大学英语美国文学考试复习范围
美国文学期末考试复习必备(精)
美国文学期末考试复习必备（精）1. What’s Puritanism?A religious and political movement which appeals to the right of the individual to political & religious independence. It includes three parts: a code of values, a point of view & a philosophy of life2. What are the basic Puritan beliefs?1). Total Depravity 2). Unconditional Election 3). Limited Atonement 4). Irresistible Grace 5). Perseverance of the "saints"3. What are American Puritan values?Sobriety thrift, Self-reliance Diligence, Struggle, simple tastes4. What are the features of American literature in the Colonial Period?A. Humble origins: diaries, journals, histories, letters. Its various forms, occupy a major position in the literature of the early colonial period.B. in content: serving either god or colonial expansion or bothC. in form: imitating English literary traditions.D. in style: tight and logic structure, precise and compact expression, avoidance of rhetorical decoration, adoption of homely imagery and simplicity of diction.E. Symbolism formed in this period ------To the pious Puritan, the physical, phenomenal world was nothing but a symbol of God.F. Simple, fresh and direct styleG. the Puritanism formed in this period was one of the most enduring shaping influences in American thought and American literature.5.What are the features of Washington Irving’s works?(1) Gentility, urbanity, pleasantness (2) Avoiding moralizing – amusing and entertaining (3) Enveloping stories in an atmosphere (4) Vivid and true characters (5) Humor – smiling while reading (6) Musical language6. What is theme of “Rip Van Winkle”?①it reveals conservative attitude of Irving. ②it might be an illustration of Irving’s argument that revolution upset the natural order of things.A. The story of man who has difficulties facing his advancing age;B.The contradictory impulses in America toward work-the puritan attitude as opposed to America desire for leisure;C .The theme of escape from one's responsibilities and even one's history;D .The loss of identity.7. What are the author’s attitude changes?It reveals conservative attitude of Irving and he is Unwilling to accept a modern democratic America and prefers the past & a dream-like world 8. What’s New England Transcendentalism?Transcendentalism is the summit of the Romantic Movement in the history of American literature in the 19th century. Transcendentalism has been defined philosophically as “the recognition（认知）in man of thecapacity of knowing truth intuitively（直觉地）”. Transcendentalists place emphasis on the importance of the Over-soul, the individual and Nature.9. What are its basic assumptions?The intuitive faculty, instead of the rational or sensical, became the means for a conscious union of the individual psyche with the world psyche also known as the Over soul, life-force, prime mover and God 10. What are Allan Poe’s poetics theories?The poetry should appeal only to the sense of beauty, not truth, and sets himself against realistic details in poetry. He makes good use of a number of poetic devices to create a mood appropriate to the theme of his poems.11. Why was Nathaniel Hawthorne a master of symbolism?He uses concrete objects as well as characters to serve as his symbols. He likes to uses masks, veils, shadows to give dramatic forms to the universal dilemmas of humanity12. What is the theme of Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter?It Condemned the Puritan philosophy of life.Sin, knowledge and human condition; the nature of evil; identity and society4. What is the symbolic me aning of the Scarlet Letter “A”?A.” Adultery", a token of shameB. a sign of Hester's "ability“C. "Angel" appearing in the skyD.”Adamic", since the sin is prehistoric and human E .the rising “America"13. What story is told in Moby-Dick?It is a thrilling adventure story which is the realistic about a whaling voyage within which is set a symbolic account of the conflict between man and his fate.14. What is the symbolic meaning of Moby-Dick?1) Mystery of the universe, 2) power of grant nature, 3) evil of the world 4) Its whiteness-paradoxical color: death and corruption, purity, innocence and youth.15. What are the popular themes of Emily Dickinson’s poetry? Death, love, friendship, nature, immortality.ment on the image of Huckleberry Finn?He is loyal, cheerful, fair-minded boy with “a sound heart and a deformed conscience, with the eventual victory of his moral conscience over his social awareness, Huck grows. Huck is not only a lovely boy in the novel, but also a portrait standing for the young America. Huck is not only a lovely boy in the novel, but also a portrait standing for the young America.17. What’s the social significance of him?Huck develops a different view of blacks through the story. It is not an instant change, but a gradual process. Huck himself undergoes a change; he stops accepting the social norms and instead follows his own beliefs. He acquires these beliefs after many adventures with the slave Jim. In thisway, Twain encourages people to be like Huck and not to accept the racism just because society accepts it.18. Why are naturalists inevitably pessimistic in their view?A. Naturalism was greatly influenced by Darwin's evolutionary theory and French literatureB. Naturalists accepted the more negative implications of Darwin's theory and used it to count for the behavior of those characters in literary works who are conceived as more or less complex combinations of inherited attributes, their habits conditioned by social and economic forces.C. Naturalism is evolved from realism when the author's tone in writing becomes less serious and less sympathetic but more ironic and more pessimistic.19.What are the features of Frost’s poetry?1. Frost’s poetry mainly reflects life in rural New England2. His poems often shift dramatically from humorous tones to tragic ones3. Much of his poetry is concerned with how people interact with their environment4. Frost disliked free verse; He often wrote in the standard meter of blank verse20. What is the theme of “The Road Not taken” Individualism, Caution, Commitment, Accepting a ChallengeAnd “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”?The poem isprimarily oriented towards the pleasures of the scene and the responsibility of life.21.What are the features of modernist literature?A. Its strong and conscious break with traditional forms, perceptions and techniques of expression.B. Its great concern with language and aspects of its medium.22. What is “Lost generation”?Literally, it is the generation of people born between 1883 and 1900.They were disillusioned by World War I and displeased with American social values, sexual and aesthetic conventions, and established morality. They first fled to cities such as Chicago & San Francisco; then to Paris, London, Madrid, Barcelona, and Rome. They were full of youthful idealism and pioneered new ways of writing; they were devoid of faith and alienated from civilization.23. What is a typical Hemingway Code Hero?The Code Hero believes in “Nada,” meaning nothing. There is also no after life.•The Code Hero is an individualist and free-willed. He believes in courage and honor and has his own set of morals and principles based on his beliefs in honor, courage and endurance.• A code hero never shows emotions.• A code hero does not commit to women.• A code hero shows qualities such as bravery, adventure, and love of travel.• A code hero dislikes darkness. It symbolizes death and is a source of fear. The rite of manhood for the code hero is facing death.24.What is the theme of the short story “A Clean Well-LightedPlace”?Nothing (or nada) through the old man's unsuccessful suicide and the middle-aged man's soliloquy.25.What is the theme of The Great Gatsby?A sensitive and symbolic treatment of the themes of contemporary life related with irony and pathos to the legend of the "America dream" What kind of person is Gatsby?He is a poor youth from the Midwest and at last became a self-made wealthy man. Gatsby is the last romantic heroes and he is a mysterious figure whose intensity of dream partakes of a mind that embodies America itself.26.What are Faulkner’s famous novels? What are the features of his novels? "The sound and the Fury", "As I Lay Dying", "Light in the August", "Absalom, Absalom!" 2) On history and the problem of race; on folk human of the south; on horror, violence and abnormal to arouse moral outrage.1.Discuss Twain’s art of fiction2.A. Mark Twain uses the Mississippi alley as his fictional kingdom,writing about the landscape and people, the customs and the dialects of one particular region, and is therefore known as a local colorist. B. He creates life-like characters, especially the unconventional Huckleberry Finn, who runs away from civilization and stands opposite to conventional village morality. C. He uses a simple, direct vernacular language, totally different from any precious literary language. It is the kind of colloquial belonging to the lower class, the living local American English.D. He has created a special humor to satirize and the decayed convention.2 1). The story takes place along the Mississippi River before the Civil War in the United States, around 1850. Along the river floats a small raft, with two people on it: One is an ignorant, uneducated black slave named Jim and the other is little uneducated outcast white boy, Huck Finn. The novel relates the story of the escape of Jim from slavery and, more important, how Huck Finn, floating along with Jim and helping him as best as he could, changes his mind, his prejudice, about Black people, and comes to accept Jim as a man and as a close friend as well.2.) (theme)1) The Theme of the novel may be best summed in a word “freedom”: Huck wants to escape from the bond of civilization and Jim wants to escape from the yoke of slavery. 2) The novel is a criticism of social injustice, hypocrisy, conservativeness and narrow-mindedness of the American small town society.3.Make a brief comment on Mark Twain’s achievements in this novel in 200-250 words.The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, first published in 1876, is a child’s adventure story; it is also, however, the story of a young boy’s transition into a young man. In some ways, it is a bildungsroman, a novel whose principle subject is the moral, psychological, and intellectual development of a youthful main character. It is not a true bildungsroman, however, because Twain did not take Tom into full1. The hero of the novel through adventures with lively style to satirize the American hypocrisy of social custom, vulgar hypocrisy of religious rituals and inflexible stale school education2. "Tom Sawyer--with its strong deep local characteristics of humor and keen observation of the character, had become the greatest of the children's literature works, is a United States rural " golden era "4. 1)The Pequod-a symbol of doom（death);named after a Native American tribe in Massachusetts, did not survive the arrival of white men (extincted), is painted gloomy black and covered in whale teeth and bones 2) Moby Dick-unknown and unknowable truths, inscrutable, mysterious, mirrors its environment, only the surface of the ocean is available for human observation and interpretation, the depths conceal unknown truths--A metaphor for the human relationship with the Christian God: God is unknown and cannot be pinned down (defined). to the pequod’screw, Moby Dick is a concept onto which they can display their anxiety about dangerous and frightening jobs, to Ahab Moby Dick is a manifestation of all that is wrong with the world, It is his destiny to get rid of this symbolic evil 3)Queequeg’s Coffin sy mbolizes life and death.5. Try to discuss the theme of “The Minister’s Black Veil”.A. Sin and EvilB. History and AntiquityC. Alienation - a character is in a state of isolation because of self-cause, or societal cause, or a combination of both.D. Puritan New England - used as a background and setting in many tales.E. Other themes include individual vs. society, self-fulfillment vs. frustration, hypocrisy vs. integrity, love vs. hate, and fate vs. free will, etc.。
美国文学期末复习资料(完美版)
Black humor(黑色幽默)：Black humor refers to the use of the morbid and the absurd in literature for darkly comic purpose. It carries the tone of anger and bitterness in the grotesque situations of suffering, anxiety and death. It makes readers laugh at the blackness of modern life. The representative novel of black humor in American literature is Joseph Heller’ Catch -22. 《第二十二条军规》Anti-hero （反英雄）:Ant-ihero refers to the chief person in a modern novel or play whose character is widely discrepant from that which we associate with the traditional protagonist or hero of a serious literary work. Instead of manifesting largeness, dignity, power, or heroism, the antihero is petty, ignominious, passive, ineffectual, or dishonest. The use of non-heroic protagonists occurs as early as the picaresque novel （流浪汉小说） of the 16th century, and the heroine of Defoe’s Moll Flanders 《摩尔·弗兰德斯》is a thief and a prostitute （妓女）. The term ―antihero‖, however, is usually applied to writings in the period of disillusion after the Second World War. For example, Yossarian in Joseph Heller’s Catch -22.《第二十二条军规》Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village though; He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with snow. My little horse must think it queer To stop without a farmhouse near Between the woods and frozen lake The darkest evening of the year. He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if there is some mistake The only other sound ’s the sweep Of easy wind and downy flake. The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep. 雪夜林畔小驻想来我认识这座森林，林主的庄宅就在邻村,却不会见我在此驻马，看他林中积雪的美景。
美国文学考试重点
美国文学考试重点美国文学考试的重点可以分为以下几个方面：1. 早期美国文学：- 殖民时期文学：包括早期殖民地的日记、信件和宗教作品等，如《普利茅斯纪事》和《普罗维登斯计划》。
- 紧随其后的大量宗教文学作品，如《新英格兰的校训》。
- 托马斯·佩恩的《常识》：这本书在美国独立运动中起到了重要的作用。
2. 美国文学的形成与发展：- 19世纪初的浪漫主义文学：如华盛顿·欧文的《睡美人和其他故事》和詹姆斯·菲尼莫尔·库珀的《最后的莫西干人》。
- 华尔特·惠特曼的《草叶集》：这本诗集在美国文学史上具有重要地位。
- 女性作家：如哈丽特·比彻·斯托的《汤姆叔叔的小屋》和艾米莉·迪金森的诗歌作品。
3. 20世纪的美国文学：- 现代主义文学：如欧内斯特·海明威的《老人与海》和威廉·福克纳的《喧哗与骚动》。
- 战争文学：如约翰·史坦贝克的《愤怒的葡萄》和约瑟夫·海勒的《23个故事和一个司令》。
- 迈尔斯·杰克逊的《杀死一只知更鸟》：这是美国文学中一本重要的反种族主义作品。
4. 当代美国文学：- 现实主义：如托尼·莫里森的《亲爱的》和唐·德里罗的《百年孤独》。
- 同性恋与性别研究：如杰夫·艾斯特里奇的《中性国度》和艾美丽·P. 亨德森的《一个男小地方》。
此外，还需要了解美国文学的主要流派和文学理论，如现实主义、象征主义、后现代主义等，以及相关的文学批评方法。
最好的准备方式是广泛阅读美国经典文学作品并理解其背后的文化、历史和社会背景。
英美文学II期末复习范围
英美文学II期末考试题型和复习围题型分布：I. Multiple choice.〔20%, 2 points for each〕II. Matching. (10%, 1 point for each)III. Literary Terms. (20%, 4 points for each)IV. Literary Translation. (20%)V. Literary work analysis. (30 %, 15 per each)1.Benjamin Franklin: The Autobiography(富兰克林自传); Poor Richard’s Almanac (穷理查年鉴)2.托马斯·恩〔Thomas Paine): the age of reason(理性时代); the American crisis(美国危机)3.华盛顿·欧文(Washington Irving ：The Sketch Book〔见闻札记〕，a history of New York〔纽约外史〕4.James Fenimore Cooper〔詹姆斯·费尼莫尔·库柏〕: 杀鹿者〔The Deerslayer〕最后的莫希干人(The Last of the Mohicans) ?探路人?The Pathfinder ?拓荒者?(The Pioneer) ?大草原?(The Prairie) the five novels prise (The Leatherstocking Tales)皮袜子故事集5.威廉·卡伦·布莱恩特〔William Cullen Bryant) :To a Waterfowl 致水鸟? ?死亡随想?(Thanatopsis)即英文“死亡观〞〔view of death〕的希腊文5.Nathaniel Hawthorne (纳撒尼尔·霍桑): 带七个尖顶的阁楼(The House of the Seven Gables ) 红字〔The Scarlet Lett er〕古宅青苔(Mosses from The Old Manse)The Marble Faun ?玉石人像?6.Herman Melville : 赫尔曼·梅尔维尔?白鲸?Moby-Dick ?泰比?Typee Omoo ?奥姆?Redburn ?雷德伯恩? ?白外套?White-Jacket ?水手比利·巴德? Billy Budd7.亨利·沃兹沃斯·朗费罗(Henry Wadsworth Longfellow) A Psalm of Life 人生礼赞The Song of Hiawatha(海华沙之歌) 我逝去的青春my lost youth The Slave’s Dream奴隶的梦8.沃尔特·惠特曼〔Walt Whitman) ?草叶集?〔Leaves of Grass〕9.哈丽叶特·比切·斯托〔Harriet Beecher Stowe) 汤姆叔叔的小屋Uncle Tom's Cabin11. 马克·吐温〔Mark Twain〕: ?汉尼拔杂志?〔Hannibal Journal〕The Adventures of Tom Sawyer?汤姆·索亚历险记? 密西西比河上的生活Life on the Mississippi哈克贝利·费恩历险记?〔Adventures of Huckleberry Finn) ?镀金时代? the gilded age Innocents Abroad 〔流浪汉在外〕Missouri Courier Roughing It ?苦行记?12.O.Henry 欧·亨利?警察与赞美诗?〔The Cop and theAnthem〕13.Henry James 亨利·詹姆斯The American ?美国人? Daisy Miller?黛西·米勒? The Portrait of a Lady ?一位女士的画像? The Bostonians?波士顿人? The Wings of the Dove?鸽翼? The Ambassadors?使节? The Golden Bowl?金碗? 14.Jack London 杰克·伦敦Martin Eden,马丁·伊登The Call of the Wild ?野性的呼唤? The Sea Wolf ?海狼? White Fang?白牙?15.Theodore Dreiser西奥多·德莱塞: sister carrie?嘉莉妹妹? Jennie gerhardt?珍妮姑娘? An American Tragedy?美国悲剧?16.Ezra Pound 埃兹拉·庞德Hugh Selwyn Mauberley ?休·赛尔温·毛伯利? TheCantos?诗章?17. Edwin Arlington Robinson 埃德温·阿林顿·罗宾逊Richard Cory理查德·科里MiniverCheevy 米尼弗契维the house on the hill18.Robert Frost 罗伯特·弗罗斯特: Mountain Interval ?山间? New Hampshire新罕布什尔州19.Carl Sandburg桑德堡: chicago fog20.Wallace Stevens 华莱士·史蒂文斯Anecdote of the Jar 坛子轶事21.Thomas Stearns Eliot 托马斯·斯特尔那斯·艾略特Prufrock and Other Observations普鲁弗洛克及其他? The Sacred Wood ?神圣的树林? The22.Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald弗朗西斯·斯科特·基·菲茨杰拉德: This Side of Paradise人间天堂The Beautiful and Damned 美丽与消灭Tender Is the Night 夜色温柔The Great Gatsby了不起的盖茨比23.Ernest Miller Hemingway欧斯特·米勒尔·海明威: The Sun Also Rises?太阳照样升起? A Farewell to Arms?永别了，武器? For Whom the Bell Tolls?丧钟为谁而鸣? The Old Man and the Sea ?老人与海?24.John Steinbeck约翰·斯坦贝克: Tortilla Flat ?煎饼坪? Of Mice and Men?人鼠之间? The Long Valley 长谷The Grapes of Wrath?愤怒的葡萄?25.William Faulkner 威廉·福克纳: The Sound and the Fury ?喧哗与骚动? As I Lay Dying ?我弥留之际? Light in August ?八月之光? Absalom, Absalom! ?押沙龙，押沙龙！? Sanctuary ?圣殿? The Hamlet ?村子? Go Down, Moses ?去吧，摩西?26. EugeneO'Neill 尤金·奥尼尔: The Emperor Jones ?琼斯皇帝? The Hairy Ape?毛猿? Anna Christie安娜·克里斯蒂名词解释20个：1.Metaphor：隐喻A metaphor is a figure of speech that identifies something as being the same as some unrelated thing for rhetorical effect, thus highlighting the similarities between the two. While a simile pares two items, a metaphor directly equates them, and so does not necessarily apply any distancing words of parison, such as "like" or "as". A metaphor is a type of analogy and is closely related to other rhetorical figures of speech which achieve their effects via association, parison or resemblance - including allegory, hyperbole, and simile.2. ; Lost Generation ：迷惘的一代The "Lost Generation" was the generation that came of age during World War I. The term was popularized by Ernest Hemingway, who used it as one of two contrasting epigraphs for his novel,The Sun Also Rises.In that volume Hemingway credits the phrase to Gertrude Stein, who was then his mentor and patron. This generation included distinguished artists such as F. Scott Fitzgerald,[1]T. S. Eliot,John Dos Passos,Waldo Peirce。
