全套美国文学精心整理的各个时期作家作品简介Washington Irving.pptVIP

Lecture Six Washington Irving Contents Washington Irving Biographical Introduction Irving’s writing career, major works and style Appreciating The Legend of Sleepy Hollow Irving’s contributions to American Literature Washington Irving (1783-1859) Short story writer Essayist Biographer Historian Biographical Introduction (1) Family and Education Background Born into a wealthy New York merchant family as the youngest of eleven children Well-educated studied law at 16 and led for a time the leisurely life of a lawyer Reads widely, writes essays and poems from a very early age Biographical Introduction (2) Working Experience In 1815, went to Europe to take care of his family business, which turned out to be a failure In 1818, he started to write to support himself and his family Spent seventeen years (1815-1832) in Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain Biographical Introduction (3) 1826-1829, working as diplomatic attache in Spain 1829-1831, working as secretary of the United States Legation in London Explored local traditions, customs, and folklore Accumulated lots of material for writing Biographical Introduction (4) Late years In 1832, returned to America Declined a nomination to Congress and to run for the Mayor of New York Made his home at Sunnyside on the Hudson River at Tarrytown Spent the rest of his life leisurely and comfortably except for a period of four years (1842-1846) when he was away from home as Minister to Spain Irving’s writing career Major phase: 1809-1832 conservative draw inspirations from the ruins and relics of Europe wrote about subjects either English or European The Sketch Book (1819-1820) Minor phase: 1832-1859 Returned to America and influenced by the new spirit of nationalism Wrote about the American West, “American Books” A Tour on the Prairies 1835 Major Works of Washington Irving The Sketch Book (1819-1820) Rip Van Winkle The Legend of Sleepy Hollow The History of the Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus (1