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:
Franklin(本杰明.富兰克林)
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 book of 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
Richard Improved)
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
political ideas. 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 of Pennsylvania. 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 famous and 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 tyranny
19th Century American Literature
Washington 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 The 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 a presumption 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。

Transcendentalism :Transcendentalists place emphasis on the importance of the
Over-soul, the individual and Nature. The most important
representatives are Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David
Thoreau.
.
Washington Irving(华盛顿.欧文)
A History of New York(《纽约外史》)A History of New York 纽约的历史-----美国人写的第一部诙谐文学杰作； The Sketch Book见闻札记The Legend of Sleepy Hollow 睡谷的传说-----使之成为美国第一个获得国际声誉的作家；
The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon(《见闻札记》收录了The legend of the Sleepy Hollow《睡谷的传说》和Rip Van Winkle《瑞普.凡.温克尔》等名篇 ,开创了美国短篇小说的传统)
The Tales of a Traveller,(《旅人述异》)
The Alhambra阿尔罕伯拉
A HIstory of the Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus(《哥伦布的生平和航行》)
1)the first great belletrist 第一个纯文学作家，
2)The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon(《见闻札记》 the first modern short stories
and the first great American juvenile literature.现代文学史上第一部短篇小说和美国第一部伟大的青少年文学读物。

3)Irving restored the waning Gothic romances whichPoe soon infused with
psychological subtleties。

重振了没落的哥特式浪漫主义小说，随后坡在此基础上，把心理学的一些知识融入了这种体裁。

4)He was the first American to gain the stature of a major poet.第一个获得美
国主要诗人称号的作家
James Fenimore Cooper(詹姆斯.芬尼莫.库珀)
1. Leather stocking Tale 皮袜子故事集, (regard as ―the nearest approach yet to an American epic.被认为是迄今为止美国最接近史诗的作品):
―The Deerslayer《杀鹿者》、
―The Last of the Mohicans《最后的莫希干人》、
―The Pathfinder《探路人》、
―The Pioneers《拓荒者》、
―The Prairie《大草原》,
Spy间谍(about American Revolution)
(戒备)
4. contribution: launched two kinds of immensely popular stories → the sea adventure tale and the frontier saga 开创了两种流传极广的小说体裁，边疆传奇小说和海上传奇小说。

5.《拓荒者》在《草原》上《探路》，遇到《最后一个莫西干人》在《杀鹿》。

Nathaniel Hawthorne（纳萨尼尔.霍桑）
1.Fanshawe（范肖）
2.Twice-ToldTales（《重讲一遍的故事》）
3.The Blithedale Romance（《福谷传奇》）
4.Mosses from an Old Manse（《古宅青苔》）（包括Young Goodman Brown《小伙子布朗》，The Celestial Railroad
5.The Scarlet Letter(红字)
6.The House of the Seven Gables（《带有七个尖角阁的房子》）
7.The Marble Faun（《玉石人像》）
8.The life of Franklin Pierce
9.Our Old Home
特点：
(1) unique gift was for the creation of strongly symbolic stories which touch the deepest roots of man’s moral nature. 独特才能主要表现在他能够通过一些极具象征意义的故事来触摸人类灵魂深处的道德品质。

⑵his ability to create vivid and symbolic images that embody great moral questions appears strongly in his short stories. 短篇小说里，通过活生生、极具有象征意义的想象来体现人类社会的一些重大道德问题。

⑶to make a story exist in its own right but at the same time appear as a moral symbol.杰出之处在于他能把一个故事安放在自己设置的正义标准之中来讲述，他书中的正义标准成为当时人们的道德参考。

Edgar Allan Poe 埃德加.阿伦.坡
his true talents as an editor, poet, literary critic. 编辑、诗人、文学评论家。

2.―The Fall of the House of Usher《鄂谢府崩溃记》、
―The Raven《乌鸦》the title poem of a collection,
―Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque《述异集》first collection of short stories. 第一部短篇小说集。

use grotesque or fantastic events.擅长描写哥特式和幻想类的小说。

work<《塔默兰诗集》>
Henry David Thoreau 亨利.戴维.梭罗
Naturalist， transcendentalist,Writer and philosopher,
①Emerson’s truest disciple. Put into practice many of Emerson’s theories 爱默生最忠实的信徒，把爱默生的许多理论付诸于实践。

② ―Walden《瓦尔登湖》成名作。

―Civil Disobedience《平民反抗》(论公民的不服从权利)essay 随笔。

非暴力不合作
③ 教义：I would not have anyone adopt my mode of living, each should find out his own way, not his neighbor’s or his parents. 我不希望人们接受我的生活模式，每一个都应该发现自己的生活方式，不是邻居的，也不是他父母的。

Herman Melville(赫尔曼.麦尔维尔)
,short story writer,essayist and poet.
2.―Moby Dick‖《白鲸》，a tremendous chronicle of whaling voyage in pursuit of
a seemingly supernatural white whale.主要讲述了一个为追捕一只想象中的神秘白鲸的漫长海上故事。

