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20111013 Thursday整个文学脉络美国:1. The literature of colonial America (1590-1750)2. The literature of Reason and Revolution (the war of Independence 1750 - 1810) 3. Romanticism (1810 - 1860 civil war)4. Realism and naturalism (latter half of 19th cen.)5. 20th century literature 1. Literature in stage I/ IINot wonderful , no special featuresSimple literary works: personal letters, historical records, journals, sermons, political pamphletsserved for the religious and political purposeStyle: followed the example of its English counterparte.g. Franklin Key points:the first American writer, the father of American poetrythe first important American writerPuritanism features/ influences Franklin Autobiography the American dream 3. Romanticism (1810 - 1860 civil war)From the end of the 18th century (after the War for Independence ) through the outbreak of the Civil War.(1798 the preface of Lyrical Ballads-1832 the death of Scott) a. 1st phase: Early Romanticismnovel -Irving (local events ) Cooper (the West) poetry- Bryant, Poe (rose to the same level of its English literature to some degree)b. 2nd phase: New England Renaissance (summit)developed its distinct style and form optimism Transcendentalism Emerson/ Thoreau; pessimism ( Hawthorne, Melville) Irving: position, The Sketch Booktwo masterpiecesmain ideas, theme, etc., his attitude towards the change and European cultureCooper:The frontier Saga Central figure features, special image of IndiansPermanent theme: desire for an escape from society and a return to nature= conventionBryant: Title, masterpiecesimilarity with WordsworthPoe:Writing principle:Brevity, beauty; Unity of Effect or AtmosphereVs Oscar Wildes Aesthetic movementFavorite topics/tone: Masterpiece:Poetry: To Helen, Annabel Lee, The RavenShort story: The Cask of amontillado, the fall of the house of usher Transcendentalism:I. Features1. the transcendence of oversoul2. divinity of men, importance of individualism3. nature symbol of spirit/God;restorative influence 4. focus in intuition (irrationalism and subconsciousness)II. Influence1. It served as an ethical guide to life for a young nation and brought about the idea that human can be perfected by nature. It stressed religious tolerance, called to throw off shackles of customs and traditions and go forward to the development of a new and distinctly American culture.2. It advocated idealism that was great needed in a rapidly expanded economy where opportunity often became opportunism Emerson: Americansnewborn Adam, standing simple and sincere before the world 3. It helped to create the first American renaissance one of the most prolific period in American literature.Representatives: 1Ralph Waldo Emerson1. life2. works(1) Nature manifesto/ Bible(2) speech: The American Scholarintellectual Declaration of Independence3. opinions(1) One major element of his philosophy is his firm belief in the transcendence of the “oversoul”.(2) He regards nature as the purest, and the most sanctifying moral influence on man, and advocated a direct intuition of a spiritual and immanent God in nature.(3) If man depends upon himself, cultivates himself and brings out the divine in himself, he can hope to become better and even perfect. This is what Emerson means by “the infinitude of man”. self-reliance4. aesthetic ideas about the poet The Poet, The Nature and The American Scholar(1) definition of poetno ordinary person. He is a complete man, an eternal man. He should be able to see into the depths of infinite time, comprehend the path of things and the divine unity of the Universe by intuition and communicate the feelings of contact with nature to his fellowmen. Whitman: envisioned the poet as a hero, a savior and a prophet, one who leads the community by his expression of the truth. In “The Defense of Poetry,” Shelley claims that “poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.” Poets hold up a mirror to society challenging us (readers) to question our behavior, our morals, our philosophy. Vs Plato (liars should be banished from Republic) Wordsworth, Eliot (2) True poetry and true art should ennoble. It should serve as a moral purification and a passage toward organic unity and higher reality.