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1、Henry Louis Mencken(1880-1956)(America),His life,His Works,His style,His life,He was born and spent most of his life in the city of Baltimore, Maryland. He was the son of German immigrant parents. He completed high school but did not attend university, only graduated from Baltimore Polytechnic Insti
2、tute at 16. He became a reporter on the Baltimore Morning Herald. When he was nine years old, he read Mark Twains Huckleberry Finn, which he described it as the most stupendous(惊人的) event in his life and He determined to become a writer.,marriage When he was 50(in 1930), Mencken married Sara Haardt,
3、 a professor of English at Goucher College,but Haardt was in poor health from tuberculosis throughout their marriage and she died in 1935 misfortune When he was 68,Mencken suffered a stroke that left him aware and fully conscious but nearly unable to read or write, and to speak with some difficulty.
4、 During his stroke period, Mencken enjoyed listening to European classical music.,A few years later, he joined the staff of its rival newspaper, the Baltimore Sun or Evening Sun, first as a reporter, then as its drama critic and editor, a position which he held until 1941. He helped to found and edi
5、t two literary magazines which were highly influential among intellectuals. The Smart Set 2) The American Mercury,He hated narrow-minded religion. He believed strongly in intellectual freedom and fought all attempts to censor literature and drama. He felt that the greatest threat of censorship came
6、from the countrys religion fundamentalists, whose opinions were all based on their interpretation of the Bible. 2) He hated commercialism. 3) He did not support democracy because he considered the masses too ignorant and greedy to exercise it wisely.,His works,Menckens essays were received with deli
7、ght or horror, depending on the readers point of view, he was also highly respected for his literary criticism and he exerted a powerful influence on American literature. The American Language 1918 Prejudices (6 vols) 1919-1927 Happy days Newspaper Days 1940-1943 autobiography Heathen Days 25 Books
8、and thousands of articles,The American Language,He was a leading scholar in the field of language. His monumental book The American Language is considered an outstanding work of philology. a) It examined the development of the English language in America, b) It contrasted English and American expres
9、sions and usage. c) It explained the origin of many American idioms, d) It traced the influence of immigrant languages on American English.,His Style,He is well-known for his bombastic style and acid tongue He wrote with verve(strong feeling), gusto (eager enjoyment) and exaggeration. His exuberant
10、and extravagant use of the language was so amusing and startling that even his most violently critical essays became acceptable to his readers. He employed a huge vocabulary and liked to insert unusual or unexpected words, for surprise or comic effect, into otherwise normal sentences. Although his s
11、tyle is occasionally difficult to read, Mencken is still considered one of the best and liveliest essayists of this century.,Comments,Mencken was the most prominent newspaperman, book reviewer, and political commentator of his day. Menckens writing is endearing because of its wit, its crisp style, a
12、nd the obvious delight he takes in it. He had a rollicking(欢闹的), rambunctious（粗暴的） style of writing. He was a journalist satirist, social critic, cynic, freethinker in the 20th century.He is known as the sage of Baltimore. He is often regard as one of the most influential writers of the 20th century,Thank you,选择=结果,汇报结束 谢谢观看！ 欢迎提出您的宝贵意见！,