①The book is steeped in symbolism. 本书达到了象征主义手法的创作高峰。

②主人公：Ishmael，取自圣经。

③在书中说：to write a mighty book you must have a mighty theme. 写一部宏大的着作，必须有一个宏大的主题。

④故事人物：Captain Ahab.船长阿哈比；Queequeg，捕鲸人奎因奎格，was a friendly person；
1.Omoo 《奥姆》,Mardi《玛迪》,White-Jacket《白外套》,Billy Budd《水手比利·巴德》,Pierre《皮埃尔》,Israel Potter《伊斯雷尔·波特》,the Piazza Tales《广场的故事》,The Confidence-Man《骗子》,Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War,Clarel: A Poem and Pilgrimage in the Holy Land,John Marr and Other Sailors(《约韩·玛尔和其他水手》),Timoleon(《梯摩里昂》)
1.★free verse (自由诗体) without a fixed beat or regular rhyme scheme. 无固定节奏，无有规律的韵脚.
2.―Leaves of Grass‖草叶集 1870 the first genuine epic poem. Marked the birth of
4.Jack London
Mark Twain(马克.吐温)
1.美国现实主义文学的代表作―Adventures of Huckleberry Finn‖哈克贝里.费恩历险记(马克最有名的作品)
2.代表作:
①―Adventures of Huckleberry Finn 哈克贝里.费恩历险记,美国现实主义文学的代表作②the Gilded Age 70-90年代，镀金时代，贫富分化，财富积累。

③The Adventures of Tom Sawyer汤姆索亚历险记，
The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County(《卡拉维拉斯郡着名的跳蛙》)---frontier tale
The Innocents Abroad(傻子出国记)
Roughing It(淘金岁月)
Travel narratives:
A Tramp Abroad(流浪汉在国外)
Life on the Mississippi(《密西西比河上的生涯》)
Following the Equator(赤道沿线)
The Prince and the Pauper(乞丐公主)
Henry James(亨利.詹姆斯)
1.novelist小说家；Literature theoretician 文学理论家
James is one of the great figures of c transatlantic literature.
the founder of psychological realism.心理现实主义的开创者：
2.代表作：
Roderick Hudson（《罗德里克·赫德森） The American（《美国人》）
Daisy Miller（《黛西·米勒》 The Portrait of a Lady《一位女士的画像》
The Spoils of Poynton《被凌辱的伯顿》 The Wings of the Dove《鸽翼》
The Ambassadors《使节》 The Golden Bowl《金碗》
3.He was one of the three strong advocates of 19th century American realism,
The two was Howells and Mark Twain.
4.His literary technique is mainly concerned with “point of view”.,
Theodore Dreiser 西奥多.德莱塞
代表作：
1.―Sister Carrie《嘉莉妹妹》 (the first novel, which traces the material rise of Carrie Meeber and the tragic decline of G. W. Hurstwood.)
of Desire 欲望三部曲: ―The Financier(金融家)
―The Titan（巨人）、
―The Stoic（《斯多葛》）
American Tragedy《美国悲剧》，(The identification of potency with money is at the heart of Dreiser’s greatest and most successful novel,德莱塞最恢宏、最成功的小说，表达了金钱万能的主题。

)
4. Plays of the Natural and Supernatural（《自然和超自然的戏剧》），
A Hoosier Holiday（《印第安纳节日》） Twelve Men（《十二个男人》），
A Book About Myself（《关于我自己》）， The Color of a Great City（《大都会的色彩》），
A Gallery of Women（《妇女群像》） Dawn（《黎明》），
Tragic America（《悲剧的美国》）， America Is Worth Saving （《美国值得拯救》）
Jack London 杰克.伦敦：
an American novelist, journalist, and social activist.
pioneer in the then-burgeoning world of commercial magazine fiction,
was one of the first fiction writers to obtain worldwide celebrity and a large fortune from his fiction alone
5.代表作：―The People of the Abyss（《深渊里的人们》）
―The Call of the Wild（野性的呼唤）
―The Sea Wolf（海狼）
―Martin Eden（《马丁·伊登》） (autobiographical novel自传体小说)
―The Son of Wolf(狼子)
―White Fang（白牙）
20th Century American Literature before WWII
现代主义：is loosely a synonym of anything contemporary. Strictly, especially in literary criticism, which began in the late 19th century and the theory of
psycho-analysis as its theoretical base. They pay more attention to the psychic time than the chronological one.
2.现代主义的标志：T. S. Eliot’s ―The Waste Land‖, the most significant American poem of the twentieth century, helped to establish a modern tradition of literature rich with learning and allusive thought.
3.典型的迷惘一代：
F. Scott Fitzgerald, ―The Great Gatsby 《了不起的盖茨比》 novel
Ernest Hemingway: ―The Sun Also Rises《太阳照样升起》
―A Farwell to Arms《告别了，武器》
William Faulkner ―The Sound and the Fury《喧嚣与骚动》
4.、Playwrights戏剧、剧作家：
Eugene O’Neill :―The Emperor Jones《琼斯国王》、
―Anna Christie《安娜.克里斯蒂》、
―The Hairy Ape《毛猿》
5,代表人物：
Robert Frost 罗伯特.弗洛斯特
Ezra Pound 埃兹拉.庞德
F. Scott Fitzgerald F.司各特.菲茨杰拉德
William Faulkner 威廉.福克纳
Ernest Hemingway 厄恩斯特.海明威
John Steinbeck 约翰.斯坦贝克
Robert Frost 罗伯特.弗洛斯特：
1.自然主义诗人（He saw nature as a storehouse of analogy and symbol.）
become a national bard美国民族诗人的翘首, win four Pulitzer Prizes获得了四次普利兹奖.
3. ―The Road Not Taken（未选择的路）―Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening（雪夜林间驻足）向往大自然，想逃避社会；死亡、迷惑
4.代表作：A Boy's Will《少年的意志》，North of Boston《波士顿之北》,Mountain Interval 《山洼》,west-running Brook(《西去的溪流》),A Further range《又一片牧场》,A Masque of Reason(《理智的假面具》),In the Clearing(《林间空地》),
Ezra Pound 埃兹拉.庞德:
1. Imagism 意象派的代表人物。

