考研用英美文学选读精华

美国文学史及作品选读-----刘红岭Lecture1AmericanLiteratureofEarlyPeriodPartOneTheLiteratureofColonialAmerica•Ⅰ.HistoricalIntroduction•Atthebeginningoftheseventeenthcentury,thevastcontinentalareathatwastobecometheUnitedStateshadbeenexploredonlyslightlybyEnglishandtheEuropeanexplorers.ColonialAmerica1480ColumbusReachestheAmerica1500“America”firstused1520MagelianCirclesTheGlobe1540CabrilloExploresCaliforniaCoast1560SpainFoundsColonyinFlorida1580EnglishNavyDefeatsArmada•ThefirstsettlerswhobecamethefoundingfathersoftheAmericannationwerequiteafewofthemPuritans.•AmericanPuritanism.•AdominantfactorinAmericanlife,AmericanPuritanismwasoneofthemostenduringshapinginfluencesinAmericanthoughtandAmericanliterature.•ThewordPuritanismisoriginallyusedtoreferthetheologyadvocatedbyapartywithintheChurchofEngland.ThetermPuritanismisalsousedinabroadersensetorefertoattitudesandvaluesconsideredcharacteristicofthePuritans.Ithasbeenemployedtodenotearigidmoralism,orthecondemnationofinnocentpleasure,orreligiousnarrownessadheredbytheearlyNewEnglandPuritans.TheAmericanPuritanismasaculturalheritageexertedgreatinfluencesoverAmericanmoralvalues.AndthisPuritaninfluenceoverAmericanRomanticismwasnoticeable.InadditionsinandthemysteryofevilmarkedtheworksbysuchfamouswritersasHawthornandsMelville.•ThefirstwritingsthatwecallAmericanliteraturewere•narratives:Anarrativeisastory,whethertoldinproseorverse,involvingevents,characters,andwhatthecharacterssayanddo.•journals:Ausuallydailyrecordofevents;diary.)Ⅱ.TheFirstAmericanWriter•ThefirstpermanentEnglishsettlementinNorthAmericawasestablishedatJamestown,Virginiain1617.•CaptainJohnSmith,anEnglishsoldieroffortune.•Hisreportsofexploration,publishedintheearly1600s,havebeendescribedasthefirstdistinctlyAmericanliteraturetobewritteninEnglish.•Smith’sdescriptionsofAmericanwerefilledwiththemes,myths,images,scenes,characters,andeventsthatwereafoundationforthenation’sliterature.Hewascalledthe“firstAmericanwriter”.Hisworksinclude:AmapofVirginia:withaDescriptionoftheCountry(1612),•GeneralHistoryofVirginia(1624)Ⅲ.WilliamBradfordandJohnWinthrop•WilliamBradford,wasconsideredtobe“thefatherofAmericanhistory”•TheHistoryofPlymouthPlantation•Thesimplicityandearnestnessofthebook,withitsdirectreporting,makeitreadableandmoving.•TheHistoryofNewEngland•Hiswritingisnotableforitssimplicityandhonesty.Theaccountswerewritten,notfromliteraryambition,butfromasenseoftheneedtorecordimportanteventsinpermanentform.Yet,throughadirectandvigorousprosestyle,eachaccountattainedliteraryexcellence.Ⅳ.AnneBradstreetandEdwardTaylor•AnneBradstreet,whowasthefirstpoetessinthecolonialperiod,wasaPuritanpoetwhowrote“ponderousversesofinterminable,inter-lockingpoems”onthefourelements,theconstitutionsandagesofman,theseasonsoftheyear,andthechiefempiresofancientworld.•Thecollectionofherpoems,TheTenthMuseLatelySprungupinAmerica,whichappearedin1650,hasalwaysbeenregardedasoneoftheearliestpublicationsbyasettleroftheNewworld.Manyofherpoemsarepersonalinsubjectandoftenworkmeditatingondomestictopicsfromareligiouspointofview.HerpoemsmadesuchastirinEnglandthatshebecameknownasthe“TenthMuse”whoappearedinAmerica.•EdwardTaylorwasameditativepoet.Mostofhisworkstreatedreligiousthemes,withmanypoemsbaseddirectlyonthePsalms(asongorpoeminpraiseofGod).Inhissplendid,exoticimages,TaylorcamenearesttotheEnglishbaroquepoets.PartTwoTheLiteratureofReasonandRevolution•Ⅰ.HistoricalIntroduction•“state”“colony”•Thegrowth,particularlytheindustrialgrowth,ledtointensestrainwithEngland.•Intheseventiesofthe18thcenturytheEnglishcoloniesinNorthAmericaroseinarmsagainsttheirmothercountry.TheWarforIndependencelastedforeightyears(1776—1783)andendedintheformationofaFederativebourgeoisdemocraticrepublic—theUnitedStatesofAmerica.Ⅱ.BenjaminFranklin(1706—1790)•Therewasonlyonewriterinthecolonialperiod,whoseworksarereadtoday.ThiswasBenjaminFranklin.•Hewasahumanist,•Hewasascientist;•Hewasamasterofdiplomacy,•ahumanitarian•Hewasabelieverinthepossibilitiesofhumanprogressandthecomfortsofmaterialsuccess;•andhewasaprosestylistwhosewritingreflectedtheneoclassicidealsofclarity,restraint,simplicity,andbalance.•HisbestwritingisfoundinhisownTheAutobiography.Thisbookrecordshisrisingfrompovertyorhumblebeginningstosuccess.AnditisanearlyexampleoftheAmericanDream.AnalysisofTheAutobiography.•TheAutobiographyisaPuritandocument.ItisPuritanbecauseitisarecordofself-examinationandself-improvement.•ItisalsoaneloquentexplanationofthefactthatFranklinwasspokesmanfortheneworderofeighteenth-centuryenlightenment.•Throughtellingasuccessstoryofself-reliance,thebookcelebrated,infactthefulfillmentoftheAmericandream.•Style:thepatternofPuritansimplicity,directness,andconcision.ThebookisanexemplaryillustrationoftheAmericanstyleofwriting.Ⅲ.ThomasPain(1737—1809)•OnJanuary10,1776,hisfamouspamphletCommonSenseappeared.Itboldlyadvocateda“DeclarationforIndependence”.Itisregardedasthegreatestoftherevolutionarypamphlets.•Hischiefcontributionwasaseriesofsixteenpamphlets(1776—1783)entitledTheAmericanCrisis.Ⅳ.ThomasJefferson(1743—1836)•ItmaybethatThomasJefferson’sthoughtan