美国文学考试资料(英文版)(doc 10页)
Part one:Answer: 1—60A,B,D,D,C/ D,A,B,A,D/ A,A,D,D,B/ C,C,B,D,CD A B D B/ A C B C D/ C D C D A/ B,A,C,A,DB,C,C,B,A/ D,A,B,D,D/ A,A,D,D,B/ C,C,A,D,C11.Hawthorne’s masterpiece, one of the greatest novels of the world is The Scarlet Letter.2.Emerson’s first startling book is Nature.3.Ralph Waldo Emerson is the chief spokesman of this spiritual movement ofTranscendentalism.4.Washington Irving is worth the honor of being “for his literary craftsmanship for his literarycraftsmanship.5.The colonial influence over American Romanticism made American Romantic writers moremoralize than their English counter-parts.6.The impact of Darwin's evolutionary theory on the American thought and the influence of the19th century French literature on the American men of letters gave rise to another school of realism: American Naturalism.7.In the first part of the 20th century, apart from Darwinism, there were two thinkers theGerman Karl Marx and the Austrian Sigmund Freud, whose ideas had the greatest impact on the period.8. In his poetry, Robert Frost made the colloquial New England speech into a poetic expression.The theme of returning to nature could be read in Leather-Stocking Tales by Cooper.10. About the novel The Scarlet Letter, which of the following statements is not true? DA. It's very hard to say that it is a love story or a story of sin.B. It's a highly symbolic story and the author is a master of symbolism.C. It's mainlyabout the moral, emotional and psychological effects of the sin upon the main characters and the people in general.D. In it the letter A takes the same symbolic meaning throughout the novel.11. Ezra Pound showed great interest in Chinese literature and translated the poetry of Li Bai into English.12. Eli ot’s first major poem (1917 The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock , has been called the first masterpiece of modernism in English.13. The Fitzgerald lived so extravagantly that they frequently spent more money than Fitzgerald earned for parties, liquor, entertaining their friends and traveling. It was this living style that nicknamed the decade of the 1920s as The Roaring Twenties,The Jazz age andThe Dollar Decade.14. Hemingway was badly wounded in Italy and sent to a hospital where he fell in love with a nurse. These two persons later became the characters of his novel A Farewell to Arms15. The Grapes of Wrath tells the Joad family’s life from the time they were evicted from their farm in Oklahoma until their first winter in California.16. Faulkner wrote about the society in the South by inventing families which represented different social forces: the old decaying upper class; the rising, ambitious, unscrupulous class of the “poor Whites”; and the Negroes who laboured for both of them.17. In Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury, he used a technique called stream of consciousness , in which the whole story was told through the thoughts of four characters.18. Faulkner’s novel The Sound and the Fury describes the decay and downfall of an old southern aristocratic family, symbolizing the old social order, told from four different points of view.19. To Faulkner, the primary duty of a writer was to explore and represent the infinite possibilities inherent in human life. Therefore a writer should observe with no judgment whatsoever and reduce authorial intrusion to the lowest minimum.20. Which of the following is right about American fiction from 1945 onwards?A group of new writers who survived the war wrote about their ideals within the artistic field.1. The Beat Generation is a large group including San Francisco writers, the name referred simultaneously_______, through drugs, and alcohol.• A. to their sense that society was worn out• B. to their interest in new forms of experience• C. to the rhythm of jazz2. In the Depression Age, John Steinbeck is the famous leftist for his sympathetic story about drifting farm laborers and factory workers.3. The 1940s saw the flourishing of a new contingent of writers, including R. P. Warren, A. Miller, T. Williams, K. A. Porter and E. Welty. All but Miller were from the South4. The Great God Brown fuses symbolism, poetry, and the affirmation of a pagan idealism to show how materialistic civilization denies the life—giving impulses to and destruction of the genuine art.5. The realistic schools led by Mark Twain and Henry James differ in their understanding of the truth6. Eliot’s first major poem (1917) has been called the first masterpiece of modernism in English.A. The Love Song of J. Alfred PrufrockB. The Waste LandC. Four QuartetsD. Preludes7. Which story is William Dean Howells’ masterpiece on the American spirit of the self-made man?A. A Modern InstanceB. The Luck of Roaring CampC. The Rise of Silas LaphamD. A Woman’s Reason8. Which of the following is depicted as the mythical county in William Faulkner'snovels?A. Cambridge.B. YoknapatawphaC. Mississippi.D.Tagliamento9. “The apparition of these faces in the crowd; Petals on a wet, black bough.”This line is the shortest poem written by ______.A. T. S. EliotB. Robert FrostC. Ezra PoundD.E. E. Cummings10. Which couple of the following are not written by Henry James?A. The Portrait of A Lady and The EuropeansB. The Wings of the Dove and The AmbassadorsC. What Maisie Knows and The BostoniansD. The Genius and The Gilded Age11. __________ is said to be a “historical novel”by Faulkner.A. Go Down, MosesB. Light in AugustC. Absalom, AbsalomD. The Sound and the Fury12. Which of the following is said of the American naturalists?A. They preferred to have their own region and people at the forefront of thestories.B. Their characteristic setting is usually an isolated town.C. Human should be united because they had to adapt themselves to changingharsh environment.D. Their characters were conceived more or less complex combinations ofinherited attributes, their habits conditioned by social and economic forces.13. The great sea adventure story Moby-Dick is usually considered______.A. a symbolic voyage of the mind in quest of the artistic truth and beautyB. an adventurous exploration into man's relationship with natureC. a symbolic voyage of the mind in quest of the truth and knowledge of the universeD. a simple whaling tale or sea adventure14. The American 30s lasted from the Crash, through the ensuing Great Depression,until the outbreak of the 2nd World War 1939. This was a period of _______.A. a new social consciousnessB. bleaknessC. important social movementsD. All above15. As to the great American poet Ezra Pound, which of the following statements is not true?A. His language is usually oblique yet marvelously compressed and his poetry isdense with personal, literary, and historical allusions.B. His artistic talents are on full display in the history of the Imagist Movement.C. From his analysis of the Chinese ideogram Pound learned to anchor his poeticlanguage in concrete, perceptual reality, and to organize images into larger patterns through juxtaposition.D. For he was politically controversial and notorious for what he did in thewartime, his literary achievement and influence are somewhat reduced.16. Sinclair Lewis’ Babbitt presents a documentary picture of the narrow and limited ______.A. up-class mindB. middle-class mindC. proletarianD. ordinary people17. In A Rose for Emily, Faulkner makes best use of ______ devices in narration.A. romanticB. realisticC. gothicD. modernist18. American diction in the 1960s and 1970s proves to be different from itspredecessors. It is always referred to as “_______”.A. ImagismB. black humorC. new fictionD. the Beat Generation19. As an autobiographical play, O’Neill’s ______ (1951) has gained its status as aworld classic and simultaneously marks the climax of his literary career and the coming of age of American drama.A.Long Day’s Journey into NightB. The Hairy ApeC. Desire under the ElmsD. The Iceman Cometh20. Tender Is the Night is a ______ by Fitzgerald.A. short storyB. novellaC. poemD. novel1. Which of the following notions is not of literature?A. local colorB. sub-consciousnessC. stream of consciousnessD. naturalism2. As Fitzgerald’s writing style is concerned, which of the following is true?A. The author dropped off the device of having events observed by a “centralconsciousness”.B. His intervening passages of narration leave the tedious process of transition tothe author’s imagination.C. His diction and metaphors are partially original and details accurate.D. The scenic methods are employed, each of which consists of one or moredramatic scenes.3. The Age of Realism in the literary history of the U. S. refers to the period from______ to ______.A. 1861—1914B. 1863—1918C. 1865—1914D. 1865—19454. ______ is not the representative writer in the Age of Realism in the literary historyof the U.S.A. Henry JamesB. Emily DickinsonC. William Dean HowellsD. Mark Twain5. ______ explores the scrupulous individualism in a world of fantastic speculationand unstable values, and gives its name to the get-rich-quick years of the postCivil War era.A. Innocents AbroadB. The Gilded AgeC. Roughing ItD. The Middle Year s6. The impact of Darwin’s evolutionary theory on the American thought and theinfluence of the 19th century French literature and the American men of letters gave rise to another powerful school of realism of American literature: American ______.A. RomanticismB. TranscendentalismC. The Lost GenerationD. Naturalism7. In the first part of the 20th century, apart from Darwinism, there were two importantthinkers, ______, whose ideas had the greatest impact on the writing of American modernist period.A. the German Karl Marx and the Austrian Sigmund FreudB. the German Karl Marx and the American Sigmund FreudC. the Swiss Carl Jung and the American William JamesD. the Austrian Karl Marx and the German Sigmund Freud8. In his poetry, Robert Frost made the colloquial ______ speech into a poeticexpression.A. EnglandB. New EnglandC. PlymouthD. Boston9. As the theme of New England Transcendentalism, returning to nature could be read in Walden by ______.A. CooperB. TwainC. IrvingD. Thoreau10. About the novel The Scarlet Letter, which of the following statements is not true?A. It’s very hard to say that it is a love story or a story of sin.B. It’s a highly symbolic story and the author is a master of symbolism.C. It’s mainly about the moral, emotional and psychological effects of the sin upon the main characters and the people in general.D. In it the letter A takes the same symbolic meaning throughout the novel.11. ________ showed great interest in Chinese literature and translated the poetry of Li Bai into English.A. Ezra PoundB. Robert FrostC. T. S. EliotD.E. E. Cummings12.Psychological realists take the psychologist view that _______ shapes up the social life.A. subconscious instinctB. intuitive and self-reliantC. evil in human heartD. the circumstance of no freedom of choice13. The Fitzgerald lived so extravagantly that they frequently spent more money thanFitzgerald earned for parties, liquor, entertaining their friends and traveling. It is this living style that nicknamed the decade of the 1920s as .A. The Roaring TwentiesB. The Jazz ageC. The Dollar DecadeD. All of above14. Hemingway was badly wounded in Italy and sent to a hospital where he fell inlove with a nurse. They later became the characters of his novel .A. The Old Man and the SeaB. For Whom the Bell TollsC. The Sun Also RisesD. A Farewell to Arms15. ______ tells the Joad family’s life from the time they were evicted from their farmin Oklahoma until their first winter in California.A. Of Mice and MenB. The Grapes of WrathC. The Great GatsbyD. For Whom the Bell Tolls16. In the first half of the 19th century, America witnessed a cultural flowering period which is called “_____”.A. the English RenaissanceB. the Second RenaissanceC. the American RenaissanceD. the Salem Renaissance17. In Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury, he used a technique called , inwhich the whole story was told through the thoughts of four characters.A. symbolismB. imagismC. the stream of consciousnessD. naturalism18. As a philosophical and literary movement, the main issues involved in the debate of Transcendentalism are generally concerning ______.A. nature, man and the universeB. the relationship between man and womanC. the development of Romanticism in American literatureD. the cold, rigid rationalism of Unitarianism19. To Faulkner, the primary duty of a writer is to explore and represent the infinitepossibilities inherent in human life. Therefore a writer should ______.A. observe with no judgment whatsoeverB. reduce authorial intrusion to the lowest minimumC. observe at a great distance and sometimes participate in the eventsD. both A and B20. Which of the following just depicts the American fiction in the field of literaturefrom 1945 onwards?A. Black fiction began to attract critical attention during the 1950s.B. There appeared a significant group of Jewish-American writers whose workswere set against the Jewish experience and tradition.C. A group of new writers who survived the war wrote about their ideals, seekingvitality in more widely popular material.D. American fiction in the 1950s and 1960s proves to be a harvest which derivedfrom its predecessors.Answer: 1—60A,B,D,D,C/ D,A,B,A,D/ A,A,D,D,B/ C,C,B,D,CD A B D B/ A C B C D/ C D C D A/ B,A,C,A,DB,C,C,B,A/ D,A,B,D,D/ A,A,D,D,B/ C,C,A,D,CPart Two1. Leather-stocking Tales F. Cooper frontier literature2. The Portrait of a Woman H. James psychological realism3. The Sketch Book W. Irving American short stories4. The 22 Catch J. Heller fiction of black humour5. Leaves of Grass W. Whitman free verse6. The Sound and the Fury W. Faulkner the stream of consciousness7. The Call of Wild J. London leftist and muckraker8. Nature R. W. Emerson transcendentalism9. The Great Gatsby F. S. Fitzgerald T he Jazz Age10. The Grapes of Wrath J. Steinbeck Depression literature and mild leftist1. Howl A. Ginsberg the beat generation2. The Zoo Story E. Albee absurdist theatre3. The Purloined Letter E. A. Poe detective stories4. The Native Son R. Wright H arlem Renaissance and black novels5. The Scarlet Letter N. Hawthorne black vision6. The Sun also Rises E. Hemingway the lost generation and war novels7. Autobiography B. Franklin individualism8. The Waste Land T. S. Eliot imagist poetry9. Sister Carrie T. Dreiser naturalism10. Adventures of Huckleberry Fin M. Twain local colorismPart Three1. Who are the forerunners of American naturalism?2. Who is considered the representative of the American literary school of last century: the Lost Generation and what did these men of letters call themselves?3. Which four fictional schools successively came into being in the 20s, 30s, 40s and 60s of the 20th century?4. Who is the most outstanding novelist of the 30th decade of last century and what are his earliest best seller and his greatest book?5. Which names are always associated with the stream-of-consciousness?6. As the following naturalists’example, which two novels are Stephen Crane’s main works ?7. What four literary branches consist of the American realism?8. What skills of literary creation does the 20th century stream-of-consciousness of American literature often include?9. Which three periods consist of the main development of American literature?10. What special names are given to the 20s, 30s, and 50s of the 20th century?11. Who are the forerunners of the first three main branches of American realism?12. By what historical events are the three main periods of American literature briefly divided?13. What renaissances successively appeared in the development of American literature?14. What expressive forms does post-modernism have?15. During the South Renaissance, what literary schools was formed one after another by nearly the same key members?16. What are the three main branches of knowledge covered by the Course of American Literature?17. Which main literary schools played the role in American early modernism of the 20s to 30s of the 20th century?18. What features does romanticism have in its style?19. What are the features of expression of American Romanticism?20.Part Three answer1. A. Stephen Crane, B. Frank Norris C. Theodore Dreiser2. A. Ernest Hemingway, B. exiles/expatriates3. A. the Lost Generation fiction, B. the leftist fiction,C. the south fiction,D. the Beat Generation fiction4. A. John Steinbeck B. Of Mice and Men , C. The Grapes of Wrath5. A. William James, B. Henry James, C. Sigmund Freud,D. Carl G. Jung,E. James Joyce,F. T.S. Eliot,6. A.《Maggie: A Girl of the Streets》 B.《The Red Badge of Courage》7. A. social realism, B. psychological realism, C. regionalism, D. naturalism8. A. interior monologue, B. free-association, C. multi-level structure9. A. the period of Romanticism, B. the period of Realism, C. the period of Modernism10. A. The Jazz Age, B. The Red Decade, C. The Timid Decade11. A. W.D. Howells for social realism, B. Mark Twain for regionalism,C. H. James for psychological realism12. A. the War of Independence—the Civil War, B. the Civil War—World War I,C. World War I—World War II—the end of last century13. A. the 1st American Renaissance in romantic period,B. the 2nd American Renaissance during the 20s—30s of the 20th century,C. the Harlem Renaissance during the 30s of the 20th century,D. the South Renaissance during the 40s of the 20th century14. A. black humor, B. fiction of absurdity,C. meta-fiction,D. avant-garde fiction15. A. Fugitives B. Agrarians C. The New Criticism16. A. the history of literature, B. reading of literary works, C. the criticismof literature17. A. the Lost Generation, B. muckraking realism, C. leftist naturalism18. A. imaginative fiction B. ideal emotion C. heroism D. musicality in lines E. gothic and supernatural atmosphere19. A. attention to mental states B. escaping from society and return to natureC. celebration of the landscape with its virginD. influence of puritan strict moral lawsPart FourThe source of New England Transcendentalism is both ________ and ____________.Transcendentalism advocates ________ and _______ of man and nature. Emerson’s _______ is honored as the declaration of transcendentalism and of independence of literature while The American Scholar as the ______ of Intellectual independence.Washington Irving is well known as a writer of ______ and his best ones collected in _______ are Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.James Cooper is well known as the early novelist whose famous stories are collected in his collection of novels: _________. The five collected long stories are his masterpieces that are good examples of the pioneering _______ of American literature.The early sprouting period of American literature is often divided into two halves of _______ and __________The puritans from England came to the new world on purpose to seek for freedom _______, freedom of speech and freedom _________. of religionTwo books by Franklin which is the most widely read are ________ and _________. Melville’s outlook on life was influenced by Hawthorne’s _______, Shakespearean tragic vision and Emersonian ________.Edgar Allen Poe was honored as a _______ of the new style of poetry and American ________, such as The Purloined Letter.Part Four answerAmericans Puritanism European romanticismharmony unityNature manifestoshort stories The Sketch BookThe Leather-stocking Tales west fictionliterature of colonial America literature of reason and revolution.of religion from wantPoor Richard’s Almanac Autobiography of Franklinblack vision Transcendentalismpioneer analyzing novel。
