[文学]美国文学讲义.doc

Final Exam I. True or False. (12 points, 1 point each) II. Multiple Choice. (30 points, 1 point each) III. Identify the writers and works. (20 points, 2 points each) IV. Literary terms. (8 points, 4 points each) V. Write an analysis of a poem. (15 points) [writer, form, theme] VI. Write an analysis of a novel. (15 points) [writer, story, theme] American Realism美国现实主义文学 Background 1. The influence of the Civil War. 2. The development of industry produced two extremes. 3. The closing frontier closed the door of idealism, imagination and optimism. Golden Age ( Gilded Age Definition of Realism As a literary movement realism came in the latter half of the 19th. century as a reaction against “the lie of romanticism and sentimentalism”. It expressed the concern for the world of experience, of the commonplace, and for the familiar and the low. It tried to offer an observed rather than an idealized view of human nature and experience in literary works. Major writers: William Dean Howells, Henry James and Mark Twain 1. William Dean Howells (1837-1920) Life He was born in Ohio in 1837. He was a novelist, critic, poet and playwright. He was the “dean” of his country’s literature. He influenced three American writers --- Mark Twain, Henry James and Stephen Crane. Why was he the “Dean” of American literature? ① He was a prolific writer. ② He influenced writers of three generations. a. contemporaries -- Mark Twain, Henry James. b. Naturalist writers -- Frank Norris, Stephen Crane. c. Modern times-- Robert Frost ③ His critical idea was great. Works * Their Wedding Journey《他们的结婚旅行》(1872) * The Rise of Silas Lapham《塞拉斯·拉帕姆的发迹》(1885) Henry James (1843-1916)---novelist, critic, playwright, prose writer Life He was born in New York. He went to Paris and settled in London. In 1915 he became a British subject. Like Irving, Cooper and Hawthorne, he believed that America lacked material for writing. Works A. International theme ① The American《美国人》(1877) ② Daisy Miller《