America_literature-The_Romantic_Period

AmericanLiteratureMar.19,2014AnoutlineofAmericanLiteratureI.TheRomanticperiod(endof18thcentury—1865:endofCivilWar)I.TheRealisticperiod(1865—1914:WWI)II.TheModernperiod(1914—now)ChapterOneTheRomanticPeriodContentPartI:BackgroundofAmericanRomanticismPartII:GeneralCharacteristicsofAmericanRomanticismPartIII:MajorWritersoftheperiodTheRomanticPeriodOneofthemostimportantperiodsinthehistoryofAmericanliteratureStretchesfromtheendofthe18thcenturytotheoutbreakoftheCivilWar(1861-1865).ItstartedwiththepublicationofWashingtonIrving’sTheSketchBookandendedwithWhitman’sLeavesofGrass.ItisagreatfloweringofAmericanliterature;Itisalsocalled“theAmericanRenaissance”(“美国的文艺复兴”).PartI:Background(重点)ThedevelopmentoftheAmericasocietynurtured“theliteratureofagreatnation.”Americawasflourishingintoapolitically,economicallyandculturallyindependentcountry.1.Internalcauses2.Externalcauses1.InternalCauses（p399-400）①Historically,itwasthetimeofwestwardexpansion(西进运动).Thewesternboundaryhadreachedtothepacificby1860;thenumberofitsstateshadincreasedfrom13to21bythemiddleof19thcentury.②Economically,thewholenationwasexperiencinganindustrialtransformation.Bothofthespreadofindustrialismandthesuddeninfluxofimmigrationproducedaneconomicboom(经济繁荣)andwithit,astrongsenseofoptimismandhopeamongthepeople.1.InternalCauses③Politically,democracyandequalitybecametheidealofthenewnation.Partiesbegantosquabbleandscrambleforpower,andtwo-partysystem(两党制)cameintobeing.Anurgetohaveitsownliteraryexpression,tomakeknownitsnewexperience:theearlyPuritansettlement,theconfrontationwiththeIndians,thefrontiersmen’slife,andthewildwest.④Culturally,thepublicationofWebster’sDictionarymarkedthebeginningoftheAmericanEnglish.Theever-increasingmagazinesandnewspapersplayedanimportantroleinfacilitatingtheliteraryexpansioninthecountry;amaturereadingpublicconstitutedagreatmarket.1.InternalCauses2.ExternalCauses①RomanticMovementinEnglandandEuropeprovedtobeadecisiveinfluence;②ManyEnglishandEuropeanmastersofpoetryandprosemadestimulatingimpactonAmericanRomanticism.WalterScott’snovelsLordByron’spoetryGothictraditionPartII:GeneralCharacteristicsofAmericanRomanticismTheAmericanwriterssharedsomecommonfeatureswiththeEnglishRomanticists.Aprofoundlovefornature—natureasasourceofknowledge,natureasarefugefromthepresent,natureasarevelationoftheholyspiritThequestforbeauty—purebeautyTheuseofantiqueandfancifulsubjectmatters—senseofterror,Gothic,grotesque,oddandqueerAmericanRomanticismwasbothimitativeanddistinctive.AmericanRomanticism(p400)Itwasarebellionagainsttheobjectivityofrationalism.Forromantics,thefeelings,intuitionsandemotionsweremoreimportantthanreasonandcommonsense;Theyputemphasisupontheimaginativeandemotionalqualitiesofliterature,whichincludedalikingforthepicturesque,theexotic,thesensuous,andthesupernatural.TheAmericansalsoplacedanincreasingemphasisonthefreeexpressionofemotionsanddisplayedanincreasingattentiontothepsychicstatesoftheircharacters.AmericanRomanticism(p400)ThestrongtendencytoexalttheindividualandthecommonmanwasalmostanationalreligioninAmerica.WriterslikeFreneau,Bryant,andCoopershowedagreatinterestinexternalnatureintheirworks.Inshort,AmericanRomanticismis,inacertainway,derivative(衍生的，派生的).CharacteristicsofAmericanRomanticism(Uniqueness)(p401-402)1.TheAmericannationalexperienceof“pioneeringintothewest”provedtobearichsourceofmaterialforAmericanwriterstodrawupon.TheycelebratedAmerica’slandscape;Thewildernesscametofunctionalmostasadramaticcharacterthatsymbolizedmorallaw.Thedesireforanescapefromsocietyandareturntonaturebecameapermanentconvention.CharacteristicsofAmericanRomanticism(Uniqueness)(p401-402)2.Thenewnessasanation,withpeople’sidealsofindividualismandfreedom,theirdreamthatAmericawastobebuiltintoanewGardenofEden,wasstrongenoughtoinspireromanticimagination.（Americancharactertypesspeakinglocaldialects（方言）appearedinpoetryandfiction.）3.NewEnglandTranscendentalism（超验主义）isthemostclearlydefinedRomanticliterarymovementinthisperiod.CharacteristicsofAmericanRomanticism(Uniqueness)(p401-402)4.AmericanPuritanismasaculturalheritageexertedgreatinfluencesoverAmericanRomanticism:（Puritanswerenotedforaspiritofmoralandreligiousearnestnessthatdeterminatedtheirwholewayoflife.Puritans’liveswereextremelydisciplinedandhard.）AmericanromanticwriterstendedmoretomoralizethantheirEnglishandEuropeancounterparts.ApreoccupationwiththeviewoforiginalsinandthemysteryofevilmarkedtheworksofHawthorne,Melvilleandahostoflesserwriters.InConclusionItwastheexpressionof“arealnewexperience”;Ittendedtobedidactic(说教的)becauseofPuritaninfluence;Itwasbothimitativeandindependent.PartIII:MajorwritersinTheRomanticPeriodMajorWriters:PhilipFreneauWilliamCullenBryantHenryWordsworthLongfellowWashingtonIrving(1783-1859)JamesFenimoreCooper(1789-1851)RalphWaldoEmerson(1803-1882)HenryDavidThoreau(1817-1862)NathanielHawthorne(1804-1864)HermanMelville(1819-1891)EdgarAllanPoe(1809-1849)WaltWhitman(1819-1892)EmilyDickinson(1830-1886)Theinfinitude(无限)ofhumanityforperceptionThetragedyofhumanityAmericanPoetsofAmeri