美国文学-名词解释

美国文学1.殖民地时期及独立革命战争时期的美国文学PhilipFreneau（菲利普﹒弗瑞诺）(1)Hewasconsideredasthe“PoetoftheAmericanrevolution”asthemostoutstandingpoetinAmericaofthe18thcentury.(2)Hewasasatirist,abitterpolemicist.(3)HewrotemanypoemsencouragingrevolutionandencouragingtheglorythatwouldbewonbyovercomingtheBritish.TheWildHoneySuckle《野金银花》TheIndianBuryingGround《印第安人的殡葬地》TheBritishShip《英国囚船》TheRisingGloryofAmerica《美洲光辉的兴起》(1)TheWildHoneySuckleisFreneau’sbestlyric(2)Itanticipatedthe19th—centuryuseofsimplenatureimagery.TheIndianBuryingGroundanticipatedromanticprimitivismandthecelebrationofthe“NobleSavage”.ThomasJefferson（托马斯﹒杰弗逊）TheDeclarationofIndependence《独立宣言》(1)TheDeclarationofIndependencewasadoptedJuly4,1776.(2)Itnotonlyannouncedthebirthofanewnation,butalsoexpoundedaphilosophyofhumanfreedom.(3)Itlists13crueltiescommittedbytheKingofBritain.(4)Thefamouslinesare:“Weholdthesetruthstobeself-evident,thattheyareendowedbytheirCreatorwithcertainunalienablerights,thatamongtheseareLife,LibertyandthepursuitofHappiness.”(5)ThomasJefferson’sthoughtwasinspiredbythethoughtsofJohnLocke.2.浪漫主义时期的美国文学Calvinism（加尔文主义）(1)CalvinismreferstothereligiousteachingsofJohnCalvinandhisfollowers.(2)Calvintaughtthatonlycertainpersons,theelect,werechosenbyGodtobesaved,andthesecouldbesavedonlybyGod’sgrace.(3)CalvinismformsthebasisforthedoctrinesandpracticesoftheHuguenots,Puritans,Presbyterians,andtheReformedchurches.AmericanRomanticism（美国浪漫主义）(1)AmericanRomanticismisoneofthemostimportantperiodsinthehistoryofAmericanliterature.(2)Itwasarebellionagainsttheobjectivityofrationalism.Forromantics,thefeelings,intuitionsandemotionsweremoreimportantthanreasonandcommonsense.Theyemphasizedindividualism,placingtheindividualagainstthegroup.Theyaffirmedtheinnerlifeoftheself,andcherishedstronginterestinthepast,thewild,theremote,themysteriousandthestrange.Theystressedtheelement“Americanness”intheirworks.(3)ItstartedwiththepublicationofWashingtonIrving’sTheSketchBookandendedwithWaltWhitman’sLeavesofGrass.(4)BeingaperiodofthegreatfloweringofAmericanliterature,itisalsocalled“theAmericanRenaissance.”(5)AmericanRomanticistsincludesuchliteraryfiguresasWashingtonIrving,RalphWaldoEmerson,HenryDavidThoreau,WilliamCullenBryant,HenryWordsworthLongfellow,NathanielHawthorne,EdgarAllanPoe,HermanMelville,WaltWhitmanandsomeothers.Transcendentalism（超验主义）(1)TranscendentalismreferstothereligiousandphilosophicaldoctrinesofRalphWaldoEmersonandothersinNewEnglandinthemiddle1800’s,whichemphasizedtheimportanceofindividualinspirationandintuition,theOver—soul,andNature.OtherconceptsthataccompaniedTranscendentalismincludetheideathatnatureisennoblingandtheideathattheindividualisdivineand,therefore,self—reliant.(2)NewEnglandTranscendentalismistheproductofacombinationofnativeAmericanPuritanismandEuropeanRomanticism.Freeverse（自由体诗歌）(1)Freeversemeanstherhymedorunrhymedpoetrycomposedwithoutpayingattentiontoconventionalrulesofmeter.(2)FreeversewasoriginatedbyagroupofFrenchpoetsofthelate19thcentury.(3)Theirpurposewastofreethemselvesfromtherestrictionsofformalmetricalpatternsandtorecreateinsteadthefreerhythmsofnaturalspeech.(4)WaltWhitman’sLeavesofGrassis,perhaps,themostnotableexample.Symbol（象征）(1)Symbolmeansanact,aperson,athing,oraspectaclethatstandsforsomethingelse,usuallysomethinglesspalpablethanthenamedsymbol.(2)Therelationshipbetweenthesymbolanditsreferentisnotoftenoneofsimpleequivalence.Allegoricalsymbolsusuallyexpressaneaterequivalencewithwhattheystandforthanthesymbolsfoundinmodernrealisticfiction.Theme（主题）(1)Thememeanstheunifyingpointorgeneralideaofaliterarywork.(2)Itprovidesananswertosuchquestionsas“Whatistheworkabout?”(3)Eachliteraryworkcarriesitsownthemeorthemes.Forexample,KingLearhasmanythemes,amongwhichareblindnessandmadness.3.现实主义与自然主义时期的美国文学AmericanNaturalism(美国自然主义)(1)TheAmericanNaturalistsacceptedthemorenegativeinterpretationofDarwin’sevolutionarytheoryandusedittoaccountforthebehaviorofthosecharactersinliteraryworkswhowereregardedasmoreorlesscomplexcombinationsofinheritedattributes,theirhabitsconditionedbysocialandeconomicforces.(2)AmericanNaturalismisevolvedfromrealismwhentheauthor’stoneinwritingbecomeslessseriousandlesssympatheticbutmoreironicandmorepessimistic.Itisnomorethanagloomyphilosophicalapproachtoreality,ortohumanexistence.(3)Dreiserisaleadingfigureofhisschool.Darwinism(达尔文主义)(1)DarwinismisatermthatcomesfromCharlesDarwin’sevolutionarytheory.(2)Darwinistthinkthatthosewhosurviveintheworldarethefittestandthosewhofailtoadaptthemselvestotheenvironmentwillperish.Theybelievethatmanhasevolvedfromlowerformsoflife.HumansarespecialnotbecauseGodcreatedtheminHisimage,butbecausetheyhavesuccessfullyadaptedtochangingenvironmentalconditionsandhavepassedontheirsurvival-makingcharacteristicsgenetically.(3)Influencedbythistheory,someAmericannaturalistwritersapplyDarwinismasanexplanationofhumannatureandsocialreality.LocalColorists(乡土作家)(1)Generallyspeaking,thewritingoflocalcoloristsareconcernedwiththelifeofasmall,well-definedregionorprovince.Thecharacteristicsettingistheisolatedsmalltown.(2)Localcoloristswereconsciou