美国文学术语

Terms in American Literature (1)

1) American Puritanism

AP is one of the dominant factors in American life and America literature. It was first the religious belief of the Puritans, who had intended to purify and simplify the religious ritual of the Church of England. The optimistic American Puritans were practical idealists, believing that the church should be restored to the “Purity” of the 1st century as established by Jesus Christ himself. The simplicity, freshness and directness characterize the Puritan style of writing. Benjamin as the spokesman of the 18th century America represents Puritan Materialism.

2) American Romanticism

Coming 20 years later than its British counterpart, American Romanticism was regarded as a period of Renaissance in art and literature in the United States. It is generally held that true American literature was born in this period.

Major features:

a. The Westward Movement, the pioneering into the West, provided the American writers with

the best subject and materials.

b. T he newness as a nation, with people’s ideals of individualism and freedom, their dream

that America was to be built into a new Garden of Eden, was strong enough to inspire romantic imagination.

c. American Romanticism was both imitative and innovative. it stresses the relationship

between man and nature.

3) American Transcendentalism

American Transcendentalism is a philosophic and literary movement that flourished in the early 19th century New England, as a reaction against rationalism and Calvinism. It stressed intuitive understanding of god without the help of the church, and advocated independence of the mind. It was a collection of eclectic ideas about literature, philosophy, religion, social reform, and the general state of American culture. Transcendentalism had different meanings for each person involved in the movement, including those who attended the Transcendental Club.

Major features:

a.The transcendentalists especially Emerson placed emphasis on spirit, or the Oversoul, as

the most important thing in the universe.

b.The transcendentalists stressed the importance of the individual.

c.The transcendentalists offered a fresh perception of nature as symbolic of the spirit of Go

d.

Influences: Even today it is difficult to say definitively who can be considered a transcendentalist. Yet all agree that that transcendentalism did flourish, primarily in Concord and Boston in the 19th century and that its influence on American culture and literature was profound. In literature, it’s the summit of American Romanticism It inspired a whole new generation of