美國(guó)文學(xué)概況及作品選讀復(fù)習(xí)寶典

1、1. Poor Richards Almanac is an annual collection of proverbs written by Benjamin Franklin.2. Philip Freneau developed a natural, simple, and concrete diction, best illustrated in such nature lyrics as “The Wild Honey Suckle” and “The Indian Burying Ground”.3. Philip Freneau has been called the “Fath

2、er of American Poetry”.4. In Washington Irvings Sketch Book appeared the first modern short stories and the first great American juvenile literature.5. “To a Waterfowl” is perhaps the peak of William Cullen Bryants wok.6. “Thanatopsis, William Cullen Bryants best-known poem, consists of four stanzas

3、 in iambic tetrameter abab. The title means “view of death”.7. Edgar Allan Poe is considered “father of American detective stories and American gothic stories”.8. Emerson believed above all in individualism, independence of mind, and self-reliance.9. In Walden, Thoreau thought it better for a man to

4、 work one day a week and rest six, and the rest of the time could be devoted to thought.10. Hawthornes stories touch the deepest roots of mans moral nature.11. After his death, Longfellow became the only American to be honored with a bust in the Poets Corner of Westminster Abbey.12. The poetic style

5、 Walt Whitman devised is now called free verse.13. Henry James is famous for his international theme of the tradition less American confronting the complexity of European life.14. Jack London believed in the inevitable triumph of the strongest individuals.Terms1. Transcendentalism2. Naturalism3. The

6、 Lost Generation5. Modernism6. Romanticism 7. Puritanism Identify the fragments.2. From morning suns and evening dewsAt first thy little being came;If nothing once, you nothing lose, For when you die you are the same;The space between, is but an hour,The frail duration of a flower.(1) Who is the wri

7、ter of these verses?(2) What is the title of this poem?(3) Give a brief comment on this poems.Answer: (1) Philip Freneau (2) The Wild Honeysuckle(3) Here Freneau offers a version of an abundant America with potential for providing a good life for all. The poem is also an indication of his dedication

8、 to American subject matter as he examined peculiarly American characteristics of the countryside.3. From the listless repose of the place, and the peculiar character of its inhabitants, who are descendants from the original Dutch settlers, this sequestered glen has long been known by the name of SL

9、EEPY HOLLOW, and its rustic lads are called the Sleepy Hollow Boys throughout all the neighboring country. Drowsy and dreamy influence seems to hang over the land, and to pervade the very atmosphere. Some say that the place was bewitched by a high German doctor, during the early days of the settleme

10、nt; others, that an old Indian chief, the prophet or wizard of his tribe, held his powwows there before the country was discovered by Master Hendrick Hudson.Question:(1) Who is the writer of this short story from which the passage is taken?(2) What is the title of this short story?(3) Give a definit

11、ion of “short story”?Answer: (1) Washington Irving (2) The Legend of Sleepy Hollow(3) A short story is a brief prose fiction, usually one that can be read in a single sitting. It generally contains the six major elements of fiction characterization, setting, theme, plot, point of view and style.5. T

12、o go into solitude, a man needs to retire as much from his chamber as from society. I am not solitary whilst I read and write, though nobody is with me. But if a man would be alone, let him look at the stars. The rays that come from those heavenly worlds, will separate between him and vulgar things.

13、 One might think the atmosphere was made transparent with this design, to give man, in the heavenly bodies, the perpetual presence of the sublime. Seen in the streets of cities, how great they are! If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore; and preserv

14、e for many generation the remembrance of the city of God which had been shown! But every night come out these preachers of beauty, and light the universe with their admonishing smile.Question:(1)This paragraph is taken from a famous essay. What is the essay?(2)Who is the author?(3)What does the auth

15、or say would happen if the stars appeared one night in a thousand years?(4)Give a peculiar term to cover the authors belief.Answer:(1) Nature(2) Ralph Waldo Emerson(3)Then, the men cannot believe and adore the God, cannot preserve the remembrance of the city of God which had been shown.(4)Transcende

16、ntalism6. Isabel always felt an impulse to pull out the pins; not that she imagined they inflicted any damage on the tough old parchment, but because it seemed to her aunt might make better use of her sharpness. She was very critical herself-it was incidental to her sex, and her nationality but she

17、was very sentimental as well, and there was something in Mrs. Touchetts dryness that set her own moral fountains flowing.Questions:(1) This passage is taken from a well-known novel. What is the name of the novel?(2) Who is the author of this novel?(3) Make a brief comment on the heroine of this nove

18、l?(4) What is theme of the author? Tell something about it.Answer:(1) The Portrait of a Lady (2) Henry James(3) She is one of the Jamesian American girls. She arrives in Europe, full of hope, and with a will to live a free and noble life, but in fact, she only falls prey to the sinister designs of t

19、wo vulgar and unscrupulous expatriates, Madam Merle and Gilbert Osmond.(4) Jamesian theme refers to Henry Jamess handling of his major fictional theme, “the international theme”: the meeting of America and Europe, American innocence in contact and contrast with European decadence and the moral and P

20、sychological complications arising there from.Give brief answers to the following questions.1. Comment briefly on Emily Dickinsons themes?(1) By far the largest portion of Dickinsons poetry concerns death and immortality, theme which lie at the centre of Dickinsons world.(2) Dickinsons nature poems

21、are also great in number and rich in matter. Natural phenomena, changes of seasons, heavenly bodies, animals, birds and insects, flowers of various kinds, and many other subjects related to nature find her way into her poetry.(3) Dickinson also wrote some poems about love. Like her death and nature

22、poems, her love poems were original.(4) Besides deaths and immortality, nature and love, Dickinsons poems are concerned about ethics, with respect to which, she emphasizes free will and human responsibility.4 Henry James is a great realistic writer. Name two of his major works. Do you know anything

23、about his narrative point of view? What is it for? How does James employ it in his works? Briefly discuss this question.(1) Henry Jamess major works include Daisy Miller and The Portrait of a Lady, etc.(2) One of Henry James literary techniques is his narrative point of view. As the author, James av

24、oids the authorial omniscience as much as possible and makes his characters reveal themselves with his minimal intervention. So it is often the case that in his novels we usually learn the main story by reading through one or several minds and share their perspectives. This narrative method proves t

25、o be successful in bringing out his themes.6. Tell the differences between Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman(1) Emily Dickinson expresses the inner life of individuals, while Walt Whitman keeps his eyes on the society at large.(2) Emily Dickinson is regional, while Walt Whitman is national in his out

26、look.(3) Formally, Emily Dickinson uses concise, simple dictions and syntax, while Walt Whitman uses endless, all-inclusive catalogs.9. Jack Londons themes(1) London was logically inconsistent in his viewpoint.On the one hand, he took faith in Darwins survival of the fittest, evolutionary concept of

27、 progress, and on the other hand, he embraced the socialists doctrines of Marx.(2) London wrote on many subjects and themes which centered around primitive violence, Anglo-Saxon supremacy(至上), biological evolution, class warfare, and mechanistic determinism. His heroes are physically robust and rugg

28、ed but often psychologically harried(苦惱). His heroines are athletic, daring, yet intensely feminine. They are mans intellectual equal and his emotional superior. History And Anthology of American Literature (Volume)美國(guó)文學(xué)史及選讀1PartThe Literature of Colonial America殖民主義時(shí)期的文學(xué)1. 17世紀(jì)早期English and European

29、 explorers開(kāi)始登陸美洲。在他們之前100多年Caribbean Islands, Mexico and other Parts of South America已被the Spanish占領(lǐng)。2. 17th早期English settlements in Virginia and Massachusetts(弗吉尼亞和馬薩諸塞)開(kāi)始了美國(guó)歷史3. 美國(guó)最早殖民者(earliest settlers)included Dutch ,Swedes ,Germans ,Freunch ,Spaniards ,Italians and Portugueses (荷蘭人，瑞典人，德國(guó)人，法國(guó)人

30、，西班牙人，意大利人及葡萄牙人等)。4. 美國(guó)早期文學(xué)主要為the narratives and journals of these settlements采用in diaries and in journals(日記和日志)，他們寫(xiě)關(guān)于the land with dense forests and deep-blue lakes and rich soil.5. 第一批美國(guó)永久居民：the first permanent English settlement in North America was established at Jamestown,Virginia in 1607(北美弗吉

31、尼亞詹姆斯頓)。6. 船長(zhǎng)約翰·史密斯Captain John Smith他的作品(reports of exploration)17th早期出版，被認(rèn)為是美國(guó)第一部真正意義上的文學(xué)作品in the early 1600s,have been described as the first distinctly American literature written in English.他講述了filled with themes, myths, images, scenes, character and events,吸引了朝圣者和清教徒前往lure the Pilgrims an

32、d the Puritans.7. 美國(guó)第一位作家：1608年Captain John Smith寫(xiě)了封信自殖民地第一次在弗吉尼亞墾荒以來(lái)發(fā)生的各種事件的真實(shí)介紹“A True Relation of Such Occurrences and Accidents of Note as Hath Happened in Virginia Since the First Planting of That Colony”.8. 他的第二本書(shū)1612年弗吉尼亞地圖，附：一個(gè)鄉(xiāng)村的描述“A Map of Virginia: with a Description of the Country”.9. 他一

