美国文学 chapter1 Colonial period.docx

IntroductionHow to define American Literature1. American literature is the literature produced in AmericanEnglish by American citizens.2. “The first American literature was neither American nor really literature. It was not American because it was the work mainly of immigrants from England. It was not literature as we know it in the form of poetry, essay, or fiction but rather an interesting mixture of travel accounts and religious writings.”Basic qualities of American Writers:Independentindividualistic CriticalinnovativehumorousChapter One Colonial Period (1607-1775)Historical Introduction1. people:Indians were native inhabitants.Now Americans are mainly immigrants mostly from Europe, esp. from England.2. early history:1) America was first discovered by Columbus at the end of the 15th century.2) In 1607, Captain John Smith led some Englishmen across the ocean. (Jamestown, Virginia)3) In 1620, 102 passengers sailed on the ship Mayflower across the sea and settled on the new continent “New England.” (Plymouth, Massachusetts)3. Why did Puritans come to America?-to reform the Church of England- to have an entirely new church- to escape religious persecution* God’s chosen people* To seek a new Garden of Eden* To build “City of God on earth”4.What is the Puritan?Puritan is English protestant, one division of Protestant (one division of Christianity, appeared in the 16th c, against the ruling Roman Catholic. In England, there were many divisions in protestant, for instance, Quakers, Baptism). They regarded the reformation of the Church under Elizabeth as incomplete, and called for its further “purification” from what they considered to be unscriptural and corrupt forms and ceremonies retained from the unreformed church. The 17th centuryAmerican Puritansincluded two parts: one part of them were the creators of the Plymouth colony, called “Separatists”.They were so suppressed by the church of England that they sought escape. Those Separatists first went into exil