美國文學(xué)簡史復(fù)習(xí)資料精華版

1、- 1 -A Concise History of American LiteratureChapter 1 Colonial Period I. Jonathan Edwards1. life 2. works(1) The Freedom of the Will (2) The Great Doctrine of Original Sin Defended (3) The Nature of True Virtue3. ideas

2、– pioneer of transcendentalism(1) The spirit of revivalism (2) Regeneration of man (3) God’s presence (4) Puritan idealismII. Benjamin Franklin1. works(1) Poor Richard’s Almanac (2) Autobiography2. contribution(1) He hel

3、ped found the Pennsylvania Hospital and the American Philosophical Society.(2) He was called “the new Prometheus who had stolen fire (electricity in this case) from heaven”.(3) Everything seems to meet in this one man

4、– “Jack of all trades”. Herman Melville thus described him “master of each and mastered by none”.Chapter 2 American RomanticismSection 1 Early Romantic PeriodI. Washington Irving1. several names attached to Irving(1) f

5、irst American writer (2) the messenger sent from the new world to the old world (3) father of American literature2. works(1) A History of New York from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty(2) The S

6、ketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. (He won a measure of international recognition with the publication of this.)(3) The History of the Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus (4) A Chronicle of the Conquest of Granad

7、a (5) The Alhambra3. Literary career: two parts(1) 1809~1832 a. Subjects are either English or European b. Conservative love for the antique (2) 1832~1859: back to US4. style – beautiful(1) gentility, urbanity, pleasantn

8、ess (2) avoiding moralizing – amusing and entertaining (3) enveloping stories in an atmosphere- 3 -(1) Nature (2) Two essays: The American Scholar, The Poet2. point of view(1) One major element of his philosophy is his f

9、irm 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

10、 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”.(4) Everyone should understand th

11、at he makes himself by making his world, and that he makes the world by making himself.3. aesthetic ideas(1) He is a complete man, an eternal man. (2) True poetry and true art should ennoble. (3) The poet should express

12、 his thought in symbols. (4) As to theme, Emerson called upon American authors to celebrate America which was to him a lone poem in itself.4. his influenceV. Henry David Thoreau1. works(1) A Week on the Concord and Merr

13、imack River (2) Walden (3) A Plea for John Brown (an essay)2. point of view(1) He did not like the way a materialistic America was developing and was vehemently outspoken on the point.(2) He hated the human injustice as

14、 represented by the slavery system. (3) Like Emerson, but more than him, Thoreau saw nature as a genuine restorative, healthy influence on man’s spiritual well-being.(4) He has faith in the inner virtue and inward, spir

15、itual grace of man. (5) He was very critical of modern civilization. (6) “Simplicity…simplify!” (7) He was sorely disgusted with “the inundations of the dirty institutions of men’s odd-fellow society”.(8) He has calm tr

16、ust in the future and his ardent belief in a new generation of men.Section 3 Late RomanticismI. Nathaniel Hawthorne1. works(1) Two collections of short stories: Twice-told Tales, Mosses from and Old Manse(2) The Scarle

17、t Letter (3) The House of the Seven Gables (4) The Marble Faun2. point of view(1) Evil is at the core of human life, “that blackness in Hawthorne” (2) Whenever there is sin, there is punishment. Sin or evil can be passed