美国文学名词解释

《美国文学》名词解释1.AmericanPuritanismAmericanPuritanismwasoneofthemostenduringshapinginfluencesinAmericanthoughtandAmericanliterature.Ithasbecome,tosomeextent,somuchastateofmind,ratherthanasetoftenets,somuchapartofthenationalculturalatmospherethattheAmericansbreathe.Itstressespredestination,originalsin,totaldepravity,andlimitedatonement(orthesalvationofaselectedfew)fromGod’sgrace.Withsuchdoctrinesintheirminds,PuritansleftEuropeforAmericainordertoestablishatheocracyintheNewWorld.Overtheyearsinthenewhomelandtheybuiltawayoflifethatstressedhardwork,thrift,piety,andsobriety.2.TheAmericanDreamTheAmericanDreamisthefaithheldbymanyintheUnitedStatesofAmericathatthroughhardwork,courage,anddeterminationonecanachieveabetterlifeforoneself,usuallythroughfinancialprosperity.ThesewerevaluesheldbymanyearlyEuropeansettlers,andhavebeenpassedontosubsequentgenerations.NowadaystheAmericanDreamhasledtoanemphasisonmaterialwealthasameasureofsuccessand/orhappiness.3.AmericanRomanticismAmericanRomanticismstretchesfromtheendofthe18thcenturythroughtheoutbreakoftheCivilWar.ItwasAmerica’sfirstgreatcreativeperiod.Althoughforeigninfluenceswerestrong,Americanromanticismexhibiteddistinctfeaturesofitsown.First,Americanromanticismwasinessencetheexpressionof“arealnewexperience”andcontained“analienquality”forthesimplereasonthat“thespiritoftheplace”wasradicallynewandalien.Second,PuritaninfluenceoverAmericanromanticismwasconspicuouslynoticeable.Famouswriters,suchasthenovelistsHawthorneandMelville;thepoetsDickinsonandWhitman;theessayistsThoreauandEmerson,hadmadeagreatliteraryperiodbycapturingontheirpagestheenthusiasmandtheoptimismofthatdream.4.AmericanTranscendentalismAmericanTranscendentalismisliterature,philosophicalandliterarymovementthatflourishedinNewEnglandfromabout1836to1860.ItoriginatedamongasmallgroupofintellectualswhowerereactingagainsttheorthodoxyofCalvinismandtherationalismoftheUnitarianChurch,developinginsteadtheirownfaithcenteringonthedivinityofhumanityandthenaturalworld.ThebeliefsthatGodisimminentineachpersonandinnatureandthatindividualintuitionisthehighestsourceofknowledgeledtoanoptimisticemphasisonindividualism,self-reliance,andrejectionoftraditionalauthority.TheideasoftranscendentalismweremosteloquentlyexpressedbyRalphWaldoEmersoninsuchessaysasNature(1836),andSelf-RelianceandbyHenryDavidThoreauinhisbookWalden(1854).5.AmericanNaturalismAmericanNaturalismisaliterarymovementthatbecamepopularinAmericainthelate19thcenturyandisoftenassociatedwithliteraryrealism.Viewedasacombinationofrealismandromanticism,criticscontendthattheAmericanformisheavilyinfluencedbytheconceptofdeterminism—thetheorythatheredityandenvironmentinfluenceanddeterminehumanbehavior.Althoughnaturalismisoftenassociatedwithrealism,whichalsoseekstoaccuratelyrepresenthumanexistence,thetwomovementsaredifferentiatedbythefactthatnaturalismisconnectedtothedoctrineofbiological,economicandsocialdeterminism.Representativewritersare,amongothers,StephenCraneandTheodoreDreiser.6.InternationalThemeTheInternationalthemewasoneofHenryJames’smainsubjects,whichdealtwiththerelationshipbetweenAmericanandEuropeanculture.Heexploredtheattractionsandconflictsbetweennewandold,innocenceandexperience,candorandcomplexity,thepuritanicalandtheaesthetic.7.LocalColorismLocalColorismisatypeofwritingthatwaspopularinthelate19thcentury,particularlyamongauthorsintheSouthoftheUnitedStates.Thisstylereliedheavilyonusingwords,phrases,andslangthatwerenativetotheparticularregioninwhichthestorytookplace.Thetermhascometomeananydevicewhichimpliesaspecificfocus,whetheritisgeographicalortemporal.Awell-knownlocalcolorismauthorwasMarkTwainwithhisbooksTomSawyerandTheAdventuresofHuckleberryFinn.8.ImagismImagismwasaliterarymovementwhichcameintobeinginBritainandU.S.around1910asareactiontothetraditionalEnglishpoetrytoexpressthesenseoffragmentationanddislocation.Theimagists,withEzraPoundleadingtheway,holdthatthemosteffectivemeanstoexpressthesemomentaryimpressionsisthroughtheuseofonedominantimage.Imagismischaracterizedbythefollowingthreepoeticprinciples:i)directtreatmentofsubjectmatter;ii)economyofexpression;iii)asregardrhythm,tocomposeinthesequenceofthemusicalphrase,notinthesequenceofmetronome.EzraPound’s“InaStationoftheMetro”isawell-knownimagistpoem.9.HarlemRenaissanceHarlemRenaissanceisanotablephaseofblackAmericanwritingcenteredinHarlem(apredominantlyblackareaofNewYorkCity)inthe1920s.Itbroughtanewself-awarenessandcriticalrespecttoblackliteratureintheUS.LangstonHughesandRichardWrightarerepresentativesofthemovementwiththeirworksWearyBluesandNativeSonrespectively.10.TheLostGenerationThetermLostGenerationwascoinedbyGertrudeSteintorefertoagroupofAmericanliterarynotableswholivedinParisfromthetimeperiodwhichsawtheendofWorldWarItothebeginningoftheGreatDepression.SignificantmembersincludedErnestHemingway,F.ScottFitzgerald,EzraPound,SherwoodAnderson,T.S.Eliot,andGertrudeSteinherself.Hemingwaylikelypopularizedtheterm,quotingStein(“Youareallalostgeneration”)asepigraphtohisnovel,TheSunAlsoRises.Moregenerally,thetermisbeingusedfortheyoungadultsof