American culture 4- Britain and American culture 英美文化教学课件.pptVIP

Essentials of British and American Cultures KIKI. ZHANG Chapter 4 American Literature 1. The Colonial Period Between 1630 and 1690, there were many university graduates in the northeastern section of the United States, known as New England. Anne Bradstreet (c. 1612-1672) Contemplations 宗教组诗《沉思集》 She preferred her long, religious poems on conventional subjects such as the seasons, but contemporary readers most enjoy the witty poems on subjects from daily life and her warm and loving poems to her husband and children. Her book : The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America (1650). 《第十位缪斯新近在美洲出现》 2. Revolutionary Writers, 1776-1820 Obviously only the leisured and wealthy could afford to indulge their interest in writing. The exception, Benjamin Franklin, though from a poor family, was a printer by trade and could publish his own work. The first great writers began to make their appearance around 1825. 18th-century American Enlightenment The 18th-century American Enlightenment was a movement marked by an emphasis on rationality rather than tradition, scientific inquiry. Enlightenment thinkers and writers were devoted to the ideals of justice, liberty, and equality as the natural rights of man. Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) Benjamin Franklin Americas first great man of letters, embodied the Enlightenment ideal of humane rationality. Practical yet idealistic, hard-working and successful writer, printer, publisher, scientist, philanthropist, and diplomat, he was the most famous and respected of his time. Poor Richards Almanac, 1732 God helps them that help themselves. Early to Bed, and early to rise, makes a Man healthy, wealthy, and wise. Diligence is the Mother of Good Luck. One To-day is worth two tomorrow. A small leak will sink a great Ship. Fools make Feasts, and wise Men eat them. Washington Irving (1789-1859) The Sketch Book of Geoffrye Crayon 见闻札记contains his two best remembered stories, Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of S