美国文学浪漫主义Romanticism.ppt

American?Romanticism?(1800-1865) Contents Origin It stretches from the end of the 18th century to the outbreak of the Civil War. started with the publication of Washington Irvings The Sketch Book ended with Whitmans Leaves of Grass. D The woman’s issue. By the mid-century, the bread lines and soup kitchens of public aid societies had become an important part of American urban life. Some women thus asked for their rights to vote and to own property. In 1837, the first women’s college was established in Massachusetts. E The slavery issue. Slavery existed together with the anti-slavery conceptions. With the help of thousands of slaves, the expansion of the economy became possible. External causes: 1. Foreign influences stimulated the growth of romanticism in America. Romantic Movement in England and Europe proved to be a decisive influence; 2. Many English and European masters of poetry and prose made stimulating impact on American Romanticism. The influence of Sir Walter Scott was particularly powerful and enduring. Distinct Feature of American Romanticism Themes: home, family and children, nature, idealized love; Apathy to major problems of American life Technique: Traditional meters and stanza forms, British English, stereotyped metaphors（模式化隐喻）, explicit and superficial symbolism Major writers of this period Poets: Henry Wordsworth Long Fellow, Edgar Ellen Poe, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson Fiction: Washington Irving—comic fables James Fenimore Cooper—frontier adventures Nathaniel Hawthorne—psychological romances Edgar Allen Poe—Gothic tales Representatives: 1. Washington Irving (1783-1859) Birth place: New York City Family background: a rather wealthy merchant family Education: reading widely in English literature at home; studying law but showing more interest in literature 先后在几个律师事务所学法律，但对法律并没有兴趣，喜爱文学，喜爱四处游历。 From 1804 to 1806 his older brothers financed his tour of France and Italy. 幼年体弱多病，16岁辍学；1804年因病赴欧洲休养，到过法国、意大利和英国，一