美国文学史第七讲_200907

HawthorneandMelvilleNathanielHawthorne1804-1864Americannovelistandshort-storywriterwhowasamasteroftheallegoricalandsymbolictale.OneofthegreatestfictionwritersinAmericanliterature,heisbest-knownforTheScarletLetter(1850)andTheHouseoftheSevenGables(1851).Allegory:asymbolicfictionalnarrativethatconveysasecondarymeaningnotexplicitlysetforthintheliteralnarrative.Allegoryencompassessuchformsasfable,parable,andapologueandmayinvolveeitheraliteraryoraninterpretiveprocess.NotableexamplesareJohnBunyan'sThePilgrim'sProgress(1678)andthemedievalmoralityplayEveryman.SalemWitchTrial(1692)ExaminationofaWitch“Iamnowitch.Iaminnocent.Iknownothingofit.”---AnnHibbinsMajorWorksTheScarletLetterTheHouseoftheSevenGablesTheBlithedaleRomanceTheMarbleFaun“YoungGoodmanBrown”“TheMinister’sBlackVeil”“TheBirthMark”Assessment•First,hewasaskillfulcraftsmanwithanimpressivesenseofform.•ThestructureofTheScarletLetter,forexample,issotightlyintegratedthatnochapter,noparagraph,even,couldbeomittedwithoutdoingviolencetothewhole.Thebook'sfourcharactersareinextricablyboundtogetherinthetangledwebofalifesituationthatseemstohavenosolution,andthetightlywovenplothasaunityofactionthatrisesslowlybutinexorablytotheclimacticsceneofDimmesdale'spublicconfession.ThesametightconstructionisfoundinHawthorne'sotherwritingsalso,especiallyintheshorterpieces,or“tales.”Hawthornewasalsothemasterofaclassicliterarystylethatisremarkableforitsdirectness,itsclarity,itsfirmness,anditssurenessofidiom.•AsecondreasonforHawthorne'sgreatnessishismoralinsight.•HeinheritedthePuritantraditionofmoralearnestness,andhewasdeeplyconcernedwiththeconceptsoforiginalsinandguiltandtheclaimsoflawandconscience.HawthornerejectedwhathesawastheTranscendentalists'transparentoptimismaboutthepotentialitiesofhumannature.Insteadhelookedmoredeeplyandperhapsmorehonestlyintolife,findinginitmuchsufferingandconflictbutalsofindingtheredeemingpoweroflove.ThereisnoRomanticescapeinhisworks,butratherafirmandresolutescrutinyofthepsychologicalandmoralfactsofthehumancondition.•AthirdreasonforHawthorne'seminenceishismasteryofallegoryandsymbolism.•Hisfictionalcharacters'actionsanddilemmasfairlyobviouslyexpresslargergeneralizationsabouttheproblemsofhumanexistence.ButwithHawthornethisleadsnottounconvincingpasteboardfigureswithexplanatorylabelsattachedbuttoasomber,concentratedemotionalinvolvementwithhischaractersthathasthepower,thegravity,andtheinevitabilityoftruetragedy.HisuseofsymbolisminTheScarletLetterisparticularlyeffective,andthescarletletteritselftakesonawidersignificanceandapplicationthatisoutofallproportiontoitsliteralcharacterasascrapofcloth.•Hawthorne'sworkinitiatedthemostdurabletraditioninAmericanfiction,thatofthesymbolicromancethatassumestheuniversalityofguiltandexploresthecomplexitiesandambiguitiesofman'schoices.HisgreatestshortstoriesandTheScarletLetteraremarkedbyadepthofpsychologicalandmoralinsightseldomequaledandneversurpassedbyanyAmericanwriter.HermanMelville1819-1891Americannovelist,short-storywriter,andpoet,bestknownforhisnovelsofthesea,includinghismasterpiece,MobyDick(1851).Moby-DickCaptainAhabpursuesthewhitewhale,MobyDick,whichfinallykillshim.Atthatlevel,itisanintense,superblyauthenticnarrativeofwhaling.InthepervertedgrandeurofCaptainAhabandinthebeautiesandterrorsofthevoyageofthe“Pequod,”however,Melvilledramatizedhisdeeperconcerns:theequivocaldefeatsandtriumphsofthehumanspiritanditsfusionofcreativeandmurderousurges.Inhisprivateafflictions,Melvillehadfounduniversalmetaphors.“Ahabscanstheseaforthewhitewhale”.ThreePoetsComingNext:Longfellow,Whitman,andDickinson