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1、第一讲Periods of American Literature16071775 the Colonial Period17651790 the Revolutionary Age17751865 the early national period and the Romantic Period18651914 the Realistic Period19001914 the Naturalistic period19141939 the Modern period1939- the contemporary periodThe Colonial PeriodFrom the foundin
2、g of the first settlement at Jamestown, Virginia, to the outbreak of the American RevolutionHistorical backgroundThe Reformation in Europe most of the founding fathers were puritans the American Puritanism became one of the most enduring shaping influences what is American Puritanism?How does it inf
3、luence American literature?American PuritanismA code of values, a philosophy of life , or a set of tenets of The American puritansThey were idealists believing that their chief business to see that man lived and thought and acted in a way which tended to the glory of God. They accepted the doctrine
4、of predestination, original sin and total depravity, and limited atonement (or the salvation of a selected few) through irresistible grace of God.On the other hand, they were practical idealists, or doctrinaire opportunists. They felt they were exiles under the grace of God to establish a paradise i
5、n the new world, yet the harsh reality forced them to build a way of life that stressed hard work, thrift, piety, and sobriety.The influences on American literatureOptimism: Anglo-American literature, based on the Biblical myth of the Garden of Eden, is a literary expression of the pious idealism of
6、 the Puritan bequest. Fired with a sense of mission, they dreamed of building a new Eden in America, which led to the emergence of American dream in literature.Literary symbolism: Puritans metaphorical mode of perception helped to develop literary symbolism as they saw the physical, phenomenal world
7、 was nothing but a symbol of God. Hence symbolism as a technique was a common practice.The literary scene in Colonial AmericanHumble origins: histories, travel accounts, diaries, letters, sermons, biographies, autobiographies, commonplace books, and poems to record their experiences and express thei
8、r views and feelings.Literature of discovery, of puritan expansion, and of GodWilliam Bradford(1590-1657) Of Plymouth PlantationJohn Smith(1580-1631) A Description of New EnglandAnne Bradstreet(1612-1672 “the Tenth Muse”) Puritan Poet :Edward Taylor (1642-1729) characteristicsFull of Symbolic meanin
9、gsUtilitarian, polemical, or didacticThe style: fresh, simple, and directThe rhetoric is plain and honest, not without a touch of nobility traceable to the direct influence of the BibleThe 18th Century“For three generations the prevailing American character was compact in one type, the man of action
10、 who was also the man of God. Not until the eighteenth century did the rift appear it appeared in the two philosophers, Jonathan Edwards and Benjamin Franklin who fixed the poles of our national life. Jonathan Edwards displayed the infinite inflexibility of the upper levels of the American mind typi
11、cally Franklin the finite flexibility of its lower levels” Van Wyck Brooks: Americans Coming of Age 1915American Puritanism is a two-faceted tradition of religious idealism and level common sense. Edwards represented the former aspect, while Franklin the latterTwo basic patterns of thought in Americ
12、an The influence of the deism. (God as the maker of the clock) The age of enlightenment, reason, order the persistent Calvinist beliefs the “Great Awakening ” Edwards and Franklin represent the paradox of Puritan materialism and immateriality.Benjamin Franklin and his AutobiographyBorn in 1706 into
13、a poor candle-makers family- “poor and obscure”, little formal education.Independent printer and publisher, essayist, scientist, orator, statesman, philosopher, political economist, ambassador, parlor man,- “Jack of all trades”Since early 1750s, public career began. The only American to sign the fou
14、r documents that created the US-The Declaration of Independence, the treaty of alliance with France, the treaty of peace with England, and the constitution.Master of each and mastered by none- the type and genius of his land-Herman Melville thus described him.The Autobiographythe simple yet fascinat
15、ing record of a man rising to wealth and fame from a state of poverty and obscurity, the faithful account of the career of Americans first self-made man. a Puritan document, a record of self-examination and self-improvement. A convincing illustration of the puritan ethic that in order to get on in t
16、he world, one has to be industrious, frugal, and prudent.An eloquent explanation of his philosophy: moderation, order, mans basically good and free nature, mans capability of improvement, mans inalienable rights.Celebrates the fulfillment of the American dream through the spirit of self-reliance.The stylePattern of puritan
