《美国文学史及选读》考试题型及复习要点

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美国文学史复习资料

美国文学史复习资料

美国文学史复习资料美国文学史复习(colonialism)第一部分殖民主义时期的文学一、时期综述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:1)their voyage to the new land2) Adapting themselves to unfamiliar climates and crops3) About dealing with Indians4) Guide to the new land, endless bounty, invitation to bold spirit3、清教徒的思想:1)puritan want to make up pure their religious beliefs and practices 净化信仰和行为方式2) Wish to restore simplicity to church and the authority of the Bible to the theology. 重建教堂,提供简单服务,建立神圣地位3)look upon themselves as chosen people, and it follow logically that anyone who challenged their way of life is opposing God's will and is not to be事的权利。

没有任何政治秩序和教会体制能够直接体现神本身的意旨。

6、英国最早移民到美国的诗人:Anne Bradstreet7、在殖民时期最好的清教徒诗人:the best of Puritan poets is Edward Tayor.学习指南:1、Could you give a description of American Puritans? 关于美国清教徒的描绘Like their brothers back in England, were idealists, believing that the church should be restored to the "purity" of the first-century church as established by Jesus Christ himself. To them religion was a matter of primary importance. They made it their chief business to see that man lived and thought and acted in a way which tended to the glory of God. They accepted the doctrine of predestination, original sin and total depravity, and limited atonement through a special infusion of grace from God, all that John Calvin, the great French theologian who lived in Geneva had preached. It was thiskind of religious belief that they brought with them into the wildness. There they meaant to prove that were God's chosen people enjoying his blessings on this earth as in Heaven.2、Hard work, thrift, piety and sobriety were the Puritan values that dominated much of the earliest American writing.3、The work of two writers, Anne Bradstreet & Edward Taylor, rose to the level of real poetry.4、The earliest settlers included Dutch, Swedes, Germans, French, Spaniards Italian, and Portuguese.美国文学史复习2(reasoning and revolution) (2009-01-17 15:54:25)一、美国的性质:The war for Independence ended in the formation of a Federative bourgeois democratic republic - the United States of America. 联邦的资产阶级民主共和国--美利坚合众国。

美国文学史及选读自考考点

美国文学史及选读自考考点

The literature of colonial AmericaJohn Smith1)The 1st American writer2)作品“reports of exploration”have been de scribed as the 1st distinctly American literatur e written in English, attracted Pilgrims(朝圣者) &the Puritans.3)1608,写了封信“A true Relation of Such O ccurance&Accidents of Note as Hath Happen ed in Virginia Since the 1st planting of That c olony”4)1612,第二本书“A map of Virginia :with a Description of the Country”5)他一共出版了八本书,公司破产以后做了向导,he sought a post as guide to the pilgrims. 1624,“General History of Virginia”讲述How the Indian princess Pocahonats Saved him. 6)他早期记录和反映的思想慢慢演变成了美国历史的基本思想,这种思想推动了美国边疆的西移。

7)早期英格兰文学主要关于theological(神学), moral(道德), historical and political.The Puritans in New England embraced hards hips, together with the discipline of a harsh church.They had toughness, purpose and cha racter, they grappled strongly with challenges they set themselves.他们的基本价值观:hard w ork, thrift, piety and sobriety.(也是美国作品的主导思想)William Bradford & John Withrop1)William Bradford:“The History of Plymouth Plantation”(从1630年写起,关于一群清教徒从英国出发到Amsterdam最后到新大陆的过程)Cotton Mather评价:“a common blessing and father to them all.”2)John Withrop:“The History of New England”(1630,登上Arbella号去Massachusetts并keep a journal and to the rest of his life.1826年出版)3)Puritans-Puritans wanted to make pure their religious beliefs and practices.The Puritan was Would-be purifier.-Looked upon themselves as a choosen peolple.-Anyone who challenged their way of life wa s opposing God’s will and was not to be ac cepted.-They were zealous in defense of their own beliefs but often intolerant of the beliefs of others-Made laws about private morality as well as public behavior Nathaniel Hawthorne called them“stern and black browed Puritans”John Cotton & Roger Williams1)John Cotton:The patriarch(教父) of New England2)Roger Williams:“A key into the language of Ameriaca”&“A help to the language of the Natives in That Part of America Called New England”(美洲新英格兰部分土著居民语言指南)Anne Bradstreet & Edward Taylor1)Anne Bradstreet:One of the most interest ing of the early poet.(1630乘Arbella到Massa chusetts)“The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in Ameri ca”(在美洲诞生的第十个缪斯)2)Edward Taylor:The best of the Puritan Po ets(作品大部分关于宗教)The Literature of Reason And Revolution1.American Independence WarNoah Webster评价:American must be as ind ependent in literature as she is inpolitics, as famous for arts as for arms.(文化上的独立,艺术上的著名)②Thomas Jefferson:”Declaration of Independ ence(独立宣言)”2.Enlightenment 启蒙运动3文学上独立的代表作1785, Jefferson:“Notes on the State of Virginia.“1791, Bartram:“Travels”Benjamin Franklin 1706-17901)In the colonial period, the only good Ame rican author before the Revolutionary War. -Born in Boston曾创办“Pennsylvania Gazatte”, 1732-1758出版”Poor Richard’s Almanac coll ocation of proverbs”2)founded the Junto&Established America’s first circulating library& founded the Universit y of PennsylvaniaAided Jefferson in writting the Declaration of Independence.3)The 1st major writers.4)“Autobiography”,编辑了美国第一份殖民杂志“General magazine”朋友评价:His shadow lies heavier than any ot her man’s on this young nation.Thomas Paine 1739-18091)“Great Commoner of Mankind”(人类最平凡的人)&Pamphleteer(小册作家)2)1772, he wrote his 1st pamphlet“The case of the Officers of the Excise”1774, Franklin给他写推荐信“an ingenious wort hy young man”He is a political satirist of genius(政治讽刺的天才)3)1776.1.10 His famous pamphlet“Common Sense”appeared, 署名by an Englishman(书中大胆拥护独立宣言各主张,因此成了美国独立革命思想的代言人)4)1776-1783,“American Crisis”signed“Com mon Sense”在部队被广泛传阅鼓舞士气5)1791-1792,“Rights of Man”6)在法国因反对路易十六和恐怖统治入狱,1793-1 795,“The Age of Reason”a deistic treatise a dvocating a rationalistic view of religion.(注重宗教观念的理性)7)最后一部作品“Agrarian Justice”Thomas Jefferson 1743-1826美国历史上最为广泛影响的人物,同Franklin一样具人道主义精神1)1776,with John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert R Livingston, hedrafted the Declaration of Independence. 2)1800起担任两届美国总统,建立the Library of Congress,1819创建the university of Virginia 并担任第一任校长Philip Freneau1)The most outstanding writter of the Post-Revolutionary period. Double role as poet an d political journalist.2)1770,“The Power of Fancy”因出版有关讽刺英国人作品而被认可3)1776,“The House of Night”(the Gothic mood)F·L·帕蒂称它为“the 1st distinctly romant ic note heard in America”and“The Beauties of Santa Cruz”4)1781,“The British Prison Ship”5)1786,他的早期作品被收录在“The Poems of Philip Freneau Written Chiefly During the Lat e War”6)1788,“Miscellaneous Works”.1791,with Jefferson’s support“National Gaz ette”campaigned against the opinions of the“Gazette of the United States”7)教材作品“The Wild Honey Suckle”“The In dian Burying Ground”“To a Caty-Did”The Literature of Romanticism1)1828年Andrew Jackson as the 7th Presiden t of the United States标志Virginia王朝的结束1 861年开始Civil War.’[[[‘2)美国早期的主要文学形式,被长篇、短篇故事和诗歌所取代novels, short stories, and poems re placed sermons and manifestos as America’s principal literary forms.Washington Irving 1783-18591)He was the 1st great prose stylist of Amer ican romanticism familiar style.第一位浪漫主义散文文体作家,大众化风格2)He was the 1st great belletrist, writing alw ays for pleasure, and to produce pleasure.第一个不折不扣的纯文学作家,他写作只是为了快乐和创造快乐3)1819-1820,His“Sketch Book”appeared t he 1st modern short stories and the 1st great American juvenile literature to write good hi story and biography as literary entertainment.第一部《见闻札记》是现代文学史上的第一部短篇小说,也是美国第一部伟大的青少年文学读物,他把历史与传说当作娱乐形式来写。

美国文学史及选读复习笔记(1-2册)

美国文学史及选读复习笔记(1-2册)

美国文学史及选读复习笔记(1-2册)History And Anthology of American Literature (V olumeⅠⅡ)美国文学史及选读1、2PartⅠThe Literature of Colonial America殖民主义时期的文学1. 17世纪早期English and European explorers开始登陆美洲。

在他们之前100多年Caribbean Islands, Mexico and other Parts of South America已被the Spanish占领。

2. 17th早期English settlements in Virginia and Massachusetts(弗吉尼亚和马萨诸塞)开始了美国历史3. 美国最早殖民者(earliest settlers)included Dutch ,Swedes ,Germans ,French ,Spaniards ,Italians and Portuguese (荷兰人,瑞典人,德国人,法国人,西班牙人,意大利人及葡萄牙人等)。

4. 美国早期文学主要为the narratives and journals of these settlements采用in diaries and in journals(日记和日志),他们写关于the land with dense forests and deep-blue lakes and rich soil.5. 第一批美国永久居民:the first permanent English settlement in North America was established at Jamestown,Virginia in 1607(北美弗吉尼亚詹姆斯顿)。

6. 船长约翰?史密斯Captain John Smith他的作品(reports of exploration)17th 早期出版,被认为是美国第一部真正意义上的文学作品in the early 1600s,have been described as the first distinctly American literature written in English.他讲述了filled with themes, myths, images, scenes, character and events,吸引了朝圣者和清教徒前往lure the Pilgrims and the Puritans.7. 美国第一位作家:1608年Captain John Smith写了封信《自殖民地第一次在弗吉尼亚垦荒以来发生的各种事件的真实介绍》“A True Relation of Such Occurrences and Accidents of Note as Hath Happened in Virginia Since the First Planting of That Colony”.8. 他的第二本书1612年《弗吉尼亚地图,附:一个乡村的描述》“A Map of Virginia: with a Description of the Country”.9. 他一共出版了八本书,其中有关于新英格兰的历史及描述。

