美国文学史复习提纲

I. Explain the following literary terms.

1. Romanticism

The most profound and comprehensive idea of romanticism is the vision of a greater personal freedom for the individual. Appeals to imagination; Stress on emotion rather than reason; optimism, geniality. Subjectivity: in form and meaning.

2 American transcendentalism

American transcendentalism was an important movement in philosophy and literature that flourished during the early to middle years of the nineteenth century (about 1836-1860). For the transcendentalists, the soul of each individual is identical with the soul of the world and contains what the world contains.

3 Realism: “nothing more and nothing less than the truthful treatment of material.” the Civil war

a. verisimilitude of details derived from observation

b. representative in plot, setting and character

c. an objective rather than an idealized view of human experience

4. Modernism like modernism in general is a trend of thought that affirms the power of human beings to create, improve, and reshape their environment, with the aid of scientific knowledge, technology and practical experimentation, and is thus in its essence both progressive and optimistic. The general term covers many political, cultural and artistic movements rooted in the changes in Western society at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth century. American modernism is an artistic and cultural movement in the United States starting at the turn of the 20th century with its core period between World War I and World War II and continuing into the 21st century.

II. Questions and Answers. Give brief answers to each of the following questions in English.

1. What is local color？

an amalgam of romantic plots and realistic descriptions of things immediately observable: the dialects, customs, sights, and sounds of regional America”

2. What is American Puritanism

1). Total Depravity - the concept of Original Si

2). Unconditional Election - the concept of predestination

3). Limited Atonement - Jesus died for the chosen only, not for everyone.

4). Irresistible Grace - God's grace is freely given, it cannot be earned or denied.

5). Perseverance of the "saints" - those elected by God have full power to interpret the will of God, and to live uprightly. If anyone rejects grace after feeling its power in his life, he will be going against the will of God.

3. Analyze Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography.

themes in autobiography: Self- Improvement Mind: Self-education Body: Physical Activity

Behavior: Moral Perfection Religion: The best service to God is to be good to man

Benjamin Franklin and aspects of The American Dream

Rags to Riches: Impotence to Importance: A Philosophy of Individualism:

Freewill vs. Determinism: Hope and Optimism:

The Autobiography is a record of self-examination and self-improvement.

Benjamin Franklin was a spokesman for the new order of the 18th century enlightenment

The Autobiography is a how-to-do-it book, a book on the art of self-im provement. (for example, Franklin’s 13 virtues) Through telling a success story of self-reliance, the book celebrates, in fact, the fulfillment of the American dream.

The Autobiography is in the pattern of Puritan simplicity, directness, and concision

4. What is Imagism?

It is a movement of English and American poets in revolt from Romanticism, which flourish 1910-1917. The characteristic products of the movement are more easily recognized than its theories defined: they tend to be short ,composed of short lines of musical cadence rather than metrical regularity, to avoid abstraction, and to treat the image with a hard, clear precision