美国文学史及选读(上册).ppt

The Literature of Colonial America Historical Introduction 1. colonial settlement(1607-1776) In 1492, Christopher Columbus discovered America and he mistook the native people on the new continent for Indians. 2. character of colonial literature content: religious, political form: diary, journal, letters, travel books, sermons, history (personal literature) style: simple. direct, concise out of humble origins The first American writer Captain John Smith The General History of Virginia Early New England Literature 1. New England: six states in North-east of America: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont(佛蒙特), Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut. 2.William Bradford The History of Plymouth Plantation John Winthrop The History of New England Puritan Thoughts 1.God’s chosen people They were meant to reestablish a commonwealth, based on the teachings of the Bible, restore the lost paradise and build the wilderness into a new Garden of Eden. 2. John Calvin a. predestination b. original sin and total depravity c. the salvation of a selected few 3. practical , optimistic， idealistic 4. a doctrinaire opportunist(教条主义的机会主义者) 5. American Puritans came under violent attacks for their killjoy way of life, religious intolerance（宗教偏狭） , bigotry（偏执）and austerity（苦修、禁欲）. 6. American Puritanism and Chinese Confucianism 7. Jonathan Edwards , Benjamin Franklin John Cotton and Roger Williams Anne Bradstreet and Edward Taylor the Influence of Puritanism to American Literature The optimistic Puritan has exerted a great influence on American literature. The American Puritan’s metaphorical mode of perception was chiefly important in calling into being a literary symbolism which is distinctly American. With regard to technique one naturally thinks of the simplicity which characterizes the Puritan style of writing. Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) Man of Action Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) A. Status: one of the greatest founding fathers of