

ToScience;shortstories:

TalesoftheGrotesqueandtheArabesque;MS.FoundinaBottle;TheMurdersintheRueMorgue;The