吴伟仁《美国文学史及选读》(重排版)笔记和考研真题详解

吴伟仁《美国文学史及选读》(重排版)笔记和考研真题详解

20.1复习笔记 20.2考研真题与典型题详解
21.1复习笔记 21.2考研真题与典型题详解
22.1复习笔记 22.2考研真题与典型题详解
23.1复习笔记 23.2考研真题与典型题详解
24.1复习笔记 24.2考研真题与典型题详解
25.1复习笔记 25.2考研真题与典型题详解
0 1
第26章埃 兹拉·庞德
目录分析
第1章约翰·史密斯
第2章威廉·布拉德 福德和约翰·温思罗

第3章约翰·科顿和 罗杰·威廉姆斯
第4章安妮·布雷兹 特里特和爱德华·泰 勒
1.1复习笔记 1.2考研真题与典型题详解
2.1复习笔记 2.2考研真题与典型题详解
3.1复习笔记 3.2考研真题与典型题详解
4.1复习笔记 4.2考研真题与典型题详解
11.1复习笔记 11.2考研真题与典型题详解
12.1复习笔记 12.2考研真题与典型题详解
13.1复习笔记 13.2考研真题与典型题详解
14.1复习笔记 14.2考研真题与典型题详解
15.1复习笔记 15.2考研真题与典型题详解
16.1复习笔记 16.2考研真题与典型题详解
17.1复习笔记 17.2考研真题与典型题详解
第5章本杰明·富兰 克林
第6章托马斯·佩恩
第7章托马斯·杰斐 逊
第8章菲利普·弗瑞 诺
5.1复习笔记 5.2考研真题与典型题详解
6.1复习笔记 6.2考研真题与典型题详解
7.1复习笔记 7.2考研真题与典型题详解
8.1复习笔记 8.2考研真题与典型题详解
第9章华盛
1
顿·欧文
第10章詹姆
2
27.1复习笔记 27.2考研真题与典型题详解

西南大学网络教育0171美国文学史及选读期末考试复习题及参考答案

西南大学网络教育0171美国文学史及选读期末考试复习题及参考答案

0171美国文学史及选读1、艾伦坡(Edgar Allan Poe)的小说表现出怎样的艺术特征?答:作品主题爱伦·坡的恐怖小说带有浪漫主义的特色。

纵观爱伦·坡的恐怖小说创作,其故事主题大都“揭示了人类意识及潜意识中的阴暗面”,这一点显然迥异于同时代的其他浪漫主义作家。

爱伦·坡以恐怖小说这样一种特殊的文学形式深入刻画与呈现了非现实状态下人的精神状态和心理特征,试图“以非现实、非理性的表达方式来揭示现代人的精神因顿”。

他借助想象奇特、恐怖怪异的故事情节,通过夸张、隐喻和象征等修辞手段表现人性的危机,激起读者浓厚阅读兴趣的同时,震撼心灵,发人深省。

爱伦·坡的创作原则是其“效果说”理论,他选择“死亡”作为其文学创作的主题是由他的这个创作原则决定的。

坡认为,无论是创作诗歌还是小说,作家必须讲究效果的统一,必须时刻想到预定的结局,要使每一个情节变得必不可少。

他在《评霍桑的“故事重述”》中曾经这样阐述自己的创作原则:“聪明的艺术家不是将自己的思想纳入他的情节,而是事先精心策划,想出某种独特的、与众不同的效果,然后再杜撰出这样一些情节——他把这些情节联结起来,而他所做的一切都将最大限度地有利于实现在预先构思的效果”。

使“每一事件,每一描写细节,甚至一字一句都收到一定的统一效果,一个预想的效果,印象主义的效果”。

他强调作品对读者所能唤起的情绪和产生的效果。

在“创作的哲学”中,他认为,故事的首要目的是要在情感上扣住读者的心弦,产生最激动人心的效果。

死亡主题是通过谨严紧凑的结构和作品的简洁而表现的。

爱伦坡的作品形式精美,技巧圆熟。

爱伦坡在《评霍桑的“故事重述”》里,强调了作品的简洁和统一效果。

在写作中,他还平萍理留情节和结构的高度简洁,小说中通常只有两个,最多三个人物,也没有离题的枝节和无关的装饰品。

在他看来,一位技巧高明的文学家在写作之前,必须成竹在胸,深思熟虑,为实现预期效果而选择和组织情节,并且不应该有一个词的意向直接或间接与预先的构思无关。

西南大学《美国文学史及选读》复习思考题及答案

西南大学《美国文学史及选读》复习思考题及答案

(0171)《美国文学史及选读》复习思考题I. Write out the authors’ names of the following works. (15)1. Poor Richard’s Almanac2. The Wasteland3. The Pioneers4. The Leaves of Grass5. Go Tell it on the Mountain6. For Whom the Bell Tolls?7. Catch 22 8. Of Mice and Men9. The Sound and the Fury 10.Huck Finn11. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow 12. The Old Man and the Sea13. Mending Walls 14. Beloved15. Invisible Man 16. Beyond the Horizons17. Of Mice and Men 18. The Raven19. The Great Gatsby 20. The Streetcar Named Desire21. Rip van Winkle 22. Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening 23. The Scarlet Letter 24. Moby Dick25. Desire Under the Elms 26. The Gilded Age27. The Sound and Fury 28. The Road Not Taken29. The Death of a Salesman 30. The Pathfinder31. Walden 32. Daisy Miller33. Song of Myself 34. The Call of the Wild35. Martin Eden 36. Long Day’s Journey into NightII. Define the following literary terms. (20)1. Beat Generation2. Protagonist3. Biography4. Novel5. Anti-hero6. Free Verse7. Drama 8. Jazz Age9. Biography 10. Blank Verse11. Black Humor 12. Head Rhyme13. Surprise ending 14. Transcendentalism15. Imagery 16. Stream of Consciousness17. Lost Generation 18. Short storyIII. Give brief answers to the following questions. (15)1.Who is the father of American literature?2.Who is the father of American poetry?3.What is Poe’s theory concerning poetry?4.What is Poe’s theory concerning the short story?5.What are the major characteristics of Twain’s writing style?6.What are the major characteristics of Irving’s writing style?7.What is “black humor?8.What is the Harlem Renaissance?9.What is the New England Renaissance?10.What are the major characteristics of colonial American literature?11.What is the Lost Generation?12.What are Benjamin Franklin’s contributions to American culture?13.Why is colonial American literature neither American nor literary?14.What is the Jazz Age?15.What is American transcendentalism?16.What is imagism?17.What is O. Henry Ending?18.What is free verse?IV. Read the following poem and try to understand and explain it.(20)FogTHE FOG comesOn little cat feet.It sits lookingOver harbor and cityOn silent haunchesAnd then moves onIn a Station of the Metro(Ezra Pound)The Apparition of these faces in the crowd; Petals on a wet, black bough.(Consult your book)The Road Not Taken(By Robert Frost)TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel bothAnd be one traveler, long I stoodAnd looked down one as far as I couldTo where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, Though as for that, the passing thereHad worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally layIn leaves no step had trodden black.Oh, I kept the first for another day!Yet knowing how way leads to way,I doubted if I should ever come back.I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence:Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-I took the one less traveled by,And that has made all the difference. (Consult your book)Dreams(by Langston Hughes)Hold fast to dreamsFor if dreams dieLife is a broken-winged birdThat cannot fly.Hold fast to dreamsFor when dreams goLife is a barren fieldFrozen with snow.(Consult your book)(0171)《美国文学史及选读》复习思考题答案I. Write out the authors’ names of the following works. (15)Benjamin Franklin T. S. EliotJames Cooper Walt WhitmanJames Baldwell Ernest HemingwayJoseph Heller John SteinbeckWilliam Faulkner Mark TwainWashington Irving Ernest HemingwayRobert Frost Toni MorrisonRalph Ellison Eugene O’NeillJohn Steinbeck Allan PoeF. Scott Fitzgerald Tennessee WilliamsWashington Irving Robert FrostNathaniel Hawthorne Herman MelvilleEugene O’Neill Mark TwainWilliam Faulkner Robert FrostArthur Miller James CooperH. D. Thoreau Henry JamesWhitman Jack LondonJack London O’NeillII. Define the following literary terms. (20)Beat generation:The term was coined by Jack Kerouac in 1948 to refer to a group of disillusioned writers following World War Two. Later, this literary and cultural movement continued into the 1960s. The Beat Generation must not be confused with the Lost Generation of writers. Spokesmen and representatives of the Beat Generation were Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and others. They revolted against an America that was materialistic, belligerent and frustrating. Social, intellectual and sexual freedom was advocated. Traditional culture and normal social behavior were attacked and violated. Many of them were drug addicts wearing long hair and dirty clothes. They were fond of slangs and jazz. Masterpieces created by writers of this group include Kerouac’s On the Road and Ginsberg’s Howl and Other Poems, which were regarded as pocket Bibles of that generation. Other prominent Beats include William S. Burroughs, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Gregory Corso, Michael McClure, and Neal Cassady. The Beat Generation, had greatly influenced the countercultural movements of the 1960s and the adolescents and adults in other countries. In England, the “angry young men” made an echo and imitated the American “beatnik.”Protagonist: the principal character in a play or story; the central character who serves as a focus for the work’s themes and incidents and as the principal rationale for its development; and one who is opposed to the antagonist. In the beginning of ancient Greek drama, there were only a chorus and one actor—the leader of the chorus. Thespis invented the first actor. Then Aeschylus and Sophocles added the second and third actors to the tragedy respectively. The three actors were names Protagonist, Deuteragonist and Tritagonist. In discussions of modern literature, the protagonist is sometimes referred to as the hero or anti-hero.Biography:an account of a person’s life written by somebody else, or biographical writing as aform of literature.Novel: Generally speaking, it is an imaginative prose narrative of extended length dealing with fictional characters and events. The constituent elements of a novel include plot, character, conflict, and setting. But there can be exceptions. Some novels are short. Some novels are not fictional. Some novels are in verse. And some novels do not even tell a story. There have been many debates over the appropriate length of a novel. No established length for a novel has been agreed upon. It is generally held, however, that a full-length novel is longer than a novella or short novel, and a short novel is longer than a shot story. A novel should be long enough so as to appear in print in an independent volume. The great length of a novel makes it possible for the characters and themes in it to be developed more fully and subtly.Antihero: a main character in a story, novel, play or film who behaves in a completely different way from what people expect a hero to do. A non-hero is without the qualities and features of a traditional or old-fashioned hero. He is doomed to fail. Antiheroes of early days were Don Quixote, Macbeth, Rip Van Winkle, and Tristram Shandy. Examples of antiheroes in modern literature include Leopold Bloom, Jim Dixon, Jimmy Porter, Herzog, and Yassarian.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. Not ing is better than simplicity.”Drama: a form of literature written for actors to perform. A drama is divided into acts. An act can be subdivided into scenes. The constituent elements of a drama include dialogue, plot, characters, setting, stage direction, and others. A drama can be as long as three parts called trilogy, or as short as one act only. Greek drama originated in religious ceremonial in honor of Dionysus. Medieval drama developed out of rites celebrating the life events of Jesus Christ. Dramatists of great importance in literary history include Sophocles, Shakespeare, Ibsen, and Shaw. In America, thefirs important dramatist was Eugene O’Neill who wrote the first serious plays. Before O’Neill, America had theatre. Starting from O’Neill, it began to have drama.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 specifically employed 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.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. Sometimes, an autobiography can be fictionalized. An example of this kind is Rousseau’s Confessions. Some novels and long poems are used for autobiography. Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Whitman’s “Song of Myself” and Wordsworth’s The Prelude fall in this category. Dickens’s David Copperfield, Lawrence’s Sons and Lovers and O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey into Night have strong autobiographical elements in them.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 isstill practiced by writers like T.S. Eliot, Yeats, Frost and Stevens shows how influential and favorable it really is.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 Tria l”, Joseph Heller’s novel Catch-22and Albee’s The Zoo Story. Other writers who did much contribution to the popularity of black humor were Beckett, Camus, Ionesco, V onnegut, Pynchon and so on.Head rhyme: the use in verse or prose of several words close together which all begin with the same letter. It is done for special musical effect comparable to the effects of end rhyme. In most cases, alliteration is the repetition of identical initial consonant sounds. Examples are Pope’s “For fools rush in where an gels fear to tread,” Poe’s “The weary, wayworn wanderer bore,” and Coleridge’s “Five miles meandering with a mazy motion.” Alliteration of initial vowels is quite limited in number. An example of vowel alliteration is “It is impossible to enjoy idling thor oughly unless one has plenty of work to do.”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 instanc e is O. Henry’s story “The Gift of the Magi.”III. Give brief answers to the following questions. (15)19.Who is the father of American literature? (Consult your book)20.Who is the father of American poetry? (Consult your book)21.What is Poe’s theory concerning p oetry? (Consult your book)22.What is Poe’s theory concerning the short story? (Consult your book)23.What are the major characteristics of Twain’s writing style? (Consult your book)24.What are the major characteristics of Irving’s writing style? (Consult your book)25.What is “black humor? (Consult your book)26.What is the Harlem Renaissance? (Consult your book)27.What is the New England Renaissance? (Consult your book)28.What are the major characteristics of colonial American literature? (See your book)29.What is the Lost Generation? (Consult your book)30.What are Benjamin Franklin’s contributions to American culture? (See your book)31.Why is colonial American literature neither American nor literary? (See your book)32.What is the Jazz Age? (Consult your book)33.What is American transcendentalism? (Consult your book)34.What is imagism? (Consult your book)35.What is O. Henry Ending? (Consult your book)36.What is free verse? (Consult your book)IV. Read the following poem and try to understand and explain it.(20)FogTHE FOG comesOn little cat feet.It sits lookingOver harbor and cityOn silent haunchesAnd then moves on(An imagist poem by Carl Sandburg; depicting the fog and its movement; free verse written in the tradition of Whiman.)In a Station of the Metro(Ezra Pound)The Apparition of these faces in the crowd;Petals on a wet, black bough.( a poem of the Imagist school, written by Ezra Pound.)The Road Not Taken(By Robert Frost)TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,And sorry I could not travel bothAnd be one traveler, long I stoodAnd looked down one as far as I couldTo where it bent in the undergrowth;Then took the other, as just as fair,Though as for that, the passing thereHad worn them really about the same,And both that morning equally layIn leaves no step had trodden black.Oh, I kept the first for another day!Yet knowing how way leads to way,I doubted if I should ever come back.I shall be telling this with a sighSomewhere ages and ages hence:Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-I took the one less traveled by,And that has made all the difference.(A poem by Robert Frost. It is about the difficulty of making a choice.)Dreams(by Langston Hughes)Hold fast to dreamsFor if dreams dieLife is a broken-winged birdThat cannot fly.Hold fast to dreamsFor when dreams goLife is a barren fieldFrozen with snow.(Consult your book)。