美国文学-文学诗歌期末考试复习大纲
英美文学（2）复习大纲1. Multiple Choices （30 points）基本的文学史实，包括不同时期文学的特点，主要作家的作品以及写作特点等。
2. Gap Filling (10 points)主要作家的代表作3. Definition of Terms (20 points)ImageryWords or phrases that create pictures, or images, in the reader’s mind.American TranscendentalismAme rican Transcendentalism or “New England Transcendentalism” or “American Renaissance” is more of a tendency, an attitude, than the philosophy of Transcendentalists. To “transcend” something is to rise above it, to pass beyond its limits. The major features of New England Transcendentalism can be summarized as the follows:Firstly, the Transcendentalists placed emphasis on spirits, or the Over soul, as the most import thing in the Universe.Secondly, they stressed the importance of the individual. To them, the individual was the most important element of society.Thirdly, they offered a fresh perception of nature as symbol of the Spirit or God. Nature was, to them, alive, filled with God’s overwhelming presence. Transcendentalism is based on the belie f that the most fundamental truths about life and death can be reached only by going beyond the world of senses.As a philosophical and literary movement, Transcendentalism flourished in New England from 1830s to the Civil War. Its doctrines found their greatest literary advocates in Emerson and Thoreau.Free VerseFree Verse is a verse that has either no metrical pattern or an irregular pattern. Although most free verse belongs to the 19th and 20th centuries, it can be found in earlier literature, particularly in the Psalms of the Bible.NaturalismAn extreme form of realism. Naturalistic writers usually depict the sordid side of life and show characters who are severely, if not hopelessly, limited by their environment or heredity.ImagismIt is an influential literary movement that took place in Europe and America from about 1910 to 1920. The imagist poet creates a single sharp image that evokes an emotional response in the reader. Imagism was in a reaction to the “bad habits” of the 19th century poets who were too explicit in their commentary and too repetitious in their subjects, patterns, and meters.Local ColoristsA group of writers who preferred to present social life through portraits of the local characters of specific regions, including people living in that area, the landscape, the other peculiarities like the customs, dialects, costumes and so on. The major local colorists are Hamlin Garland, Mark Twain.Lost GenerationThis term has been used again and again to describe the people of the postwar years. When the First World War broke out, many young men volunteered to take part in “the war to end all wars” only to find that modern warfare was not as glorious or heroic as they thought it to be. Disillusioned and disgusted by the frivolous, greedy, and heedless way of life in America, they began to write and they wrote from their own experience in the war. Among these young writers were the most prominent figures in American literature, especially in modern American literature, for example, Robert Frost, Ezra Pound, Ernest Hemingway, etc. They were basically expatriates who left America and formed a community of writers and artists in Paris, involved with other European novelists and poets in their experimentation on new modes of thought and expression. They were later called by an American writer, Gertrude Stein, also expatriates, “The Lost Generation”.Hemingway HeroesThose protagonists in Hemingway’s fiction, who survive in the process if seeking to master the code known as “grace under pressure” with honesty, the discipline, and the restraint.American Puritanism1. The beliefs and practices characteristic of Puritans (most of whom were Calvinists who wished to purify the Church of England of its Catholic aspects)2. Strictness and austerity in conduct and religionAmerican Puritanism was one of the most enduring shaping influences in American thought and American literature. It has become, to some extent, so much a state of mind, rather than a set of tenets, so much a part of the national cultural atmosphere that the Americans breathe. Without some understanding of Puritanism, there can be no real understanding of American culture and literature.The Jazz Agethe era that immediately followed World War I and lasted until the beginning of the Depression, during which jazz increased in popularity. It was a reaction to the austerity and hardship of the war and was characterized by extravagance and hedonism.4. Questions (22 points)Because I could not stop for DeathSong of MyselfThe Road Not TakenPactIn a Station of the Metro5. Topic Discussion(18 points)Summarize the story of Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and comment on the theme of the novel。
美国文学复习提纲
第一部分殖民时期一、时期综述（关于清教的应该都是重点）1、清教徒采用的文学体裁：A、narratives 日记B、journals 游记2、清教徒在美国的写作内容：①their voyage to the new land ②adapting themselves to unfamiliar climates and crops③about dealing with Indians ④guide to the new land, endless bounty, invitation to bold spirit★3、清教徒的想法：①Puritans want to make up pure their religious beliefs and practices.净化信仰和行为方式②wish to restore simplicity to church services and the authority of the Bible to theology.重建教堂，提供简单服务，建立神圣地位③look upon themselves as a chosen people, and it follow logically that anyone who challenged their way of life is opposing God’s will and is not to be accepted.认为自己是上帝选民，对他们的生活有异议就是反对上帝。
④Puritan opposition to pleasure and the arts sometimes has been exaggerated.反对对快乐和艺术的追求到了十分荒唐的地步。
⑤religious teaching tended to emphasize the image of awrathful God.强调上帝严厉的一面，忽视上帝仁慈的一面。
美国文学考试重点
1.The literature of colonial AmericaWilliam Bradford威廉·布拉德福德（1590年-1657年），五月花号公约签署人之一，于1620年参与创立了普利茅斯殖民地，并在长达30余年的时间里担任普利茅斯总督。
他所撰写的《普利茅斯垦殖记》是关于欧洲新世界殖民史的早期著作之一.Anne Bradstreet美国女诗人布莱德斯特律1612英格兰比安普敦～1672。
9.16,马萨诸塞湾殖民地安多弗美国最早写出真正有价值的英文诗歌的一位女诗人.她的宗教组诗《沉思集》(Contemplations）受到20世纪文学批评界的重视,被认为是一部不朽之作.《凡人的虚荣》（Of the vanity of all worldly creatures)、《灵与肉》(The Flesh and the Spirit）、《献给我亲爱的丈夫》（To My Dear and Loving Husband）、《人世正凋萎，万物有终极》（All things within this fading world hath end)、《心痛手颤写诗句》（With troubled heart and trembling hand I write)、《大卫对扫罗和约拿单的哀悼》(David's Lamentation for Sauland Jonathan）Puritan Thoughts美国清教主义从一开始就是一种精神运动，它不仅仅是一种宗教信仰,而且还是一种极端民主与共和的理论.清教徒在自己的祖国遭受迫害，对英国严酷的社会现实不满而移民到美国。
他们希冀按自己的意欲信仰上帝。
于是，他们致力于建立一个乌托邦式的重视伦理和精神生活的社会模式。
他们崇尚真正的自由——这种真正的自由涵盖了广泛的道德的含义。
他们把一切破坏和蔑视这种自由信念的行为一概斥责为对权威的亵渎.因此，他们认为自己是一群称之为美国人的新人,命定要建立一个新的世界，为人类建造一座“山上的光辉的城市”。
英美文学考试复习点重点整理
英美文学考试复习点重点整理1.现实主义、批判现实主义（代表人物、作品，以及每部作品讲了什么故事）P276—比如《匹克威克外传》主要讲什么？P281 《双城记》主要讲什么？P298 《大卫科波菲尔》主要讲什么？P2922.其中自传体形式的作品有哪些？3.傲慢与偏见的第一个名字：first impression(Pride and prejudice现)4.三姐妹指的是？5.19世纪有名小说名利场副标题：“A Novel Without a Hero”作者：William Makepeace Thackeray P3036.18th浪漫主义作家、代表作P211 反对什么,反抗什么思想？7.Pop代表作有哪些？P134 剪发记？8.玄学诗派有哪些人物组成？Leading Feature? P1169.乌托邦is written in form of ?P3310.Universal Wicks大学才子是谁？P5011.中世纪文学流行的是? 主题特征骑马精神P8？12.最著名作家：乔叟P1913.对于三次征服的概念（1）罗马征服P1 （2）英国人征服P2（3）诺曼征服P514.人民大宪章什么时候出现？时间：1837年1.John MiltonHe was born in London in 1608. He is a master of the blank verse, and a great stylist. And he is famous for his grand style.But his style is never exactly natural. He devoted almost twenty years of his best life to the fight for political, religious and personal liberty as a writer. His famous works are Paradise lost, Paradise Regained, and Samson Agonistes.2.RomanceRomance was the most prevailing kind of literature of theupper class in feudal England in the Medieval Ages. It is a long composition in verse or in prose which describes the life and chivalric adventures of a noble hero. The central character of romances is the knight, a man of noble birth skilled in the use of weapon. The theme of loyalty to king and lord was repeatedly emphasized in romances.3.the EnlightenmentIt is the philosophical and artistic movement growing out of the Renaissance and continuing until the nineteenth century. It was an optimistic belief that humanity could improve itself by applying logic and reasons to all things. Typically, these enlightenment writers would use satire to ridicule what they felt illogical errors in government, socialcustom, and religious belief.4.NeoclassicismThe neoclassical movement began in the mid-18th century and brought about a revival of interest in the old classical work. The neoclassicists held that forms of literature were to be modeled after the classical works of the ancient Greek and Roman writers. They believed that the artistic ideals should be order, logic, restrained emotion and accuracy, and that literature should be in judged in terms of its service to humanity./doc/0d16361832.html,ke poetsAlso called Lake School, it is a name applied to a group of poets in the 19th century, including Wordsworth, Coleridge, and Southey. They had lived in the Lake District in the northwest of England and shared a community of literary and social outlook in their works.6.MetaphysicalAbout the beginning of the 17th century appeared a schoolof poets called “Metaphysical”, including Donne, Herbert, Marvell, Vaughan, and Crashaw. The work of the metaphysical poets are characterized their wit, imaginative picturing, compressions, often cryptic expression and by generally speaking, by mysticism in content and fantasticality in form.7.Heroic coupletsA heroic couplet is a traditional form for English poetry, commonly used for epic and narrative poetry; it refers to poems constructed from a sequence of rhyming pairs of iambic pentameter lines. The rhyme is always masculine. The use of the heroic couplet was first pioneered by Chaucer in The legend of Good Women and The Canterbury Tales.8.BalladsBallad was the most important department of English folk literature. A ballad is a story told in song, usually in 4-line stanzas, with the second and fourth lines rhymed. They are anonymous narrative poems bearing the characteristics of folklore and designed for singing or oral recitation in various English and Scottish dialects. Ballad is mainly the literature of the common people and one is able to understand the outlook of the English common people in feudal society through the ballads. The subjects of ballad are various in kind, as the struggle of young lovers against their feudal—minded families, the conflict between love and wealth, the cruelty of jealousy, the criticism of the civil war, and the matters of class struggle. Usually a ballad deals with a single episode and the beginning is often abrupt, without any introduction to the characters and background information.回答问题1.撒旦为什么选择伊甸园作为复仇之地2.写一个关于傲慢与偏见的小结（作者、人物角色、情节、后果）和主题评价Pride and Prejudice is a novel by Jane Austen, first published in 1813.翻译题1.P103①Throw open all doors; let the re be light ; let every man think and bring his thoughts to the light;dread not any diversities of opinion.②Truth is compared in Scripture to a streaming fountain; if her waters flow not in a perpetual progression, they sicken into a muddy pool of conformity.③Where there is much desire to learn, there of necessity will be much arguing, much writing, many opinions; for opinion in good men is but knowledge in the marking.2.P193It was marked by a strong protest against the bondage of Classicism, by a recognition of the claims of passion and emotion, and by a renewedinterest in medieval literature.。
英美文学考试题型及大致范围
一、根据作品写作家。
（20%）要求：必须写作家全名且不能写错，如Charles Dickens。
二、单选题。
（20%）全部在英国文学选择题和美国文学选择题上。
三、名词解释（20%）transcendentalism,超越论，先验论naturalism,自然主义，本能行动，自然论romanticism,浪漫主义，浪漫精神sonnet,十四行诗，商籁诗renaissance, 文艺复兴the Byronic Hero,拜伦式英雄lyrical ballad,抒情歌谣the lost generation,迷惘的一代beat generation,垮了的一代local color,乡土特色，地域色彩critical realism批判现实主义，批判实在论四、诗歌评论与翻译（20%）The Road Not Taken五、小说评论（20%）Tess of the D’urbervilles.Two days ago, I have read Tess of the d’Urbervilles. Tess is so miserable. She is really a tragic figure in the book TESS of the d’Urberwilles.She was seduced by a so-called gentleman—Alec. And from then on her life totally changed. People looked down on her and respected her no more. Actually she did nothing wrong because before she was seduced she knew nothing of men. She was justa girl when she first met that terrible man. She was forced by thegossips and the church to blame herself for this accident. In order to get rid of the past she decided to go to a distant dairy farm. Maybe God didn’t agree with t hat, because Angel Chare came into her life. Angel is the man Tess loved with her whole heart and life. After their wedding, Tess told everything to Angel, hoping he would forgive her as he was forgiven .But she was wrong. She was not forgiven. Angel left her.Tragedy didn’t stop. Alec found her again. Tess was deceivedagain. She lost Angel for the second time!She forgot the difference between right and wrong. The only thing in her mind is her love to Angel. She lost control! She killed Alec!I was so sad to read the tragic ending. I wanted to ask why the ending is that.Tess’s whole character was honest and faithful. She was always hurt by those people who said they love her. She was so unsophisticated that she trusted everyone else.She loved Angel very much. And she trusted Angel. So she was on her mettle to tell her husband her past. Why didn’t she get Angel’s forgive?It’s unfair. Men are always easy to get forgive. Women are always easy to be hurt.In old China there was a culture, which didn’t think of women as human beings. If you asked one if he was the oldest in his family, he would probably answer “yes” even if he had some elder sisters. If you asked why then he would say, “Ha, they are not included!” People gave birth to many girls in order to ha ve only one boy to keep the family name going. They thought girls had no use for the family.Nowadays women’s situations have become much better. Some are because of the change of society and some are because of civilization.Just let those poor painful women like TESS be just a memory. 《德伯家的苔丝》是哈代著称于世的“威塞克斯系列”中的一部力作。
美国文学考试范围整理参考1
1.AutobiographyAutobiography is a branch of literature which is an account of a person‟s life. The essential difference between a novel and autobiography is this:①The novel …uses‟ real experience as the raw material for fiction by inventing plots and characters.②Autobiography simply presents with a more elegant and formally ordered version of the writer‟s experiences and memories.2.Legend1)Legend, a story or group of stories handed down through popular oral tradition,usually consisting of an exaggerated or unreliable account of some actually or possibly historical person —often a saint, monarch, or popular hero.2)Legends are sometimes distinguished from myths in that they concern humanbeings rather than gods, and sometimes in that they have some sort of historical basis whereas myths do not; but these distinctions are difficult to maintain consistently.3)The term was originally applied to accounts of saints' lives, but is now appliedchiefly to fanciful tales of warriors, criminals, and other sinners; or more recently to those bodies of biographical rumor and embroidered anecdote surrounding dead film stars and rock musicians.3.Gothic romance1) A type of novel that flourished in the late 18th and early 19th century in England.Gothic romances were mysteries, often involving the supernatural and heavily tinged with horror, and they were usually set against dark backgrounds of medieval ruins and haunted castles.2)Seemingly modeled on Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre and Daphne du Maurier'sRebecca, these novels usually concern spirited young women, either governesses or new brides, who go to live in large gloomy mansions populated by peculiar servants and precocious children and presided over by darkly handsome men with mysterious pasts.4.TranscendentalismTranscendentalism is the summit of the Romantic Movement in the history of American literature in the 19th century. Transcendentalism has been defined philosophically as “the recognition（认知）in man of the capacity of knowing truth intuitively（直觉地）”. Transcendentalists place emphasis on the importance of the Over-soul(超灵), the individual and Nature. The most important representatives are Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau.5.American Realism1)As a literary movement, Realism came in the latter half of the nineteenth centuryas a reaction against “the lie” of Romanticism and Sentimentalism.2)In terms of content, it pursues the verisimilitude (逼真,相似) of detail derived fromobservation.3)In matters of style, there was contrast between the genteel and graceful prose andthe vernacular diction and rough and ready frontier humour.4)Truthful treatment of the material.6.American Tall Tales1)Tall Tales are exaggerated and imaginary stories from the 1800's.2)They were made-up to tell about the courage many had while exploring andadventuring to the "WILD, WILD, WEST".3)These stories entertained people around campfires, on steamboats, and manyother places.7.Sentimental novel1)Sentimental novel (or domestic novel), broadly speaking, is an 18th centuryliterary genre that