美國(guó)文學(xué)史及選讀考試整理(共7頁(yè))

1、精選優(yōu)質(zhì)文檔-傾情為你奉上Washington Irving 華盛頓 歐文 Bracebridge Hall布雷斯布里奇田莊(1822) The Legend of Sleepy Hollow Tales of a Traveller旅客談(1824) Christopher Columbus (1828)c. writing characteristics (1) humorous: the function of his writing is to amuse, to entertain instead of teaching or instruction (2) vivid and tr

2、ue character portrayal (3) finished (refined) and musical language, thus regarded as “the Amn. Goldsmith” d. analysis on The Legend of Sleepy Hollow(選自the sketch book見(jiàn)聞札記) 1. the story:setting,character, plot 2. theme:conflicts and praise conflict betw. Ichabod and Brom conflict betw. the village an

3、d the outside worldJames Fenimore Cooper 庫(kù)珀 The Spy (1821): a historical novel The Pilot (1824): a sea novel Leatherstocking Tales皮裹腿故事集(1823-1841): frontier novels The Last Mohicans (1826) (Colonial War betw. Britain and France)e. writing features: strong points: we can see a variety of incidents a

4、nd tensions, complicated plot and structure and a beautiful description of nature. Weak points: characterization is weak. There is unsatisfactory description of characters (esp. female). He is not free from syntactical awkwardness, heavy-handed attempt at humor. “Where Irving excels Cooper is weak.”

5、 Dialect is not authentic.Edgar Allan Poe 愛(ài)倫坡 The Fall of the House Usher Feature: i. brevity (15 pages) ii. Single effect iii. originality in theme To Helen It was inspired by the beauty of the mother of a schoolmate of Poe in Richmond, Virginia. The poem is famous for a number of things: 1. its rh

6、yme scheme: ababb 2. its varied line lengths 3. its metaphor of a travel on the sea 4. its oft-quoted lines: To the glory that was Greece,/And the grandeur that was Rome. theme: praise the ideal love and beauty and ancient Greek and Roman civilizationsThe Raven烏鴉 theme: the lament over the death of

7、a beautiful woman tone: melancholyTranscendentalism (essayists, poets, novelists) Their journal is “The Dial”. Definition: Transcendentalism is idealism. (Emerson) b. features (1) stress on Oversoul, that is spirit. (2) stress the importance of individual. (3) fresh conception of nature. c. signific

8、ance (1) inspired a whole generation of writers such as Whitman, Melville and Dickinson. (2) dresses mans subjective initiative as opposed to materialism. (3) liberated people from Calvins original sind. limitation (1) shallow: cut off from real life or reality; initiated by the rich, they were limi

9、ted in a certain circle. So, in some degree, they have been cut off from social life and cant understand the sufferings of the common people. (2) inward contradiction: gain knowledge by intuition, shows its idealistic aspect.R.W. Emerson (Ralph Waldo)艾默生Nature (1836): the Bible of New England transc

10、endentalismThe American Scholar (1837): Americas Declaration of Intellectual The Divinity School Address神學(xué)院致辭(1838) Essays (1841/1847) Representative Men (1850) English Traits (1856) Poems (1847)d. significance (1) He embodied a new nations desire and struggle to assert its own identity in its forma

11、tive period. (2) his stress on individualism Limitation:self-centered, individual His ideas influence a lot of writers such as Dikinson, ct brief poem in the language. (Matthew Arnold) It is a poem of nature in quatrains rhyming Hawthorne and Whitman.Henry David Thoreau 亨利戴維梭羅 A Week on the Concord

12、and Merrimack Rivers康考德和梅里馬克河上的一周(1849) Walden, or Life in the Woods (1854) Civil Disobedience 不服從論(1849, an address)c. Walden main ideas: (1)on self-cultivation and human perfectibility, elevated from Puritan original sin, believe in inner virtue and inwardly grace (2) criticism on civilization and

13、 capitalism (3) only truth and knowledge cant be taken away, trust in future and in manStyle: pithy (colloquial sayings), vivid description, symbols and imagesNathaniel Hawthorne 納撒尼爾霍桑 Twice-Told Tales (1837): a collection of short stories Mosses from an Old Manse古屋青苔(1846): another collection of s

14、hort stories The House of the Seven Gables七個(gè)尖角的閣樓(1851): on the effect of a curseThe Scarlet Letter (1850): masterpiece Its not a love story, trying to show the moral, emotional and psychological effects of sin on his characters. “A”: Adultery-Able-Angel “A” on chest: sinner, confessed, died, shows