(0171)《美国文学史及选读》复习思考题答案

(0171)《美国文学史及选读》复习思考题答案

(0171)《美国文学史及选读》复习思考题答案I. Write out the authors’ names of the following works. (15)Benjamin Franklin T. S. EliotJames Cooper Walt WhitmanJames Baldwell Ernest HemingwayJoseph Heller John SteinbeckWilliam Faulkner Mark TwainWashington Irving Ernest HemingwayRobert Frost Toni MorrisonRalph Ellison Eugene O’NeillJohn Steinbeck Allan PoeF. Scott Fitzgerald Tennessee WilliamsWashington Irving Robert FrostNathaniel Hawthorne Herman MelvilleEugen e O’Neill Mark TwainWilliam Faulkner Robert FrostArthur Miller James CooperH. D. Thoreau Henry JamesWhitman Jack LondonJack London O’NeillII. Define the following literary terms. (20)Beat generation:The term was coined by Jack Kerouac in 1948 to refer to a group of disillusioned writers following World War Two. Later, this literary and cultural movement continued into the 1960s. The Beat Generation must not be confused with the Lost Generation of writers. Spokesmen and representatives of the Beat Generation were Jack Kerouac, AllenGinsberg and others. They revolted against an America that was materialistic, belligerent and frustrating. Social, intellectual and sexual freedom was advocated. Traditional culture and normal social behavior were attacked and violated. Many of them were drug addicts wearing long hair and dirty clothes. They were fond of slangs and jazz. Masterpieces created by writers of this group include Kerouac‟s On the Road and Ginsberg‟s Howl and Other Poems, which were regarded as pocket Bibles of that generation. Other prominent Beats include William S. Burroughs, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Gregory Corso, Michael McClure, and Neal Cassady. The Beat Generation, had greatly influenced the countercultural movements of the 1960s and the adolescents and adults in other countries. In England, the “angry young men” made an echo and imitated the American “beatnik.”Protagonist: the principal character in a play or story; the central character who serves as a focus fo r the work‟s themes and incidents and as the principal rationale for its development; and one who is opposed to the antagonist. In the beginning of ancient Greek drama, there were only a chorus and one actor—the leader of the chorus. Thespis invented the first actor. Then Aeschylus and Sophocles added the second and third actors to the tragedy respectively. The three actors were names Protagonist, Deuteragonist and Tritagonist. In discussions of modern literature, the protagonist is sometimes referred to as the hero or anti-hero.Biography:an account of a person‟s life written by somebody else, or biographical writing as a form of literature.Novel: Generally speaking, it is an imaginative prose narrative of extended length dealing with fictional characters and events. The constituent elements of a novel include plot, character, conflict, and setting. But there can be exceptions. Some novels are short. Some novels are not fictional. Some novels are in verse. And some novels do not even tell a story. There have been many debates over the appropriate length of a novel. No established length for a novel has been agreed upon. It is generally held, however, that a full-length novel is longer than a novella or short novel, and a short novel is longer than a shot story. A novel should be long enough so as to appear in print in an independent volume. The great length of a novel makes it possible for the characters and themes in it to be developed more fully and subtly.Antihero: a main character in a story, novel, play or film who behaves in a completely different way from what people expect a hero to do. A non-hero is without the qualities and features of atraditional or old-fashioned hero. He is doomed to fail. Antiheroes of early days were Don Quixote, Macbeth, Rip V an Winkle, and Tristram Shandy. Examples of antiheroes in modern literature include Leopold Bloom, Jim Dixon, Jimmy Porter, Herzog, and Y assarian.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 simplic ity.”Drama: a form of literature written for actors to perform. A drama is divided into acts. An act can be subdivided into scenes. The constituent elements of a drama include dialogue, plot, characters, setting, stage direction, and others. A drama can be as long as three parts called trilogy, or as short as one act only. Greek drama originated in religious ceremonial in honor of Dionysus. Medieval drama developed out of rites celebrating the life events of Jesus Christ. Dramatists of great importance in literary history include Sophocles, Shakespeare, Ibsen, and Shaw. In America, the firs important dramatist was Eugene O‟Neill who wrote the first serious plays. Before O‟Neill, America had theatre. Starting from O‟Neill, it began to have drama.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 specifically employed 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 Malco lm 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.Autobiography: a story a writer writes about his or her own life experiences. It is narrated fromthe 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. Othe r 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. Sometimes, an autobiography can be fictionalized. An example of this kind is Rousseau‟s Confessions. Some novels and long poems are used for autobiography. Joyce‟s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Whitman‟s “Song of Myself” and Wordsworth‟s The Prelude fall in this category. Dickens‟s David Copperfield, Lawrence‟s Sons and Lovers and O‟Neill‟s Long Day’s Journey into Night have strong autobiographical elements in them.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 Y oung 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, Y eats, Frost and Stevens shows how influential and favorable it really is.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-22and Albee‟s The Zoo Story. Other writers who did much contribution to the popularity of black humor were Beckett, Camus, Ionesco, V onnegut, Pynchon and so on.Head rhyme: the use in verse or prose of several words close together which all begin with the same letter. It is done for special musical effect comparable to the effects of end rhyme. In mostcases, alliteration is the repetition of identical initial consonant sounds. Examples are Pope‟s “For fools rush in where angels fear to tread,” Poe‟s “The weary, wayworn wanderer bore,” and Coleridge‟s“Five miles meandering with a mazy motion.” Alliteration of initial vowels is quite limited in number. An example of vowel alliteration is “It is impossible to enjoy idling thoroughly unless one has plenty of work to do.”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.”III. Give brief answers to the following questions. (15)1.Who is the father of American literature? (Consult your book)2.Who is the father of American poetry? (Consult your book)3.What is Poe‟s theory concerning poetry? (Consult your book)4.What is Poe‟s theory concerning the short story? (Consult your book)5.What are the major characteristics of Twain‟s writing style? (Consult your book)6.What are the major characteristics of Irving‟s writing style? (Consult your book)7.What is “black humor? (Consult your book)8.What is the Harlem Renaissance? (Consult your book)9.What is the New England Renaissance? (Consult your book)10.What are the major characteristics of colonial American literature? (See your book)11.What is the Lost Generation? (Consult your book)12.What are Benjamin Franklin‟s contributions to A merican culture? (See your book)13.Why is colonial American literature neither American nor literary? (See your book)14.What is the Jazz Age? (Consult your book)15.What is American transcendentalism? (Consult your book)16.What is imagism? (Consult your book)17.What is O. Henry Ending? (Consult your book)18.What is free verse? (Consult your book)IV. Read the following poem and try to understand and explain it.(20)FogTHE FOG comesOn little cat feet.It sits lookingOver harbor and cityOn silent haunchesAnd then moves on(An imagist poem by Carl Sandburg; depicting the fog and its movement; free verse written in the tradition of Whiman.)In a Station of the Metro(Ezra Pound)The Apparition of these faces in the crowd;Petals on a wet, black bough.( a poem of the Imagist school, written by Ezra Pound.)The Road Not T aken(By Robert Frost)TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,And sorry I could not travel bothAnd be one traveler, long I stoodAnd looked down one as far as I couldTo where it bent in the undergrowth;Then took the other, as just as fair,Though as for that, the passing thereHad worn them really about the same,And both that morning equally layIn leaves no step had trodden black.Oh, I kept the first for another day!Y et knowing how way leads to way,I doubted if I should ever come back.I shall be telling this with a sighSomewhere ages and ages hence:Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-I took the one less traveled by,And that has made all the difference.(A poem by Robert Frost. It is about the difficulty of making a choice.)Dreams(by Langston Hughes)Hold fast to dreamsFor if dreams dieLife is a broken-winged birdThat cannot fly.Hold fast to dreamsFor when dreams goLife is a barren fieldFrozen with snow.(Consult your book)。

