Part I The Literature of Colonial America 殖民时代 .ppt

Unit 7 Literature of American Romanticism 美国浪漫主义时期文学 “美国人没有什么文学—— 我们是说没有什么本土文学，文学都是进口货……但是，既然美国人只要六周的时间便可以收到用我们自己的语言写出的表达我们的见识、学问和精神的大包大箱的书籍，他们为什么还要写书？” —— 西德尼· 史密斯 I. Historical Introduction 1. History of the Age (p52) The census The Westward Movement (frontier egalitarianism) Industrialization (contrasting riches and poverty) The life style Education (literacy) I. Historical Introduction 2. Literary Characteristics American Romanticism American Transcendentalism American Renaissance American Romanticism 1. Historical Background The first half of the 19th century Radical changes in all aspects of American life: burgeoning industrialism great immigration westward expansion a variety of foreign influences (derivative) playground for romantics: magazines Foreign Influences 1. Sir Walter Scott（沃尔特.司各特） Border tales and Waverly(威佛利） romances American historical romance 2. Byron （拜伦） Oriental romances American Indian romance Imagination for lyrics of love and passion and despair. 3. Robert Burns　（罗伯特.彭斯） Imagination for lyrics of love and passion and despair. 4. William Wordsworth（威廉.华兹华斯） Samuel Taylor Coleridge　（塞缪尔.泰勒.柯尔律治） Lyrical Ballads（《抒情歌谣集》） American Romanticism 2. General characteristics: A rebellion against the objectivity of rationalism. (subjective) The feelings, intuitions and emotions were more important than reason and common sense. Not think of the world as a ticking watch made by God; thought of the world as a living, breathing being. Emphasized individualism, placing the individual against the group, against authority. Affirmed the inner life of the self (subconscious) American Romanticism Cherished strong interest in the past, especially the medieval. Attracted by the wild, the irregular, the indefinite, the remote, the mysterious, and the strange. Interested in variety. mystery, romance and adventure; literary fo