A brief summary of American literature分析和总结分析和总结.pdfVIP

A Brief Summary of American Literature Up till now, the American literature could be roughly divided into 8 periods, the former 7 of which have been discussed in our class. 1. the European exploration writings 2. the literature of colonial America 1620-1763 3. the 18th century 1764-1815 4. the American Romanticism 1815-1865 5. the American Realism 1865-1914 6. the American Naturalism 1890-1914 7. the American Modernism 1914-1945 8. American literature since 1945 Chapter I the European exploration writings Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) He had written sth about the new continent. However, his descriptions were rather misleading, because he had mistaken this new continent for Asia all his life. Captain John Smith (1580-1631) He was an adventurous Englishman who came to the new continent in the hope of establishing an effective management there but finally went back to England when he failed. Works: A Description of New England The True Travels, adventure, and Observations of Captain John Smith Chapter II the Literature of colonial America (1620-1763) Historical background In 16 th C. a religious reformation movement had taken place all over the European continent as well as in British, aiming at removing the corruptions in the institutions of the Catholic Church and purifying the religion. In this movement, some new religious groups came into being, generally call the puritans. Life was so hard for the puritans in British that they were forced to leave their motherland or they would be persecuted. In the 1600s they left England to seek God’s way in the new world. One of the most noticeable groups was the Bradford group, who sailed to Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620 in their famous Mayflower. In the earlier colonial period, much of the literat