美国文学选读复习

美国文学选读复习

History And Anthology of American Literature (VolumeⅠⅡ)美国文学史及选读1、2PartⅠThe Literature of Colonial America殖民主义时期的文学(at the beginning of 17th century)Part Ⅱ The Literature of Reason And Revolution理性和革命时期文学(by the mid-18th century)1.Thomas Jefferson: Declaration of Independence 独立宣言(1776年18世纪中后期)(仔细阅读知道意思)Benjamin Franklin: The AutobiographyThomas Paine: The American Crisis*一、Benjamin Franklin 本杰明·富兰克林1706-1790Symbol of America in the Age of Enlightenment殖民地时期作家。

独立战争前惟一的杰出的美国作家in the colonial period, the only good American author before the Revolutionary War.1.其还是美国第一位主要作家the first major writer非凡表达能力,简洁明了,有点幽默,还是一位讽刺天才as an author he had power of expression, simplicity, a subtle humor. He was also sarcastic.2.他最好作品收录在《自传》“Autobiography”。

“对这个年青的国家来说,他的损失比其它任何人的都要大“his shadow lies heavier than any other man’s on this young nation.二、Thomas Jefferson托马斯·杰弗逊(1743-1826)1.美国历史上最为广泛影响人物his thought and personality have influenced his countryman more deeply and remained more effectively alive.同富兰克林一样具人道主义精神vigorous humanitarian sympathies.启蒙运动的产物a product of the Enlightenment.2.1776年同约翰·亚当斯、本杰明·富兰克林、罗杰·谢尔曼、罗伯特·R·利文斯顿一起起草《独立宣言》with John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert R Livingston, he drafted the Declaration of Independence.3.1790-1793任华盛顿内阁中第一任国务卿,as the first American secretary of state. 1800起担任两届美国总统。

美国文学史及选读考研复习笔记2

美国文学史及选读考研复习笔记2

History And Anthology of American Literature(2)Part ⅡThe Literature of Reason And Revolution理性和革命时期文学1.托马斯·佩因《常识》Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense”;托马斯·杰弗逊《独立宣言》Thomas Jefferson “Declaration of Independence”2.在经济方面,英国要求美出口原材料,后从英国购回高成本的机器they hampered colonial economy by requiring Americans to ship raw materials abroad and to import finished goods at prices higher than the cost of making them in this country.3.在政治方面,要求他们归英国政府统一管理,交各种税收但在议会中却没有代表by ruling the colonies from overseas and by taxing the colonies without giving them representation in Parliament.4.美独立战争持续了八年(1776-1783)The War for Independence.诺亚·韦伯斯特(Noah Webster)说:文化上的独立,艺术上的著名。

5.文学上独立的代表作:1785年杰弗逊:《弗吉尼亚洲的声明》Jefferson’s “Notes on the State of Virginia”;1791年巴特姆:《旅行笔记》“Travels” by BartramⅠ. Benjamin Franklin 本杰明·富兰克林1706-1790殖民地时期作家。

美国文学史及选读复习重点

美国文学史及选读复习重点

Captain John Smith (first American writer).Anne Bradstreet;The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America (colonists living)Edward Taylor(the best puritan poet)John Cotton ”the Patriarch of New England” teacher spiritual leader Benjamin Franklin The Autobiography Poor Richard’s Almanack Thomas Jefferson:Political Career Thoughts The Declaration of Independence we hold truth to be self-evidencePhilip Freneau“Father of American Poetry” The Wild Honey Suckle American Romanticism optimism and hopeNationalism Washington Irving“Father of American Literature short story”The first “Pure Writer” A History of New York The Sketch Book marked the beginning of American Romanticism! “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”Rip Van WinkleJames Fenimore Cooper Father of American sea and frontier novels Leather stocking Tales The Last of the Mohicans The Pioneers The Prairie The Pathfinder The DeerslayerEdgar Allan Poe father of detective story and horror fiction Tales of the Grotesque and the Arabesque “MS. Found in a Bottle” “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”“The Fall of the House of Usher”“The Masque of the Red Death”“TheCask of Amontillado”效果论art for arts sake诗歌The Raven 《乌鸦》Annabel Lee 《安娜贝尔•李》To Helen 《致海伦》•Henry Wadsworth Longfellow be honored by having his bust placed in the Poets’ Corner of Westminster Abbey.the first American poet to write the narrative poems.•Works:•Voices of the Night《夜吟》•Ballads and Other Poems《民谣及其他》• A Psalm of Life《人生礼赞》•The Slave’s Dream《奴隶的梦》•The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls《潮起潮落》•My Lost Youth《逝去的青春》•The Song of Hiawatha《海华沙之歌》•The Courtship of Miles Standish《迈尔斯斯坦迪什的求婚》••New England Transcendentalism summit of American •Romanticism.Leaders: Emerson and Thoreau“The Universe is composed of Nature and the Soul.”•Ralph Waldo Emerson New England Transcendentalism. •Nature (论自然) American Scholar (美国学者)Divinity School Address (神学院演说)Representative Men 代表English Traits(英国人的特征)•The Over-Soul (论超灵) Self-Reliance(论自立)•Henry David Thoreau Walden, or Life in the Woods Civil Disobedience•Transcendentalism Emerson Thoreau •Nathaniel Hawthorne Twice-Told Tales Mosses from an Old Manse The Scarlet Letter•The House of the Seven Gables 1851••The Blithedale Romance 1852••The Marble Faun 1860g)“Young Goodman Brown”(Mosses from an Old Manse)g)“The Minister’s Black Veil”(Twice-Told Tales )g)“Dr. Rappacini’s Daughter” (Mosses from an Old Manse)Herman Melville Typee the whaler Acushnet Omoo Mardi Pierre White Jacket Billy Budd Moby Dick RedburnHenry Wadsworth Longfellow be honored with a bust in the Poet’s corner of Westminster Abbey.Naturalism:自然主义 a new and harsher realism Deterministic 决定论,宿命的pessimism代表作家:Stephen Crane 史蒂芬.克莱恩, Frank Norris 弗朗克.诺里斯, Jack London 杰克.伦敦, Theodore Dreiser 西奥多.德莱塞.Darwinism: 达尔文主义:an evident influence on naturalism, stress the animality of manWalt Whitman Leaves of Grass the first genuine epic poem •Emily Dickinson•Because I could not Stop for Death•I Heard a Fly Buzz—When I Died•My Life Closed Twice before its Close•I Died for Beauty—but was ScarceHarriet Beecher Stowe Uncle Tom’s CabinMark Twainn 1.The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County (1865) (卡拉弗拉斯县的著名跳蛙)n 2.Innocents Abroad (1869)(成功傻子出国记)n 3.Roughing It (1872) (艰苦岁月)n 4.The Gilded Age (with Charles Dudley waenner,1873) (镀金时代)n 5.The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876)(汤姆索耶历险记)The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn realismO. Henry The Gift of the Magi the cop and AnthemHenry James Daisy Miller The Portrait of a Lady 国际化Jack London The Call of the Wild Martin Eden”(autobiographical novel自传体小说)•Theodore Dreiser•Sister Carrie 1900•An American Tragedy 1925 the greatest successful•The Financier 1912•The Titan 1914•The Stoic the protagonist Trilogy of desire欲望三部曲•Dreiser Looks at Russia 1928•F. Scott Fitzgerald•This Side of Paradise (1920)•Flappers and Philosophers (1920)•The Beautiful and Damned (1920)•Tales of the Jazz Age (1922)•The Great Gatsby (1925)•Tender Is the Night (1934)•The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (short story)•Ernest Hemingway representative of “The Lost Generation •The Sun Also Rises(1926)• A Farewell to Arms(1929)•eg. For Whom the Bell Tolls(1937)•eg. The Old Man and the Sea(1952)T. S. Eliot The Waste LandO.Henry the gift of Magi the cop and the AnthemJack London The call of the wild Martin EdenEzra pound in a station of the metroEdwin Arlington Robinson Richard CoryRobert Frost the road not taken stopping by woods on a snowy evening 崇尚自然Carl Sandburg fogWallace Stevens Anecdote of the jarJohn Steinbeck the grapes of wrathWilliam Faulkner the sound and the fury as I lay dying sanctuary light in August Absalom the Hamlet go down Moses50stars 13stripes任期8年New England northeast1492 哥伦比亚发现新大陆。