exploits the reader‟s capacity for tenderness, compassion, or sympathy to a disproportionate degree by presenting a beclouded ( 遮蔽) or unrealistic view of its subject.2)The sentimental novel exalted feeling above reason and raised the analysis ofemotion to a fine art. Sentimental novels relied on emotional response, both from their readers and characters. They feature scenes of distress and tenderness, and the plot is arranged to advance emotions rather than action. The result is a valorization of "fine feeling," displaying the characters as a model for refined, sensitive emotional effect. The ability to display feelings was thought to show character and experience, and to shape social life and relations.8.Lost GenerationThe Lost Generation is a term used to describe a group of American writers who were rebelling against what America had become by the 1900‟s.Seeking the bohemian lifestyle and rejecting the values of American materialism, a number of intellectuals, poets, artists and writers fled to France in the post World War I years.Paris was the center of it all. Full of youthful idealism, these individuals sought the meaning of life, drank excessively, had love affairs and created some of the finest American literature to date.9.American Puritanism1)The word "puritan" is derived from pure or holy. Puritans wanted to make puretheir religious beliefs and practices.2)They are a group of radical protestants.3)They wished to restore simplicity to church services.4)Bible was the only true authority.mon meterCommon metre is a poetic metre consisting of four lines which alternate between iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter, rhyming in the pattern a-b-a-b. The metre is denoted by the syllable count of each line, i.e. 8.6.8.6 or 86.86, depending on style, or by its shorthand abbreviation "CM".Often 1st and 3rd lines rhyme, 2nd and 4th lines rhyme in iambic meter.11.Free verse1)Free verse is a form of poetry without a regular rhyme scheme or meter. Instead,it relies on alliteration, assonance(类似音), imagery, and parallel structure.2)Poets have explained that free verse, despite its freedom, is not free. Free Versedisplays some elements of form. Most free verse, for example, self-evidentlycontinues to observe a convention of the poetic line in some sense, at least inwritten representations, though retaining a potential degree of linkage, however nebulous, with more traditional forms.12.Anti-Transcendentalism1)Anti-Transcendentalism contrasts Transcendentalism, which focuses on thedarkness of human soul.2)Anti-Transcendentalists felt that the Transcendentalism point of view was toooptimistic, and the works of Emerson and Thoreau overlooked the evil that plagued man. They embraced the existence of sin and evil, making their works very dark in nature.3)It is often characterized by not optimistic, sins, evil and dark in nature.13.Naturalism1)Naturalism, a literary mode developed in the late nineteenth and early twentiethcenturies, is an extreme form of realism. The naturalists portray people and events objectively and precisely without idealizing them.2)They view people as part of the animal world. The characters in naturalisticwritings are always victims of external forces and internal drives without control or full knowledge of them.14.Romance1)As a literary genre of high culture, romance or chivalric romance is a style ofheroic prose and verse narrative that was popular in the aristocratic circles of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe.2)They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a knighterrant portrayed as having heroic qualities, who goes on a quest.3)Romances reworked legends, fairy tales, and history to suit the readers' andhearers' tastes.15.WaldenWalden was written by noted transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau and published in 1854. The work details Thoreau's experiences over the course of two years in a cabin he built near Walden Pond, amidst woodland owned by his friend and mentor Ralph Waldo Emerson, near Concord, Massachusetts. It is part personal declaration of independence, social experiment, voyage of spiritual discovery, satire, and manual for self reliance. By immersing himself in nature, Thoreau hoped to gain a more objective understanding of society through personal introspection. Simple living and self-sufficiency were Thoreau's other goals, and the whole project was inspired by transcendentalist philosophy, a central theme of the American Romantic Period. As Thoreau made clear in his book, his cabin was not in wilderness but at the edge of town, about two miles (3 km) from his family home.16. Moby DickMoby Dick was written by Herman Melvillewas and published in 1851. It is widely considered to be a Great American Novel and a treasure of world literature and an encyclopedia of everything. It is an sea adventure. The story tells about the adventures of wandering sailor Ishmael, and his voyage on the whaleship Pequod, commanded by Captain Ahab. Ahab‟s burning desire for revenge really is the c enter of the story, because in a previous encounter, the whale destroyed Ahab's boat and bit off his leg drives. At the novel‟s end, Ahab f inds and attacks Moby-Dick, but the wale carrys the Pequod along with it to its doom. All on board the whaler get drowned, except one, Ishmael, who survives to tell the tale.1.What is Emily Dickenson’s idea about death?1)Death, the ultimate experience, is for Dickinson the supreme touchstone. Itreveals ultimate truth; it makes clear the true nature of God and the state of the soul. She held the common Puritan belief that the way a person died indicated the state of his/her soul, a peaceful death being a sign of grace and harmony with God.2)Death is personified in many guises in her poems, ranging from a suitor to atyrant.3)Her attitude toward death is ambivalent. Death is a terror to be feared andavoided, a trick played on humanity by God, a welcome relief, and a blessed way to heaven.4)Death is the beginning of immortality or eternity.2.What are the principles of Code Hero?The code hero must perform his work well to create a kind of personal meaning amidst the greater meaninglessness.The code hero will lose in his conflict with life because he will die. But all that matters is how one faces death. In fact, one should court death, in the bull ring, on the battlefield, against big fish, because facing death teaches us how to live.The code hero must create and follow certain rituals regarding death because those rituals help us. The bullfighter must have grace and must make his kills clean. He must face noble animals. He must put on his suit a certain way. Religion is helpful only in that it provides us with rituals. But religions are wrong when they promise life after death.If an individual faces death bravely, then he becomes a man, but he must repeat the process, constantly proving himself, until the ultimate defeat.3. What are the features of New England Transcendentalism?1)The Transcendentalists places emphasis on spirit, or the Oversoul, as the mostimportant thing in the universe. They believ the existence of Oversoul. It is omnipresent and omnipotent, exists in nature and man alike and constitutes the universe.2)The Transcendentalists think highly of the importance of individualism,Theregeneration of society could only come about through the regeneration of the individual. They believe that people are equipped with holiness and get truth form intuition.3)Nature is the symbol of spirit or the garment of the Oversoul. Nature couldexercise a healthy and restorative influence on the human mind. The physical world was a symbol of the spiritual.3.What are Mark Twain’s writing characteristics?1)Mark Twain is famous for his humor and satire. His language is artistic and like asharp weapon.2)Mark Twain‟s humor is based o n the humor of the west America and also throughhyperbole, which made his writing full of allegories that lay behind the humour.3)He used colloquial idioms and colloquial syntax.4)He described persons who was innocent, simple, naive, and ignorant as his heroesor heroines.4.What are the basic puritan beliefs?1)Total Depravity. They believe the concept of Original Sin, through Adam andEve's fall, every person is born sinful.2)Unconditional Election. They believe the concept of predestination. God "saves"those he wishes, only a few are selected for salvation.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.Grace is defined as the saving and transfiguring power of God.5)Perseverance of the "saints". They believe that those elected by God will continuein a state of grace to the end and will finally be saved.6)Value of education. The main purpose of Puritan literature is teaching.7)Their success, or lack of success would serve as a sign of God‟s approval ordisapproval.8)Work ethic. They believe that hard work was an honor to God which would leadto a prosperous reward.9)Intolerance. They believe error must be opposed and driven out.5.What are the differences between American dream in Autobiography and Sister Carrie?（这个说不清楚，你们自己查哈。
美国文学期末考试复习大纲
美国文学期末考试复习大纲Ⅰ. 文学史1.American Puritanism (美国请教主义):Puritanism was a religious reform movement that arose within the Church of England in the late 16th century.I.Background: Puritanism1.features of Puritanism(1)Predestination: God decided everything before things occurred.(2)Original sin: Human beings were born to be evil, and this original sin can be passed down from generation to generation.(3)Total depravity(4)Limited atonement: Only the ―elect‖ can be saved.2.Influence(1)A group of good qualities –hard work, thrift, piety, sobriety (serious and thoughtful) influenced American literature.(2)It led to the everlasting myth. All literature is based on a myth – garden of Eden.(3)Symbolism: the American puritan’s metaphorical mode of perception was chiefly instrumental in calli ng into beinga literary symbolism which is distinctly American.(4)With regard to their writing, the style is fresh, simple and direct; the rhetoric is plain and honest, not without a touch of nobility often traceable to the direct influence of the Bible.II.Overview of the literature1.types of writing: diaries, histories, journals, letters, travel books, autobiographies/biographies, sermons2.writers of colonial period(1)Anne Bradstreet(2)Edward Taylor(3)Roger Williams(4)John Woolman(5)Thomas Paine(6)Philip Freneau(7)Jonathan Edwards(8)Benjamin Franklin2.American Enlightenment (美国启蒙运动):Enlightenment is a philosophical movement of the 18th century that emphasized the use of reason to scrutinize previously accepted doctrines and traditions and that brought about many humanitarian reforms.The American Enlightenment is a term sometimes employed to describe the intellectual culture of the British North American colonies and the early United States (as they became following the American Revolution).It is commonly dated from 1750—1820.Among the leading intellectual figures of this period are Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.Democratic Origins and Revolutionary Writers, 1776—18201.Background: American Revolution——historicalEuropean Enlightenment2.Basic Assumptions:(1)Reg ard ―enlightenment‖ or ―education‖ as the principle means for development of society(2)Show concern for civil rights, democracy in government and tolerance rather than earlier religious mysticism(3)Reconsider the relationship between man & God. Brief-Deism (natural religion)3.Transcendentalism (超验主义):Transcendentalism is literature, philosophical and literary movement that flourished in New England from about1836 to 1860.It originated among a small group of intellectuals who were reacting against the orthodoxy of Calvinism and the rationalism of the Unitarian Church, developing instead their own faith centering on the divinity of humanity and the natural world.The ideas of transcendentalism were most eloquently expressed by Ralph Waldo Emerson in such essays as Nature (1836) and Self-reliance and by Henry David Thoreau in his book Walden (1854).I.Background: four sources1.Unitarianism(1)Fatherhood of God(2)Brotherhood of men(3)Leadership of Jesus(4)Salvation by character (perfection of one’s character)(5)Continued progress of mankind(6)Divinity of mankind(7)Depravity of mankind2.Romantic Idealism: Center of the world is spirit, absolute spirit (Kant)3.Oriental mysticism: Center of the world is ―oversoul‖4.Puritanism: Eloquent expression in transcendentalismII.Appearance1836, ―Nature‖ by EmersonIII.Features1.spirit/oversoul2.importance of individualism3.nature – symbol of spirit/God; garment of the oversoul4.focus in intuition (irrationalism and subconsciousness)IV.Influence1.It served as an ethical guide to life for a young nation and brought about the idea that human can be perfected by nature.It stressed religious tolerance, called to throw off shackles of customs and traditions and go forward to the development of a new and distinctly American culture.2.It advocated idealism that was great needed in a rapidly expanded economy where opportunity often becameopportunism, and the desire to ―get on‖ obscured the moral necessity for rising to spiritual height.It helped to create the first American renaissance – one of the most prolific period in American literature.4.Dark Romanticism1.Dark Romanticism & Gothic FictionSimilarities: darkness, supernatural, featuring charactersDifferences: sheer horror——Gothic Fiction’s purposedark mystery & skepticism of man——Dark Romance’s purpose2.Dark Romanticism——reaction against transcendentalismDark Romanticism is a literary subgenre that emerged from the transcendental philosophical movement popular in 19th century America. Some writers, including Poe, Hawthorne and Melville, found transcendental belief far too optimistic and egotistical and reacted by modifying.3.Dark Romanticism & Transcendentalism:Dark Romantics are much less confident about the notion that perfection is an innate equality of mankind, as believed by transcendentalists. Dark Romantics present individuals as prone to sin and self-destruction, not as inherently possessing divinity and wisdom.While both groups believe nature is a deep spiritual force, Dark Romanticism views it in a much more sinister light than does transcendentalism, which sees nature as a divine & universal organic mediator. For Dark Romantics, the natural world is dark, decaying, and mysterious, when it does reveal truth to man, its revelations are evil.Transcendentalists advocate social reform when appropriate, works of Dark Romanticism frequently show individuals, falling in their attempts to make changes for the better.4.Fiction:⑪ General term for invented storiesNovel, short story, novellas, romance, fable etc.《堂吉诃德》——the first novel of European⑫ Types of novel:①.Kunstlerroman 成长小说Bildungroman——《麦田守望者》②.Spy novel③.Historical novel④.Campus novel 校园小说⑤.Gothic novel⑥.Epistolary novel⑦.Picaresque novel⑧.Detective novel⑨.Sociological novel⑩.Psychological novel⑬ Elements of fiction:①.Setting (time, place, environment)②.Plot (selected events, cause & effect, structure)——conflict (exposition, rising action/complication, climax, falling action, resolution)③.Character (animal, inanimate things)④.Point of view (first person, third person, multiple)⑤.Theme (different from ―subject‖)⑥.Style (diction, syntax, figure of speech)⑦.Symbol & IronyⅡ. 文学概念1. Allegory (寓言)：Allegory is a story with a symbolic meaning used to teach a moral principle.Allegory is a form of extended metaphor, in which objects, persons, and actions in a narrative, are equated with the meanings that lie outside the narrative itself. The underlying meaning has moral, social, religious, or political significance, and characters are often personifications of abstract ideas as charity, greed, or envy.Thus, an allegory is a story with two meanings: a literal meaning and a symbolic meaning.Many of Hawthorne’s stories are allegories dealing with pride, isolation, love and betray. For example, Y oung Goodman Brown tells Brown’s journey in the forest. After the journey, Brown changed a lot. In fact the story shows Brown’s struggle between goodness and evil and re veals the processes of losing one’s innocence.2. Romance:―Romance‖ is now frequently used as s term to designate a kind of fiction that differs from the novel in being more freely. It is the product of the author’s imagination than the product of an effo rt to represent the actual world with verisimilitude.Romance is a heightened, emotional, and symbolic form of the novel. Romances are not love stories, but serious novels that use special techniques to communicate complex and subtle meanings.Nathaniel Hawthorne is a representative of dark romance, most of his works reveals the dark side of human beings.3. Lyric(抒情诗)：In the modern sense, it is any fairly short poem expressing the personal mood, feeling, or meditation of a single speaker. Lyric poetry is the most extensive category of verse. Lyrics may be composed in almost any meter and on almost every subject, although the most usual emotions presented are those of love and grief. Among the common lyric forms are the sonnet, ode, elegy, and the more personal kinds of hymn.Lyric poetry is genre that does not attempt to tell a story but instead of a more personal nature. It portrays the poet’s own feelings, states of mind, and perceptions.While the genre’s name derived from ―lyre‖, implies that it is intended to be sung, much lyric poetry is meant purely for reading.The most popular form for western lyric poetry to take may be the 14-line sonnet, as practiced by Petrarch and Shakespeare. Lyric poetry shows a bewildering variety of forms, including, increasingly in the 20th century, unrhymed ones.Lyric poetry is the most common type of poetry.5.Allusion:It is one of the figures of speech.An allusion is a figure of speech that makes a reference to, or representation of, a place, event, literary work, myth, or work of art, either directly or by implication.For example, in literature, the snake often represents the evil. It’s an allusion of Bible. In Bible, the snake allured Eve to eat the apple. Thus, they were punished by God.5. T rickster:Trickster always appears in mythology, it’s a kind of literary character.In mythology, and in the study of folklore and relig ion, a trickster is a god, goddess, spirit, man, woman, or