美国文学期末复习资料.docVIP

美国文学期末复习资料 Chapter 1 The Literature of Colonial America (early 17th C. — late 18th C.) 1. Historical Background 1492 Columbus discovered the American continent 1617 Jamestown Colony, in Virginia. 1620???Mayflower; Plymouth Colony 1630????Massachusetts Bay 1640? The Bay Psalm Book, the first publication in America. 1776 the Declaration of Independence 1789 George Washington was elected the first president American literature in the colonial period Not independent, but based on British literary traditions In content, they served either God or the expansion or both. In form, they were mainly the imitations of the English tradition. diaries, journals, letters, sermons, travel books, etc Topics of colonial American literature: Their voyage to the new land, adapting themselves to unfamiliar climates and crops, dealing with Indians. They wrote in diaries and in journals. They wrote letters and contracts and government charters and religious and political statements. They wrote about the land which stretched before them. All seemed possible through hard-work and faith. 2. Puritanism and its influence on American literature Puritans: a group of serious, religious people who advocated strict religious and moral principles. The Puritans brought with them a philosophy of life, which is popularly known as American Puritanism. A dominant factor in American life, Puritanism was one of the most enduring and shaping influences in American thought and American literature. Without true understanding of Puritanism, there would be no real understanding of American literature and American culture. Puritan thought: Simplify the church services —They wanted to purify the English Church and to restore church worship to the pure and unspotted condition of its earlier days. They opposed the elaborate rituals of the Restore the authority of Bible — They believed that the Bible was the revealed word of God, therefore, people should guide their daily behavior with the Bible.