15、an honest man Moral: man should be true and honest and ready to show ones worst to the world（批評(píng)與自我批評(píng)）Herman Melville 赫爾曼梅爾維爾 Typee (泰比1846) Omoo (奧穆1847) Mardi (馬爾迪1847) 這三部作品描寫(xiě)塔希提群島和馬吉薩斯群島以及他在島上的奇遇。 Redburn (萊德勃恩1849)：描寫(xiě)了他的第一次航海經(jīng)驗(yàn)以及在利物浦港貧民窟的見(jiàn)聞。 White Jacket (白外套1850)：根據(jù)他在美國(guó)海軍軍艦上服役時(shí)期的生活體驗(yàn)寫(xiě)成。 Pierre

16、(皮埃爾1852) Israel Potter (伊斯萊爾波特1855): historical novel Piazza Tales (廣場(chǎng)故事1856): a collection of short story Moby Dick (白鯨1851): masterpiece (1) a whaling book: an encyclopedia of whaling/description of a whalers life (2) a tragedy about man fighting against universe (hostile) Man in this universe li

17、ves a meaningless and futile life, meaningless because futile. Man can observe and even manipulate in a prudent way, but he cannot influence and overcome nature at its source. (3) alienation異化: between man and man between man and society (ship) between man and natureAhab is the best representative.

18、To him the world exists for his sake. His selfhood must be asserted at the expense of all else: lives may be sacrificed, and nature may have to be vanquished in order that he may do what he wills. Richard Chase says: the idea Melville conveys in it is death-spiritual, emotional, physical.(5) theme:

19、quest (6) symbolism the voyage: a metaphor for search and discovery, the search for the ultimate truth of experience. the Pequod皮闊德: the ship of the American soul the endeavor of the crews: the maniacal fanaticism of our white mental consciousness Moby Dick: (many interpretations) the symbol of natu

20、reW. C. Bryant 布萊恩特 the analysis on To a Waterfowl致水鳥(niǎo) It is the most perfein abab. theme: from a bird and its flight to an ordinary person and his course of life, this poem conveys that everything in nature is under the beneficence and protection of the Power.Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 朗費(fèi)羅 Theme: id

21、ealized love, children, family and friendship A Psalm of Life The poem is divided into 9 stanzas, each composed of two iambic tetrameter lines and two trochaic trimeter lines rhyming abab. The first two stanzas refute the pessimism that life is but a dream, affirming the contrary that life is real.

22、The following stanzas urge the reader to act in the present and to leave footprints as great people did in order to inspire the followers. The last stanza ends with a resounding note while admonishing people to learn to wait as well as to labor.Realism（the 19th-century literary movement that reacted

23、 to romanticism by insisting on a faithful, objective presentation of the details of everyday life.）features:o i.objective description (concern for the commonplace/the low)o ii. criticism of society and reality, exposing and criticizing the society; the writers dissatisfaction; no longer eulogize hu

24、man glorityo iii. verisimilitude逼真性(true to details)o iv. influenced by bourgeois 中產(chǎn)階級(jí)democratic ideas (not overthrow but reform, changes)o v. reformative: to reform the society, not to change completelyo features: Naturalism（A post-Darwinian movement of the late 19th century that tried to apply the

25、 laws of scientific determinism to fiction.）is a theory which applied scientific concepts and methods to such problems as plot development and characterisation.o Comparison between Realism and Naturalism:o Realism. o i. objectiveo ii. creation of typeso iii. influenced by British Rom. works with hop

26、e o Naturalismo i. scientific accuracyo ii. collect material from their liveso iii.against this, hopeless/gloomy picture of the societyWalt Whitman 惠特曼Leaves of Grass草葉集,(1) themeso i. unity of all man and of man within universeo ii. equality of all mano iii. cycle of life and deatho iv. enthusiasti

27、c idea toward Westward Expansiono v. brotherhoodd. Song of Myself自我之歌o (1) influence of Transcendentalism: praise of individualismo (2) cycle of life and deatho (3) ideal of democracy: equality between different races and brotherhoodEmily Dickinson 艾米莉 狄更斯A Bird came down the walkI died for Beauty-b

28、ut was ScarceI Heard a Fly buzz-when I died-Because I could not stop for Death-H.B. Stowe 斯托夫人 Uncle Toms Cabin (1851): masterpiecesignificance:o 1.intensified and strengthened abolitionist sentiment;o 2. gave a better balanced, more specific picture of plantation life;o 3. praised the merits of sla