anthropomorphic animal who plays tricks or otherwise disobeys normal rules and conventional behavior.Trickster is the ―rebellion‖ that challenges authority.The trickster is a very important archetype in the history of human kind.H e is the ―wise fool‖.It is he, through his creations that destroy the authority.He exists to question and to cause us to question.He is the Destroyer of the world and at the same time the Savior of us all.For example, Robin Hood, he is a thief, who steals the rich to help the poor. On one hand, a thief is supposed to be punished, but on another hand, he steals the money not for himself but to help others. Thus, we call him a trickster.6.Gothic Fiction:Gothic fiction rises in the late of 18th century.The Gothic relates the individual to the infinite universe.Gothic literature pictures the human condition as an ambiguous mixture of good and evil power that cannot be understood completely by human reason.The Gothic novel or short story is any story which can be describe as dark, mysterious, and grotesque. A Gothic story often has supernatural elements that give it a hint of horror/ terror.Gothic fiction is often psychological (from the villain’s perspective)It has romantic elements: the damsel in distress, the ghost of a loverCreates suspense: never sure what is going to happenIt adopts the use of doppelganger theme.The most familiar Gothic fiction to me is The V ampire Diaries. Similar to the Twilight, it tells a love story between the V ampire and a human being. There are many terror scenes with suspense and a doppelganger in the story. Now The V ampire Diaries is made into TV series. In the TV series, a vampire called Damon is my favorite one.7. Kunstlerroman8. Quest:―quest‖ means search, pursue, go on adventure. The Quest myth/ Quest story, similar to Romance is a genre of literature.The background, such as an imbalanced society, is often challenging.The hero leaves the society. His goals are always noble. He is always on the side of goodness, and his enemies are always evil.The hero must undergoes trials: physical tests—slaying a dragon, battling powerful opponents, rescuing maidens in distress etc.Having completed his quest, the hero returns to society to bring about spiritual transformation and restore the perfect human community.The Captain Ahab in Moby Dick is a hero of quest but not a traditional one, he is a villain hero who tries to conquer the nature.9. Iambic Pentameter:10. Point of View(视角)：It is the relationship of the storyteller or narrator, to the story.A story has a first-person point of view if one of the characters, referred to as ―I‖, tells the story.A story has a limited third-person point of view if the narrator reveals the thoughts of only one character but refers to that character as ―he‖ or ―she‖.A narrator who tells the thoughts of all the characters and who tells things that no one character could know uses the omniscient (all-knowing), or third-person, point of view.For example, in Moby Dick, Melville adopted the first-person narrator, Ishmael was the observer who saw the events of the story and played s minor role in the action.Ⅲ. 重要作家及作品Nathanial Hawthorne (纳撒尼尔·霍桑)1.life2.works(1)Two collections of short stories: Twice-told Tales, Mosses from and Old Manse(2)The Scarlet Letter(3)The House of the Seven Gables(4)The Marble Faun3.point of view(1)Evil is at the core of human life, ―that blackness in Hawthorne‖(2)Whenever there is sin, there is punishment. Sin or evil can be passed from generation to generation (causality).(3)He is of the opinion that evil educates.(4)He has disgust in science.4.aesthetic美学的ideas(1)He took a great interest in history and antiquity. To him these furnish the soil on which his mind grows to fruition.(2)He was convinced that romance was the predestined form of American narrative. To tell the truth and satirize and yetnot to offend: That was what Hawthorne had in mind to achieve.5.style – typical romantic writer(1)the use of symbols(2)revelation of characters’ psychology(3)the use of supernatural mixed with the actual(4)his stories are parable (parable inform) – to teach a lesson(5)use of ambiguity to keep the reader in the world of uncertainty – multiple point of viewThe Scarlet Letter, （adultery）1.About the story:(1)The story of Hester Prynne Set: the 17th century(2)What is situated immediately outside the door of the prison in which Hester is kept: A rosebush(3)How does Hester support herself financially: as a seamstress(4)She always wears: black(5)―A‖ represents: adultery2.Major characters in the story:(1)Hester Prynne: wears ―A‖; ―A‖ defines her identity(2)Arthur Dimmesdale: wears ―A‖ in his heart; his soul never in peace (invisible wearer)(3)Roger Chillingworth: the maker of scarlet letter(4)Pearl: the p roduct/result of ―A‖3.Symbolism: (special movement in literature; the use of symbols)In ―The Scarlet Letter‖:(1)The rosebush: passion(2)The forest: an ungovernable place(3)The scarlet letter: adultery; sin(4)Pearl: wildness; passion(5)The meteor: community4.Refuse to take off ―A‖:(1)For Hester, to remove scarlet letter would be to acknowledge the power it has in determining who she is(2)She is determined to transform its meaning and her identity(3)She wants to be the one who controls its meaning(4)She stands as a self-appointed reminder of the evils society can commitYoung Goodman Brown1. Psychological interpretation——Sigmund Freud (the founder of psychology):(1)superego——consciousness——the principle of morality 超我(2)ego——subconsciousness——the principle of reality 自我(3)id——unconsciousness——the principle of pleasure 本我Brown’s journey is psychological as well as physical:Village, a place of light and order——Forest, a place of darkness and wildnessconsciousness——unconsciousnessvillage——superego——FaithBrown——egoforest——id——SatanHawthorne saw the dangers of an overactive suppression of libido and the consequent development of tyrannous superego.2. Men, Women, and the loss of Faith:Despite the literary sexism of his day, Hawthorne portrays women as powerful moral agents.Although Faith is not a three-dimensional character, the story centers on her husband’s rejection of her. Women are victimized.Women——angle in the house——do not have desires, rights and needsFallen women——prostitutes, witches, and mad womenFaith to Brown is female sexuality; Satan to Brown is patriarchal authority3. Female images:Innocents vs. Temptresses:(1)Governor’s wife, Goody Cloyse, prostitutes, maidens, witches, Quaker women, Faith(2)Sex is seen as alluring and dangerous(3)Brown is an empty and failed husband and fatherHerman Melville (赫尔曼·麦尔维尔)1.life(1)Typee 《泰皮》(2)Omio 《殴穆》(3)Mardi 《玛地》(4)Redburn 《雷德本》(5)White Jacket 《白外衣》(6)Moby Dick(7)Pierre 《皮埃尔》(8)Billy Budd 《比利·巴德》3.point of view(1)He never seems able to say an affirmative yes to life: His is the attitude of ―Everlasting Nay‖ (negative attitudetowards life).(2)One of the major themes of his is alienation (far away from each other).Other themes: loneliness, suicidal individualism (individualism causing disaster and death), rejection and quest, confrontation of innocence and evil, doubts over the comforting 19c idea of progress4.style(1)Like Hawthorne, Melville manages to achieve the effect of ambiguity through employing the technique of multipleview of his narratives.(2)He tends to write periodic chapters.(3)His rich rhythmical prose and his poetic power have been profusely commented upon and praised.(4)His works are symbolic and metaphorical.(5)He includes many non-narrative chapters of factual background or description of what goes on board the ship or onthe route (Moby Dick)Moby Dick《白鲸》：Moby-Dick, often considered the greatest American novel, is a masterpiece with many layers. It is a sea adventure, an exciting chase after a destructive and mysterious creature. The enormous white whale Moby-Dick torments Captain Ahab, who is obsessed with finding and killing Moby-Dick, having lost a leg in a previous encounter with the whale, and Ahab’s burning desire for revenge really is the center of the story. At the novel’s end, Ahab finds and attacks Moby-Dick, but the terrible whale takes Ahab, his ship Pequod, and nearly all its crew down to a watery grave with him.1. An encyclopedia of everythingA Shakespearean tragedy of man fighting against fates (extreme individualism)2. Image of ship: ship on the sea is the human soul search the meaning in the universe.3. Purpose——noble: he think Moby Dick as an evilHero: he is a hero but not a traditional hero (he does not stand for goodness); a villain hero4. Byronic hero (create by Byron): mad, bad, dangerous to know, obsessive——rebellions: challenge the authority; unconventional; right the wrongSatanic: revengeful; rebellious; the fight between God & Satan5. The Pequod——a symbol of doom(named after a native American tribe in Massachusetts; did not long survived of white men(extincted); is painted gloomy black and covered in whale teeth and bones)The sailors are of different ethics——all people in American (individual)Queequeg’s Coffin——life boat; life6. Theme of Moby Dick:(1)Melville’s bleak view (negative attitude) the sense of futility and meaninglessness of the w orld. His attitude to life is―Everlasting Nay‖. Man in this universe lives a meaningless and futility.The adventure of killing Moby Dick is meaningless. Ahab tries to control it, which leads to his doom.Modern life——the loss of faith, the sense of futility——well expressed in Moby Dick(2)Alienation (far away from each other): exists between man & man, man & society, and man & nature.(3)Loneliness and suicidal individualism——the basic pattern of 19th century American life(individualism causing disaster and death)——Moby Dick is a negative reflection upon Transcendentalism.(4)Rejection and quest:V oyaging for Ishmael has become a journey in quest of knowledge and valuesHenry David Thoreau1.life(1)A Week on the Concord and Merrimack River(2)Walden(3)A Plea for John Brown (an essay)3.point of view(1)He did not like the way a materialistic America was developing and was vehemently outspoken on the point.(2)He hated the human injustice as represented by the slavery system.(3)Like Emerson, but more than him, Thoreau saw natur e as a genuine restorative, healthy influence on man’s spiritualwell-being.(4)He has faith in the inner virtue and inward, spiritual grace of man.(5)He was very critical of modern civilization.(6)―Simplicity…simplify!‖(7)He was sorely disgusted with ―the inundations of the dirty institutions of men’s odd-fellow society‖.(8)He has calm trust in the future and his ardent belief in a new generation of men.WaldenEdgar Allen PoeI.LifeII.Works1.short stories(1)ratiocinative storiesa.Ms Found in a Bottleb.The Murders in the Rue Morguec.The Purloined Letter(2)Revenge, death and rebirtha.The Fall of the House of Usherb.Ligeiac.The Masque of the Red Death(3)Literary theorya.The Philosophy of Compositionb.The Poetic Principlec.Review of Hawthorne’s Twice-told TalesIII.Themes1.death – predominant t heme in Poe’s writing―Poe is not interested in anything alive. Everything in Poe’s writings is dead.‖2.disintegration (separation) of life3.horror4.negative thoughts of scienceIV.A esthetic ideas1.The short stories should be of brevity, totality, single effect, compression and finality.2.The poems should be short, and the aim should be beauty, the tone melancholy. Poems should not be of moralizing. Hecalls for pure poetry and stresses rhythm.V.Style – traditional, but not easy to readVI.R eputation: ―the jingle man‖ (Emerson)VII.His influencesWalt Whitman1.life2.work: Leaves of Grass (9 editions)(1)Song of Myself(2)There Was a Child Went Forth(3)Crossing Brooklyn Ferry(4)Democratic V istas(5)Passage to India(6)Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking3.themes –―Catalogue of American and European thought‖He had been influenced by many American and European thoughts: enlightenment, idealism, transcendentalism, science, evolution ideas, western frontier spirits, Jefferson’s individualism, Civil War Unionism, Orientalism.Major themes in his poems (almost everything):●equality of things and beings●divinity of everything●immanence of God●democracy●evolution of cosmos●multiplicity of nature●self-reliant spirit●death, beauty of death●expansion of America●brotherhood and social solidarity (unity of nations in the world)●pursuit of love and happiness4.style: ―free verse‖(1)no fixed rhyme or scheme(2)parallelism, a rhythm of thought(3)phonetic recurrence(4)the habit of using snapshots(5)the use of a certain pronoun ―I‖(6) a looser and more open-ended syntactic structure(7)use of conventional image(8)strong tendency to use oral English(9)vocabulary – powerful, colourful, rarely used words of foreign origins, some even wrong(10)sentences – catalogue technique: long list of names, long poem lines5.influence(1)His best work has become part of the common property of Western culture.(2)He took over Whitman’s vision of the poet-prophet and poet-teacher and recast it in a more sophisticated andEuropeanized mood.(3)He has been compared to a mountain in American literary history.(4)Contemporary American poetry, whatever school or form, bears witness to his great influence.Ralph Waldo Emerson (拉尔夫·华尔多·爱默生)1.life (American philosopher, poet and essayist; the most eloquent spokesman of New England Transcendentalism)2.works(1)Nature——his first book expressing the main principle of Transcendentalism. It is regarded as ―American’sDeclaration of Intellec tual Independence‖(2)Two essays: The American Scholar, The Poet3.point of view(1)One major element of his philosophy is his firm belief in the transcendence of the ―oversoul‖.(2)He regards nature as the purest, and the most sanctifying moral influence on man, and advocated a direct intuition of aspiritual and immanent God in nature.(3)If man depends upon himself, cultivates himself and brings out the divine in himself, he can hope to become betterand even perfect. This is what Emerson means by ―the infinitude of man‖.(4)Everyone should understand that he makes himself by making his world, and that he makes the world by makinghimself.4.aesthetic ideas(1)He is a complete man, an eternal man.(2)True poetry and true art should ennoble.(3)The poet should express his thought in symbols.(4)As to theme, Emerson called upon American authors to celebrate America which was to him a lone poem in itself.5.his influenceWashington Irving1.several names attached to Irving(1)first American writer(2)the messenger sent from the new world to the old world(3)father of American literature2.life3.works(1)A History of New Y ork from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty(2)The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. (He won a measure of international recognition with the publication ofthis.)(3)The History of the Life and V oyages of Christopher Columbus(4)A Chronicle of the Conquest of Granada(5)The Alhambra4.Literary career: two parts(1)1809~1832a.Subjects are either English or Europeanb.Conservative love for the antique(2)1832~1859: back to US5.style – beautiful(1)gentility, urbanity, pleasantness(2)avoiding moralizing – amusing and entertaining(3)enveloping stories in an atmosphere(4)vivid and true characters(5)humour – smiling while reading(6)musical languageJames Fenimore Cooper1.life (―father of American novelists‖; the creation of the west frontier and its heroes)2.works(1)Precaution (1820, his first novel, imitating Austen’s Pride and Prejudice)(2)The Spy (his second novel and great success)(3)Leatherstocking Tales (his masterpiece, a series of five novels)The Deerslayer, The Last of the Mohicans, The Pathfinder, The Pioneer, The Prairie3.point of viewThe theme of wilderness vs. civilization, freedom vs. law, order vs. change, aristocrat vs. democrat, natural rights vs. legal rights4.style(1)highly imaginative(2)good at inventing tales(3)good at landscape description(4)conservative(5)characterization wooden and lacking in probability(6)language and use of dialect not authentic5.literary achievementsHe created a myth about the formative period of the American nation. If the history of the United States is, in a sense, the process of the American settlers exploring and pushing the American frontier forever westward, then Cooper’s Leatherstocking Tales effectively approximates the American national experience of adventure into the West. He turned the west and frontier as a useable past and he helped to introduce western tradition to American literature.Benjamin Franklin1.life (printer, enlightener, inventor, scientist, statesman, diplomat)2.works(9)Poor Richard’s Almanac(10)Autobiography——form: the first autobiography of Americanmeaning: American dream & individualismself-improvement; business (contents); prototype of American success (significance); Puritanism and enlightenment spirits 3.contribution(11)He helped found the Pennsylvania Hospital and the American Philosophical Society.(12)He was called ―the new Prometheus who had stolen fire (electricity in this case) from heaven‖.(13)Everything seems to meet in this one man –―Jack of all trades‖. Herman Melville thus described him ―master of each and mas tered by none‖.(14)Aid Jefferson in writing The Declaration of IndependenceThomas Paine1.father of the American Revolution2.propagandist, pamphleteer, a master of persuasion who understands the power of language to move a man to action3.main works:(1)The American Crisis(2)Common Sense(3)The Right of Man(4)The Age of Reason。
美国文学期末重点复习资料
美国文学一．术语解释1，Transcendentalism(超验主义):简略版：It started in 1830s in US; which emphasis on spirit or oversoul and stressing importance of the individual; regarding nature as symbols of the spirit or God. It took idea from the romantic literatures of Europe, from Neo-Platonism and so on. Emerson was its representative.深层次版：American Transcendentalism: the emergence of the Transcendentalists as an identifiable movement took place during the late 1820s and 1830s, but the roots of their religious philosophy extended much farther back into American religious history. Transcendentalism and evangelical Protestantism followed separate evolutionary branches from American Puritanism, taking as their common ancestor the Calvinism of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. They spoke for cultural rejuvenation and against the materialism of American spirit, or the Oversoul, as the most important thing in the Universe. They stressed the importance of the individual. To them, the individual was the most important element of society. They offered a fresh perception of nature as symbolic of the Spirit or God. Nature was, to them, alive, filled with God’s overwhelming presence. Transcendentalism is based on the belief that the most fundamental truths about life and death can be reached only by going beyond the world of the senses. Emerson’s Nature has been called the “Manifesto of American Transcendentalism” and his The American Scholar has been rightly regarded as America’s “Declaration of Intellectual Independence”.美国超验主义：美国超验主义出现的19世纪20年代末期到三十年代，但是它的根源在宗教史上要远得多。