Pound and Eliot became the early leaders in restoring to poetry the use of literary reference as an imaginative instrument. 庞德和爱略特都是运用意象主义作为文学表现手法的早期诗人。

emphasized the direct treatment of an object or situation.
endorsed three principle of the Imagism:”direct treatment”,”economy of expression”,and”rhythm”.
:
In a Station of the Metro<地铁站的一撇>(best exemplifies his Imagist ideal)
Collection Poems of Ezra Pound
The Cantos (诗章) The seafarer（航海者）
Cathay（中国） Huge Selwyn Mauberly
F. Scott Fitzgerald F.司各特.菲茨杰拉德：
1.F. Scott Fitzgerald F. is considered a member of the "Lost Generation" of the 1920s
2.He was an American novelist and short story writer, whose works are the paradigmatic writings of the Jazz Age.
3.作品：―This Side of Paradise《人间天堂》，the first novel.
―The Great Gatsby 《了不起的盖茨比》 novel
―Tender Is the Night 《夜色温柔》 novel
―Flappers and Philosophers
―Tales of the Jazz Age(爵士时代的故事)
―All the Sad Young Men(所有悲伤的年轻人的故事)
―Taps at Reveille
―The Beautiful and Damned(美丽与毁灭)(漂亮冤家)
―The Last Tycoon(unfinished)(最后一个大亨)
William Faulkner 威廉.福克纳
1.作品的主题：the universal theme of ―the problems of the human heart in
conflict with itself人类心灵与自己冲突是宇宙永恒的主题。

2.作品：―The Sound and the Fury《喧嚣与骚动》成名作、
―Absalom, Absalom!(《押沙龙，押沙龙！》) ―Go Down, Moses（《去吧，摩西》）
―Go Down, Moses―Intruder in the Dust（《坟墓的闯入者》）
―The Marble Faun(first book) ―Knight’s Gambit
―Soldier’s Pay(《士兵的报酬》) ―Requiem for a Nun(《修女安魂曲》)
―Sartoris(《沙多里斯》) ―A Fable(寓言)
―As I Lay Dying(《我弥留之际》) ―The Town（镇）
―Sanctuary《圣殿》―The Mansion（大宅）
―The Unvanquished(《不败者》) ―The Reivers（掠夺者）
― The Hamlet(村子) ―A Rose for Emily
3.narrative method叙述方法:：stream of consciousness 意识流
multiple point of view, narrator多角度，多个
叙述者
Ernest Hemingway 厄恩斯特.海明威
1.He was an American novelist, short story writer, and journalist.
2.Works:
―The Sun Also Rises (太阳照常升起) ( Hemingway became the spokesman for a
lost generation)
―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）
John Steinbeck 约翰.斯坦贝克：
foremost novelist of the American Depression.美国大萧条时期最杰出的小说家
2.代表作：
―Of Mice and Men《人鼠之间》 portrayed the tragic friendship between two migrant workers
―The Grapes of Wrath《愤怒的葡萄》regarded as masterpiece 视为杰作。

―Cup of Gold（金杯）―The Pastures of Heaven（天堂牧场）
―To a God Unknown（大地的象征）―Tortilla Flat（《煎饼坪》）
―In Dubious Battle（胜负未定）―The Forgotten Village（被遗忘的村庄）
―The Moon Is Down（月亮下去了）―Sea of Cortez
―Cannery Row（《罐头厂街》）―The Pearl（珍珠）
―The Winter of Our Discontent（烦恼的冬天）―America and Americans
―Travels with Charley。