(3) The poet should express his thought in symbols. as for him, symbolism is a universal thing. Influence of Puritanism(4) As to theme, Emerson called upon American authors to celebrate America which was to him a long poem in itself, to celebrate the life of today. American intellectuals should have independent mind, stop imitating and transplanting European tradition, should focus on here and present. attitude toward American culture: IrvingThe Authors Account of Himself: praise the sublime and beautiful natural scenery of America, America was full of youthful promise, which Europe was rich in the accumulated treasures of age., Hawthorne, Henry James, T.S. Eliot II. Henry David Thoreau1. works: Walden2. ideas(1) He did not like the way a materialistic America was developing and was vehemently outspoken on the point. very critical of modern civilization.(2) Practical Transcendentalism: nature as a genuine restorative, healthy influence on mans spiritual well-being.(3) He has faith in the inner virtue and inward, spiritual grace of man.Nathaniel Hawthorne1. works(1) Two collections of short stories: Twice-told Tales, Mosses from and Old Manse(2) The Scarlet Letter main ideas, characters, theme, features(3) The House of the Seven Gables(4) The Marble Faun2/ Setting: Puritan New EnglandTopic: Evil & sinIdeas: “black vision” toward human beingsFeatures: AmbiguityTechniques: symbolism3. ideas:1mixed attitude towards Puritanism 2Hawthornes view of sin/evilguilt, sin, and evil are the most inherent natural qualities of humanity.all his life, Hawthorne seems to be haunted by his sense of _sin_ and _evil_. It illustrates to some extent the influence of the Calvinist doctrine of _original sin_& total depravity_.e.g. The Ministers Black Veil“I look around me, and lo! On every visage a Black veil.” 瞧啊,你们每一个人脸上都有一块黑面纱!描写社会和人性的阴暗面是霍桑作品的突出特点,这与加尔文教关于人的“原罪”和“内在堕落”的理论的影响是分不开的。His top concern: sources of evil/sin, its influence on people psychological, ways of redeeming sin:Sources of evil:1. original sin, evil can be passed down The House of the Seven Gables2. Inner heart of every man Evil is at the core of human life3. overweening science: The modern science and technology which could suppress mens emotion and imaginatione.g. doctor/scientist= vicious, cruel, stone-hearted Dr. Rappaccinis Daughter/ BirthmarkWhenever there is sin, there is punishment. He is of the opinion that evil educates.Explore ways of redeeming sin: brave to confess and face it, correct it through love, devotion, generosity and forgiveness.他着重探讨道德和罪恶的问题,主张通过善行和自忏来洗刷罪恶、净化心灵,从而得到拯救。然而霍桑并非全写黑暗,他在揭露社会罪恶和人的劣根性的同时,对许多善良的主人公寄予极大的同情。正如他的朋友、作家赫尔曼.梅尔维尔(Herman Melville)所指出的,霍桑的黑暗使在这黑暗中不停前进的黎明显得更加明亮。Hawthornes dark awareness gives more effect to ever-moving dawn, that forever advances through it, and circumnavigates 环航 the world. aesthetic ideas1 He took a great interest in history and antiquity. = he repeated complained about “the poverty of materials” in the land where “there is no shadow, no antiquity, no mystery, no picturesque and gloomy wrong, nor anything but a commonplace prosperity, in broad and simple light”A man with any literary ambition would have to resort to the help of his imagination, “to recall what was valuable in the past” .