《美国文学史及选读》考研吴伟仁版考研复习笔记和真题

《美国文学史及选读》考研吴伟仁版考研复习笔记和真题

《美国文学史及选读》考研吴伟仁版考研复习笔记和真题第一部分殖民地时期的美国文学第1章约翰·史密斯1.1 复习笔记I. Historical Introduction (历史背景)(1) At the beginning of the seventeenth century, the vast continental area that was to become the United States had been probed only slightly by English and European explorers. At last early in the seventeenth century, the English settlements in Virginia and Massachusetts began the main stream of what we recognize as the American national history.(2) The colonies that became the first United States were for the most part sustained by English traditions, ruled by English laws, supported by English commerce, and named after English monarchs and English lands.(3) The first writings that we call American were the narratives and journals of the settlements. They wrote about their voyage to the new land, about adapting to new life and dealing with Indians; they wrote letters, contracts, government charters, religious and political statements.(4) The first permanent English settlement in North America was established at Jamestown, Virginia in 1607. Among the members of the small band of Jamestown settlers was Captain John Smith, an English soldier of fortune.His reports of exploration, published in the early 1600s, have been described as the first distinctly American literature written in English. (1) 直到17世纪初,美国所在的广袤大陆才被英国及少数几个欧洲国家的探险家涉足。

美国文学史及选读2复习笔记

美国文学史及选读2复习笔记

History And Anthology of American Literature (Volume Ⅱ) 美国文学史及选读2 Part Ⅳ The Literature Of Realism 现实主义文学1. 美国国内战争Civil War 1861-1865.美国现实主义文学:他们寻找描写美国人真实生活的方法,他们声称平凡的、就近的事件同重大的、遥运的事件一样都是艺术创作的源泉they sought to portray American life as it really was,, insisting that the ordinary and local were as suitable for artistic portrayal as the magnificent and the remote. 2. 现实主义一词来源于法语realisme, 她是一种文学原则,她强调描写平凡的生活,强调其“真实性和现实性”。

Realism had originated in France as realisme, a literary doctrine that called for “reality and truth ” in the depiction of ordinary ordinary life. life. life. ““现实主义要求创作素材绝对真实,即不能夸张,也不能缩小”,William ,William Dean Dean Dean Howells(Howells(豪厄斯) defined realism as “nothing more and nothing less than the truthful treatment of material ”.他反对那些表现失意和绝望类苍白无力的小说,他强调现实主义作品要发掘出生活中微笑的一方面,因为美国人都坚信自己的国家是一个充满希望,一个充满希望,什么奇迹都有可能发生的一个国家,什么奇迹都有可能发生的一个国家,什么奇迹都有可能发生的一个国家,作为文学也应该把这些特征表现出来作为文学也应该把这些特征表现出来he spoke out against the writing of a bleak fiction of failure and despair. He called for the treatment of the “Smiling aspects of life ” as being being the the the more more more ““American American””, , insisting insisting insisting that that that American American American was was was truly truly truly a a a land land land of of of hope hope hope and and and of of of possibility possibility possibility that that that should should should be be reflected in its literature. 3. 美国现实主义文学总体说来对生活的表面现象进行了乐观的处理,这是其局限,然而最伟大的现实伟大的现实主义大师亨利·詹姆斯、马克·吐温则摆脱了对十九世纪美国进行肤浅描写的局限,吐温则摆脱了对十九世纪美国进行肤浅描写的局限,詹姆斯对他作品中的人物詹姆斯对他作品中的人物个性心理进行了深度探讨,他运用深厚的和复杂的写作方式对复杂的个人经历进行了揣摩。

美国文学史及作品选读提纲

美国文学史及作品选读提纲

美国文学史及作品选读提纲第一部分:The Literature of Colonial American考核知识点:a. The first distinctly America literatureb. The first American writer and his first workc. Kinds of literary writings in this periodd. The dominant influence of the Puritan values on the early American writingse. The most important poets in this period: Anne Bradstreet and Edward Taylor考核要求:1.一般识记:The beginnings of American national history and literary history2.识记:Kinds of literary writings in this period;the important writers, literary works and their main ideas3 领会:The dominant influence of the Puritan values on the early American writings第二部分:The Literature of Reason and Revolution考核知识点:a. The historical background about American Revolutionb. The general feature of the 18th-century American literaturec. The most important poet in this period: Philip Freneau考核要求:1.一般识记:The historical background about American Revolution;the life and literary creation of Philip Freneau2识记:The general feature of the 18th-century American literature; the most important poet in this period: Philip Freneau3. 领会:The influence of English literature on American writers4. 应用:The subject matter, themes and poetic style of Philip Freneau’s poetry;第三部分:The literature of Romanticism考核知识点:a. The importance of Washington Irving’s literary creation;b. The general characteristics shared by the Romantic writers;c. The influence of the Transcendentalist Movement on American literature;d. The principal literary forms of this periode. The permanent convention of American literature考核要求:1. 一般识记:historical background of this period; life and literary creation of important writers in this period2. 识记:The importance of Washington Irving’s literary creation; the general characteristics shared by the Romantic writers; the principal literary forms of this period;3. 领会:The influence of the Transcendentalist Movement on American literature; the permanent convention of American literature4. 应用:The subject matter and themes of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow; the characterization and narrative skill displayed in the The Last of the Mohicans; the subject matter, charaterization and symbolic method of The Scarlet Letter and Moby Dick第四部分:The Literature of Realism考核知识点:a. The influence of the westward expansion of American territory on American literature;b. The important women writers and their works in this period;c. The philosophy and method adopted by American realistic writers;d. Mark Twain’s contribution to American literature;e. The characteristic features of the American naturalists;f. The representative writers of American realism:g. The representative writers of American naturalism;h. The most important writers in this period:a) Walt Whitman and his free verse;b) Emily Dickinson and the characteristic features of her poetry;c) Mark Twain and the subject matter and humorous style of his works;考核要求:1.一般识记:The life and literary career of the important writers2.识记:The definition of realism and naturalism; the historical background; important works of the time and their main ideas3.领会:The significance and influence of American realism and American naturalism; the characteristic features of important writers and their works; the characteristics of free verse;4.应用:The subject matter, themes and style of Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself”; the theme and poetic imagery of Emily Dickinson’s poetry; the themes and humorous style of The Adventure of Tom Sawyer; the subject matter, themes and characterization of Sister Carrie第五部分:The Twentieth-Century Literature考核知识点:a. The historical background of the early 20th centuryb. The variety of avant-garde doctrines and literary schools emerging in early 20th centuryc. The leading writers of the modernist literature: Ezra Pound and T. S. Eliot;d. Henry James and his masterpieces;e. Robert Frost and the characteristics of his poetry;f. The writers of “the lost generation” in the 1920s and their great achievements;g. Ernest Hemingway;h. The thriving of American drama in the 1920s and the representative dramatist of the time;i. The Harlem Renaissance in 1920s;j. The characteristic feature of the artists and writers in the Great Depression of the 1930s;k. John Steinbeck and his important works考核要求:1.一般识记:The historical background of the early 20th century ; the life and literary career of the important writers and their literary contributions2.识记: The variety of avant-garde doctrines and literary schools emerging in early 20th century; the great achievements of the writers of “the lost generation”; the Harlem Renaissance in 1920s; the thriving of American drama in the 1920s and the representative dramatist of the time; the important works and their main ideas; the characteristic feature of the artists and writers in the Great Depression of the 1930s;3.领会:The charateristic features of the modernist literature; the characteristic features of the writers of “the lost generation” in the 1920s; the most important writers of the time and their characteristic features; the themes, styles, techniques and significance or influence of the representative works in this period4.应用:The subject matter, themes and style of Robert Frost’s poetry;the themes and technique of T. S. Eliot’s poetry; the themes, characterization and style of Hemingway’s masterpiece For Whom the Bell Tolls。

美国文学选读复习资料

美国文学选读复习资料

美国文学选读复习资料美国文学选读复习资料美国文学是世界文学宝库中的一颗璀璨明珠,承载着美国历史、文化和社会的精华。

作为文学爱好者和学生,对于美国文学的了解和掌握是必不可少的。

本文将为大家提供一份美国文学选读的复习资料,帮助大家更好地理解和欣赏美国文学的经典之作。

一、美国文学的起源与发展美国文学的起源可以追溯到十七世纪的殖民地时期。

最早的美国文学作品是早期殖民者的日记、教会纪实和历史记录,如《普利茅斯纪事》和《马萨诸塞纪事》。

随着殖民地的发展和美国独立战争的爆发,美国文学逐渐形成了自己的独特风格和主题,如《飘》、《红字》和《汤姆·索亚历险记》等。

二、美国文学的主题与特点美国文学的主题广泛而多样,涵盖了对自由、平等、个人主义和社会正义的探索。

美国文学作品常常关注社会问题和人类命运,如种族歧视、性别平等、战争和社会阶级等。

同时,美国文学也以其写实主义和现实主义的风格著称,力求真实地描绘社会生活和人物形象。

三、美国文学的代表作品1.《钢铁是怎样炼成的》这是美国作家海明威的代表作之一,通过描写一战期间的士兵们的生活和战争的残酷性,展现了人性的脆弱和战争的荒谬。

2.《了不起的盖茨比》这是美国作家菲茨杰拉德的代表作之一,以20世纪20年代的纽约社交圈为背景,描绘了财富、爱情和欲望的交织,对美国梦的追求和破灭进行了深刻的探讨。

3.《杀死一只知更鸟》这是美国作家哈珀·李的代表作之一,通过一个小女孩的视角,揭示了种族歧视和社会不公的问题,以及人性的复杂性和善恶的边界。

4.《老人与海》这是美国作家海明威的另一部代表作品,通过一个老渔夫与大海的搏斗,探讨了生命的意义和人与自然的关系。

5.《傲慢与偏见》这是英国作家简·奥斯汀的作品,虽然不是美国文学,但对美国文学的影响深远。

通过描写女主角伊丽莎白·班纳特的成长和婚姻观念的转变,探讨了社会等级、婚姻和爱情的主题。

四、美国文学的影响与意义美国文学不仅仅是一种艺术形式,更是美国文化和民族精神的重要组成部分。

美国文学史复习资料

美国文学史复习资料

美国文学史复习资料美国文学史复习(colonialism)第一部分殖民主义时期的文学殖民时期的美国: Colonial America 17c早——18c末1. 从英国探险者和殖民者在新大陆的作品开始,描述他们在新大陆真实而精力充沛的冒险。