33、共出版了八本書(shū)，其中有關(guān)于新英格蘭的歷史及描述。其破產(chǎn)后做為向?qū)ought a post as guide to the Pilgrims.他1624年弗吉尼亞通史“General History of Virginia”,講述了傳奇故事how the Indian princess Pocahontas( 波卡洪特斯)saved him.10. 他保存了殖民者在Jamestown早期開(kāi)荒史及explored the rivers and bays around the Chesapeake region(切薩皮克地區(qū))，最重要的是he saw from the beginning what

34、 was eventually to be a basic principle of American history, the need of “workers”instead of “gentlemen”for the tough job of planting colonies and pushing the frontiers westward.11. 早期新英格蘭文學(xué)主要關(guān)于theological, moral, historical and political.12. 清教徒堅(jiān)韌耐勞，嚴(yán)格遵守教義the Puritans in New England embraced hardsh

35、ips, together with the discipline of a harsh church想建立神權(quán)社會(huì)found a theocracy,他們生活簡(jiǎn)樸，意志堅(jiān)定，我行我素，不屈不撓地斗爭(zhēng)they had toughness, purpose and character, they grappled strongly with challenges they set themselves.他們的基本價(jià)值觀；注重勤勞，節(jié)儉，虔誠(chéng)和節(jié)制hard work, thrift, piety and sobriety這些也成了早期美國(guó)作品主導(dǎo)思想。一、William Bradford and

36、John Winthrop威廉·布拉德福德和約翰·溫思羅普普利茅斯第一任首長(zhǎng)：William Bradford;波斯頓第一任首長(zhǎng)： John Winthrop.1 William Bradford:普利茅斯開(kāi)發(fā)歷史“The History of Plymouth Plantation”文章從1630年開(kāi)始寫(xiě)起an account of the small group of Puritans who migrated from England to Amsterdam and then to the New Wold.文字簡(jiǎn)潔，認(rèn)真負(fù)責(zé)，直接敘述，可讀性強(qiáng)simplicity

37、 and earnestness of the book, with its direct reporting, make it readable and moving.1637年他用簡(jiǎn)單的律詩(shī)對(duì)自己一生寫(xiě)了個(gè)總結(jié)，后來(lái)科登·馬瑟寫(xiě)道：他是眾人之福，也是眾人之父“a common blessing and father to them all”2 John Winthrop:新英格蘭歷史“The History of New England”.1630年登上“阿貝亞”（Arbella）to Massachusetts并開(kāi)始寫(xiě)日記keep a journal and to the re

38、st of his life.1826年正式出版is notable for its candid simplicity and honesty.3 他們并不出于創(chuàng)作需要而是記錄歷史，但卻運(yùn)用了直接生動(dòng)的散文格式使文章成為了好的文學(xué)作品 the need to record important events in permanent form. Yet, through a direct and vigorous prose style, each account literary excellence.4 清教徒（Puritan）:就是要凈化他們的宗教信仰和行為方式，要純潔自己信仰的人Pur

39、itans wanted to make pure their religious beliefs and practices, The Puritan was “Would-be purifier”. 總認(rèn)為自己是上帝選民looked upon themselves as a chosen people.對(duì)他們的生活方式提出異議就是反對(duì)上帝旨意anyone who challenged their way of life was opposing Gods Will and was not to be accepted.對(duì)自己的信仰視之如命，對(duì)別人信仰不能容忍they were zealou

40、s in defense of their own beliefs but often intolerant of the beliefs of others. 制定法律限制個(gè)人生活行為made laws about private morality as well as public behavior霍桑稱他們?yōu)椤昂诿济墓虐宓那褰掏健薄皊tern and black-browed Puritans”.二、John Cotton and Roger Williams約翰·科登和羅杰·威廉姆斯1 John Cotton第一批知識(shí)分子代言人，稱為“新英格蘭教父”the Pat

41、riarch of New England”. 1633年到Boston開(kāi)始一直是這社區(qū)精神導(dǎo)師，他所宣講的由宗教來(lái)統(tǒng)治國(guó)家的神權(quán)思想直接影響了當(dāng)時(shí)人們的行為 he was the “teacher”(spiritual leader) of the community and its guiding influence toward the ideal of theocracy(a state ruled by the church)他的影響主要通過(guò)教堂講壇來(lái)完成his primary influence was through the pulpit. 聽(tīng)眾對(duì)他深信不疑。他們清教徒