= thus, he took a great interest in history and antiquity. he believed that America needs to better understand its religious and moral heritage.2 his works= psychological romance Romance Vs novel the novel writing is “presumed to aim at a very minute fidelity, not merely to the possible, but to the probable and ordinary course of mans experience.”, while the romance writing has “fairly a right to present that truth under circumstances, to a great extent, of the writers own choosing or creation” - preface to The House of the Seven Gables the metaphor of the mirror and the lamp (by M.H. Abrams)the metaphor about the psyche /inner heartsince Plato, think that the psyche of men is like a mirror, which can only imitate the physical world passively. 从柏拉图到18世纪的主要思维特征 把心灵比作外界事物的反映者;文学被视为一种写实的再现,对世界的模仿,并不是创造,如镜子一样反照着人间事物 (模仿论mimetic)(Neoclassicism: poetry is the imitation of physical world, a mirror held up to nature)Romanticists think that the psyche is like a lamp, which casts its light to the physical world actively浪漫主义时期:心灵比喻成灯/发光体文学是心灵的表现,是创造的表现,是对人类主观世界的表现。poetry as an expression of the feelings, temperament and mental powers of the author. Expressive theory (表现说)He claims that Romance was the predestined form of American narrative.1. the poverty of materials in America2. his puritan prudence to consider that romance allows him to treat the physical passions obliquely and to avoid violating the human heart offend the puritan tasterTo tell the truth and satirize and yet not to offend: That was what Hawthorne had in mind to achieve.e.g. the preface to The Scarlet Letter “The Custom-House”The narrator, a staff in the custom, claims that he discovers an old manuscript in the office that tells the story of Hester Prynne. Basing on this materials, he made up his story “The Scarlet Letter”在这个神秘包裹里最吸引我注意的是一件用精致红布做的东西,相当旧,褪了色。边上有用金丝线刺绣的痕迹,不过磨损得很厉害,已看不清楚了,也没有什么光泽了。很容易看出,这件东西是绝妙的手工针线活;其针脚(我相信是熟稔此道奥秘的女子缝的)说明这种手艺已失传,即令把线头拣出来重新加工也恢复不了原样。这块红色的破布-时间、磨损、还有一只破坏圣物的蛾子把它弄得真正成了一块破抹布-仔细察看,呈现一个字母的形状,大写字母A。根据精确的丈量,字母的两条腿长三又四分之一英寸。毫无疑问,它是用作衣服上的装饰品;但是怎么佩戴,以及在过去它标志什么等级、荣誉和尊严则是个我猜不透的谜,因为这些东西的时尚款式一时一变,转眼便过时了。然而,我对它颇感兴趣。我目不转睛地盯住那个古老的红字。可以肯定这里含有深奥的意义,值得好好探究,但事实上,从这个神秘符号中泄出的意义可以与我的感情维妙维肖地交流沟通,却悄悄地避开我理智的分析。我便这样迷惑不解,思忖种种假设,其中我曾设想这个字母会不会是白人设计出来戴在身上的一种装饰,以吸引印第安人的注意力,想到这里,我拿起它放在自己胸口试一试。我似乎觉得-读者可以笑出声,但千万不要怀疑我说的话-我当时似乎经受了一种不完全是肉体上的感觉,而是像一股滚烫的热流袭上身来;仿佛那个字母不是红布做的,而是一块烧红的烙铁。我怦然一跳,不由自主地松手让红字掉落在地板上。我全神贯注在红字上,没有注意到还有一小卷脏兮兮的纸,拐拐扭扭地塞在边上。这时我把它打开,满心喜悦,发现上面竟是老稽查官的笔迹,相当详细地对整个事情作了解释,写了有好几张八裁大纸,包括了许多有关一个叫海丝特白兰女人的生平和谈话等细节。她似乎在我们先辈的心目中颇为引人瞩目。她生活在马萨诸塞初创至十七世纪末叶之间。在稽查官皮尤先生时期活着的老人都还记得她,皮尤先生就是根据他们的口述记下了她的情况。在老人们年轻的时候,她已经年事颇高,但并没有老态龙钟,而是庄重端祥。她从很早的时候起便养成了一个习惯,四出走访当一名义务看护,做力能所及的各种善事;同样,她努力给别人排忧解难,特别帮助那些心灵上受到创伤的人。通过这些手段,她像具有这样习性的人经常遇到的那样,她赢得了许多人的崇敬,被视为天使;但是我也想象到她被另外一些人看成是一个多管闲事的人,一个令人讨厌的婆娘。往下读这些手稿时,我发现还记载着有关这个不同寻常女人的其他活动和遭受的苦难,其中的多数情节读者可以参阅那篇题为红字的故事;应该牢牢记住,那个故事里的主要事实是以稽查官皮尤先生的文件为依据或佐证的。原始文件及那个红布做的字母-一件最引起人们好奇的遗物-仍然由我保管,凡对这个记述感兴趣的,想亲眼目睹一下这些东西的人,随时都可前来观看。人们不应该以为我在加工修饰这个故事,在想象故事里人物的思想动机和感情方式时,我自始自终把自己局限于老稽查官写的那六七大页材料里。相反,我在这些方面给我自己充分的自由,有的情节看来完全是我制造出来的。我力争做到的是故事梗概的真实性。 - Preface to The Scarlet Letter Style typical romantic writer1 the use of symbols2 revelation of characters psychology3 use of ambiguity to keep the reader in the world of uncertainty Relation with Transcendentalism:1. His wifefamiliar with Emerson.he joined the transcendentalist Utopian community at Brook Farm in 1841. Influences: free will, the enlightening nature “灵魂应对自然”以及“自然具有启示性”的观点让霍桑获得了灵感,肯定人类灵魂深处“自然属性”的一面,具有人文主义的倾向。2. in his later writing, showed the disapproval e.g. much confidence with mens ability Herman MelvilleWorks: sea adventures, Moby DickIdeas:1 He never seems able to say an affirmative yes to life: His is the attitude of “Everlasting Nay” (negative attitude towards life). 