美国文学 American literature6.pptVIP

Survey of American Literature Part I. The Literature of Colonial America I. The native American and their culture– Indians II. The historical background of the colonial Time Christopher Columbus discovered the American continent in 1491. Captain Christopher Newport reached Virginia in 1607. Puritans came the New England area, by Mayflower in 1619. The first settlement was established in Plymouth in 1620. South, Jamestown, Virginia: John Smith --first American writer North, New England, Puritan Writers William Bradford威廉·布拉福德: first governor of Plymouth, The History of Plymouth Plantation 普利茅斯种植园史 John Winthrop约翰·温斯罗普: first governor of Boston, The History of New England 新英格兰史 Two Poets: Anne Bradstreet 安妮·布拉德斯特里特, Edward Taylor Puritanism A religious and political movement. Through it, one sees the emerging right of the individual to political and religious independence. Their religious doctrines: original sin, total depravity, predestination, limited atonement. Their attitudes toward entertainment: joy and laughter are symptoms of sin. Their attitudes toward work: work itself is a good in addition to what it achieves, that time saved by efficiency or good fortune should be spent in doing further work. Puritan Influence on American Literature Purpose: pragmatic Contents: practical matter-of-fact accounts of life in the new world; highly theoretical discussions of religious questions. Form: diary, autobiography, sermon, letter Style: tight and logic structure, precise and compact expression, avoidance of rhetorical decoration, adoption of homely imagery, simplicity of diction. Part II. The Literature of Reason and Revolution Benjamin Franklin: the best writer of the colonial period; printer, enlightener, inventor, scientist, statesman, diplomat Main Works: Poor Richard’s Almanac 穷理查年鉴 , Autobiography 自传 Thomas Paine托马斯·潘恩: propagandist, pamphleteer, a master of persuasion who understands the power of language to move a man to action. Main works: The Ame