A Brief Summary of The History of American Literaturedoc资料.docx
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ABriefSummaryofTheHistoryofAmericanLiteraturedoc资料
ABriefSummaryofTheHistoryofAmericanLiterature
ABriefSummaryofTheHistoryofAmericanLiterature
1.outline
“EachgenerationshouldproduceatleastoneliteraryhistoryoftheUnitedStates,foreachgenerationmustdefinethepastinitsownterms.”
InfluencedbyliterarycurrentandmovementofEuropeandtheirownnationsuchasNeo-Classicism,IndustrialRevolution,AmericanWarofIndependenceinlate18thandearly19thcentury,theCivilWar,Industrialization,Darwin’sevolutionarytheoryinlate19thandearly20thcentury,WorldWar
GreatDepression,WorldWar
in20thcentury,theColdWar,theCivilRightsMovement,theVietnamWarinlate20thcentury,thehistoryofAmericanliteraturefromRomanticismtoPost-modernismcameintobeinginacontextthatwasuniquelyAmerican.
wewillhaveafurtherdiscussiononthisperiodbydividingthemintoseveralparts:
Romanticism,Realism,Naturalism,ModernismandPost-modernism.
2.AmericanRomanticism
TheAmericanRomanticperiodstrectchedfromtheendofthe18thcenturytotheoutbreakoftheCivilWar.TheliteratureofthisperiodwascrucialtothedevelopmentofAmericanliterarytraditionsandthe55yearsfrom1810to1865sawmiraculousachievementsinAmericanliterature.
3.1BackgroundandReasons
3.1.1Politics
Politicallythetimewasripe.The18thcenturyleftaheritageofoptimismaboutman’spossibilitiesandperfectibility.Theloftyidealsofdemocracyassertedthevalueofindividuals,regardlessofclassandeducation.Ofcourse,thesevaluesprimarilyappliedtowhitemales.Infact,tensionswerebuildingwhichcriedoutforcreativerelease.Inequality,notequalitywastheruleformany,especiallywomenandslaves.
Meanwhile,thenationwitnessedanincredibleexpansion,amongwhichthemostinfluentialonewaswestwardexpansion.Theconquestofthenewterritoriescertaionlyopenednewhorizons,butthecountrywasalsotornbytheriskofinternaldivision,whichledtoAmericanCivilWar.
3.1.2Economy
EconomicallyAmericahadneverbeenwealthier.ButtherisingmaterialismaffectedbyindustralizationandfocusonbusinessatthecostofthemindandthespiritwasspawningreformmovementsalloverAmerica.Over150intentionalcommunities—fromtheShakerstoOneidatoBrookFarm—wereformedbypeopledisillusionedbythematerialisticvaluesandinequitiesofAmericansociety.
3.1.3CulturalandSocialBackground
Culturally,Americanownvalueemerged.America’smountains,deserts,andtropicsandmostofallitsunexploredvastnessprovidedasettingforitsfreshconceptsandideals.
Therewerereaders,oftenwomeneagertoexpandtheirminds.Itwasactuallypossibletomakeakindoflivingasawriter,althoughitwasdifficultandlimited,makingthesewritersagonizeovertheproblemof“vocation.”
3.1.4Religion
Religion,alwaysabasicconcernforAmericans,wasalsoripeforromanticismanditskindofpantheisticreligion.
3.2Definition
Romanticismisamovementofthe18thand19thcenturiesthatmarkedthereactioninliterature,philosophy,art,religion,andpoliticsagainsttheneoclassicismandformalorthodoxyoftheprecedingperiod.
3.3FormationandDevelopment
AmericanRomanticismsharesmanycharacteristicswithBritishromanticism.ItflourishedintheflowofWordsworth’spoeticencounterwithnatureinThePrelude.However,developingasitdidfromtherhetoricofsalvation,guilt,andprovidentialvisionsofPuritanism,thewildernessreachesoftheAmericancontinent,andthefierythetoricoffreedomandequality,theAmericanbrandofromanticismdevelopeditsowncharacter,especiallyasthesewriterstriedself-consiciouslytobenewandoriginal.
3.4FeaturesandStyles
AmericanromanticwriterssharedsomecommonfeatureswiththeEnglishromanticists.InmostoftheAmericanwritingsoftheperiodtherewasanewemphasisupontheimaginativeandemotionalqualitiesofliterature.EventhoughAmericanromanticismexhibitedfromtheveryoutsetdistinctfeaturesofitsown.Herearesomemajorprinciples:
1)Expressiveness:
theromanticistsheldthatthewritersshouldexpresstheiremotions,feelings,empressions,instinct,intuition,ortheirbeliefsintheirworksinsteadoftheimitationoftheclassicalwriters.
2)Imagination
3)Worshipofnature:
natureincludinghumannatureasasourceofinstruction,delight,andnourishmentforthesoul;returentonatureasasourceofinspirationandwisdom.
4)Simiplicity:
turnedtothehumblepeopleandtheeverydaylife,adoptedtheeverydaylanguage.