2 major themes:alienation (far away from each other).loneliness, suicidal individualism (individualism causing disaster and death), rejection and quest, confrontation of innocence and evil, doubts over the comforting 19c idea of progressbleak view of the world in which he lived. Man in this universe lives a meaningless and futile life. style:Like Hawthorne, Melville manages to achieve the effect of ambiguity through employing the technique of multiple view of his narratives.His works are symbolic and metaphorical.e.g: Moby Dick more than a sea adventure, a great epic romance, and a highly philosophical allegorical novel: the rebellious struggle of men captain Ahab against the overwhelming, mysterious vastness of the universe and its awesome, sometimes merciless forcesMoby Dick.Tragic hero: Aristotle “Poetics” 亚里士多德认为,悲剧人物的品质由他们的性格决定,性格在于对行动的选择。悲剧要写同常人有相似性的好人遭受不应有的厄运,它所表现的人物也就有特定的性格。他心目中的悲剧人物有其社会道德标准,而刻画他们的性格,又有出于摹仿说的审美标准。他提出悲剧人物的性格应当善良,适合人物的身份,虽优于常人而和普通人有相似性,有表现某种类型人物的内在一致性。他认为:悲剧主人公并非大善大德、十分公正,而是介于完人和普通人之间的人,这种主角“所以陷入厄运,不是由于他们为非作歹,而是由于他有错误(hamartia)”,所以从顺境转入逆境,“其原因不在于人物坏心行恶,而在于他犯有大错误”。悲剧人物既非完人、亦非歹徒,同普通人相当接近、相似,他们有缺陷、错误。如俄狄浦斯出身显贵,是关心城邦、公民的好人,但也有粗暴、猜疑、见事不明、盲信预言的缺点。悲剧性主角有善良品质,悲剧要摹仿、崇扬,令人体验崇高;他们因有和普通人相似的缺陷、错误而落入悲惨结局,才最惊心动魄,使人推人及己,发生恐惧与怜悯,体味悲壮和借鉴性意义。 They fall into misfortune because of some weaknessTo arouse the pity and fear of the audiencee.g. Great tragedies: Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth Each portrays some noble heroes, who face the injustice of human fate; each hero has his weakness of nature. Hamlet, the melancholic scholar-prince, faces the dilemma between action and mind: Othellos inner weakness is made use of by the outside evil force; the old King Lear who is unwilling to totally give up his power makes himself suffer, from treachery and infidelity; Macbeths lust for power stirs up his ambition and leads him to incessant crime.Captain Ahab: overconfident, too indulged into his revenge. Two poets: transitional figuresWalt WhitmanI. work: Leaves of Grass (9 editions): Song of Myself Oh, Captain, My Captain, I hear Lilas.II. mainly influenced by: enlightenment, transcendentalismEmersontopics: progressive ideasequality, democracy, pursuit of love and happiness, self-reliance, etc. , American ordinary people, conventional topics: death, nature, immanence of God3. style: “free verse” no fixed rhyme or schemea looser and more open-ended syntactic structureuse of conventional imagestrong tendency to use oral Englishsentences catalogue technique: long list of names, long poem lines4. influenceContemporary American poetry, whatever school or form, bears witness to his great influence.Emily Dickenson1. life: reclusive cf: Emily Bronte2. works(1) My Life Closed Twice before Its Close(2) Because I Cant Stop for Death(3) I Heard a Fly Buzz When I died(4) Mine by the Right of the White Election(5) Wild Nights Wild Nights3. themes: conventional topics, new themes/ meaningsbased on her own experiences/joys/sorrows(1) religion doubt and belief about religious subjects(2) death and immortality ambivalent(3) love suffering and frustration caused by love(4) physical aspect of desire(5) nature kind and cruel4. style(1) poems without titles(2) severe economy of expression;directness, brevity(3) image: simple, fresh, vivid Imagism(4) Innovation in syntax, punctuatione.g. capital letters emphasisDeviation : a kind of language diverging from the accepted linguistic norms. normal uses of language in everyday automatize language to such an extent that its speakers no longer see its expressive or aesthetic power, in order to regain such power poetry must de-automatize or foreground language by breaking the rules of everyday language. (王守元,1990:16 )(5) In terms of form, many of her poems resemble hymns赞美诗in form. (the repeated four-line, rhymed stanzas )(6) rhetoric techniques: personification make some of abstract ideas vividII. Comparison: Whitman vs. Dickinson1. Similarities:(1) Thematically, they both extolled, in their different ways, an emergent America, its expansion, its individualism and its Americanness, their poetry being part of “American Renaissance”.