Early Colonial Literature(1607-1700)1. Social background:The first permanent English settlement in America was Captain John Smith( made at Jamestown in 1607)2. Captain John Smith:1) The mainstay of the Jamestown colony in the critical period of its early existence2) a true soldier of fortune, venturesome, resolute, self-reliant, resourceful3) a man of great good sense, and with the grasp on circumstances which belongs to the man of power.4) a man of some literary craft, who, while leading the most strenuous life of all, efficiently protecting and heartening his less courageous comrades in all manner of perilous experiences5) compiled and wrote with much literary skill the picturesque chronicles of the settlement.3. Puritan:1) Puritans was the name given in the 16th century to the more extreme Protestants within the Church of England who thought the English Reformation had not gone far enough in reforming the doctrines and structure of the church.2) They wanted to purify their national church by eliminating every shred of Catholic influence.3) The earliest European settlers of New England were English Protestants who came in search of religious liberty.4) The puritans built a way of life that was in harmony with their somber religion, stressing hard work, thrift, piety, and sobriety.4. American Puritanism :1) Puritanism is the practices and beliefs of the puritans2) Most of these men held ideas in the mainstream of Calvinistic thought. In addition to believing in the absolute sovereignty of God, the total depravity of man, and the complete dependence of human beings on divine grace for salvation, they stressed the importance of personal religious experience.3) A desire to see education and enlightenment for the masses (especially so they could read the Bible for themselves)During the whole colonial period Puritanism had direct impact on both religious thought and cultural patterns in America.5. Importance of American Puritanism:1) American Puritanism was one of the most enduring shaping influences in American thought and American literature.2) It has become, to some extent, so much a state of mind, rather than a set of tenets, so much a part of the national cultural atmosphere that the Americans breathe. Without some understanding of Puritanism, there can be no real understanding of American culture and literature.6. The New England :1) Boston is its cultural center, New England is perhaps the best-defined region of the U.S., with more uniformity and more of a shared heritage than other regions of the country.2) New England was considered the intellectual and cultural center of early America. Harvard, located in Massachusetts, was the first college founded in the United States.7. Earliest American literature:1)American Puritanism was one of the most enduring shaping influences in American literature.2) the puritan style of writing3) the content of the earliest writings (including sermons, travel books, diaries, histories, journals, and letters.)8. the Biblical myth:1) It is a commonplace that American literature is based on a myth, that is, the Biblical myth of the Garden of Eden.2) American literature is in good measure a literary expression of the pious idealism of the American puritan bequest.3) The puritans dreamed of living under a perfect order and worked with indomitable courage and confident hope toward building a new Garden of Eden in America.4) Fired with such a sense of mission, the puritans even looked the worst of life with a tremendous amount of optimism.5) The Puritans favored the ordinary and simple, the 'plain style.' This form of writing was used by many Puritan authors and was thought to be direct and to the point. The plain style consisted of simple sentences and everyday used language. It never had figures of speech and especially not any imagery.6) Puritans stressed hard work, thrift, piety, and sobriety. These were the puritan values that dominated much of the earliest American writing.9. Questions:1) What is the puritan style of writing?2) What is American literature based on?3) What was the earliest American literature like?4) Define the literary term “American Puritanism”American Romanticism (1800 - 1850s)1. we will work with our own handswe will speak our own mindsWe will walk with our own feet-Ralph Waldo Emerson2. Historical Background:1) This is a period of rapid growth and rapid expansion2) This is a period of the discussion of social issues3) This is a period of the pursuit of new belief4) This is a period of the development of education5) This is a period of foreign influences3. Growth and expansion :1) increasing Population: A new nationalism emerged as a result of this sudden influx of immigration.2) Spreading industrialization filled people with optimism.3) Pushing frontier: 1803, The Louisiana Purchase ; 1804,Louis and Clark expedition1830s, a series of wars against native Americans ; 1846—1848, war against Mexico; 1848, discovery of gold in California, thus the Gold Rush. The discovery of gold in California in 1848 brought about a Gold Rush, which further pushed the frontier to the end. As a result, an unprecedented optimistic attitude was prevailing among people.4. Social issues :1) The woman’s issue: In 1837, the first women’s college was established in Massachusetts.2) The slavery issue:3) The new lifestyle. The pursuit of simplicity, utility and perfection remained an American characteristic.5. The pursuit of new belief :1) Democracy and political equality became the ideals of the new nation.2) The age of