2. 另一类为清教作品Philip Freneau 菲利普·费瑞诺:第一位美国抒情诗人兼记者“Father of American Poetry”(美国诗歌之父)Puritanism: 清教主义American Puritanism influences on American literature:1. Idealism and optimism 理想主义和乐观主义2. Symbolism 象征主义3. Simplicity. 简洁一、时期综述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:1)their voyage to the new land2) Adapting themselves to unfamiliar climates and crops3) About dealing with Indians4) Guide to the new land, endless bounty, invitation to bold spirit3、清教徒的思想:1)puritan want to make up pure their religious beliefs and practices 净化信仰和行为方式2) Wish to restore simplicity to church and the authority of the Bible to the theology. 重建教堂,提供简单服务,建立神圣地位3)look upon themselves as chosen people, and it followlogically 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4)puritan 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5)religious teaching tended to emphasize the image of a wrathful God.强调上帝严厉的一面,忽视上帝仁慈的一面。

美国文学史及选读期末复习题

美国文学史及选读期末复习题

1.Captain John Smith became the first American writer.5.The puritans looked upon themselves as a chosen people.6.The first major intellectual spokesman of the Massachusetts Bay colony was John Cotton,sometimes called “the Patriarch of New England.”7.Anne Bradstreet published The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America, and she wasnicknamed the tenth Muse.8.Poor Richard’s Almanac is an annual collection of proverbs written by Benjamin Franklin.9.Thomas Paine’s famous pamphlet Common Sense boldly advocated a “Declaration forIndependence”.10.Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence with John Adams, BenjaminFranklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston.11.Philip Freneau developed a natural, simple, and concrete diction, best illustrated in suchnature lyrics as “The Wild Honey Suckle” and “The Indian Burying Ground”.12.Philip Freneau has been called the “Father of American Poetry”.13.In Washington Irving’s Sketch Book appeared the first modern short stories and the first greatAmerican juvenile literature.14.Cooper’s enduring fame rests on his frontier stories, especially the five novels that comprisethe Leatherstocking tales.15.“To a Waterfowl” is perhaps the peak of William Cullen Bryant’s wok.16.“Thanatopsis”, William Cullen Bryant’s best-known poem, consists of four stanzas in iambictetrameter abab. The title means “view of death”.17.Edgar Allan Poe is considered “father of American detective stories and American gothicstories”.18.Emerson believed above all in individualism, independence of mind, and self-reliance.19.In Walden, Thoreau thought it better for a man to work one day a week and rest six, and therest of the time could be devoted to thought.20.Hawthorne’s stories touch the deepest roots of man’s moral nature.21.Moby Dick is a tremendous chronicle of a whaling voyage in pursuit of a seeminglysupernatural white whale.22.After his death, Longfellow became the only American to be honored with a bust in the Poet’sCorner of Westminster Abbey.23.Harriet Beecher Stowe, the author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, had become an American institutionand the most famous literary woman in the world.24.William Dean Howells found his subject matter in the experiences of the American middleclass.25.William Dean Howells called for the treatment of the “smiling aspects of life” as being themore “American.”26.The naturalists emphasized that the world was amoral, that men and women had no free will,that their lives were controlled by heredity and the environment.27.The poetic style Walt Whitman devised is now called free verse.28.O·Henry’s stories are usually short and interesting; Famous for theirsurprising end.29.Henry James is famous for his international theme of the traditionless American confrontingthe complexity of European life.30.Jack London believed in the inevitable triumph of the strongest individuals.31.Dreiser’s greatest and most successful novel, An American Tragedy, is about a young manwho acts as if the only way he can be truly fulfilled is by acquiring wealth—through marriage if necessary.32.Writers of the first postwar era self-consciously acknowledged that they were a “LostGeneration,” devoid of faith and alienated from a civilization.33.Wallace Stevens’ work is primarily motivated by the belief that “ideas of order”.34.With the publication of The Sun Also Rises, Hemingway became the spokesman for whatGertrude Stein had called “a lost generation.”Terms1.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. Natural fiction 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 traditional forms 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. Itelevates the individual and his inner being over social man and prefers the unconscious to the self-conscious.6. RomanticismRomanticism as a literary movement came into being in England in the later half of the 18th century. It first made its appearance in England as a renewed interest in medieval literature. William Blake and Robert Burns represented the spirit of what is usually called Pre-Romanticism. With the publication of W illiam Wordsworth’s Lyrical Ballads in collaboration with S. T. Coleridge, romanticism began to bloom and found a firm place in history of English literature. In fact, the first half the 19th century recorded the triumph of 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 cradl e 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.Identify the fragments.1. These are the times that try men’s souls: The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly—This dearness only that gives everything its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods.(1)Which book is this passage take from?(2)Who is the author of this book?(3)Whom is the author praising? Whom is the author criticizing?(4)What do you think of the language?Answer:(1) The American Crisis.(2) Thomas Paine(3) Paine is praising those who stand “it”, it referring to “the service of their country”. In themeantime, Paine is criticizing those who shrink from the service of their country in this crisis. (4) The language is plain, impressive and forceful. Paine himself once said that his purpose as a writer was to use plain language to make those who can scarcely read understand and to fit the powers of thinking and the turn of language to the subject, so as to bring out a clear conclusion that shall hit the point in question and nothing else.2. From morning suns and evening dewsAt first thy little being came;If nothing once, you nothing lose,For when you die you are the same;The space between, is but an hour,The frail duration of a flower.(1) Who is the writer of these verses?(2) What is the title of this poem?(3) Give a brief comment on this poems.Answer:(1) Philip Freneau(2) The Wild Honeysuckle(3) Here Freneau offers a version of an abundant America with potential for providing a good life for all. The poem is also an indication of his dedication to American subject matter as he examined peculiarly American characteristics of the countryside.3.From the listless repose of the place, and the peculiar character of its inhabitants, who are descendants from the original Dutch settlers, this sequestered glen has long been known by the name of SLEEPY HOLLOW, and its rustic lads are called the Sleepy Hollow Boys throughout all the neighboring country. Drowsy and dreamy influence seems to hang over the land, and to pervade the very atmosphere. Some say that the place was bewitched by a high German doctor, during the early days of the settlement; others, that an old Indian chief, the prophet or wizard of his tribe, held his powwows there before the country was discovered by Master Hendrick Hudson. Question:(1) Who is the writer of this short story from which the passage is taken?(2) What is the title of this short story?(3) Give a definition of “short story”?Answer:(1) Washington Irving(2) The Legend of Sleepy Hollow(3) A short story is a brief prose fiction, usually one that can be read in a single sitting. It generally contains the six major elements of fiction—characterization, setting, theme, plot, point of view and style.4. It was not very long after speaking the Goney that another homeward-bound whaleman, the Town-Ho, was encountered. She was manned almost wholly by Polynesians. In the short gam that ensued she gave us strong news of Moby Dick. To some the general interest in the White Whale was now widly heightened by circumstance of the Town-Ho’s story, which seemed obscurely to involve with the whale a certain wondrous, inverted visitation of one of those so called judgments of God which at times are said to overtake some men. This latter circumstance, with its ownparticular accompaniments, forming what may be called the secret part of the tragedy about to be narrated, never reached the ears of Captain Ahab or his mates…Nevertheless, so potent and influence did this thing have on those seamen in the Pequod who came to the full knowledge of it, and by such a strange delicacy, to call it so, were they governed in this matter, that they kept the secret among themselves so that it never transpired abaft the Pequod’s main-mast. Interweaving in its proper place this darker thread with the story as publicly narrated on the ship, the whole of this strange affair I now proceed to put on lasting record.Question:(1)From which novel is this paragraph taken?(2) What is the name of the novelist?(3) Who is Ahab?(4) What is Pequod?(5) What is the theme of the novel?Answer:(1) Moby Dick(2) Herman Melville(3) The captain of the whaling ship(4) The name of the whaling ship(5) The rebellious struggle of Captain Ahab against the overwhelming, mysterious vastness of the universe and its awesome sometimes merciless forces.5. To go into solitude, a man needs to retire as much from his chamber as from society. I am not solitary whilst I read and write, though nobody is with me. But if a man would be alone, let him look at the stars. The rays that come from those heavenly worlds, will separate between him and vulgar things. One might think the atmosphere was made transparent with this design, to give man, in the heavenly bodies, the perpetual presence of the sublime. Seen in the streets of cities, how great they are! If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore; and preserve for many generation the remembrance of the city of God which had been shown! But every night come out these preachers of beauty, and light the universe with their admonishing smile.Question:(1)This paragraph is taken from a famous essay. What is the of the essay?(2)Who is the author?(3)What does the author say would happen if the stars appeared one night in a thousand years?(4)Give a peculiar term to cover the author’s belief.Answer:(1) Nature(2) Ralph Waldo Emerson(3)Then, the men cannot believe and adore the God, cannot preserve the remembrance of the city of God which had been shown.(4)Transcendentalism6. Isabel always felt an impulse to pull out the pins; not that she imagined they inflicted any damage on the tough old parchment, but because it seemed to her her aunt might make better use of her sharpness. She was very critical herself-it was incidental to her sex, and her nationality butshe was very sentimental as well, and there was something in Mrs. Touchett’s dryness that set her own moral fountains flowing.Questions:(1) This passage is taken from a well-known novel. What is the name of the novel?(2) Who is the author of this novel?(3) Make a brief comment on the heroine of this novel?(4) What is theme of the author? Tell something about it.Answer:(1) The Portrait of a Lady(2) Henry James(3) She is one of the Jamesian American girls. She arrives in Europe, full of hope, and with a will to live a free and noble life, but in fact, she only falls prey to the sinister designs of two vulgar and unscrupulous expatriates, Madam Merle and Gilbert Osmond.(4) Jamesian theme refers to Henry James’s handling of his major fictional theme, “the international theme”: the meeting of America and Europe, American innocence in contact and contrast with European decadence and the moral and Psychological complications arising there from.7.When a girl leaves her home at eighteen, she does one of two things. Either she falls into saving hands and becomes better, or she rapidly assumes the cosmopolitan standard of virtue and becomes worse. Of an intermediate balance, under the circumstances, there is no possibility. The city has its cunning wiles, no less than the infinitely smaller and more human temper. There are large forces which allure with all the soulfulness of expression possible in the most cultured human. The gleam of a thousand lights is often as effective as the persuasive light in a wooing and fascinating eye. Half the undoing of the unsophisticated and natural mind is accomplished by forces wholly superhuman. A blare of sound, a roar of life, a vast array of human hives, appeal to the astonished senses in equivocal terms. Without a counselor at hand to whisper cautious interpretations, what falsehoods may not these things breathe into the unguarded ear! Unrecognized for what they are, their beauty, like music, too often relaxes, then weakens then perverts the simpler human perceptions.Questions:(1) From which novel is this paragraph taken?(2) Who is the author of this novel?(3) How do you understand “the cosmopolitan standard of virtue”?(4) Is there any naturalist tendency in this passage?Answer:(1)Sister Carrie(2) Theodore Dreiser(3) “The cosmopolitan standard of virtue” is something that makes a person become low in virtue and become worse.(4) Yes.Give brief answers to the following questions.1.What are the characteristics of the Colonial Literature?In a real sense, there were no literal works in the early colonial period. They were just personalliterature in the form of diaries, travel books, letters, journals, sermons, histories and prose.(1) In content, they wrote about the voyage to the new land, about adopting themselves to unfamiliar climates and crops, about dealing with Indian, and especially about religion.(2) In form, English traditions were imitated.ment briefly on Emily Dickinson’s themes?(1)By far the largest portion of Dickinson’s poetry concerns death and immortality, theme which lie at the centre of Dickinson’s world.(2)Dickinson’s nature poems are also great in number and rich in matter. Natural phenomena, changes of seasons, heavenly bodies, animals, birds and insects, flowers of various kinds, and many other subjects related to nature find her way into her poetry.(3)Dickinson also wrote some poems about love. Like her death and nature poems, her love poems were original.(4)Besides deaths and immortality, nature and love, Dickinson’s poems are concerned about ethics, with respect to which, she emphasizes free will and human responsibility.3. Comment briefly on Theodore Dreiser’s themes and writing style?Theme: Dreiser’s works are mainly concerned with the tragic nature of the human condition by depicting the coarse, vulgar, cruel, and terrible aspects of life like sex and crime.Style: In terms of style, Dreiser has sometimes been censured for his clumsy syntax, deficient characterization, and inept and dull prose. Yet his accumulated detail, carefully selected and faithfully recorded, is a technique of power. Like the other naturalists, he refused to judge—to consider people as good or evil. He clothes his concepts symbolically in the details of reality. It is his journalistic method that has made him one of America’s foremost novelists.4 Henry James is a great realistic writer. Name two of his major works. Do you know anything about his narrative “point of view”? What is it for? How does James employ it in his works? Briefly discuss this question.(1) Henry James’s major works include Daisy Miller and The Portrait of A Lady, etc.(2) One of Henry James literary techniques is his narrative “point of view.” As the author, James avoids the authorial omniscience as much as possible and makes his characters reveal themselves with his minimal intervention. So it is often the case that in his novels we usually learn the main story by reading through one or several minds and share their perspectives. This narrative method proves to be successful in bringing out his themes.5. What are the three main principles that Ezra Pound endorsed?(1)Directly treat poetic subjects.(2)Eliminate merely ornamental or superfluous words.(3)Rhythmical composition in the sequence of the musical phrase rather than in the sequence of metronome.6.Tell the differences between Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman(1)Emily Dickinson expresses the inner life of individuals, while Walt Whitman keeps his eyes on the society at large.(2)Emily Dickinson is “regional”, while Walt Whitman is “national” in his outlook.(3)Formally, Emily Dickinson uses concise, simple dictions and syntax, while Walt Whitman uses endless, all-inclusive catalogs.7. Briefly discuss Hemingway’s Iceberg PrincipleIceberg principle is that the full meaning of the text is not limited to moving the plot forward:there is always a web of association and inference, a submerged reason behind the inclusion (or even the omission) of every detail.In Death in the Afternoon, Hemingway outlined his “theory of omission” or “iceberg principle.”He states: “is a writer of prose knows enough about what he is writing about he may omit things that he knows and the reader, if the writer is writing truly enough, will have a feeling of those things as strongly as though the writer had stated them. The dignity of movement of the iceberg is due to only one-eighth of it being above water. The writer who omits things because he does not know only makes hollow places in his writing.”8. Briefly discuss the Jazz Age“The Jazz Age” describes the period the period of the 1920s and 1930s, the years between World War I and World War II, particularly in North America; with the rise of the Great Depression, the values of this age saw much decline. Perhaps the most representative literary work of the age is American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, highlighting what some describe as the decadence and hedonism, as well as the growth of individualism. Fitzgerald is largely credited with coining the term “The Jazz Age”. It can also be known as “The Roaring Twenties” and “The Dollar Decade.”9. Jack Landon’s themes(1) London was logically inconsistent in his viewpoint.On the one hand, he took faith in Darwin’s surviv al of the fittest, evolutionary concept of progress, and on the other hand, he embraced the socialists’ doctrines of Marx.(2) London wrote on many subjects and themes which centered around primitive violence, Anglo-Saxon supremacy(至上), biological evolution, class warfare, and mechanistic determinism. His heroes are physically robust and rugged but often psychologically harried(苦恼). His heroines are athletic, daring, yet intensely feminine. They are man’s intellectual equal and his emotional superior.10. Briefly discuss ImagismImagism was one of the modern literary movements which expressed the modern spirit, the sense of fragmentation(破裂)and dislocation(错位,混乱). It came as a reaction to the traditional English poetics. The first Imagist theorist is the English writer T.E. Hume. He suggests that modern art deal with expression and communication of momentary(瞬间的)phases in the poet’s mind.Poetic techniques should become subtle enough to record exactly the momentary impressions. The most effective means to express these momentary impressions is through one dominant image. Each word must be an image seen. Each sentence should be a lump(团,块), a piece of clay, a vision seen. Hulme advises the poet to seek the hard, personal word for expression. The Imagist movement lasted from 1908 to 1917.。