29、ves and showed great sympathy for themHenry James 詹姆斯 o The American (1877): begins with international themeo Daisy Miller (1878): brings the author first international fameo The Wings of the Dove (1902)o The Ambassadors (1903)o The Golden Bowl (1904)o The Portrait of A Lady貴婦畫(huà)像:masterpieceo It tell

30、s about the fate of one of those splendid Jamesian American girls, Isabel Archer, arriving in Europe, full of hope, and with a will to live a free and noble life, only to fail prey to the sinister designs of two vulgar and unscrupulous expatriates, Madam Merle and Gilbert OsmondInternational theme國(guó)際

31、主題:o the meeting of America and Europe; American innocence in contact and contrast with European decadence and the moral and psychological complications arising therefrom; for the American it was a process of progression from inexperience to experience, from innocence to knowledge and maturity. Thos

32、e American heroes or heroins who confronting European sophistication, either triumphed over it or were overwhelmed.Mark Twain 馬克 吐溫o The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras Count卡拉維拉斯縣有名的跳蛙(1865):a short storyo The Innocents Abroad國(guó)外的無(wú)辜者(1869): letters on his travelling in Europe and Near Easto Rou

33、ghing It苦行記(1872): on his experience in the western Americao The Gilded Age (1873): his first novel, collaborated with Charles Dudley Warnero The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876)o The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn哈克貝利費(fèi)恩歷險(xiǎn)記(1884): masterpieceo Life on the Mississippi (1883)o A Connecticut Yankee in K

34、ing Arthurs Court誤闖亞瑟王宮(1889)o The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg敗壞了哈德萊堡的人(1900)o The Mysterious Stranger (1916)e. The Adventures of Tom Sawyero 1. It is a boys book which sets 20 years before Civil War.o 2. themes:o 1)picaresque以流浪漢和無(wú)賴(lài)為題材的(adventure story)o 2) moral growth of Tomo 3. techniques: ver

35、isimilitude, humor, colloquial styleDeadpan（鐵面幽默）: oral humor/the teller has a strict face but the listeners are laughing.Language: dialects as forms of artJack London 杰克倫敦 o The People of the Abyss深淵居民(1903): about Londons slumo The Iron Heel 鐵蹄(1908): the first proletarian criterion novel which en

36、visages the development of fascismo The Call of the Wild 野性的呼喚(1903): the most widely read booko The Sea Wolf 海狼(1904)o These two novels reflect the ideas of the law of survival and the will to powero Martin Eden馬丁伊登 (1909): a reflection of the contradiction between these competeing beliefsc. Martin

37、 Eden-theme:the failure of American Dream. After he realized his dream of getting into the upper class, he also realized the emptiness of it and committed suicide.o This is a book that missed fire with a majority of the critics. Written as an indictment of individualism, it was accepted as an indict

38、ment of socialism; written to show that man cannot live for himself alone, it was accepted as a demonstration that success made for death. Had Martin Eden been a socialist he would not have died.o Consciously London meant the novel to show that only a belief in the people, only the devotion of ones

39、life to a cause greater than onself, could give life any real meaning.T. Dreisser西奧多德萊塞o Sister Carrie 嘉莉妹妹(1900): the first novel, masterworko Jannie Gerhardt (1911)o The Fanancier (1912)o The Titan (1914)o The Stoic (1947)o The Genius (1915)o An American Tragedy美國(guó)悲劇 (1925)o Dreiser Looks at Russia

40、 (1928)c. Sister Carrieo theme:the emptiness of Ameircan Dreamo i. jungle lawo Famous actress bank manager(the unfit is bound to die) o Country girl (able to follow her instinct) commit suicideo ii. chance and lucko iii. criticism of American values: money and sex the standards to see if a person is

41、 successfulo iv. concern for the poorJazz Age: the Jazz Age lasted from 1919-1929, the decade enjoyed economic prosperity. The war and economic boom encouraged a breaking with the tradition (Puritanism). People upheld the value of money-making and pleasure-seeking.Ezra Pound埃茲拉龐德Imagism意象派 n Pound b

42、ecame the most important figure. Imagist poetry reached the peak of literature for three things appeared:n i. a manifeston ii. three principlesn iii. a lot of writingsn Pound said, an image is that which presents an intellectual and emotional complex in an instant of time.In a Station of the Metro在地