42、強(qiáng)調(diào)權(quán)威，忽視民主they were much more concerned with authority than with democracy.2 Roger Williams:1631年came to the Massachusetts后被放逐到現(xiàn)羅德島Rhode Island。對(duì)不同意見(jiàn)者并不贊同對(duì)其迫害而是屈服與容忍，他認(rèn)為行為上的德，信仰上的誠(chéng)并沒(méi)有給任何人強(qiáng)迫別人該如何行事的權(quán)力，沒(méi)有任何政治秩序和教會(huì)體制能夠直接體現(xiàn)神本身的意旨the idea that simply to be virtuous in conduct and devout in belief did not

43、give anyone the right to force belief on others. He also felt that no political order or church system could identify itself directly with God. 他對(duì)印第安語(yǔ)言非常感興趣Indian language.他寫(xiě)過(guò)開(kāi)啟美國(guó)語(yǔ)言的鑰匙或也叫做美洲新英格蘭部分土著居民語(yǔ)言指南“A Key into the Language of America” or “A Help to the language of the Natives in That Part of A

44、merica Called New England”三、 Anne Bradstreet and Edward Taylor安妮·布萊德斯特和愛(ài)德華·泰勒這兩位清教徒寫(xiě)的詩(shī)達(dá)到相當(dāng)高水平，真正能稱得上是詩(shī)作。1 Anne Dudley Bradstreet是早期詩(shī)人中最風(fēng)趣的詩(shī)人之一one of the most interesting of the early poets. 1630年乘“Arbella”到Massachusetts.她的文學(xué)創(chuàng)作在撫養(yǎng)八個(gè)子女家庭勞作繁重勞動(dòng)下進(jìn)行的。2 她的第一部作品由她的姐夫交給倫敦出版商，the title of this coll

45、ection of poems, in classical allusion(用比喻的方法)即在美洲誕生的第十個(gè)謬斯“The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America”詩(shī)歌中傳奇故事有點(diǎn)言過(guò)其實(shí)，但對(duì)日常瑣事敘述相當(dāng)高超poetic ventures were overambitious but wrote well when dealt with the simple events of her daily life.3 Edward Taylor:清教徒詩(shī)人中最杰出的一位the best of the Puritan poets 他的作品遵循了十七世紀(jì)中

46、期一些杰出詩(shī)人風(fēng)格和形式his work followed they style and forms of the leading English poets of the mid-seventeenth century。他大部分作品關(guān)于宗教的，大部分詩(shī)歌直接以贊美詩(shī)為基礎(chǔ)進(jìn)行創(chuàng)作的most of Taylors work treated religious themes, with many poems based directly on the Psalms.在世時(shí)沒(méi)出版過(guò)作品，1937年發(fā)現(xiàn)手稿，1960年泰勒詩(shī)歌全集。Part The Literature of Reason And

47、Revolution理性和革命時(shí)期文學(xué)1 托馬斯·佩因常識(shí) Thomas Paines “Common Sense”; 托馬斯·杰弗遜獨(dú)立宣言 Thomas Jefferson “Declaration of Independence”2 在經(jīng)濟(jì)方面，英國(guó)要求美出口原材料，后從英國(guó)購(gòu)回高成本的機(jī)器they hampered colonial economy by requiring Americans to ship raw materials abroad and to import finished goods at prices higher than the cos

48、t of making them in this country.3 在政治方面，要求他們歸英國(guó)政府統(tǒng)一管理，交各種稅收但在議會(huì)中卻沒(méi)有代表by ruling the colonies from overseas and by taxing the colonies without giving them representation in Parliament.4 美獨(dú)立戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)持續(xù)了八年（1776-1783）The War for Independence.諾亞·韋伯斯特（Noah Webster）說(shuō)：文化上的獨(dú)立，藝術(shù)上的著名。5文學(xué)上獨(dú)立的代表作：1785年杰弗遜：弗吉尼亞洲的聲

49、明Jeffersons “Notes on the State of Virginia”; 1791年巴特姆：旅行筆記 “Travels” by Bartram一、 Benjamin Franklin 本杰明·富蘭克林1706-1790殖民地時(shí)期作家。獨(dú)立戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)前惟一的杰出的美國(guó)作家in the colonial period, the only good American author before the Revolutionary War.1 出生于波士頓Boston,曾創(chuàng)辦半島公報(bào)。1732-1758出版窮人理查德的年鑒“Poor Richards Almanac” collo