英美文学复习资料
英美文学复习资料英美文学复习资料英美文学是世界文学史上的重要组成部分，包含了许多经典的文学作品和作家。
通过复习英美文学，我们可以更好地了解西方文化和思想，同时也能够提升自己的语言表达能力和文学素养。
本文将为大家提供一些英美文学复习资料，希望对大家的学习有所帮助。
一、英国文学1. 莎士比亚的四大悲剧：《哈姆雷特》、《奥赛罗》、《李尔王》和《麦克白》。
这些作品被誉为世界文学的瑰宝，展现了莎士比亚独特的戏剧才华和对人性的深刻洞察。
2. 简·奥斯汀的小说：《傲慢与偏见》、《理智与情感》等。
奥斯汀以细腻的笔触和幽默的描写，刻画了当时英国社会的风貌和女性的处境，成为英国文学的代表作家之一。
3. 查尔斯·狄更斯的小说：《雾都孤儿》、《双城记》等。
狄更斯以其对社会问题的关注和对人性的揭示而闻名，他的作品揭示了当时英国社会的黑暗面，对社会改革产生了深远影响。
4. 弗吉尼亚·伍尔夫的小说：《达洛维夫人》、《到灯塔去》等。
伍尔夫以其独特的意识流写作风格和对女性问题的关注，开创了现代主义小说的新篇章。
二、美国文学1. 马克·吐温的小说：《哈克贝利·费恩历险记》、《汤姆·索亚历险记》等。
吐温以其幽默风趣和对美国社会的讽刺洞察而受到广泛赞誉，他的作品展现了美国南方的风土人情和对奴隶制度的批判。
2. 埃米莉·迪金森的诗歌：迪金森的诗歌充满了哲思和深度，她以其独特的写作风格和对生死、爱情等主题的探索而成为美国文学的重要代表。
3. 威廉·福克纳的小说：《喧哗与骚动》、《押沙龙，押沙龙！》等。
福克纳以其复杂的叙事结构和对南方社会的描绘而被誉为美国文学的巨匠，他的作品展现了南方社会的衰落和黑暗。
4. 托尼·莫里森的小说：《亲爱的》、《宠儿》等。
莫里森以其对种族、性别和身份问题的关注而成为美国文学的重要代表，她的作品揭示了美国社会的不公和歧视。
三、阅读技巧和复习建议1. 阅读经典作品时，要注重对文本细节的理解和分析。
英美文学选读考试大纲
英美文学选读考试大纲一、考试目的与要求本考试旨在评估学生对英美文学经典作品的理解和鉴赏能力，以及对文学理论、历史背景和文化语境的掌握程度。
考生应具备以下能力：1. 阅读并分析英美文学作品的能力。
2. 理解和评价文学作品中的主题、风格和技巧。
3. 对英美文学发展史有一个基本的了解。
4. 能够将文学作品与社会、历史背景联系起来进行综合分析。
二、考试内容1. 英国文学- 古代至文艺复兴时期：包括但不限于乔叟、莎士比亚的作品。
- 17世纪至18世纪：如约翰·弥尔顿、亚历山大·蒲柏、简·奥斯汀的作品。
- 19世纪：浪漫主义、维多利亚时期的作家，如华兹华斯、拜伦、狄更斯等。
- 20世纪至今：现代主义和后现代主义作家，如弗吉尼亚·伍尔夫、乔治·奥威尔、多丽丝·莱辛等。
2. 美国文学- 殖民时期至独立战争：包括但不限于爱德华·泰勒、本杰明·富兰克林的作品。
- 19世纪：浪漫主义和现实主义作家，如爱默生、霍桑、梅尔维尔、马克·吐温等。
- 20世纪：现代主义和后现代主义作家，如菲茨杰拉德、海明威、福克纳、塞林格等。
- 当代文学：包括多种族、多文化背景下的作家，如托尼·莫里森、唐·德里罗等。
三、考试形式与题型1. 选择题：考察学生对文学作品的基本事实、作者、历史背景等的了解。
2. 简答题：要求学生对文学作品的主题、人物、情节等进行简要分析。
3. 论述题：要求学生综合运用文学理论知识，对文学作品进行深入分析和评价。
4. 作文题：根据给定的文学作品或文学现象，撰写一篇有观点、有分析、有论证的论文。
四、考试范围与重点1. 英国文学的重点包括但不限于：- 莎士比亚的戏剧和诗歌。
- 18世纪启蒙时期的文学作品。
- 19世纪的浪漫主义和现实主义作品。
- 20世纪现代主义和后现代主义文学。
2. 美国文学的重点包括但不限于：- 早期美国文学与美国独立精神的关系。
美国文学期末考试复习
Ⅲ. 重要作家及作品Nathanial Hawthorne (纳撒尼尔·霍桑)1.life2.works(1)Two collections of short stories: Twice-told Tales, Mosses from an Old Manse(2)The Scarlet Letter(3)The House of the Seven Gables(4)The Marble Faun(5)The Blithedale Romance(6)―Rappaccini’s Daughter‖(7)―The Birth-ma rk‖(8)―Young Goodman Brown‖3.point of view(1)Evil is at the core of human life, ―that blackness in Hawthorne‖(2)Whenever there is sin, there is punishment. Sin or evil can be passed from generation to generation (causality).(3)He is of the opinion that evil educates.(4)He has disgust in science.4.aesthetic美学的ideas(1)He took a great interest in history and antiquity.To him these furnish the soil on which his mind grows tofruition.(2)He was convinced that romance was thepredestined form of American narrative. To tell the truth and satirize and yet not to offend: That was whatHawthorne had in mind to achieve.5.style – typical romantic writer(1)the use of symbols(2)revelation of characters’ psychology(3)the use of supernatural mixed with the actual(4)his stories are parable (parable inform) – to teacha lesson(5)use of ambiguity to keep the reader in the worldof uncertainty – multiple point of view6.Hawthorne’s Literary View:(1)He repeatedly complains about ―the poverty of materials‖ in America.(2)He believes that romance is the predestined form of American narrative. He makes a distinction between novel and r omance in his Preface to ―The House of the Seven Gables‖.(3)He is haunted by his sense of sin and evil in life, therefore we see ―black vision‖ in his works.7.―The Minister’s Black Veil‖:Parable: allegoryMr. Hooper: a Christ figure; moral ambiguitythe veil: a symbol of sin, separationthemes: isolation of the individual from society; guilt of sinThe Scarlet Letter, （adultery）1.About the story:(1)The story of Hester Prynne Set: the 17th century(2)What is situated immediately outside the door ofthe prison in which Hester is kept: A rosebush(3)How does Hester support herself financially: as aseamstress(4)She always wears: black(5)―A‖ represents: adultery2.Major characters in the story:(1)Hester Prynne: wears ―A‖; ―A‖ defines her identity(2)Arthur Dimmesdale: wears ―A‖ in his heart; hissoul never in peace (invisible wearer)(3)Roger Chillingworth: the maker of scarlet letter(4)Pearl: the p roduct/result of ―A‖3.Symbolism: (special movement in literature; the use of symbols)In ―The Scarlet Letter‖:(1)The rosebush: passion(2)The forest: an ungovernable place(3)The scarlet letter: adultery; sin(4)Pearl: wildness; passion(5)The meteor: community4.Refuse to take off ―A‖:(1)For Hester, to remove scarlet letter would be toacknowledge the power it has in determining who she is(2)She is determined to transform its meaning andher identity(3)She wants to be the one who controls its meaning(4)She stands as a self-appointed reminder of theevils society can commitYoung Goodman Brown1. Psychological interpretation——Sigmund Freud (the founder of psychology):(1)superego——consciousness——the principle ofmorality 超我(2)ego——subconsciousness——the principle ofreality 自我(3)id——unconsciousness——the principle of pleasure本我Brown’s journey is psychological as well as physical:Village, a place of light and order——Forest, a place of darkness and wildnessconsciousness——unconsciousnessvillage——superego——FaithBrown——egoforest——id——SatanHawthorne saw the dangers of an overactive suppression of libido and the consequent development of tyrannous superego.2. Men, Women, and the loss of Faith:Despite the literary sexism of his day, Hawthorne portrays women as powerful moral agents.Although Faith is not a three-dimensional character, the story centers on her husband’s rejection of her. Women are victimized.Women——angle in the house——do not have desires, rights and needsFallen women——prostitutes, witches, and mad womenFaith to Brown is female sexuality; Satan to Brown is patriarchal authority3. Female images:Innocents vs. Temptresses:(1)Governor’s wife, Goody Cloyse, prostitutes,maidens, witches, Quaker women, Faith(2)Sex is seen as alluring and dangerous(3)Brown is an empty and failed husband and fatherHerman Melville (赫尔曼·麦尔维尔)1.life2.works(1)Typee 《泰皮》(2)Omio 《殴穆》(3)Mardi 《玛地》(4)Redburn 《雷德本》(5)White Jacket 《白外衣》(6)Moby Dick 《白鲸》(7)Pierre 《皮埃尔》(8)Billy Budd 《比利·巴德》3.point of view(1)He never seems able to say an affirmative yes to life: His is the attitude of ―Everlasting Nay‖ (negative attitude towards life).(2)One of the major themes of his is alienation (far away from each other).Other themes: loneliness, suicidal individualism (individualism causing disaster and death), rejection and quest, confrontation of innocence and evil, doubts over the comforting 19c idea of progress4.style(1)Like Hawthorne, Melville manages to achieve the effect of ambiguity through employing the technique ofmultiple view of his narratives.(2)He tends to write periodic chapters.(3)His rich rhythmical prose and his poetic powerhave been profusely commented upon and praised.(4)His works are symbolic and metaphorical.(5)He includes many non-narrative chapters offactual background or description of what goes on board the ship or on the route (Moby Dick)Moby Dick《白鲸》：Moby-Dick, often considered the greatest American novel, is a masterpiece with many layers. It is a sea adventure, an exciting chase after a destructive and mysterious creature. The enormous white whale Moby-Dick torments Captain Ahab, who is obsessed with finding and killing Moby-Dick, having lost a leg in a previous encounter with the whale, and Ahab’s burning desire for revenge really is the center of the story. At the novel’s end, Ahab finds and attacks Moby-Dick, but the terrible whale takes Ahab, his ship Pequod, and nearly all its crew down to a watery grave with him.1. An encyclopedia of everythingA Shakespearean tragedy of man fighting against fates (extreme individualism)2. Image of ship: ship on the sea is the human soul search the meaning in the universe.3. Purpose——noble: he think Moby Dick as an evilHero: he is a hero but not a traditional hero (he does not stand for goodness); a villain hero4. Byronic hero (create by Byron): mad, bad, dangerous to know, obsessive——rebellions: challenge the authority; unconventional; right the wrongSatanic: revengeful; rebellious; the fight between God & Satan5. The Pequod——a symbol of doom(named after a native American tribe in Massachusetts; did not long survived of white men(extincted); is painted gloomy black and covered in whale teeth and bones)The sailors are of different ethics——all people in American (individual)Queequeg’s Coffin——life boat; life6. Theme of Moby Dick:(1)Melville’s bleak view (negative attitude) the senseof futility and meaninglessness of the world. His attitude to life is ―Everlasting Nay‖. Man in this universe lives ameaningless and futility.The adventure of killing Moby Dick is meaningless. Ahab tries to control it, which leads to his doom.Modern life——the loss of faith, the sense of futility——well expressed in Moby Dick(2)Alienation (far away from each other): exists between man & man, man & society, and man & nature.(3)Loneliness and suicidal individualism——the basic pattern of 19th century American life(individualism causing disaster and death)——Moby Dick isa negative reflection upon Transcendentalism.(4)Rejection and quest:Voyaging for Ishmael has become a journey in quest of knowledge and valuesHenry David Thoreau （亨利·戴维·梭罗）1.life2.works(1) A Week on the Concord and Merrimack River康《科德河和梅里麦克河上的一个星期》(2)Walden《瓦尔登湖》(3)Civil Disobedience 《论公民的不服从权利，又译作消极反抗》(4)Life Without Principle3.point of view(1)He did not like the way a materialistic America was developing and was vehemently outspoken on the point.(2)He hated the human injustice as represented by the slavery system.(3)Like Emerson, but more than him, Thoreau saw nature as a genuine restorative, healthy influence on man’s spiritual well-being.(4)He has faith in the inner virtue and inward, spiritual grace of man.(5)He was very critical of modern civilization.(6)―Simplicity…simplify!‖(7)He was sorely disgusted with ―the inundations of the dirty institutions of men’s odd-fellow society‖.(8)He has calm trust in the future and his ardent belief in a new generation of men.WaldenEdgar Allen Poe (埃德加·爱伦·坡)I.Life诗人、小说家和文学评论家II.Works(1)Ms Found in a BottleThe Purloined LetterThe Fall of the House of UsherThe Masque of the Red DeathAnnabel LeeTo HelenSonnet—To ScienceThe Raven(2)Literary theorya.The Philosophy of Compositionb.The Poetic Principlec.Review of Hawthorne’s Twice-told TalesIII.Themes1.death –predominant theme in Poe’s writing―Poe is not interested in anything alive. Everything in Poe’s writings is dead.‖2.disintegration (separation) of life3.horror4.negative thoughts of scienceIV.Aesthetic ideas1.The short stories should be of brevity, totality, single effect, compression and finality.2.The poems should be short, and the aim should be beauty, the tone melancholy. Poems should not be of moralizing. He calls for pure poetry and stresses rhythm.V.Style – traditional, but not easy to readVI.Reputation: ―the jingle man‖ (Emerson)VII.His influencesWalt Whitman(沃尔特·惠特曼)1.life诗人、人文主义者2.work: Leaves of Grass 草叶集(9 editions)(1)Song of Myself(2)There Was a Child Went Forth(3)Crossing Brooklyn Ferry(4)Democratic Vistas(5)Passage to India(6)Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking3.themes –―Catalogue of American and European thought‖He had been influenced by many American and European thoughts: enlightenment, idealism, transcendentalism, science, evolution ideas, western frontier spirits, Jefferson’s individualism, Civil War Unionism, Orientalism.Major themes in his poems (almost everything):●equality of things and beings●divinity of everything●immanence of God●democracy●evolution of cosmos●multiplicity of nature●self-reliant spirit●death, beauty of death●expansion of America●brotherhood and social solidarity (unity of nations inthe world)pursuit of love and happiness4.style: ―free verse‖(1)no fixed rhyme or scheme(2)parallelism, a rhythm of thought(3)phonetic recurrence(4)the habit of using snapshots(5)the use of a certain pronoun ―I‖(6) a looser and more open-ended syntactic structure(7)use of conventional image(8)strong tendency to use oral English(9)vocabulary – powerful, colourful, rarely used words of foreign origins, some even wrong(10)sentences – catalogue technique: long list of names, long poem lines5.influence(1)His best work has become part of the common property of Western culture.(2)He took over Whitman’s vision of the poet-prophet and poet-teacher and recast it in a more sophisticated and Europeanized mood.(3)He has been compared to a mountain in American literary history.(4)Contemporary American poetry, whatever schoolor form, bears witness to his great influence.Ralph Waldo Emerson (拉尔夫·华尔多·爱默生)1.life (American philosopher, poet and essayist; the most eloquent spokesman of New England Transcendentalism)2.works(1)Nature——his first book expressing the main principle of Transcendentalism. It is regarded as―American’s Declaration of Intellectual Independence‖(2)Two essays: The American Scholar, The Poet(3)Self-Reliance(4)Each and All(5)Rhodora3.point of view(1)One major element of his philosophy is his firm belief in the transcendence of the ―oversoul‖.(2)He regards nature as the purest, and the most sanctifying moral influence on man, and advocated a direct intuition of a spiritual and immanent God in nature.(3)If man depends upon himself, cultivates himself and brings out the divine in himself, he can hope to become better and even perfect. This is what Emerson means by ―the infinitude of man‖.(4)Everyone should understand that he makes himselfby making his world, and that he makes the world by making himself.老尹：(1)the transcendence of the Oversoul. His Nature records his ―moment of ecstasy‖, the moment of losing one’s individuality.(2)the infinitude of man and human perfectibility. Emerson believes that the possibilities for man to develop and improve himself are infinite.(3)nature as symbolic of God. In the eyes of Emerson,―nature is the vehicle of thought,‖ and ―particular natural facts are symbols of particular spiritual facts‖.4.aesthetic ideas(1)He is a complete man, an eternal man.(2)True poetry and true art should ennoble.(3)The poet should express his thought in symbols.(4)As to theme, Emerson called upon Americanauthors to celebrate America which was to him a lone poem in itself.5.How important is Emerson in history?He embodied a new nation’s desire and struggle to assert its own identity in its formative period.His aesthetics marked the birth of true American poetry.He called for an independent culture, which representedthe desire of the whole nation to develop a culture of its own.His reputation declined somewhat in recent years because of his cheerful optimism.Washington Irving（华盛顿·欧文）1.several names attached to Irving(1)first American writer(2)the messenger sent from the new world to the oldworld(3)father of American literature2.life作家3.works(1) A History of New York 《纽约外史》(2)The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. 《见闻札记》）(He won a measure of international recognition with the publication of this.)(3)The History of the Life and Voyages ofChristopher Columbus《哥伦布传》(4) A Chronicle of the Conquest of Granada《攻克格拉纳达》(5)The Alhambra《阿尔罕伯拉》4.Literary career: two parts(1)1809~1832a.Subjects are either English or Europeanb.Conservative love for the antique(2)1832~1859: back to US5.style – beautiful(1)gentility, urbanity, pleasantness(2)avoiding moralizing – amusing and entertaining(3)enveloping stories in an atmosphere(4)vivid and true characters(5)humour – smiling while reading(6)musical languageJames Fenimore Cooper（詹姆斯·费尼莫尔·库柏）1.life (―father of American novelists‖; the creation of the west frontier and its heroes)2.works(1)The Precaution (《戒备》（1820, his first novel,imitating Austen’s Pride and Prejudice)(2)The Spy 《间谍》(his second novel and greatsuccess)(3)Leather stocking Tales 皮袜子故事集(hismasterpiece, a series of five novels)The Deerslayer, The Last of the Mohicans, The Pathfinder, The Pioneer, The Prairie3.point of viewThe theme of wilderness vs. civilization, freedom vs. law,order vs. change, aristocrat vs. democrat, natural rights vs. legal rights4.style(1)highly imaginative(2)good at inventing tales(3)good at landscape description(4)conservative(5)characterization wooden and lacking in probability(6)language and use of dialect not authentic5.literary achievementsHe created a myth about the formative period of the American nation. If the history of the United States is, in a sense, the process of the American settlers exploring and pushing the American frontier forever westward, then Cooper’s Leatherstocking Tales effectively approximates the American national experience of adventure into the West. He turned the west and frontier as a useable past and he helped to introduce western tradition to American literature.Benjamin Franklin1.life (printer, enlightener, inventor, scientist, statesman, diplomat)2.works(1)Poor Richard’s Almanac(2)Autobiography——form: the first autobiography of Americanmeaning: American dream & individualismself-improvement; business (contents); prototype of American success (significance); Puritanism and enlightenment spirits3.contribution(3)He helped found the Pennsylvania Hospital and the American Philosophical Society.(4)He was called ―the new Prometheus who had stolen fire (electricity in this case) from heaven‖.(5)Everything seems to meet in this one man –―Jack of all trades‖. Herman Melville thus described him ―master of each and mastered by none‖.(6)Aid Jefferson in writing The Declaration of IndependenceThomas Paine托马斯·潘恩1.father of the American Revolution2.propagandist, pamphleteer, a master of persuasion who understands the power of language to move a man to action3.main works:(1)The American Crisis(2)Common Sense(3)The Right of Man(4)The Age of ReasonPoetry:1.Genre:Narrative Poetry 叙事诗Epic Poetry 史诗Dramatic Poetry 戏剧诗Satirical Poetry 讽刺诗Lyric Poetry 抒情诗2.Basic Elements of Poetry:(1)R hythm: the beat created by the sounds of the poem(2)Meter: a pattern of stressed and unstressed syllablesa)Foot: unit of meter 有几个重音就有几个footb)Types of Feet: Iambic——unstressed, stressed抑扬格（最常见）Trochaic——扬抑格Anapestic——抑抑扬格Dactylic——扬抑抑格Kinds of Metrical lines: monometer (1 foot on a line), dimeter, trimeter, tetrameter, pentameter, hexameter, heptameter, octameter(3)Rhyme3.Free Verse Poetry:(1)D oes not have repeating patterns of stressed & unstressed syllables(2)Very conversational: sounds like someone talking with you(3) A modern type of poetry: does not have rhyme4.Blank Verse Poetry:Written in lines of unrhymed iambic pentameter but does not use end rhymeUnrhymed iambic pentameter5.End Rhyme尾韵: a word at the end of one line rhymes with a word at the end of another line6.Alliteration头韵: consonant sounds repeated at the beginnings of words7.Consonance一致: similar to alliteration except the repeated consonant sounds can be anywhere in the words8.Internal Rhyme: in the same line9.Figures of speech修辞: simile明喻, metaphor暗喻，隐喻, personification拟人, onomatopoeia拟声, parallelism排比, allusion引喻。
