The-20th-Century-Literature--20世纪美国文学

The20thCenturyLiteratureI.Backgroundinformation1.thecrisisoffaith1)CharlesDarwin(Britishnaturalist):thepublicationofTheOriginofSpecies(1850)2)FriedrichNietzsche(Germanphilosopher):hisdeclarationofthedeathofGod3)BertrandRussell(Britishphilosopher&mathematician):AFreeMan’sWorship(1918)2.manymanifestationsofaweakeningoftraditionalstabilities1)theaestheticmovement2)theriseofpessimism3.theinfluenceofpsychology,anthropologyandphilosophy1)JamesFrazer(Britishanthropologist):TheGoldenBough(1911-1915)2)SigmundFreud(Austrianpsychiatrist):TheInterpretationsofDreams(1913)3)HenryBergson(Frenchphilosopher&psychologist):hisnewconceptoftime—thepsychologicaltimeSigmundFreud:Austrianpsychiatrist,thecreatorofpsychoanalysisA.histheoryofpsychoanalysis:asciencewithanincalculableeffectbothonliteratureandonliterarytheory,offeringthelatitudeforwriterstoexploreanddescribethenewareaofexperience—thehumansubconscious,andleadingstraighttotheadventofthe“streamofconsciousness”literatureofthe1920sB.hiscontributionstoknowledge:hisstudiesofthedevelopmentofthesexualinstinctinchildren;hisdescriptionsoftheworkingsoftheunconsciousmindandofthenatureofrepression;hisexaminationsandinterpretationsofdreams.C.hisfamiliarconcepts:theOedipusComplex;theElectraComplex;theid,theegoandthesuperegoHenryBergson:Frenchphilosopherandpsychologisthisphilosophyoftime:Thepsychologicaltimeprovidedanewmodeofrepresentinghumanexperience,andhelpedpavethewayfortheriseofmodernismor“streamofconsciousness”literature.A.Timeiscontinuous,anindivisiblecontinuity.B.Psychologicaltimeistimeinmind,subjectiveinnature,indicatingtheincessantflowoftheconsciousness.C.Truerealityexistsinpsychologicaltime.D.Inordertoachieveself-recognition,manmustpeekthroughthethickcurtainofthe“superficialself”,andremovethemanytiersofbarriersbetweenrealityandconsciousnesssoastorevealtheeverfluidnascentconsciousness,thought,andfeeling,alongwiththeintrinsicinternalrelations.II.Briefintroductionofthe20th-centuryliterature1.Twoopposingorconfrontingtendencies:Realism&Modernism1)Realism:therealistictraditionA.reflectingandrevealingthesocialandmoralproblemsfaithfullyB.payingmuchattentiontotheintegrityofplots,thecreationofcharacters,andtheobjectivityandauthenticityofdescriptivedetailsC.emphasizingthereflectionofthephysicalworld—objectiveD.applyingthelinearstructureinachronologicalorder2)Modernism:anomnibustermforanumberoftendenciesinthearts,prominentinthefirsthalfofthe20thcenturyA.representinganewmodeofperceptionB.particularlyassociatedwiththewritingsofT.S.Eliot,Pound,JamesJoyce,VirginiaWoolf,W.B.Yeats,F.M.Ford,andJosephConradC.reflectingtheimpactsuponliteratureofthepsychologyofFreud,theanthropologyofJamesFrazerandthephilosophicaltheoryofHenryBergsonD.apervasivesenseofculturalrelativismE.markedbyapersistentexperimentalismF.rejectingthetraditionalframeworkofnarrative,descriptionandrationalexpositioninpoetryandproseG.infavorofastream-of-consciousnesspresentationofpersonality,adependenceonthepoeticimageastheessentialvehiclesofaestheticcommunication,anduponmythasacharacteristicstructuralprincipleH.emphasizingthereflectionoftheinnerworldofcharacters—subjectiveI.applyingtheradialstructure:thebrokenrestrictionsoftimeandspace3)thecontrastbetweenRealismandModernismRealism—aplanemirror,reflectingtherealityfaithfullyModernism—atriangularprism,refractingtherealitydistortedly4)thealternatedominanceofRealismandModernismA.swingingregularlybetweenthetwotendenciesB.thetwotendenciesmeltinginto,permeatingandinfluencingeachotherC.thethemesandexpressionsbecomingabundantandprofound2.Threestagesofthe20th-centuryEnglishliterature1)thefirststage(theendofthe19thcentury—theendofWWI):theperiodoftransitionfromtraditiontoinnovationRealism→Modernism2)thesecondstage(betweenthetwoworldwars):attheheightofpowerandsplendorsthe1920s:theGoldenAgeofModernistnovels3)thethirdstage(afterWWII):contemporarynovelssubjectmatters:fromthehistoricalandreal-lifesubjectstotheselfexperienceandsomephilosophicalviewstechniqueandstructure:mainlycharacterizedbyModernism,andsomebyPost-modernismThe1920s:A.greatlyinfluencedbyFreud’spsychologicaltheorythetheoryofpsychoanalysis:theinnerworldofman,thesubconsciousnessandunconsciousnessofthehumanpsycheB.twotypesofEnglishnovelsa.D.H.Lawrence:thedescriptionoftheinnerworld;human’ssexualpsychologicalactivities;sexasasymbolofhumaninstinctb.JamesJoyce&VirginiaWoolf:thestreamofconsciousness★theboundarybetweentimeandspacebroken;★thefluidunconsciousnessdescribedincisivelyandvividlyC.Britain→thecenterofthestream-of-consciousnessnovels→importantEnglishliterarycontributionstoEuropeanandAmericanModernistliteratureD.the1930s:realism“TheRed1930s”3.TheinfluentialswingsofthependulumRealism:atthebeginningofthe20thcentury,inthe1930sandinthe1950sModernism:inthe1920s,inthelate1940sandfromthe1960stotheearly1970sThetwotendenciesmeltedintoandpermeatedeachotherintheseveralalternations.StreamofConsciousnessAmethodoftellingastoryinwhichawriterletsthereaderknoweverythoughtthatentersacharacter’smind.Thismethodtriestoimitatethewayinwhichpeopleac