Common man, the egalitarian belief3) The Virginia Dynasty (more than 30 years)6. Foreign influences:1) Sir Walter Scott:with his border tales, helped toward the development of American Indian romance and the romantic description of landscape in America literature. ( Cooper )2) The Gothic tradition and the graveyard tradition came to America and found their way into the works of Poe, Burns, Byron, Wordsworth, with their lyric poems of love and passion and their concern for nature, addedto the nation’s singing strength.7. American Romanticism :1) Against such a historical , social and cultural background did American Romanticism emerge.2) Coming 20 years later than its British counterpart, American Romanticism was regarded as a period of Renaissance in art and literature in the United States. (significance)8. Characteristics of Romanticism :1) an innate and intuitive perception of man, nature and society—reliance on the subconscious, the inner life2) an emphasis on freedom, individualism and imagination—rebellion against neoclassicism which stressed formality, order and authority3) a profound love for nature—nature as a source of knowledge, nature as a refuge from the present, nature as a revelation of the holy spirit4) the use of fanciful subject matters—sense of terror, Gothic, grotesque, odd and queer9. Uniqueness of American Romanticism :1) The new subject matterA. The Westward Movement, the pioneering into the West, provided the American writers with the best subject and materials. The wilderness always filled them with hope and drove them to look for an ideal world.B. The newness as a nation, with people’s ideals of individualism and freedom, their dream that America was to be built into a new Garden of Eden, was strong enough to inspire romantic imagination.2) Both imitative and innovative.A. Imitative : it is derivative.Writers such as Washington Irving, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Bryant, Whittier and Lowell treated traditional literary themes by using traditional techniques.B. Innovative: it is also independent. James Fenimore Cooper was one of the earliest writers to deal with American subject matter—the Westward Movement.In writers like Emerson and Whitman, we do hear voices different from those in the European tradition. They not only treated American subject matter but also used innovative techniques. (Free verse)American Romanticists一． Washington Irving1. Life：1）Irving visited several European countries and stayed there for many years. His writings about the New World aroused European interest.2）In the early part of the 19th century, New York City was the center of American writing. Irving’s book created a lot of interest in the local history of New York, but it was humorous rather than a serious history of the city.2. Works：1) His first book A History of New York, written under the name of Diedrich Knickerbocker, was a great success and won him wide popularity.2) With the publication of The Sketch Book, he won a measure of international recognition3) His most famous book The Sketch Book contains two of the best-loved stories from American literature: “Rip Van Winkle”《瑞普·凡·温克尔》and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”睡谷的传说》3. Characteristics:1) His style can be described as beautiful.(P60 Para1)2) He was good at enveloping his stories in an atmosphere.3) The humor has built itself into the very texture of his writings.4) His characters are vivid and true.5) He avoided moralizing as much as possible.(P61 belletrist, belles-lettres)4. Importance:1) father of American short stories;2) the first who won international fame;3) The Sketch Book also marked the beginning of American Romanticism.5. Essay:1) Essay---relatively short literary composition in prose, in which a writer discusses a topic, usually restricted in scope, or tries to persuade the reader to accept a particular point of view.2) Modern essay originated from Montaigne’s “Essais”(1580)法国蒙田的随笔集3) The important essayist at this period is Bacon. He borrowed the title for his collection of brief prose writings.(1597)Both Bacon and Montaigne relied on quotations, examples, and figures of speech. Bacon’s are almost purely expositive and with moral purpose.4) Essay---the 19th century (the popularity and diversity)In the 19th century periodicals increased and modern magazines sprang up, they were instrumental to the rapid development of essays. Under this encouragement appeared a number of brilliant essayists, such as Lamb, Hazlitt, Hunt and De Quincy.They did not write according to the old rules and models of classicism but made the informal essay a pliable vehicle for expressing the writer’s own personality, thus bringing into English literature the familiar essay. The informal essay is often called the familiar or personal essay.5) Formal and informal essayThe informal essay is personal, intimate, relaxed, conversational, and frequently humorous.The formal essay is dogmatic, impersonal, systematic, and expository.Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man.Histories make men wise; poets witty; the mathematics subtile; natural philosophy deep; moral grave; logic and rhetoric able to contend.6. ‘‘The Legend of Sleepy Hollow’’:1) Setting:It takes place in Sleepy Hollow, a snug rural valley.2) Conflict:Constructed from German tales but set in America, it is a classic tale of the conflict between city and country, and between brains and brawn.3) Characters:Ichabod Crane courts Katrina Van T assel, but is frightened away by his rival, Brom Bones, masquerading as the headless horseman.4) Style:The story demonstrates the two qualities for which Irving is best known: his humor, and his ability to create vivid descriptive imagery.7. City versus Country :1) “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”dramatizes a conflict between two cultures—those of the Yankee city-dweller and the backwoodsman—that was to become a major theme in American literature.2) City versus Country : One of the great themes of American literature and American folklore is the clash between the city and the country, between civilization and the wilderness. As the theme is played out in literature around the world, it carries one of two interpretations: either the city is seen as beautiful, civilized, rich, clean and safe, and the country is ugly, dirty and dangerous, or else the city is dirty and dangerous, populated by swindlers who love nothing better than tricking the kind, gentle.二． James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851)1. Father of American fiction;2. Leatherstocking Tales, a series of five novels about the frontier life of American settlersThe Pioneers 1823 ……………………4（The Pioneers was probably the first true romance of the frontier in American literature.）The Last of the Mohicans 1826 (2)The Prairie 1827 (5)The Pathfinder 1840 (3)The Deerslayer 1841 (1)3. LifeBorn into a rich land-holding family of New Jersey, Cooper was one of the new American authors who did not have to worry about money.4. Importance1）The first successful American historical romance in the vein of Sir Walter Scott (The Spy, 1821).2）The first sea novel (The Pilot, 1824).3）The first attempt at a fully researched historical novel (Lionel Lincoln, 1825).4）The first full-scale History of the Navy of the United States of America (1839).5）The first and only five-volume epic romance to carry its mythic hero - Natty Bumppo - from youth to old age.5. The Last of the Mohicans1）Natty Bumppo represents the ideal American, living a virtuous and free life in God’s world.2）To him and to Cooper, the wildness is good, pure, perfect, where there is freedom not tainted and fettered by any forms of human institutions.3）Natty Bumppo is a veritable embodiment of human virtues like innocence, simplicity, honesty and generosity, a man born with an immaculate sense of good and evil and right and wrong.4）The New American Hero：American Romantic literature created this unique personhe was youthful, he was innocent, he was intuitive, he was one with nature,he was a loner –uneasy around women, he was handsome, he was brave, he was moral and honorable.5) importance: Cooper did help to introduce the “western tradition”into American literature.三．William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878)1. Works：“To a Waterfowl”1815 《致水鸟》“Thanatopsis”1817 《死亡随想》“The Yellow Violet”1814 黄色堇香花2. Life1）Bryant was a poet, and editor. He was born into a doctor’s family in Massachusetts.2）He was influenced by Graveyard School in England and wrote “Thanatopsis”.His best works are his lyric poems about nature and so his style is quite similar to that of Wordsworth. “To a Waterfowl”is his peak writing.3. Graveyard School：1）18th-century school of English poets who wrote primarily about human mortality. Often set in a graveyard, mused on the vicissitudes of life, the solitude of death and the grave, and the anguish of bereavement.2）One of the most famous graveyard poems was Thomas Gray's "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" (1750).4. Arrangement of each stanza1）It rhymes “abab,”, while the length of each line is so different that you cannot find a regular foot. But, the two long lines in the middle of each stanza may refer to the balance in the floating of the bird.2）The first and the fourth lines, which are relatively shorter, look like two wings. The stanzaic form reminds one of a flying bird.四． Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849)1. father of detective story, father of psychoanalytic criticism, famous for elements of horror and mystery in his stories. Famous American Poet, short-story writer and critic.2. Works:Tales of the Grotesque and the Arabesque 《奇异怪诞故事集》“The Fall of the House of Usher”“The Murders in the Rue Morgue 毛格街杀人案Stories:The Fall of the House of Usher <<厄舍古屋的倒塌》“The Masque of the Red Death”《红色死亡的化妆舞会》“The Cask of Amontillado”<一桶酒的故事》Poems:The Raven 《乌鸦》Annabel Lee 《安娜贝尔•李》To Helen《致海伦》3.The Murders in the Rue Morgue1) The murder :the mother's throat is so badly cut that her head is barely attached and the daughter, after being strangled, has been stuffed into the chimney.2) The setting:The murder occurs in an inaccessible room on the fourth floor locked from the inside.3) The language:Neighbors who hear the murder give contradictory accounts, claiming they hear the murderer speaking a different language. The speech is unclear, they say, and they admit to not knowing the language they are claiming to have heard.4) The clue:The detective finds a hair at the scene of the murder that is quite unusual; "this is no human hair"5) 1841: The Murders In The Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe, considered to be the first modern detective story, was published in the US.4. Evaluation:1) Poe remained the most controversial and most misunderstood literary figure in the history of American literature.2) Emerson dismissed him in three words “the jingle man”Mark Twain declared his prose to be unreadable.And Whitman was the only famous literary figure present at the Poe Memorial Ceremony in 