英语专业期末、专八考试美国文学讲义

英语专业期末、专八考试美国文学讲义内容摘要：

ty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government bees destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and anizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Chapter 2 The Romantic Period (18201865) Ⅰ . Historical Background: After the American Revolution, America was gradually developing into a politically, economically and culturally independent country. (1) Historically, the Romantic Period was the time of westward expansion. The western boundary of America had reached to the Pacific by 1860, and the number of its states had increased from the original 13 at the time of its independence to 21 by the middle of the 19th century. (2) Economically, the whole nation was experiencing an industrial transformation, which affected the rural as well as the urban life. (3) Politically, democracy and equality became the ideals of the new nation, and the two party system came into being. With the founding of the American Independent Government, the nation felt an urge to have its own literary expression, to make known its new experience that other nations did not have: the early Puritan settlement, the fight with the Indians, the frontiersmen39。 s life, and the wild west. Then came the making of American literature in the Romantic Period. II. Cultural Background The American Romanticism 1. The Romantic Movement, which originated in Germany but quickly spread to England, France, and reached America around the year 1820. 2. The Romantic Period, one of the most important periods in the history of American literature, stretches from the end of the 18th century to the outbreak of the Civil War (18611865). 3. During this period a national literature developed and took shape with novels, short stories and poems as its principal literary forms. It started with the publication of Washington Irving39。 s The Sketch Book of Geoffrey 6 Crayon (18191820) 《见闻札记》 and ended with Walt Whitman39。 s Leaves of Grass (1855). 《草叶集》 4. It was characterized by the idealization of nature, freedom of thought and expression and heavy reliance on the imagination and subjectivity. It reacted against reason, rules, authority and industrialism, and it searched for freedom in personal, political, and artistic life. It stresses individual over society and tends to see the individual as the very center of all life and all experience. 5. Being a period of the great flowering of American literature, it is also called “the American Renaissance”. III. The Romantic Literature: Two Phases: 1. The beginning and development of American Romanticism: Washington Irving (17831859): The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon James Fenimore Cooper (17891851): The Leatherstocking Tales 2. The summit of American Romanticism: New England Transcendentalism Ralph Waldo Emerson (18031882) : Nature 《论自然》 Henry David Thoreau (18171862) : Walden 《瓦尔登湖》 Phase 1: The beginning and development of American Romanticism: Washington Irving (17831859) 1. His life: named after his parents39。 hero, Gee Washington。 born into a wealthy New York merchant family。 grew up as the youngest of 11 children。 had a love for books at a young age. His favorite books were adventure stories: Robinson Crusoe. Irving would always make his parents worry when he went looking for adventure himself, he would travel around the city constantly getting into danger or trouble. 2. His importance: 1. Father of American literature 2. Father of American short stories 3. The first American writer of imaginative literature to gain international fame 3. Masterpiece: The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon (18191820) 《见闻札记》 : a collection of short stories The two most famous tales in this collection are as follows: •“Rip Van Winkle” 《里普 ●凡 ●温克尔》 •“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” 《睡谷的传说》 4. Rip Van Winkle 《里普 ●凡 ●温克尔》 (1) The central character: Rip Van Winkle, a simple, goodnatured and henpecked man Plot Summary: Page 48 on Chang’s book Analysis of this story: Page 4849 on Chang’s book 5. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow 《睡谷的传说》 Plot Summary This story takes place in the Dutch settlement of Tarry Town, New York. It is about a vain and cowardly school teacher (Ichabod Crane), who falls in love with the beautiful eighteenyearold Katrina VanTassel, the daughter of a farmer. Katrina has but another suitorthe strong, handsome Brom Bones, who brags about the number of fights he has fought, and runs around on strong horses with his gang, causing much trouble in the town. When Crane was invited to a party at the Van Tassel39。 s house, he rode there, on a spirited horse called Gunpowder, that he borrowed from his friend. When he got to the Van Tassel39。 s house, everyone there sat down to dinner. After the lovely feast of Dutch food such as cakes, pies, fruits, and meat, the music began. Everyone 7 danced about. Ichabod Crane danced with Katrina. Brom Bones sat in a corner glaring at the dancing couple. Then everyone sat down to listen to stories. The tales were fascinating! They were stories about ghosts . The favorite tale was about the headless horseman, a ghost who lost his head during the American Revolutionary War and went out of the graveyard at night and searched for his head. After the party, Ichabod Crane heads home through the graveyard. On his way, the headless horseman chases him. He chases him to the bridge, where the horseman39。 s head is thrown at Ichabod. The next morning, Gunpowder appeared at his master39。 s house without Ichabod Crane. The town issued a search for Ic。