美国文学史(常耀信)超详细笔记(考研专用)American Literature Survey.doc

PAGE PAGE 9 Chapter 1 Colonial Period American Puritanism: It is the practices and beliefs of American Puritans. Like their English brothers, they are idealists. They accept the doctrines and practice of the original sin, predestination, and total depravity, and the limited atonement from God’s grace. But due to the struggle for living, they become more and more practical. American Puritanism is more a part of national atmosphere than a set of tenets. Diction (措辞):A writer‘s choice and use of words in speech or writing, particularly for clarity, effectiveness, and precision. Style(风格):An author‘s characteristic way of writing ,determined by the choice of words, the arrangement of words in sentences, and the relationship of sentences to one and another. Influence of Puritanism: (1). A group of good qualities – hard work, thrift, piety, sobriety (serious and thoughtful) influenced American literature. (2). It led to the everlasting myth. All literature is based on a myth – Garden of Eden. (3). Symbolism: the American puritan’s metaphorical mode of perception was chiefly instrumental in calling into being a literary symbolism which is distinctly American. (4). With regard to their writing, the style is fresh, simple and direct; the rhetoric is plain and honest, not without a touch of nobility often traceable to the direct influence of the Bible. Overview of the literature 1. Types of writing: diaries, histories, journals, letters, travel books, autobiographies/biographies, sermons 2. Writers of colonial period: (1). Anne Bradstreet (2). Edward Taylor (3). Roger Williams (4). John Woolman (5). Philip Freneau Jonathan Edwards (1703 –1758) was a Christian preacher and?was the last great voice to renounce the Calvinist stance in “the Great Awaking”. 1. Life: 2. Works: Freedom of the Will The Great Doctrine of Original Sin Defended The Nature of True Virtue Benjamin Franklin (1705?–1790) was one of the?Founding Fathers of the United States.? Autobiography: The form of li