❖ Irving's mother was born in England ❖ studied law ❖ amused himself by writing for periodicals ❖ From 1804 to 1806 his older brothers financed
his tour of France and Italy.
Mark Twain also is called ❖ the Father of American
Literature ❖ the true Father of American
Literature
II. life and literary career
❖ Born: 3 April 1783 ❖ Birthplace: New York, New York ❖ Died: 28 November 1859 ❖ named for George Washington; his parents
❖ Under the pseudonym Diedrich Knickerbocker, he published A History of New York (1809), a satire that has been called the first great book of comic literature written by an American.
❖ The stories (including “Rip Van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”) appeared seriaiastic reception made Irving the best-known figure in American literature both at home and abroad.
entertainment
❖ 9. His use of the gothic looks forward to Poe.
❖ 10. the messenger sent from the new world to the old world
❖ 11. “the American Goldsmith”
were admirers of General Washington.
❖ Irving was born in 1783, the year in which Benjamin Franklin signed at Paris the treaty of peace with England after the Revolutionary War.
of George Washington ❖ a biography of Christopher
Columbus is still considered a classic.
Irving’s grave
III. Major Works
❖ (1809: A History of New York《纽约外 史》
❖ In search of colorful material, he made a journey to the frontier and wrote about the American West in A Tour of the Prairies (《大
草原游记》,1835).
Late life: ❖ a colossal 5-volume biography
I. Position in American literature
Father of American literature ❖ 1. the first American (true) literary writer ❖ 2. the first American man of letters ❖ 3. America’s first genuine internationally best-
❖ In 1820, Irving published The Sketch Book under the pseudonym Geoffrey Crayon.
❖ The hit book made Irving the first American author to gain real fame in Europe.
❖ 5. the first American writer to earn his living solely by his pen
❖ 6. the first American literary humorist ❖ 7. the first modern short story writer ❖ 8. the first to write history and biography as
Washington Irving (1783-1859)
“Rip Van Winkle” （《瑞普·凡·温克尔》)
Washington Irving(1783-1859)
❖ I. Position in American literature ❖ II. Life ❖ III. Works ❖ IV. Literary Achievements ❖ V. Style ❖ VI. Contributions
selling author
❖ 4. the first belletrist in American literature, writing for pleasure at a time when writing was practical and for useful purposes
------------------------------------------------------------------------belletrist n. 纯文学作者