文学考试复习提纲
美国文学期末复习提纲一、考试题型1.作家作品名称匹配2.名词解释3.根据作品内容写出作家、作品及作品简短评价4.诗歌赏析（两首诗歌，选择一首进行作答）二、作家与作品总结1）.需要记住作家和作品名字，并能准确书写出来的十六位作家，同时要求记得这些作品的评价，一两句话即可。
Washington Irving 《Rip Van Winkle》Henry David Thoreau 《Walden》Nathaniel Hawthorne 《The Scarlet Letter》Walt Whitman 《Song of Myself》Emily Dickinson《I’m Nobody! Who Are You?》、《Success Is Counted Sweetest》、《This Is My Letter to The World》、《Because I Could Not Stop for Death》(她的诗歌标题一般是诗歌的第一句话)Mark Twain 《Adventures of Huckleberry Finn》O’Henry 《The Cop and the Anthem》Robert Frost 《Nothing Gold Can Stay》、《The Road Not Taken》、《Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening》、《Mending Wall》Sherwood Anderson 《The Triumph of the Egg》Katherine Anne Porter 《The Jilting of Granny Weatherall》Ezra Pound 《In a Station of the Metro》、《A Pact》Langston Hughes 《Cross》、《Dream》Ernest Hemingway 《Indian Camp》Arthur Miller 《The Death of a Salesman》Allen Ginsberg 《Howl》2）.下列作家只需要记得作品和作者能够配对即可，不需要知道具体书写。
美国文学考试必备知识点
1.Romantic period2.Washington Irving3.Edgar Allan Poe4.Nathanial Hawthorne5.Walt Whitman6.Emily Dickinson7.II. Realist period8.Mark Twain 9.Sherwood Anderson10.Stephen Crane11.Theodore Dreiser12.III. Modern period13. F. S. Fitzgerald14.Ernest Hemingway15.William Faulkner1.TranscendentalismTranscendentalism refers to the religious and philosophical doctrines of Ralph Waldo Emerson and others in New England in the middle 1800’s, which emphasized the importance of individual inspiration and intuition, the Oversoul, and Nature. Other concepts that accompanied Transcendentalism include the idea that nature is ennobling and the idea that the individual is divine and, therefore, self-reliant. New England Transcendentalism is the product of a combination of native American Puritanism and European Romanticism.2.NaturalismNaturalism, a more deliberate kind of realism, usually involves a view of human beings as passive victims of natural forces and social environment. As a literary movement, naturalism was initiated in France and it came to be led by Zola, who claimed at “scientific” status for his studies of impoverished characters miserably subjected to hunger, sexual obsession, and hereditary defects. Naturalfiction aspired to a sociological objectivity, offering detailed and fully researched investigations into unexplored corners of modern society. The most significant work of naturalism in English being Dreiser’s Sister Carrie.3.American DreamThe American Dream is the faith held by many people in the United States of America that through hard work, courage and determination one can achieve a better life for oneself, usually through financial prosperity. These were values held by many early European settlers, and have been passed on to subsequent generations.4.The Lost GenerationThe term Lost Generation was coined by Gertrude Stein to refer to a group of American Literary notables who lived in Paris from the time period which saw the end of World War I to the beginning of the Great Depression. Significant members included Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ezra Pound, Sherwood Anderson, T. S. Eliot, and Gertrude Stein herself. Hemingway likely popularized the term, quoting Stein (“You are all a lost generation”) as epigraph to his novel The Sun Also Rises. More generally, the term is being used for the young adults of Europe and America during World War I. They were “lost” because after the war many of them were disillusioned with the world in general and unwilling to more into a settled life5. ModernismModern writing is marked by a strong and conscious break with traditionalforms and techniques of expression; it believes that we create the world in the act of perceiving it. Modernism implies historical discontinuity, a sense of alienation, of loss, and of despair. It elevates the individual and his inner being over social man and prefers the unconscious to the self-conscious.6. Romanticism.7. PuritanismThe principles and practices of puritans were popularly known as Puritanism. Puritanism accepted the doctrines of Calvinism: the sovereignty of God; the supreme authority of the Bible; the irresistibility of God’s will for man in every act of life from cradle to grave. These doctrines led the Puritans to examine their souls to find whether they were of the elect and to search the Bible to determine God’s will.8.Hemingway Heroes / Code Hero“Hemingway Heroes” refer to some protagonists in Hemingway’s works. Such a hero usually is an average man of decidedly masculine tastes, sensitive and intelligent. And usually he is a man of action and of a few words. He is such an individualist, alone even when with other people, somewhat an outsider, keeping emotions under control, stoic and self-disciplined in a dreadful place where one can not get happiness. The Hemingway heroes stand for a whole generation. In a world which is essentially chaotic and meaningless, a Hemingway hero fights a solitary struggle against a force he does not even understand. The awareness that it must end in defeat, no matter how hard he strives, engenders a sense of despair. But Hemingway heroes possess a kind of “despairing courage”as Bertrand Russell terms. It is this courage that enables a man to behave like a man, to assert his dignity in face of adversity. Surely Hemingway heroes differ, one from another, in their view of the world. The difference which comes gradually in view is an index to the subtle change which Hemingway’s outlook had undergone.ExpressionismExpressionism refers to a movement in Germany early in the 20th century, in which a number of painters sought to avoid the representation of external reality and, instead, to project a highly personal or subjective vision of the world. The main principle involved is that expression determines form, and therefore imagery, punctuation, syntax, and so forth. In brief, any of the formal rules andelements of writing can be bent or disjointed to suit the purpose. Theatrically, expressionism was a reaction against realism in that it tends to show inner psychological realities. O’Neill’s plays are some of the best examples.The Imagist Movement (Imagism)Led by Ezra Pound and flourished from 1909 to 1917, the movement advanced modernism in arts which concentrated on reforming the medium of poetry as opposed to Romanticism, especially Tennyson' s wordiness and high-flown language in poetry. The three principles followed by the Imagists were: (1)"Direct treatment" (2) "Economy of Expression" (3) " Rhythm"symbolismSymbolism originates in France in the middle 19th century. The poetry collection The Flowers of Evil by the French poet Charles Baudelaire is a representative work of this genre. Symbolism tries to express the dreamy mysterious inner world of the writer.Stream-of-consciousnessStream-of-consciousness begins in the 1920’s in Britain. It is a psychological term indicating “the flux of conscious and subconscious thoughts and impressions moving in the mind at any given time independently of the person’s will”. In late 19th century, the literary device of “interior monologue”was originated in France as an application of modern psychological knowledge to literary creation. In the 20th century, under the influence of Freud’s theory ofpsychological analysis, a number of writers adopted the “stream of consciousness”method of novel writing. The striking feature of these novelists is their giving precedence to the depiction of the characters’mental and emotional reactions to external events, rather than the events themselves. (to be continued) Free verse:a form of poetry without rhyme, meter, regular line length, and regular stanzaic structure. It depends on natural speech for rhythm. Robert Frost compared it to “playing tennis with the net down.”Though much simpler and less restrictive than conventional poetry and blank verse, free verse does no mean “formlessness.”T. S. Eliot once said that “no verse is free for the man who wants to do a good job.”Though its origin is unknown, it was attempted by such early poets as Surrey, Milton, Blake, and Macpherson. It was Whitman who did the greatest contribution to the development and popularity of free verse. Whitman favored the simplicity and freedom of expression. According to him, “The art of art, the glory of expression and the sunshine of light of letters is simplicity. Noting is better than simplicity.”Jazz age:Jazz is a form of dance music that is derived from early Afro-American folk music, ragtime, and Negro blues. It is marked with exciting rhythm, pronounced syncopation, and constant improvisation. The musical instruments used are mainly drums, trumpets, and saxophones. Major composers of Jazz music include Irvin Berlin and W. C. Handy. The term Jazz Age was specificallyemployed by Fitzgerald to denote the 1920s, which was characterized by the loss of traditional moral standards, indulgence in romantic yearnings, and great social excitement. According to Malcolm Cowley, the Jazz Age was “a legend of glitter, of recklessness, and of talent in such profusion that it was sown broadcast like wild oats.”F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Tales of the Jazz Age, like Mark Twain’s The Gilded Age, was an epoch-making work.Black humor:a term frequently used in modern literary criticism. It is sometimes called ‘black comedy’or ‘tragic farce.’It is humor or laughter resulting from great pain, despair, horror and the absurdity of human existence. Black humor is a common quality of modern anti-novels and anti-dramas. Examples are Franz Kafka’s stories like “Metamorphosis”, “The Castle”and “The Trial”, Joseph Heller’s novel Catch-22 and Albee’s The Zoo Story. Other writers who did much contribution to the popularity of black humor were Beckett, Camus, Ionesco, Vonnegut, Pynchon and so on.Autobiography:a story a writer writes about his or her own life experiences. It is narrated from the first-person point of view. The term was probably first used by Southey. But the first important autobiography was Confessions written by Augustine of Hippo. Other examples include Franklin’s Autobiography, Adams’s The Education of Henry Adams, John Stuart Mill’s Autobiography, Carlyle’s Reminiscences, Henry David Thoreau’s Walden, and so on.Surprise Ending:Also called “O. Henry ending,”it is a completely unexpected turn or revelation of events at the conclusion of a story or play. An example is “The Necklace”by Guy de Maupassant. Another instance is O. Henry’s story “The Gift of the Magi.”Blank verse:poetry that does not rhyme but has iambic pentameter lines. Though not originated in England or America, it has been the most important and most widely used English verse form. Blank verse is popular because it is closest to the rhythm of daily English speech. Thus most English poems which are dramatic, reflective or narrative are in the form of blank verse. This verse was probably first used in England by Surrey who translated Aeneid, by Sackville and Norton who composed Gorboduc. It was developed and perfected by Marlowe, Shakespeare and Milton. In the 18th century, most poets favored heroic couplets. But Young and Thomson were able to write in the tradition of blank verse. The 19th century saw a renewed interest in this poetic form. Masters of blank verse included Wordsworth, Coleridge and Bryant. The fact that blank verse is still practiced by writers like T.S. Eliot, Yeats, Frost and Stevens shows how influential and favorable it really is.Characteristics of Realism2.1 Realism aims at the description of the actualities of the life and free from subjective prejudice, idealism or romantic color.2.2 Realism focuses on commonness of the common people. The emphasisis on ordinary people, settings and events.2.3 Life is presented as it is.2.4 Use real characters, real incidents, real language and local dialects.2.5 In matters of style, diction and sentence structure tend toward a plain style.3.Representative writersWilliam Howells .Mark Twain .Henry JamesMajor features of Naturalism1. At the core of naturalism is determinism2.An individual’s course in life is wholly determined by some combination of animal instinct, heredity, and environment. Humans lack freedom of their own will. All of their actions are controlled, determined.3.The universe is cold, godless, indifferent and hostile to human desires. Life becomes a struggle for survival.Two of the naturalist’s recurrent concerns are: social systems that destroy and dehumanize, and individual experience of loss and failure.4.Naturalism is a harsher and extreme form of realism. The naturalists have a major difference from the realists.Themes of Hawthorne’s writing1. Explore the relationship between the past and the present2. Explore the hidden motivations of his characters.3. Examine the effect of hidden sin and secret guilt4. Moral or immoral, right or wrong is the question Hawthorne always talks about in his works.1.5. Style1. His style was soft, flowing and almost feminine.nguage: smooth, clear, beautiful in sound and meaning3. He also frequently uses symbols and settings to reveal the psychology of the characters.Appreciation of The Scarlet Letter1. Main Character:Hester Prynne.，Roger Chillingworth.，Arthur Dimmesdale 3. Character AnalysisHester: brave, strong-minded, warm-hearted, intelligent, sacrificing, decisive Dimmesdale: timid, selfish, irresponsible, cowardly, weak-minded Chillingworth: cold-blooded, dehumanizedTheme of The Scarlet LetterTo escape the bondage of religion either on people’s spirit or on people’s natural desire4. Abundant use of symbolsA ---adultery angel ablePrison—the place that deprived people of spiritual freedomForest---the natureRose near the prison—Hester and her loveCap—sth controlling one’s beautyWalt Whitman(1819-1892)Leaves Of Grass“Song of myself”Analysis of the artistic features2.4.1. form: free verseOral and powerful lg: Although free verse, he wrote with repeated and parallel sentences to strengthen the feelings. He express what he wanted to express freely, smoothly, and heatedly. His poems are like waves of the sea that rushed to the beach violently, one after another.2.4.2 the first person narrator: direct and sympathetic to the reader2.4.3. topic: sex.To use his own expression, “he saw the world as a vision of love.”He believes that life is the source of poems, love and enthusiasm are the motives of creation. III. Comments on the writer3.1. Subject: son of time, feels the pulse of the time. As a romanticist and transcendentalist, he broke the conventional poetic materials, no myth,no romance, no story of king and lords. He sings for self, common people, America, city life, nature, etc.3.2. Form: (Free verse) poetry without fixed beat or regular rhyme. Whitman is the first great American poet to use this form of poetry, he also used it more skillfully than any other poet.(1)One's Self I Sing1. What is the significance of singing about one's self?It is an exaltation of the individual spirit, which is typical of American people.2. What is the difference between physiology and physiognomy?Physiology is a science that deals with the functions and life process of human beings, whereas physiognomy refers to an art of judging character from contours of face itself or the appearance of a person.3. What does Whitman mean by the term of "the Modern Man"?He means that a man should be free from any prejudice and pride, totally different from the traditional one, that is full of bias.(3) O Captain! My Captain!1. Why is the word "Captain" capitalized throughout the poem?In this poem the word “Captain”specially refers to Abraham Lincoln, president of the United States.2. What overall metaphor does the poet employ in this poem?Life is a journey.3. Why do people on the shores exult and bells ring, while the speaker remains so sad?They welcome the ship returning from its hard trip, whereas the speaker is sad because the captain fails to receive his own honor.Mark Twain 马克·吐温The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras Count卡拉维拉斯县有名的跳蛙(1865):a short storyThe Innocents Abroad国外的无辜者(1869)Roughing It苦行记(1872): on his experience in the western America The Gilded Age (1873): his first novel, collaborated with Charles Dudley WarnerThe Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876)The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn哈克贝利·费恩历险记(1884): masterpiece Life on the Mississippi (1883)A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court误闯亚瑟王宫(1889)The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg败坏了哈德莱堡的人(1900)The Mysterious Stranger (1916)e. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer1. It is "a boy's book" which sets 20 years before Civil War.2. themes:1)picaresque以流浪汉和无赖为题材的(adventure story)2) moral growth of Tom3. techniques: verisimilitude, humor, colloquial styleMark Twain’s Style in Generalthe true father of American literatureFrequent use of sarcasm, slang and regional dialects.4.5.1. Subject Matter: came directly from American people’s life along the Mississippi River, less influenced by foreign cultures4.5.2. Genuine American style:a) Language: easy, informal, humorous and unaffected [free from affectation; sincere], wildb) He intentionally deviates from classical genteel and tends to use local dialects, colloquial language, even Black English, slang, clipped structures and ungrammatical sentencesMajor work : Huckleberry Finn《哈克贝利·费恩历险记》show escape to freedomTheodore Dreiser (1871-1945) 德莱赛Naturalism is a theory in literature emphasizing the role of heredity and environment upon human life and character development roughly between 1890’s and early 1900’s. There is no clear-cut chronological division between the American naturalists and the American realists.