Colonial Period 1601.docx

1、Colonial Period 1601Colonial Period 1607-1775Captain John Smith (1580-1631) the first distinct American literature written in English. True Relation of Virginia (1608);Description of New England (1616) His descriptions of America were filled with myths, images, scenes, characters, and events that we

2、re a foundation as a land of endless bounty. His description are fascinating “advertisements” which try to persuade the reader to settle in the New World .General History of Virginia, New England, and the Summer Isles (1624) the first famous tale from American literature. William Bradford (1590-1657

3、) Bradfords chronicle Of Plimouth Plantation is an invaluable record of early English settlement in North America. John Winthrop (1588-1649)The History of New England.Through a direct and vigorous prose style, each account attained literary excellence. This work is in the “plain style” but very effe

4、ctive. Cotton Mather (1663-1728)Death Made Easy and Happy;The Best Way of Living, Which is to Die Daily;Magnalia Christi Americana (1702) which exhaustively chronicles the settlement of New England through a series of biographies and was “the mighty acts of Christ in America”Anne Bradstreet (1612-16

5、72) The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America; Several Poems Compiled with Great Wit and Learning (1678). Some of Anne Bradstreets poetic ventures were over ambitious, but she wrote well when she dealt with the simple events of her daily life. Edward Taylor (1645-1729)The Poetical Works (1939); Poe

6、ms of Edward Taylor (1960);Metrical History of Christianity Taylor wrote a variety of verse: funeral elegies, lyrics, a medieval debate. His best works are the series of short Preparatory Meditations.Jonathan Edwards He embodied the spirit of revivalism (Great Awakening)He has 2 goals: to evoke the

7、original sense of religious commitment and to speak about the difference between head thinking and heart feelingBenjamin Franklin Almanac autobiography His Style is Clear, plain, formal (the organization of his material is informal) The Autobiography of Benjamin FranklinAn account of a poor boys ris

8、e to wealth and fame and the fulfillment of the American dream ;On the art of self-improvement;Franklin was the spokesman of American enlightenment Romantic Period(1828-1865) 1. Washington Irving The Sketch Book (1819);The Sketch Geoffrey Grayon;Bracebridge Hall;Tales of a Traveller;The History of t

9、he Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus .The Sketch Book (1819), contains two most enduring stories “Rip Van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”. Irving aims at creating a past in which history and myth blend into each other, providing for a rapidly changing American society kind of histor

10、ical tradition so apparent in England and so apparently absent in the new nation. In all, The Sketch Book is on European subjects, mostly English. Irving found that the rich, older culture of the Old World gave him a lot of material for his stories. Comment :1.he is the 1st prose stylist of American

11、 romanticism. 2.He was the first American author to win international recognition, and was extremely popular in Europe. 3His Sketch Book was the First American modern, American short stories and the first great American juvenile literature. 4.He perfected the best classic style that American literat

12、ure ever produced. 5.Humor, ironicJames Fenimore Cooper The Spy (1821)The Leatherstocking Tales (18231841)The Pilot (1824) The Red Rover (1827Literary Achievements: 1.The lst successful American novelist2. In his fiction he dealt with the themes of wilderness versus civilization, freedom versus law,

13、 order versus change, aristocrat versus democrat, and natural rights versus legal rights.3.Cooper developed 3 kinds of novels: the 1st kind is the novels about the revolutionary past (“The Spy”); the 2nd is the sea novels (he also was the 1st writer to write a novel on the sea, “The Pilot”); the 3rd

14、 is novels about the American frontier (“The Pioneers ”, “The Pathfinder” and “The Deerslayer” ) Comment:1.the characters in his fiction help create that part of American mythology: the story of the cow boy, the winning of the American West (daring frontiersman and friendly Indian)2.Among his comtem

15、poraries, Cooper was the best in exploring the possibilities of the American frontier in fiction.TranscendentalismsRalph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882): Self-Reliance; Nature (1836)Style:1.had a religious sense of mission. 2.accused the church of emphasizing dogma while stifling the spirit. 3.avoided bui

16、lding a logical intellectual system because such a rational system would have negated his Romantic belief in intuition and flexibility. 4 called for the birth of American individualism inspired by nature.5.Most of his major ideas,the need for a new national vision, the use of personal experience, th

17、e notion of the cosmic Over-Soul, and the doctrine of compensation are suggested in his first publication, Nature (1836).Achievement:1.Nature has been called “the manifestion of American transcendentalism”2.The American Scholar has been called “Americas Declaration of Intellectual Independence”3. Am

