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1、Dark Romanticisma literary subgenre that emerged from the Transcendental philosophical movement popular in nineteenth-century America. Works in the dark romantic spirit were influenced by, but didnt entirely embrace the ideas of Transcendentalism. Authors considered most representative of dark roman
2、ticism are Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville and Emily Dickinson. Features:1. Dark Romantics are much less confident about the notion that perfection is an innate quality of mankind, as believed by Transcendentalists. Subsequently, Dark Romantics present individuals as prone to s
3、in and self-destruction, not as inherently possessing divinity and wisdom. 2. Although nature is a deeply spiritual force and it does reveal truth to man, its revelations are evil and hellish.3. Whereas Transcendentalists advocate social reform when appropriate, works of Dark Romanticism frequently
4、show individuals failing in their attempts to make changes for the better. I. Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864)An important American novelist and writer of short stories; His novels are significant part of Americanromanticism, or more specifically, Dark Romanticism. “He can neither believe, nor be com
5、fortable in his unbelief; and he is too honest and courageous not to try to do one or the other. If he were a religious man, he would be one of the most truly religious and reverential; he has a very high and noble nature, and better worth immortality than most of us.” 1. LifeBorn July 4, 1804 in Sa
6、lem, MAFather died when Hawthorne was four years oldsent to private school once his relatives discovered his storytelling abilities1821, went to Bowdoin Collegein Maine, where he met Harriet Beecher Stowe, Franklin Pierce and Henry LongfellowMarried Sophie Peabody in 1825Spent many years in seclusio
7、n starving artistHeld many jobs including writer, publisher, working at a custom house, and consul in EnglandSophia PeabodyThroughout Hawthornes life, he was incessantly troubled with a sense of guilt, for his ancestors evilbehaviors in the Salem Witches Trials. His great-great-grandfather, William
8、Hathorne, ordered the whipping of Anne Coleman and four others in the streets of Salem. His great-grandfather, John Hathorne, was the magistrate presiding over the trial of the accused witches of Salem (1692).2. Representative WorksTwice-told Tales (1837) Mosses from an Old Manse (1846)The Scarlet L
9、etter (1850) The House of the Seven Gables (1851) The Blithedale Romance (1852) The Marble Faun (1860)“Young Goodman Brown” “The Ministers Black Veil” “The Birth mark” “Rappaccinis Daughter”Two collections of short storiesFour RomancesShort Stories3. Themes in Hawthornes works a. Sense of Evil(1) Ev
10、il is at the core of human life. Original Sin deprived of Emersons optimism(2) Whenever there is sin, there is punishment. Sin or evil can be passed from generation to generation.Due to his sense of guilt, afterhis college, Hawthorne added a “w” to his original family name “Hathorne”, thus “Hawthorn
11、e”The House of the Seven GablesIn the Preface to the novel, Hawthorne states that its moral is that “the wrongdoing of one generation lives into the successive ones and. becomes a pure and uncontrollable mischief.“ “God,” said the dying man, pointing his finger, with a ghastly look,at the undismayed
12、 countenance of his enemy, “God will give him blood to drink!”(3) Evil educates.Achievement is possible only “under the impact of and by engagement with evilthe tragic rise born of the fortunate fall”.“The Ministers Black Veil”(4) disgust in science. One source of evil is overweening intellect.“Dr.
13、Rappaccinis Daughter”4. Hawthornes Aestheticsa. Take great interest in history and antiquity.antiquityimagination“dream strange things, and make them look like truth”“the poverty of materials”History and antiquity furnish the soil on which his grows to fruition.b. Romance is the best form for Americ
14、a literature. Romance: Originally courtly stories dealing with the three traditional subjects: the legends about Arthur, Charlemagne and his knights, and classical heroes especially Alexander; it involve the suspension of the circumstances normally attendant on human actions (often through magic) in
15、 order to illustrate a moral point; from 18th century, it started to embrace some sentimental novels. the poverty of materialsHis Puritan prudenceRomance: “to tell the truth and satire and yet not to offend5. Hawthornes Writing Stylesa. The use of symbolb. Revelation of characters psychology: he is
16、good at exploring the complexity of human psychology. There isnt much physical movement going on in his worksc. The use of supernatural mixed with the actuald. His stories are parable (allegory)to teach a lessone. Use of ambiguity to keep the reader in the world of uncertaintymultiple points of viewHawthorn flowers6. The Scarlet Lettera. The StoryAlso an example of Hawthornes combination of history and Imagination. The story se