美国文学史概述及选读复习资料

美国文学史概述及选读复习资料

美国文学史American Literature in the colonical and Revolutionary:1.Benjamin Franklin(本杰明.富兰克林)2.hilip Freneau 菲利普·费瑞诺Benjamin Franklin(本杰明.富兰克林)1)"Poor Richard's Almanac" 穷人查理德的年鉴(以笔名Richard Sunders)2)“annual collection of proverbs “流行谚语集(It soon became the most popular bookof its kind, largely because of Franklin's shrewd humor, and first spread his reputation) 3)The Way to Wealth (Father Abraham’s Sermon)致富之道(as the “perface to Poor RichardImproved)4)The Autobiography自传(18世纪美国唯一流传至今的自传)5)Founded the Junto, a club for informal discussion of scientific, economic and politicalideas. 建立了一个秘密俱乐部,讨论的主题是政治、经济和科学等时事方面的问题.6)established America's first circulating library, founded the college--University ofPennsylvania. 建立了美国第一个可租借的图书馆,还创办了一所大学——就是现在的宾夕法尼亚大学.7)first applied the terms "positive" and "negative" to electrical charges.8)Writer,printer,publisher,scientist,philanthropist,and diplomat,he was the most famousand respected private figure of his time.The Rising Glory of America蒸蒸日上的美洲;The British Prison Ship英国囚船;To the Memory of the Brave Americans纪念美国勇士-----同类诗中最佳;The Wild Honeysuckle野生的金银花;The Indian Burying Ground印第安人殡葬地(1)poet and political journalist 诗人和政治方面的新闻记者(2)perhaps the most outstanding writer of the post-revolutionary period.(3)has been called the "Father of American Poetry" 美国诗歌之父(4)Imaginative and melancholy treatment of nature and human life,and sharp satire against the British tyranny19th Century American LiteratureWashington Irving(华盛顿.欧文)1.James Fenimore Cooper(詹姆斯.芬尼莫.库珀)2.Nathaniel Hawthorne(纳萨尼尔.霍桑)3.Edgar Allan Poe (埃德加.阿伦.坡)4.Henry Daived Thoreau(亨利.戴维.梭罗)5.Herman Melville(赫尔曼.麦尔维尔)6.Walt Whiteman(沃尔特.惠特曼)The Rise of American Romanticism• One of the most important periods in the history of American literature, stretches from the end of the 18th century to the outbreak of the Civil War(1861-65).• It started with the publication of Washington Irving's e T he h Sketch Book(1820) and ended with Whitman's s Leaves f of Grass(1855)..Romanticism的特点:frequently shared certain general characteristics, moral enthusiam,faith in the value of individualism and intuitive perception, and apresumption that he natural world was a source of corruption.浪漫主义之间大多是相通的,都注重道德,强调个人主义价值观和直觉感受,并且认为自然是美的源头,人类社会是腐败之源。

