英美文学资料10.pptVIP

Part III The Literature of Romanticism Historical Introduction Romanticism Transcendentalism Historical Introduction I. History of the Age II. Literary Characteristics 1. Romanticism 2. Transcendentalism I. History of the Age 1. Growth of population 7 million in 1800 → 31 million at the beginning of the Civil War 2. Westward expansion and rise of the West American pioneers had pushed the frontier line of settlement beyond the Mississippi to the Great Plaines, and the nation’s center of population had shifted westward from the eastern seaboard, across the Appalachians, Ohio. The West had risen as a sectional power to challenge the political dominance of the East and the South. In 1828 the election of the frontier hero Andrew Jackson had brought en effect end to the “Virginia Dynasty” of American presidents. I. History of the Age 3. Development of democracy By the 1840s the age of the Common Man had arrived. Voting restrictions were ceased. The Jeffersonian concept of a natural aristocracy had been replaced by the egalitarian belief that all white men were literally equal, and most were capable of political leadership. I. History of the Age 4. Industrialization and urbanization Before 1860 the United States had begun to change into an industrial and urban society. With the industrial revolution came the invention of various machines and application of technology. The numbers of “millionaires” multiplied, as did the number of paupers. In the first half of the 19th century the proportion of Americans who labored on farms declined as increasing numbers left the land to work in urban businesses and factories. New York became America’s largest city, supplanting Boston and Philadelphia as the economic and cultural capital of the nation. I. History of the Age 5. Social reforms -- Through the first half of the century the pursuit of simplicity, utility, and perfection remained an American characteristic. -- Utopian communal societies flourished; -- Transcendentalis