美国文学史1.Colonial-American-Lite.pptVIP

A Survey of American Literature Introduction Am literature is one of the youngest national literature in the world. It became a colony of Britain in the early 17th century. And the American Independence War stretched from 1776 to 1783. The short history can be divided into several stages: 1.the colonial period It stretched roughly from the settlement of Am in the early 17th C through the end of the 18th. (The first permanent settlement in America was established by English in 1607 in Virginia. Following this one,anothor 3 colonies was set up in Am,including the one by the Puritans---The Massachusetts Bay Colony.) 2.the Age of Romanticism the Romantic Period It covers the first half of the 19th C, which is a period following the national political independence. (Around 1840s arose the culmination of the Romantic Period---New England Transcendentalism(1836-1855)) . 3.the Age of Realism It was after the civil war (1861-1865), till the end of the 19th century, covering the latter half of the 19th C. 4.Naturalism(the last decade of the 19th c) In the last decade of the 19thc, the age of naturalism came into being.( Naturalists saw Chapter I Literature of Colonial Am I Am Puritanism 1.origin of Puritan 2.Puritanism---based on Calvinism 1)predestination: God’s elect Puritans believed they are predestined before they were born.Nothing or no good work can change their fate. They believed the success of one’s business is the sign to show he is the God’s elect. So the Puritans works very hard, spend very little and invest more for the future business. They lived a very frugal life. This is their ethics. The Puritans established Am tradition---intolerant moralism. They strictly punished drunks, adultery heretics Puritanism in Am culture is similar to Confucianism in Chinese culture Confucianism (修身 齐家 治国 平天下) Puritans changed gradually due to the severity of the fr