美国文学史及选读复习重点

美国文学史及选读复习重点

Captain John Smith (first American writer).Anne Bradstreet;The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America (colonists living)Edward Taylor(the best puritan poet)John Cotton ”the Patriarch of New England” teacher spiritual leader Benjamin Franklin The Autobiography Poor Richard’s Almanack Thomas Jefferson:Political Career Thoughts The Declaration of Independence we hold truth to be self-evidencePhilip Freneau“Father of American Poetry” The Wild Honey Suckle American Romanticism optimism and hopeNationalism Washington Irving“Father of American Literature short story”The first “Pure Writer” A History of New York The Sketch Book marked the beginning of American Romanticism! “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”Rip Van WinkleJames Fenimore Cooper Father of American sea and frontier novels Leather stocking Tales The Last of the Mohicans The Pioneers The Prairie The Pathfinder The DeerslayerEdgar Allan Poe father of detective story and horror fiction Tales of the Grotesque and the Arabesque “MS. Found in a Bottle” “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”“The Fall of the House of Usher”“The Masque of the Red Death”“TheCask of Amontillado”效果论art for arts sake诗歌The Raven 《乌鸦》Annabel Lee 《安娜贝尔•李》To Helen 《致海伦》•Henry Wadsworth Longfellow be honored by having his bust placed in the Poets’ Corner of Westminster Abbey.the first American poet to write the narrative poems.•Works:•Voices of the Night《夜吟》•Ballads and Other Poems《民谣及其他》• A Psalm of Life《人生礼赞》•The Slave’s Dream《奴隶的梦》•The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls《潮起潮落》•My Lost Youth《逝去的青春》•The Song of Hiawatha《海华沙之歌》•The Courtship of Miles Standish《迈尔斯斯坦迪什的求婚》••New England Transcendentalism summit of American •Romanticism.Leaders: Emerson and Thoreau“The Universe is composed of Nature and the Soul.”•Ralph Waldo Emerson New England Transcendentalism. •Nature (论自然) American Scholar (美国学者)Divinity School Address (神学院演说)Representative Men 代表English Traits(英国人的特征)•The Over-Soul (论超灵) Self-Reliance(论自立)•Henry David Thoreau Walden, or Life in the Woods Civil Disobedience•Transcendentalism Emerson Thoreau •Nathaniel Hawthorne Twice-Told Tales Mosses from an Old Manse The Scarlet Letter•The House of the Seven Gables 1851••The Blithedale Romance 1852••The Marble Faun 1860g)“Young Goodman Brown”(Mosses from an Old Manse)g)“The Minister’s Black Veil”(Twice-Told Tales )g)“Dr. Rappacini’s Daughter” (Mosses from an Old Manse)Herman Melville Typee the whaler Acushnet Omoo Mardi Pierre White Jacket Billy Budd Moby Dick RedburnHenry Wadsworth Longfellow be honored with a bust in the Poet’s corner of Westminster Abbey.Naturalism:自然主义 a new and harsher realism Deterministic 决定论,宿命的pessimism代表作家:Stephen Crane 史蒂芬.克莱恩, Frank Norris 弗朗克.诺里斯, Jack London 杰克.伦敦, Theodore Dreiser 西奥多.德莱塞.Darwinism: 达尔文主义:an evident influence on naturalism, stress the animality of manWalt Whitman Leaves of Grass the first genuine epic poem •Emily Dickinson•Because I could not Stop for Death•I Heard a Fly Buzz—When I Died•My Life Closed Twice before its Close•I Died for Beauty—but was ScarceHarriet Beecher Stowe Uncle Tom’s CabinMark Twainn 1.The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County (1865) (卡拉弗拉斯县的著名跳蛙)n 2.Innocents Abroad (1869)(成功傻子出国记)n 3.Roughing It (1872) (艰苦岁月)n 4.The Gilded Age (with Charles Dudley waenner,1873) (镀金时代)n 5.The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876)(汤姆索耶历险记)The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn realismO. Henry The Gift of the Magi the cop and AnthemHenry James Daisy Miller The Portrait of a Lady 国际化Jack London The Call of the Wild Martin Eden”(autobiographical novel自传体小说)•Theodore Dreiser•Sister Carrie 1900•An American Tragedy 1925 the greatest successful•The Financier 1912•The Titan 1914•The Stoic the protagonist Trilogy of desire欲望三部曲•Dreiser Looks at Russia 1928•F. Scott Fitzgerald•This Side of Paradise (1920)•Flappers and Philosophers (1920)•The Beautiful and Damned (1920)•Tales of the Jazz Age (1922)•The Great Gatsby (1925)•Tender Is the Night (1934)•The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (short story)•Ernest Hemingway representative of “The Lost Generation •The Sun Also Rises(1926)• A Farewell to Arms(1929)•eg. For Whom the Bell Tolls(1937)•eg. The Old Man and the Sea(1952)T. S. Eliot The Waste LandO.Henry the gift of Magi the cop and the AnthemJack London The call of the wild Martin EdenEzra pound in a station of the metroEdwin Arlington Robinson Richard CoryRobert Frost the road not taken stopping by woods on a snowy evening 崇尚自然Carl Sandburg fogWallace Stevens Anecdote of the jarJohn Steinbeck the grapes of wrathWilliam Faulkner the sound and the fury as I lay dying sanctuary light in August Absalom the Hamlet go down Moses50stars 13stripes任期8年New England northeast1492 哥伦比亚发现新大陆。

美国文学史及选读期末复习资料

美国文学史及选读期末复习资料

美国文学史复习1(colonialism)第一部分殖民主义时期的文学一、时期综述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:1)their voyage to the new land2) Adapting themselves to unfamiliar climates and crops3) About dealing with Indians4) Guide to the new land, endless bounty, invitation to bold spirit3、清教徒的思想:1)puritan want to make up pure their religious beliefs and practices 净化信仰和行为方式2) Wish to restore simplicity to church and the authority of the Bible to the theology. 重建教堂,提供简单服务,建立神圣地位3)look upon themselves as 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4)puritan 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 5)religious teaching tended to emphasize the image of a wrathful God.强调上帝严厉的一面,忽视上帝仁慈的一面。

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2017年英语双学位《美国文学史及选读》期末考试题型及复习要点期末考试题型及分值:1.作家、作品配对题(10*1分=10分)2.作品选读题(填空题、简答题5*5分= 25分)3.文学术语、文学人物解释题(4*5分=20分)4. 论述题(3*15分= 45分)●认真阅读教材的中文版的《序言》●熟悉教材中以下复习要点中各位作家的选文Benjamin Franklin:•Remember BenjaminFranklin asinventor,statesman and writ er.•Remember him as‘father of the United States’.•Writing featuresThe Autobiography: It isthepattern of Puritan simplicity,directness, and concision.The narrative is lucid,the structureis simple,the imageryis homely.•本杰明·富兰克林:•本杰明·富兰克林是发明家、政治家和作家。

•他是“美国之父”。

•写作特点自传:这是清教徒的简单、直接和简洁的方式。

叙事清晰,结构简单,意象朴实。

Edgar AllanPoe●Remember Poe as father of modern short story and fatherof detective story.●Remember hisimportant works.●Remember his criticalworks:The Poetic PrincipleandThePhilosophyof Composition.●Be able tolist someof his famous short storiesand someof hisfamous poems such as The Raven,AnnabelLee,To Helen.•Tell the story The Cask of Amontillado inyourown words.Whatis the themeof this short story?Be familiar with hispoemTo Helen.埃德加爱伦坡Poe是现代短篇小说之父和侦探小说之父。

他的重要著作。

他的批评作品:诗歌原则和写作哲学。

能够列出一些他著名的短篇小说和一些著名的诗歌,如《乌鸦》、《Annabel Lee》、《海伦》等。

•讲述一桶白葡萄酒用你自己的话。

这个短篇小说的主题是什么?对海伦熟悉他的诗。

Ralph Waldo EmersonKnow somethingabout transcendentalism. RememberEmersonas theleader of thisphilosophy:Transcendentali smrefers toakind of attitude that believes in therecognitionin man of the capacity ofknowingtruth intuitively,orof attaining knowledge transcending the reachofthesenses.Major conc epts1) Powerof intuition.2)Spiritfirst,matter second.3)Natureas symbolic of spirit or God.4)Individual as the most important element in society/self-reliant5) Religion asanemotional communication between anindividualsoul and theuniversal “oversoul”6) Commerceas degrading/pay less attention to thematerialworldThe “over-soul” as called by Emersonwasanall-pervadingunitary spiritual power of goodness,omnipresent and omnipotent,from whic hall things came and of which everyone was a part.Generally,th eover-soul referred tospirit of God as the mostimportant thing in the universe.Emerson’s Nature iscalled‘manifesto of transcendentalism’.The AmericanScholar(1837)isregardedas “America’s Second Declaration ofIndependence/Declaration of Intellectual (Cultural) Independence”Befamiliarwiththe essay‘Self-reliance’.拉尔夫瓦尔多爱默生¡知道一些关于超验主义。

记得爱默生作为这一哲学的领袖:超验主义指的是一种态度,相信人的直觉认识真理的能力的识别,或实现知识超越感官。

主要概念 ¡1)直觉的力量。

2)¡精神第一,物质二。

¡3)自然象征精神或上帝。

¡4)个体在社会/自立的最重要的元素¡5)宗教作为一种情感交流个人灵魂和宇宙的“超灵”6)商务¡降级/较少关注物质世界¡“结束”艾默生称作是一种无孔不入的整体精神力量的善良的灵魂,无所不在,无所不能,这一切来的都是一部分。

一般来说,过度的灵魂提到上帝的灵魂是宇宙中最重要的东西。

¡爱默生的自然是被称为“超验主义”宣言。

¡美国学者(1837)被誉为“美国的第二次申报知识/独立宣言(文化)独立”¡熟悉文章“自力更生”。

HenryDavid Thoreau⏹Remember Thoreau’ masterpiece.⏹Tell the main contents of Waldenin your own words.⏹亨利戴维梭罗⏹记得梭罗的杰作。

⏹告诉瓦尔登湖的主要内容用自己的话。

Nathaniel Hawthorne⏹Introduce TheScarlet Letterin yourownwords.⏹The influenceof PuritanismonThe Scarlet Letter.⏹Analyze the maincharacters.⏹Tell the symbolic meanings of the letter‘A’.⏹List Hawthorne’smajorworks.⏹纳撒尼尔霍桑⏹介绍红字用你自己的话。

⏹清教对红字的影响。

⏹分析主要人物。

⏹告诉字母A的象征意义”。

⏹霍桑主要作品列表。

HermanMelville⏹Be ableto list Melville’s majorworks.⏹Be able to retell the story of MobyDick in your own words.⏹Be able to analyze the characterCaptain Ahab.⏹Beable to tellthe symbolic meanings of Moby Dick,the ship Pequod and the coffin: the White Whale can be read as an allegorical representation of anunknowableGod orthe mysterious forceofnature; the Pequodis a symbol ofdoom/death;Queequeg'scoffin alternatelysymbolizes life and death.⏹The influence of PuritanismonMoby Dick.⏹赫尔曼梅尔维尔⏹可以列出Melville的主要作品。

⏹能用自己的话复述Moby Dick的故事。

⏹能够分析人物Ahab船长。

⏹能够告诉Moby Dick的象征意义,船」和棺材:白鲸可以解读为一个不可知的上帝或大自然的神秘力量的一种象征;」是厄运和死亡的象征;Queequeg的灵柩交替象征着生命和死亡。

⏹清教思想对Moby Dick的影响。

Walt Whitman•Remember Whitman’s most important work.•What isfreeverse?Akind of poetry that does not conform to any regularmetre: the length of its lines is irregular,as is its useof rhyme—if any.Instead of regularmetrical pattern it uses more flexible cadencesor rhythmic groupings,sometimes supported by anaphora and otherdevices of repetition.Now the mostwidely practicedverse form in English, it has precedents in translations of the biblical Psalms andinsome poems of Blake and Goethe,butestablished itselfonly in thelate 19thand early 20th centuries with WaltWhitman.•Be familiarwith the poem OCaptain,MyCaptainand know its main idea.•沃尔特怀特曼••记住怀特曼最重要的工作。

•自由诗是什么?一种不符合任何格律的诗:它的线条长度不规则,如用韵。

而不是常规的格律采用更灵活的节奏或韵律的分组,以照应和重复其他设备有时支持。

现在是英语中使用最广的诗歌形式,它在圣经圣歌和布莱克和歌德的一些诗歌中有先例,但只有在第十九世纪末和第二十世纪,沃尔特·惠特曼才建立起自己。

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