Introduction-of-American-Literature

AmericanLiteratureLectureOneLecturer:JarvisjiangTheRangeoftheAmericanLiteraryHistoryTheAmericanliteraturepersedidnotbeginuntilthe19thcentury.Colonialperiod:(about1607-1765)stretchingroughlyfromthesettlementofAmericaintheearlyseventeenthcenturythroughtheendoftheeighteenth.Ageofenlightenment:(1765-late18thcentury)withFranklinasitsspokesman,eighteen-centuryAmericaexperiencedanageofenlightenment,ofreason,andorderlikeEuropeandEngland.Romanticperiod:(1800-1865)theromanticperiodcoversthefirsthalfofthenineteenthcentury.Ageofrealism:(1865-1918)thecivilwarbroughttheRomanticperiodtoanend.TheageofRealismcameintoexistence.Ageofmodernism:(1918-1945)Contemporaryperiod:(1945-_)ColonialPeriodBackground:1.ColonialAmericawasthetimeinAmericanhistorywhenEuropeansfirstsetuppermanentsettlementsontheNorthAmericancontinent.2.Throughoutthisperiod,peoplelefttheirhomesintheOldWorld(Europe)tosettleintheNewWorld(theAmericas).3.PeoplecametotheAmericanContinentforgreatereconomicopportunities,forreligiousfreedomandforescapefrompoliticaloppression.AmericanPuritanismThefirstsettlerswhobecamethefoundingfathersoftheAmericannationwerequiteafewofthemPuritans.TheycarriedwiththemtoAmericaacodeofvalues,aphilosophyoflife,apointofviewwhichintimetookrootintheNewWorldandbecamewhatispopularlyknownasAmericanPuritanism.CharacteristicsofAmericanPuritansAmericanpuritanswereidealists.Americanpuritanswerepractical.Americanpuritansweredisgustedforatime.Americanpuritanswereoptimistic.TheinfluenceofpuritanismonAmericanliteratureItisacriticalcommonplacenowthatAmericanliteratureisbasedonamyth,thatis,theBiblicalmythoftheGardenofEden.AmericanliteratureisingoodmeasurealiteraryexpressionofthepiousidealismoftheAmericanbequest.WritingstyleofauthorsinthisperiodSymbolismasatechniquehasbecomeacommonpractice.Thewritingstyleisfresh,simpleanddirect;therhetoricisplainandhonest,notwithoutatouchofnobilityoftentraceabletothedirectinfluenceoftheBible.TheRepresentative代表WritersofThisPeriodJonathanEdwards(1703-1758)BenjaminFranklin(1706-1790)TheRomanticPeriodTheromanticperiodthatfollowscoversthefirsthalfofthenineteenthcentury.ArisingAmericawithitsidealsofdemocracyandequality,itsindustrialization,itswestwardexpansion,andavarietyofforeigninfluenceswereamongtheimportantfactorsthatmadeliteraryexpansionandexpressionnotonlypossiblebutalsoinevitableintheperiodimmediatelyfollowingthenation’spoliticalindependence.WashingtonIrving(1783-1859)ThefirstimportantwriterinAmericanliterature,Irving,deservescreditforthepartheplayedininspiringtheAmericanromanticimagination.ThefascinatingTheSketchBookwithtwoofhismostfamousstories,“RipVanWinkle”and“TheLegendofSleepHollow”willbeplacedatthetopofanyreadinglistonAmericanliterature.JamesFenimoreCooper(1789-1851)LeatherstockingTalesofferssomefictionalversionoftheAmericannationalexperienceofadventureintothewildernessoftheAmericanWest.TheimportanceofthefrontierandthewildernessinAmericanliteraturewasforthefirsttimewellillustratedinit.ThehistoryoftheformationoftheUnitedStatesofAmericais,inasense,aprocessinwhichthesettlersmovedcontinuouslywestward,pushingthefrontierwiththem.NewEnglandTranscendentalismorAmericanRenaissance(1836-1855)AmericanRomanticismculminatedaroundthe1840sMajorliteraryfigures:RalphWaldoEmerson(1803-1882):theleadingNewEnglandTranscendentalist,whoseNature(1836)hasbeencalled“theManifestoofAmericanTranscendentalism,andwhose“TheAmericanScholar”(1837)hasbeenrightlyregardedasAmerica’s“DeclarationofIntellectualIndependence”.HenryDavidThoreau(1817-1862)HewasatfirstafaithfulfollowerofEmerson,butalienatedhimselfsomewhatfromthemasterlateron.HebuiltandwenttoliveinasmallcottageonWaldenPondforalittleovertwoyearsandthencamebacktowriteabouthisexperiencethereinhisfamousbook,walden.WaltWhitman(1819-1892)andEmilyDickinson(1830-1886)WaltWhitmantriedtowritepoetrydescribingthenativeAmericanexperience.EmersonreadwithsuchdelightthefirsteditionofhisLeavesofGrass(1855)thathewrotetoWhitman,callinghiswork“themostextraordinarypieceofwitandwisdomthatAmericahasyetcontributed.EmilyDickinsonwroteaboutthelifeofhertimeinhercompletelyoriginal.ShapingAmericanpoetryoutofthenativeelementsoftheNewWorld.WaltWhitmanandEmilyDickinsonwerethetwomajorAmericanpoetsofthenineteenthcentury.NathanielHawthorne(1804-1864)andHermanMelvill(1819-1891)NathanielHawthornedidnotfeelcomfortablewithEmerson’ssenseofoptimismaboutmanandhisnature,andkeptarespectabledistancefromEmersonandhisideas.HisTheScarletLetter(1850)andotherworksrevealablacknessofvisionofwhichEmersonwasnotcapable.HermanMelvillwascriticalofEmerson’soptimisticviewoflife,asis,forinstance,clearlyshowninsomeportionsofhisfamouswork,MobyDick.Hewasagainsttheoptimistictrendofhistimes:hislifedidn’tcorroboratethathopefulview.TheCivilWar(1861-1865)broughttheRomanticPeriodtoanend.TheAgeofRealismItcameasareactionagainst“thelieofromanticismandsentimentalism.”Itexpressestheconcernforthecommonplaceandthelow,andoffersanobjectiveratherthananidealisticviewofhumannatureandhumanexperience.Themajorliteraryfigures:WilliamDean