1875.3) Rufus Griswold: Anthologist and critiche asserted that "few will be grieved" by Poe's death as he had few friends. He claimed that Poe often wandered the streets, either in "madness or melancholy", mumbling and cursing to himself, was easily irritated, was envious of others, and that he "regarded society as composed of villains".4) Ironically, it was in Europe that Poe enjoyed respect and welcome.Bernard Shaw said: “Poe was ‘the greatest journalistic critic of his time; his poetry is exquisitely refined; and his tales are “complete works of art”.5) Poe’s reputation was first made in France. Charles Baudelaire said that “Edgar Poe, who isn’t much in America, must become a great man in France.”5. Today, Poe’s particular power has ensured his position among the greatest writers of the world.The majority of critics today, in America as well as in the world, have recognized Poe as a great writer of fiction, a poet of the first rank, and a critic of acumen and insight.His works are read the world over. His influence is world-wide in modern literature6. Qs:What are the images that Helen’s beauty is compared to?7. To HelenThe 15-line poem was written in honor of Jane Stanard, the mother of a childhood friend.Poe is celebrating the nurturing power of woman8. Annabel LeeVirginia, Poe's wife, is often assumed to be the inspiration for "Annabel Lee."9. Poetic principle:1) The poems should be short, readable at one sitting2) Poe defines poetry as “the rhythmical creation of beauty”Poetry’s chief aim is beauty, beauty aims at “an elevating excitement of the soul,”and “beauty of whatever kind, in its supreme development, invariably excites the sensitive soul to tears. Thus melancholy is the most legitimate of all the poetic tones.”“the death of a beautiful woman is, unquestionably, the most poetic topic in the world.10. Principle for short story1) Brevity:The short story should be of such length as to be read at one sitting, to ensure the totality of impression.2) Compression:The very first sentence ought to help to bring out the single effect of the story.3) Finality:It should end with the last sentence, leaving a sense of finality with the reader.11. "The Fall of the House of Usher"1) Major themesPoe uses the theme of the death and resurrection of a womanThe theme of mental illness is explored in this work,".There are also various Gothic elements, such as the decrepit castle and tarn, whose signs of decay reflect the mental condition of Usher, which is rapidly deteriorating.New England Transcendentalism( 19th中期）1. Importance:the summit of American Romanticism.2. Representatives:A group of New Englanders, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau and Margaret Fuller, about 30 people, mostly teachers and clergymen, formed a Transcendentalist Club and met regularly to discuss matters of interest and published a journal, The Dial （《日晷》）to express their opinions.3. Transcendentalism：1）Transcendentalism has been defined as the recognition in man of the capability of acquiring knowledge or of knowing truth intuitively, or of reaching the divine without the need of an intercessor.2）What does“transcendentalism”mean?The word Transcendentalism, meaning that knowledge can be obtained through mental process apart from experiences, was a Kantian term, denoting, as Emerson put it, “whatever belongs to the class of intuitive thought.”Emerson also said, Transcendentalism means idealism.3）The most important thing in the universe is spirit, or the Oversoul.The Transcendentalists stress the importance of the individual. The Transcendentalists have a fresh perception of nature as symbolic of God. 4. the Oversoul：1）The Oversoul (God) is an all-pervading power, omnipotent and omnipresent, existing in nature and manalike.(similar concept of Neo-Platonism)2）This offers a new way of looking at the world instead of the Newtonian concept of the universe (18th-century, the world made up of matter).5. 1）Pantheism: A doctrine identifying the Deity with the universe and its phenomena. God is not a personality as in Christianity.2）Theism: Belief in the existence of a god or gods, especially belief in a personal God as creator and ruler of the world3）Atheism: Disbelief in or denial of the existence of God or gods.6. the importance of the individual：The ideal type of man is the self-reliant individual through the perfection of whom the regeneration of society can be achieved.1）This offers a new way of looking at man.2）It is a reaction against Calvinist concept that man is depraved, sinful, and can only be saved through the grace of God.3）It is also a reaction against dehumanization, coming at the wake of capitalism.7. Individualism：Be true to one’s own inner perception or intuitionUnlimited potential of each individualIf I know it is truth, it is truth.8. Nature is truth1) The Transcendentalists have a fresh perception of nature as symbolic of God. Nature is the garment of the Oversoul2) Nature can be a guide to higher understanding.3) Things in nature tend to become symbolic. The physical world is a symbol of the spiritual.9. Importance:New England Transcendentalism was important to American literature. It inspired a whole new generation of famous authors such as Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne, Melville, Whitman and Dickinson.10. Questions:1) Define the literary term American Romanticism and Transcendentalism.2) What are the foreign influences to American literature?3) What are the unique features of American Romanticism?4) The meaning of oversoul.。