《美国文学》课件三.ppt

Lecture Three The Literary Scene in Colonial America * The First American Writer in Colonial America John Smith (1580-1631): the first American writer * Captain John Smith is best known for his excellent leadership in the colonys early years. He arrived at Jamestown still imprisoned for dissent during the voyage and was eventually released. While exploring the Chickahominy River region, he was captured by Powhatan in December 1607. Captain John Smith: Life experiences * Captain John Smith: Life experiences Chief Powhatan, the supreme leader in the Chesapeake region, released Smith on January 2, 1608, after Powhatans favorite daughter, Pocahontas, intervened. Smith says of Pocahontas that she hazarded the beating out of her owne braines to save mine. * Captain John Smith: Life experiences On September 10, 1608, Smith became president of the council in the colony and orchestrated （organize）such improvements as expanding the settlement around the fort and repairing many buildings. * John Smith remained in Virginia until fall of 1609, when he sailed back to England. Smith was instrumental in disseminating knowledge about Virginia, publishing such works as True Relation of Virginia in 1608, Map of Virginia in 1612, General Historie of Virginia beginning in 1624 (there were six editions in eight years), and True Travels in 1630. Captain John Smith: Contributions * Captain John Smith: Contributions While his writing contains important factual information about Virginia as it was when inhabited only by Indians, Smith is also noted for embellishing(make sth. beautiful) his stories with boasts and conceit. * 约翰.斯密斯的作品《关于弗吉尼亚的真实叙述》： “这里的气温同英国的确十分相近。夏天之炎热有如西班牙，冬天之寒冷近似法兰西或英格兰。这里四季有风，但这里能令空气为之清新的雷电，我在欧洲还从未有闻。从海上进入这片土地只有一处进口，那是一处宽达十八至二十海里，风平浪静的湾口。这片土地可能比我们所知的任何地方都更令人愉悦。这里有可供航行的美丽河流，有高山、坦坡、平原、深谷，河流小溪都注入那片美丽的海湾，四周的土地肥沃，硕果累累。” ——摘自《新编美国文学史（第一卷）》 * Anne Bradstreet (1612-1672) Anne Bradstreet: the first n