(2) Technically, they both added to the literary independence of the new nation by breaking free of the convention of the iambic pentameter and exhibiting a freedom in form unknown before: they were pioneers in American poetry.2. differences:(1) Whitman seems to keep his eye on society at large; Dickinson explores the inner life of the individual.(2) Whereas Whitman is “national” in his outlook, Dickinson is “regional”.(3)W uses the endless, all-inclusive structure D -concise, direct and simple diction and syntaxThe age of realism and NaturalismRealism Critical realism in Englanddepict the reality in a truthful and realistic way, writers: Strong sense of social responsibility, expose the social/political problems of the existing system/ criticize or mock/ satirize the hypocrisy and greedy of the ruling class, show great sympathy to the weak/ poor I. early form of American Realism: the literature of local color Local Colorism in 1860s, 1870s1890sBackground: the increasing development of industrialization magazines appeared to let writer publish their workslocal colourists: to write or present local characters of their regions in truthful depiction distinguished from others, usually a very small part of the world.Regional literatureBret Harte the westMrs StoweNew England Kate Chopin - the southMark Twain- the south Three Giants in Realistic PeriodWilliam Dean Howells “Dean of American Realism”1 Realistic principlesRealism is “fidelity to experience and probability of motive”. The aim is “talk of some ordinary traits of American life”. The smiling aspect of the middle class2Works: The Rise of Silas Lapham3 Features of His Worksa. Optimistic toneb. Moral development/ethicsc. Lacking of psychological depthHenry JamesLiterary career: three stagesa. 18651882: international themeAmerican innocence in contact and contrast with European decadence; attitude towards two culturesl The Americanl Daisy Millerl The Portrait of a Ladyb. 18821895: inter-personal relationships and some playsl Daisy Miller (play)c. 18951900: novellas and tales dealing with childhood and adolescence, then back to international themel The Turn of the Screwl When Maisie Knewl The Ambassadorsl The Wings of the Dovel The Golden BowlAesthetic ideas criticism: The Art of Fiction a. The aim of novel: represent lifeb. Commonplace, even ugly side of lifec. Importance of art “Its art that makes life, makes interest, makes importance, while actual life is all inclusion and confusion” for art is all “discrimination and selection of what is centrally revelatory and typical”d. Avoiding omniscient point of viewe.g.: Point of viewPsychological analysis, forefather of stream of consciousnessPsychological realismVoice from upper classStyle “stylist”a. Language: highly-refined, polished, insightful, accurateb. Vocabulary: largec. Construction: complicated, intricateIII. Mark Twain Mississippi1. works(1) The Gilded Age(2) “the two advantages”(3) Life on the Mississippi(4) A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthurs Court(5) The Man That Corrupted Hardleybug2. style(1) colloquial language, vernacular language, dialects(2) local colour(3) syntactic feature: sentences are simple, brief, sometimes ungrammatical(4) humour(5) tall tales (highly exaggerated)(6) social criticism (satire on the different ugly things in society)II. Comparison of the three “giants” of American Realism1. ThemeHowells middle classJames upper classTwain lower class2. TechniqueHowells smiling/genteel realismJames psychological realismTwain local colourism and colloquialismO. Henry, etc. Chapter 4 American NaturalismI. Background1. Darwins theory:
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