对比Realism Naturalismemphasis on the ordinary emphasis also on the extraordinarya mirror a lensthe observer the scientistmoral or rational the accidental and physiologicalMajor Writing Features6.3.1 As a naturalistic writer, Dreiser stressed determinism in his novels.·His characters can’t assert their will against natural and economic forces. ·Dreiser held that people are not entirely to blame for what they are and what they do.6.3.2. He developed the capacity for photographic and relentless observation, thereby truthfully reflecting the society and people of his time and making his novels very believable and convincing.·Almost all of his main characters are based on the real people.·Vivid description of environmental settings and social background6.3.3. His novels are full of tragedies, serious subjects and miserable side of the society.·Dreiser broke through the genteel tradition , revealed the life of the lower class people and dared to expose the vulgar and ugly side of the society.Style6.4.1. Language: very awkward, crude/on the bordering of line of grammar.6.4.2. Serious in tone: never satirical or comic6.4.3. Natural narrative method, free from artifice.His narrative is based on quantities of materials and detailed descriptions.作品Si ster Carrie 嘉莉妹妹(1900): the first novel, masterworkJannie Gerhardt (1911)The Fanancier (1912)The Titan (1914)The Stoic (1947)The Genius (1915)An American Tragedy美国悲剧(1925)Dreiser Looks at Russia (1928)c. Sister Carrietheme:the emptiness of Ameircan Dreami. jungle lawFamous actress bank manager(the unfit is bound to die) <——Country girl (able to follow her instinct) commit suicideii. chance and luckiii. criticism of American values: money and sex —the standards to see if a person is successfuliv. concern for the poorF.Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940)an Irish-American Jazz Age novelist and short story writer.Theme of the American DreamFitzgerald’s favorite theme is the American Dream. In The Great Gatsby and other works, a general pattern can be found to fully demonstrate Fitzgerald’s enthusiasm and his disillusionment with the American Dream: formally, a pooryoung man from the West trying to make his fortune in the East, but thematically, the young man goes on a journey of discovery from dream, through disenchantment, and finally to a sense of failure and despair. In this general pattern of the protagonist’s personal experience is incarnated the whole of American experience.. Languagesmooth, sensitive, original, simple and gracefulJay Gatsby Nick Carraway Tom Buchanan Daisy BuchananThe Great GatsbyTheme:1. about reality and atmosphere of 1920s2. failure of American Dreamc. attitude towards the rich: paradoxicalHe is charmed by the rich.He is critical of the rich who are corrupted themselves and meanwhile corrupting others.d. attitude towards the Jazz Age: insider and outsider人物Jay Gatsby Nick Carraway Tom Buchanan Daisy Buchanan Gatsby, with all his freshness, his optimism, and his vitalityGatsby in the novel represents the newly rich upstart, vulgar in hisostentatious [showy] wealth. However, he becomes a kind of newAmerican Adam. He is “great”, because he is dignified and ennobledby his dream and his mythic vision of life.Tom Buchanan ：He is vulgar, hypocritical racist and bigot [person who holds sth strongly]. He is practical and non-idealistic, shallow and mistrustful of emotion. He never cares or takes responsibility.Daisy Buchanan：she also has an inner emptiness, marked by her boredom and cynicism and moral irresponsibility. She is afraid of being alone, as though she has no inner self. But she has the power to charm. Daisy represents material wealth to Gatsby, but it also connects with physical attraction. However, Daisy is unworthy of Gatsby’s love. She is incapable of living the fully imagined life that Gatsby has visualized. She is cowardly and selfish.Nick is both a narrator and a character in this novel. He leads us tothe dignity and depth of Gatsby’s character, and suggests the relationof his tragedy to the American situation.Ernest Hemingway 海明威style1.iceberg principle. The meaning here is that the writer should say only one eighth, in such a way that the remaining seven eighths be discerned and provided by the reader.nguage: short, common, fundamental words, simple sentence, structure.The effect of the language: clearness, cleanness and great care.3.dialogue: plays a very important part in his writings. Hemingway’s dialoguecan show setting, development of plot, characters, even theme.4.cinematic way: he uses showing instead of telling. He likes to describes actions (kiss, withdraw hand) vividly instead of mental description.5.symbolisme of stream of consciousnesstraits for the Code Hero:(1) Measuring himself against the difficulties life throws in his way, realizing that we will all lose ultimately because we are mortals, but playing the game honestly and passionately in spite of that knowledge.(2) Facing death with dignity, enduring physical and emotional pain in silence(3) Never showing emotions(4) Maintaining free-will and individualism, never weakly allowing commitment to a single woman or social convention to prevent adventure, travel, and acts of bravery(5) Being completely honest, keeping one's word or promise(6) Being courageous and brave, daring to travel and have "beautiful adventures," as Hemingway would phrase it(7) Admitting the truth of Nada(Spanish, "nothing"), i.e., that no external source outside of oneself can provide meaning or purpose. This existential awareness also involves facing death without hope of an afterlife, which the Hemingway Code Hero considers more brave than "cowering" behind false religious hopesThemes nada，grace under pressure，code heroMagic realism 加西亚·马尔克斯《百年孤独》Garcia Marques Century Loneliness)Henry JamesThe American (1877): begins with international themeDaisy Miller (1878): brings the author first international fameThe Wings of the Dove (1902)The Ambassadors (1903)The Golden Bowl (1904)The Portrait of A Lady贵妇画像:masterpieceJack LondonThe People of the Abyss深渊居民(1903): about London's slumThe Iron Heel 铁蹄(1908): the first proletarian criterion novel which envisages the development of fascismThe Call of the Wild 野性的呼唤(1903): the most widely read bookThe Sea Wolf 海狼(1904)These two novels reflect the ideas of the law of survival and the will to power Martin Eden马丁伊登Ezra Pound埃兹拉·庞德Imagism意象派Pound became the most important figure. Imagist poetry reached the peak of literature for three things appeared:i. a manifesto ii. three principles iii. a lot of writingsIn a Station of the Metro在地铁车站1. This is the much-quoted masterpiece of Pound and a representative of the Imagist poetry.2. Why does the poet call the faces of pedestrians "apparition"?These pedestrians are all walking in a hurry amidst the drizzling rain.3. What do "petals" and "bough" stand for? Petals refer to the faces while the bough stands for the floating crowd.Robert Frostb. Characteristics⏹ 1. not in the main stream of modern poetry, but with conventional form and plainlanguage. That’s why he’s the most popular poet in the 20th century.⏹ 2. a kind of a regionalist----New England, but not local colorism. He used NewEngland as a metaphor for the whole world and universe.⏹ 3. a plain poet using symbols from everyday country life. Simple symbols but expressdeep meanings.The Road Not Taken⏹ 1. The poem was written in very regular lines with iambic pentametre and rhymescheme of abaab.⏹ 2. The symbolic meaning of the two divergent roads is rather clear. They representany important decisions in one's life.⏹ 3. details:Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening⏹ 1. It is a lyric poem with iambic tetrametre and interlocking enclosed rhyme.⏹ 2. It represents a moment of relaxation from the onerous journey of life, an almostaesthetic enjoyment and appreciation of natural beauty which is wholesome and retorative against the chaotic existence of modern man.William Faulkner (1897-1962)Sound and Fury: divided into 4 parts1. t hemes:a) downfall of the South. The south was in deterioration. It’s going from bad to worse. The present and the past form a contrast from Benjy’s eyes. He’s an idiot so his reactions were distinctive feeling. He felt strongly the loss of love. The downfall of Mr. Campson was not only a personal one but also a universal one---the society was in disorder.b) conflict between the old/young generationsFather of Southern American literatureNobel Prize for literature in 1950Special features2.1. Setting :Oxford is the model for his fictional Jefferson, the central place of his fictional Yoknapatawpha County2.2. Subjects :southern tradition, family, community, the land, history and the past, race, and the passions of ambition and love2.3. Characters:Typical of the historical growth and subsequent decadence of the South 写作技巧Multiple Points of View：He always structure his stories in his own original fashion and is proficient in employing a distinctive narrative method of gradually fitting in and of withholding or even giving confusing information.Stream of consciousness，complex structures, epic style, symbolismWilliam Faulkner威廉•福克纳1897-19621950年获诺贝尔文学奖,普利策奖小说奖1.1929年《喧嚣与骚动》”The Sound and the Fury”1930年《在我弥留之际》”As I Lay Dying”1932年《八月之光》”Light in August”1936年《押沙龙，押沙龙》”Absalom,Absalom”教材作品：《给艾米莉小姐的玫瑰》：“A Rose for Emily”南方文学特点：主题：作者获奖The Nobel Prize&The Pulitzer Prize:John Steinbeck约翰•斯坦贝克William Faulkner威廉•福克纳Ernest Hemingway厄恩斯特•海明威The Nobel Prize:Thomas Stearns Eliot托马斯•斯特恩斯•爱略特The Pulitzer Prize:Wallace Stevens华莱士•斯蒂文斯Robert Frost罗伯特•弗洛斯特Edwin Arlington Robison埃德温•阿林顿•罗宾逊尤金.奥尼尔（Eugene O’Neill，1888----1952），美国著名剧作家。
美国文学复习大纲
美国文学复习大纲美国文学1THE LITERATURE OF COLONIAL AMERICA1.1 The first permanent English settlement in North America wasestablished at Jamestown, Virginia in 1607.1.2 The first writing that we call American were the narratives andjournals of these settlements.1.3The first American writer is Captain John Smith,settled inJamestown.1.4 The first American poet is1.5 Puritan Thoughts:the puritans establish their own moral andreligious principles known as American Puritanism, which became one of the enduring influences in American literature. American Puritanism stressed on predestination, depravity, original sin, and salvation of selected few from God's grace. With such doctrines in their minds, Puritans left Europe for America in order to establish a theocracy in the new world. over the years in new homeland they establish a new way of life stressed on hard work, thrift, piety and sobriety( 其中也包括个人主义再现)1.6Anne Bradstreet-------the first poet in America by crisis-------the first woman poet in America-------she settled in Massachusetts------ The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America2THE LITERATURE OF REASON AND REVOLUTION2.1主要文体------ politics essay2.2 The War for Independence-----1776-1783---ended in the formation ofa Federative bourgeois democratic republic- the United States ofAmerica2.3 Benjamin Franklin-----思想：自助者天助（God helps those who help themselves）2.4 Thomas Paine----- Great Commoner of Mankind----- Rights of Man; The Age of Reason; Agrarian JusticeAmerican Crisis (a series of 16 pamphlets)2.5 P32 ①for though the flame of liberty may sometimes cease to shine,the coal can never expire.------ spirit / enthusiasm of struggle② but if a thief breaks into my house---- British government2.6★Philip Freneau-----美国前期浪漫主义的代表诗人/ the mostoutstanding writer of the post-Revolutionary period----- “The Poet of Revolution”----- “Father of American Poetry”(连线)----- he settled in Mount Pleasant, near Freehold, NewJersey---- The Wild-Honey Suckle(If nothing once, you nothing lose)3THE LITERATURE OF ROMANTICISM3.1起止时间：Washington Irving’s The Sketch Book(1819-1820)---Whitman’s Leaves of Grass(1858)3.2浪漫主义的一般特点：moral enthusiasm, faith in the value ofindividualism and intuitive perception, a presumption thatthe naturalworld was a source of goodness and man’s societies a source ofcorruption.3.3Oversoul: an all-pervading power for goodness from which all thingscome and of which all thing are a part.3.4美国国歌：Star-Spangled Banner3.5Literature from: novels, short stories, poems.3.6The desire for an escape from society and a return to nature becamea permanent convention of American literature.3.7★Washington Irving---- Father of American short stories(连线)-----the messenger sent from the new world to theold world----- the first great prose stylist of Americanromanticism----- Sketch Book (33篇文章+ 1篇自传)----- The Legend of Sleepy Hollow3.8James Fenimore Cooper--------The founder of the frontier stories-------- two kinds of immensely popular stories:the sea adventure tale; the frontier saga.The best of his many sea romances was ThePilot---------★连线Leatherstocking Tales(TheDeerslayer, The Last of the Mohicans, ThePathfinder, The Pioneers, The Prairie)------“The nearest approach yet to anAmerican epic”3.9William Cullen Bryant-----Thanatopsis（意为view of death）To a Waterfowl3.10★Edgar Allan Poe------ the founder of detective stories-------T o Helen: perfumed sea(one’s home land)of yore (cherish the ancient time/ancient beauty) bore to (brought to);wont to (be accustomed to)classic face (face of classic beauty) To the glory that was Greece, And the grandeur thatwas Rome (the great achievement in Greece and Rome) --------Annabel Lee (①倒数第二个stanza 运用comparison 的手法表现了对LEE 的爱。
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美国题型及复习范围题型1.作家作品配对10个2.读课文选段，写出和作品名称和作家姓名共10段3.回答问题120 字4.评论题或问答题（250字）复习范围1.记住本学期学过的作家和主要作品。
见每课作者介绍。
2.阅读本学期课堂分析过的课文。
3.思考课后练习题，给出自己的解答。
（以下课后思考题作为复习重点，仅做重点，并非原题）Page 442. No. 3. 4.Page 477. No. 1.2.3.Page 492 No. 1. 2.Page 523 No. 1. 5Page 564. No. 1. 2.4.要熟悉并能应用以下主要的文学术语。
1. The Lost GenerationAfter the First World War, some young writers voluntarily left America and settled in Paris, and others who stayed behind felt themselves to be exiles in spirit. All of them were “outsiders” who observed America society and culture objectively, from distance and tried to create new types of writing. They shunned the false idea of success put forth by the social system. Hemingway and Pound have been the representatives of such writers.2. Modernist LiteratureModernist literature is formed by many different literary schools such as stream of consciousness. The common tendencies of them are the suspicion and denial of the western civilization, the exploration into the inner world and unconsciousness of men and the innovation and experiment of artistic technique. Modernists feel no connection with history or institutions. Their experience is that of alienation, loss, and despair.3. SymbolA symbol is a person, place, or thing comes to represent an abstract idea or concept -- it is anything that stands for something beyond itself.4. American Naturalism:Naturalism was a literary movement taking place from 1880s to 1940s that used detailed realism to suggest that social conditions, heredity, and environment had inescapable force in shaping human character. It was depicted as a literary movement that seeks to replicate a believable everyday reality. Naturalistic works exposed the dark harshness of life, includingpoverty, racism, violence, prejudice, disease, corruption, and filth. As a result, naturalistic writers were frequently criticized for being too blunt.5. ImagismImagism is the name given to a movement in poetry, originating in 1912 and represented by Ezra Pound, Amy Lowell, and others, aiming at clarity of expression through the use of precise visual images.6. The Black Literature ( Afro-American Literature )In the 40’s of 20th century , the literary works by Negroes was no longer ignored and now Afro-American literature with some famous black writers as Langston Hughes with his novel Native Son, which forces public attention on to the problems of black Americans. Gradually, the black literature has become an important part of American Literature.7. Stream of ConsciousnessDefinition: Stream of consciousness is characterized by a flow of thoughts and images, which may not always appear to have a coherent structure or cohesion. The plot line may weave in and out of time and place, carrying the reader through the life span of a character or further along a timeline to incorporate the lives (and thoughts) of characters from other time periods.Writers who create stream-of-consciousness works of literature focus on the emotional and psychological processes that are taking place in the minds of one or more characters. Important character traits are revealed through an exploration of what is going on in the mind.Also Known As: Interior MonologueStream of Consciousness is a narrative technique that presents thoughts as if they were coming directly from a character’s mind. Lacking chronological order, the events in a stream of consciousness narrative are presented from the character’s point of view, mixed in with the character’s ongoing feelings and memories.The term "stream-of-consciousness" which was coined by William James in Principles of Psychology (1890) is used to indicate a literary approach to the presentation of psychological aspects of characters in fiction. It presents unspoken materials directly from the psyche of the characters, or make the characters tell their own inner thoughts in monologues The realm of life with which stream-of-consciousness novel is concerned is mental and spiritual experience, such as sensations, memories, imaginations, conceptions, intuitions, feelings and the process of association.Stream of consciousness writing is a variant of the third person point of view, in which the narrator relates only what is experienced by a character’s mind from moment to moment.Features of Stream of Consciousness1.Presents thoughts and feelings of a character as they occur.2.It shows a mind at work.3.It may contain parts that do not seen coherent because that are based on the free associationof ideas and feelings of an individual's mind.4.It is in 3rd person。