50、cation of proverbs.2 建立一秘密俱樂(lè)部the Junto, informal discussion of scientific, economic and political ideals.建立可借圖書(shū)館，創(chuàng)辦賓夕法尼亞大學(xué)。商業(yè)上成功，科學(xué)上貢獻(xiàn)卓越，政治上的貢獻(xiàn)也不可磨滅successful in business, renowned in science also served his nation brilliantly.協(xié)助杰弗遜起草“獨(dú)立宣言”aided Jefferson in writing “The Declaration of Independence”

51、.同法國(guó)談判獲得援助，后作為議會(huì)代表起草美國(guó)憲法Constitution.3 其還是美國(guó)第一位主要作家the first major writer非凡表達(dá)能力，簡(jiǎn)潔明了，有點(diǎn)幽默，還是一位諷刺天才as an author he had power of expression, simplicity, a subtle humor. He was also sarcastic.4 他最好作品收錄在自傳“Autobiography”。編輯了美國(guó)第一份殖民地雜志“General Magazine”“對(duì)這個(gè)年青的國(guó)家來(lái)說(shuō)，他的損失比其它任何人的都要大“his shadow lies heavier t

52、han any other mans on this young nation.5 教材作品自傳”The Autobiography” 二、 Thomas Paine 托馬斯·佩因（1737-1809）1 被稱為“人類最平凡的人“（Great Commoner of Mankind）.美國(guó)著名政治小冊(cè)子作家pamphleteer.2 1762年稅務(wù)官職務(wù)employed as an excise officer. 1772年收稅官的案子“The Case of the Officers of the Excise”第一部政治性小冊(cè)子。 1774年富蘭克林給他寫(xiě)介紹信“an ingen

53、ious worthy young man”去美國(guó)費(fèi)城Philadelphia, edited the “Pennsylvania Magazine” and contributed to the “Pennsylvania Journal” 是政治諷刺的天才a political satirist of genius.3 1776年1月10日his famous pamphlet “Common Sense” appeared 常識(shí)，署名“By an Englishman”.書(shū)中大膽擁護(hù)“獨(dú)立宣言”各主張it boldly advocated a “Declaration for Indep

54、endence”.成了美國(guó)獨(dú)立革命思想的代言人became forthwith the most articulate spokesman of the American Revolution.4 1776-1783美國(guó)危機(jī)“American Crisis” signed “Common Sense” was a series of sixteen pamphlets.第一篇于1776年黑色12月出版，這些冊(cè)子在部隊(duì)中被廣泛傳閱，極大恢復(fù)士氣鼓舞民兵斗志，增強(qiáng)勝利信心was read at once to all regiments, it restored the morale and in

55、spired the success of that citizens army。 最后一篇1783年12月9日出版。5 戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)結(jié)束后perfecting the model of an iron bridge without piers。(1791-1792)人權(quán)“Rights of Man”。擁護(hù)盧梭自由理念，號(hào)召推翻英國(guó)君主制not only championed Rousseaus doctrines of freedom, but also suggested the overthrow of the British monarchy.6 在法國(guó)他因反對(duì)絞死路易十六和反對(duì)恐怖統(tǒng)治入獄,

56、 he opposed the execution of Louis XVI and the Reign of Terror, was imprisoned. 理性的時(shí)代“The Age of Reason”1794-1795，這部自然神論的作品主張宗教觀念的理性：a deistic treatise advocating a rationalistic view of religion. 他最后一部作品1797土地公平“Agrarian Justice”.7 教材作品：美國(guó)危機(jī)：“The American Crisis”.三、 Thomas Jefferson托馬斯·杰弗遜（174

57、3-1826）1 美國(guó)歷史上最為廣泛影響人物his thought and personality have influenced his countryman more deeply and remained more effectively alive.同富蘭克林一樣具人道主義精神vigorous humanitarian sympathies.啟蒙運(yùn)動(dòng)的產(chǎn)物a product of the Enlightenment,對(duì)各領(lǐng)域都有興趣：law, philosophy, education, science, mechanics.2 盡全力為美國(guó)尋找一條自由、自我之路：where the

58、people might have a fresh start toward liberty, selfhood. 作為人文主義都他注重人本身的德行和能力，不看重世俗中特權(quán)a humanist looked to merit and ability alone, not to privilege法律保障每個(gè)人與生俱來(lái)的權(quán)利the natural rights of man must be secured by law inalienably for all, irrespective of station 政府是一個(gè)必要的魔鬼，政府在普遍贊同下才合法，其目的是為個(gè)人謀福利，而不是壓榨與剝削人民。政府須為民提供言論、思想、結(jié)社、出版、信仰、教育和創(chuàng)業(yè)等自由.government, a necessary evil, found sanction only in the common consent of a social contract, its purpose was the benefit of the individual, not his exploitation; it must provide freedom of speech, thou