43、鐵車(chē)站 n 1. This is the much-quoted masterpiece of Pound and a representative of the Imagist poetry.n 2. In form, the poem is similar to the Japanese haiku, a two-line couplet with rhymes. Pounds poem reminds the Chinese of two lines by a Tang poet, Bai Juyi. When describing the sad yet beautiful face

44、of Yang Huifei, a Tang emperess, the poet wrote,n The beautiful face, lonesome with tears;n A pear branch, radiant with rain.n 3. The poem is a representative of Imagist poems in that the image of petals on a wet, black bough best represents the picture of those lovely faces in the crowd and that th

45、e image is dominant in the poem-the image itself is the poem.T.S. Eliot 艾略特poetry:n Prufrock and Other Observations (1917)n Poems (1920)n The Waste Land (1922)n The Hollow Men (1925)n Ash Wednesday (1930)n Four Quartets (1943)plays:n Sweeney Agonistes (1932)n Murder in the Cathedral (1935)n The Cock

46、tail Party (1950)n The Confidential Clerk (1954)critical essays:n The Sacred Wood (1920)n For Lancelot Andrews (1928)n The Use of Poetry and the Use of Criticism (1933)n After Strange Gods (1934)n On Poetry and Poets (1957)c. The Waste Land荒原n 5 parts: The Burial of Dead, The Game of Chess, The Fire

47、 Sermon, Death by Water, What the Thunder Saidn chief characteristics n 1. quotations and allusions暗示n 2. objective correlativen 3. juxtaposition并列: mingle brand image with common imagen 4. use of antiquity古風(fēng)The Love Songn Prufrock is not the image of one unlucky modern man; instead, he represents m

48、any other modern westerners who are divided between passion and timidity, between desire and impotence.4. themen This poem reflects the decadent modern civilization and the nightmarish inferno in which modern Westerners are living in.5. techiniquesn 1) ironyn 2) striking imagesn 3) the form of drama

49、tic monologuen The poem is written in irregular lines, with but a few rhymes.Robert Frost羅伯特弗羅斯特 b. Characteristicsn 1. not in the main stream of modern poetry, but with conventional form and plain language. Thats why hes the most popular poet in the 20th century.n 2. a kind of a regionalist-New Eng

50、land, but not local colorism. He used New England as a metaphor for the whole world and universe.n 3. a plain poet using symbols from everyday country life. Simple symbols but express deep meanings.The Road Not Takenn 1. The poem was written in very regular lines with iambic pentametre and rhyme sch

51、eme of abaab.n 2. The symbolic meaning of the two divergent roads is rather clear. They represent any important decisions in ones life. n 3. details:Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Eveningn 1. It is a lyric poem with iambic tetrametre and interlocking enclosed rhyme.n 2. It represents a moment of relax

52、ation from the onerous journey of life, an almost aesthetic enjoyment and appreciation of natural beauty which is wholesome and retorative against the chaotic existence of modern man.The Lost Generationn 1. term: It is a term in frequent use after WWI in reference to the young men who survived physi

53、cally but were afterwards spiritually and morally adrift. So the lost generation refers to disillusioned writers who wrote after WWI. Many of them went to the battle. After the war, they rebelled against former ideals and values and cant find new ones to replace.n 2. It first coined by Gertrude Stei

54、n. In Paris, she opens the door to American expatriates. She once said to Hemingway, “Youre all a lost generation.”n 3. It was used as preface to The Sun Also Rises. Then it became popular. Fitzgerald once said they are “a generation grown up to find all gods died, all wars fought, all faith in men

55、shaken”.Ernest Hemingway 海明威 n 1.Hemingway theme/hero/situation. Theme: “grace under pressure”2.nihilism: negative attitude towards the world. There is only one thing man is certain-deathn 3. devotion to truth. He believes the writers job is to tell truth. c. stylen 1.iceberg principle. The meaning

56、here is that the writer should say only one eighth, in such a way that the remaining seven eighths be discerned and provided by the reader.n 2.language: short, common, fundamental words, simple sentence, structure.The effect of the language: clearness, cleanness and great care.n 3.dialogue: plays a

57、very important part in his writings. Hemingways dialogue can show setting, development of plot, characters, even theme. n 4.cinematic way: he uses showing instead of telling. He likes to describes actions (kiss, withdraw hand) vividly instead of mental description.n 5.symbolismn 6.use of stream of consciousnessd. A Farewell to