3.4RepresentitiveWritersandWorks
Belletristicliterature,orliteratureasfineart,finallyemergedinthe19thcentury.The50yearbetween1815and1865sawmiraculousachievementsinAmericanliterature.AfteraperiodofearlyromanticismthatincludedIrning,CooperandBryant,therewasasuddenoutburstofcreativepower.LiterarygaintssuchasPoe,Emerson,Thoreau,Hawthorne,Melvillebeganproducingworksofgreatvitalityanddistinction.Soon,theirachievementswouldbematchedbythosefromWhitmanandDickinson,amongothers.Inthehalfdecadeof1850—1855aloneappearedEmerson’sRepresentativeMen(1850),Hawthorne’sTheScarletLetter(1850)andTheHouseoftheSevenGables(1851),Melville’sMobyDick(1851)andPierre(1852),Thoreau’sWalden(1854),Whitman’sLeavesofGrass(1855),andothernotedliteraryworks.Takentogether,thesezccomplishmentssuggestthatAmericanliteratrematured.
3.5AchievementandInfluence
InliteratureRomanticismwasAmerica’sfirstgreatcreativeperiod,afullfloweringoftheromanticimpulseonAmericansoil.Thepoetrywaspredominantlyromanticinspiritandformunitedtoaconceptofdemocracythatwaspervasivelyegalitarian.InessaysandinlecturestheNewEnglandtranscendentalistscarriedtheexpressionofphilosophicandreligiousideastoahighlevel.Inthenewnation’ssearchforaculturallyindependentidentity,romanticismalsohelpedbuildthebridgebetweenthepastandpresent,andbetweenAmericaandEuropeItwasaRenaissanceinthesenseofaflowering,fullofexcitementoverhumanpossibilities,andahighregardforindividualego.
Romanticismandsentimantalism,asliteraryandculturalmodes,havepersistedinAmericanculture.ItmaybearguedinfactthattheUnitedStatescontinuestobeaRomanticculturewhosefundamentalvaluesandsymbolswereshapedinthefirsthalfofthe19thcentury.
3.6ShortcomingsandDecline
BytheendoftheCivilWaranewnationhadbeenborn,anditwastodemandandreceiveanewliteraturelessidealisticandmorepractical,lessexaltedandmoreearthy,lessconsciouslyartisticandmorehonestthanproducedintheagewhentheAmericandreamhadglowedwithgreatestintensityandAmericanwritershadcreatedagreatliteraryperiodbycapturingontheirpagestheenthusiasmandtheoptimismofthatdream.Gradually,theRomanticismeraintheUnitedStateswassurpassedbytheriseofRealisminthelater19thcentury.
3.AmericanRealism
4.1Theperiodrangingfrom1865to1914hasbeenreferredtoastheAgeofRealismintheliteraryhistoryoftheUnitedStates,whichisactuallyamovementortendencythatdominatedthespiritofAmericanliterature,especiallyAmericanfiction,fromthe1850sonwards.
4.1.1Politics
PoliticallytheCivilWaraffectedboththesocialandthevaluesystemofthecountry.AmericahadtransformeditselffromaJeffersonianafrariancommunityintoanindustrializedandcommercializedsociety.
4.1.2Economy
ThewaralsobroughtsomenoticeablechangestotheAmericaneconomy.Ithadstimulatedthetechnologicaldevelopment,andnewmethodsoforganizationandmanagementweretestedtoadapttoindustrialmodernizationonalargescale.
4.1.3CuturalandSocialbackground
Asfarastheideologywasconcerned,peoplewereonashakingground.TheharshrealitiesoflifeaswellasthedisillusionofheroismresultingfromthedarkmemoriesoftheCivilWarhadsetthenationagainsttheromance.
4.2Definition
Realismisamovementofthe19thand20thcenturiesthatmarkedthereactioninliteraturalmethod,aphilosophicalandpoliticalattitude,andaparticularkindofsubjectmatteragainstRomanticism’semphasisonintuition,imagination,adreamy(orinnocent)senseofwonder,idealism,faithinnature,andgeneraloptimisticbeliefinthegoodnessofthingsandclaimtoseektruththatisverifiablebyexperienceandhaspracticalconsequences.
4.3FormationandDevelopment
InAmericanliterature,theterm“Realism”encompassestheperiodoftimefromtheCivilWartotheturnofthe20thcentury.AmericanRealism,althoughinfluencedbyEnglishandEuropeanauthors,wasbasicallynative.RealismfirstappearedintheUnitedStatesintheliteratureoflocalcolor,anamalgamofromanticplotsandrealisticdescriptionsofthingsimmediatelyobservable:
thedialects,customs,sights,andsoundsofregionalAmerica.
4.4FeaturesandStyles
Asanewliterature,Realismemergedforanage.UndertheinfluenceoftheCivilWarandindustrialization,Realismsurelyformeditsownfeatures.
1)Realismaimsatthedescriptionoftheactualitiesofthelifeandfreefromsubjectiveprejudice,idealismorromanticcolor.
2)Realismfocusesoncommonnessofthecommonpeople.Theemphasisisonordinarypeople,settingsandevents
3)Lifeispresentedasitis.
4)Userealcharacters,realincidents,reallanguageandlocaldialects.
5)Inmattersofstyle,dictionandsentencestructuretendtowardsaplainstyle
4.5RepresentativeWritersandWorks
ThemajorrealistswhopublishedtheirworksinthisperiodwereMarkTwain,WilliamDeanHowell,andHenryJames.Mark
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