18、erican way instead of imitating things foreign. 4.The contribution both for philosophy and literature.He influenced a long line of American poets, including Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson,etc,and the philosophies of John Dewey, George Santayana, etc 5.His perception of humanity and nature as symbols

19、of universal truth encouraged the development of the American symbolist movement. 6.Emphasize the common life worth of highest art.7.Believed the works form was determined by the writers perception of the higher truth he found symbolized in nature.Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) Walden; Civil Disobe

20、dienceWalden:From 1841 1843 Thoreau decided to conduct an experiment of self-sufficiency by building his own house on the shores of Walden Pond and living off the food he grew on his farm.Comment:a spiritual book;a diary of a nature lover, a classic of American prose (this is a book of essays put to

21、gether, exploring subjects concerned with Nature, with the meaning of life, and with morality)3 aims in writing the book: to make people evaluate the way he lived and thought; to reveal the hidden spiritual possibilities in everyones life; to condemn the weakness and errors of society subjects:1.his

22、 essentials of life: living rather than getting a living 2.It is a condemnation of making social improvement and comfort all important. 3.It stresses the importance of thought over material circumstance.4.It has confidence in the individual and holds that individual freedom breaks down the rules and

23、 barriers of society so that the individual can express himself and act on his own principles. 5.There is the possibility for and importance of change in ones spiritual life which is in harmony with nature. Style:Prophetic voice;Direct forceful sentence;Conversational in tone;Humor ;Proverbial expre

24、ssions;Brief tales, fables and allegories;MetaphorsHigh RomanticsNathaniel Hawthorne(1804-1864) Twice-told Tales;Mosses from an Old Manse; The House of the Seven Gables;The Blithedale Romance;The Marble Faun; The Scarlet Letter(His masterpiece, which established him as the leading American native no

25、velist of the 19th century)Themes in Writings:Moral allegories;The sinful man;Hypocrisy;The Dark side of human nature;Religious in nature.Hawthornes Point of View:1.Evil is at the core of human life.2.Whenever there is sin, there is punishment. Sin or evil can be passed from generation to generation

26、.3.Evil educates;4.Evil has disgust in science. One source of evil is overweening intellect. His intellectual characters are villains, dreadful and cold-blooded.Hawthornes aesthetic ideas:1.he took a great interest in history and antiquity.2.To him these furnish the soil on which his mind grows to f

27、ruition.3.Trying to connect a bygone time with the very present and make the dream strange things look like truth. 4.he was convinced that romance was the best form to describe America.5.The poverty of materials and the avoidance of offending the puritan taste romances rather than novels to tell the

28、 truth and satirize and yet not the offend;He used ambiguity to keep the reader in a world of uncertainty. Hawthornes Writing Style:1 The use of symbol;2.Revelation of characterspsychology;3.The use of supernatural mixed with the actual;4.His stories are parable to teach a lesson;4.Use of ambiguity

29、to keep the reader in the world of uncertainty.5. His style is soft, flowing, and almost feminine.Herman Melville(1819 1891) Moby Dick Main content: Ahab is ready to sacrifice his whole crew for his personal goal - his revengeful obsession to find and kill Moby DickComment:1.the greatest American no

30、vel.2.The book suggests the beauty, terror, and mystery of creation.3.Moby Dick is a symbol of nature. 4.Nature is capable of destroying the human world. Nature threatens humanity and thus calls out the heroic powers of the human beings. So the power of the universe is both of blessing and curse.sty

31、le: 1.Allusions to classical myths;2.A threefold quality in his writing: the style of fact, the style of oratory celebrating the fact, and the style of meditaion. 3. a novel with mixed style:fictional adventure;story historical detail;scientific discussion.Elements of the quest myth:1.challenge;2.Th

32、e hero is always noble, he is always on the side of goodness, his enemies are always evil)3.Undergoes trials(physical test slaying a dragon, battling powerful opponents, rescuing maidens in distress etc.)4.Having completed his quest the hero returns to society to bring about spiritual transformation and restore the perfect human community. Edgar Allen Poe(18091849) poetry: The Raven;Israfel Annabel Lee ;To Helen ;A Sonnet: To Science;short stories :Tales of the Grotesque and the Arabesque;MS.Found in a Bottle;The Murders in the Rue Morgue;The