1、1,Chapter The Literature of Romanticism,1800 - 1860,Chapter 3 American Romanticism Irving Cooper,exit,continue,I. Historical Background,II. General Introduction to Romanticism,III. British Romanticism,IV. American Romanticism,exit,continue,I. Historical Background Political: After American Revolutio
2、n, America developed into a political, economic and cultural independence. Democracy and equality became the ideals of the new nation. Complete changes came about in the political life of the country. 2. Economic: Industrialism spread widely and fast. A large number of immigrants arrived. All these
3、produced an economic boom. 3. Both the change in political and the economic development brought about a sense of optimism and hope. 4. Culturally: Magazines appeared in ever-increasing numbers and they played an important role in facilitating literary expansion. 5. Foreign influence added incentive
4、to the growth of romanticism in America.,exit,continue,II. General Introduction to Romanticisma. Romanticism is a complex artistic, literary, and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Western Europe, and gained strength during the Industrial Revolution. b. I
5、t was partly a revolt against aristocratic social and political norms of the Age of Enlightenment and a reaction against the scientific rationalization of nature, and was embodied most strongly in the visual arts, music, and literature.,exit,continue,The movement stressed a. strong emotion as a sour
6、ce of aesthetic experience, placing new emphasis on such emotions as trepidation(忧虑，恐惧), horror and awe especially that which is experienced in confronting the sublimity of untamed nature and its picturesque（奇特的） qualities, both new aesthetic categories. b. It elevated folk art and custom to somethi
7、ng noble. c. It argued for a “natural” epistemology(认识论) of human activities as conditioned by nature in the form of language, custom and usage.,exit,continue,III. British Romanticism It prevailed in England during the period (1798- 1832). There are two schools of Romanticists:a. passive or escapist
8、 These writers protested against capitalist development by turning to the feudal past, turning to nature for protection. (Wordsworth, Coleridge, Southey)b. active. They held out an ideal of a future society free from oppression and exploitation. (Byron, Shelly, Keats) 2. Their writings are filled wi
9、th strong-willed heroes, terrible events, tragic situation, powerful conflicting passion and exotic events. Sometimes they resort to symbolic methods, and pay great attention to spiritual and emotional life of man. Nature often personified, also plays an important role. The creative imagination occu
10、pied the center of romantic views of arts.,exit,continue,IV. American Romanticism (The most important period in the history of American literature) Time: It stretches from the end of the 18th century throughout the outbreak of the Civil War 2. Features of American Romanticisma. Imitative: Some of th
11、e American Romantic writings were modeled on English and European works. The Romantic Movement proved to be a decisive influence. Without it, the rise of Romanticism would have been impossible. Romanticism writers such as Scott, Coleridge, Wordsworth, Byron all made a stimulating impact on American
12、literature.,exit,continue,b. Independent: From the very beginning, American Romanticism exhibited distinct features of its own. It originated from a mixture of factors which were altogether American rather than anything else. American Romanticism was in essence the expression of a real new experienc
13、e and contained “an alien quality”. E.g., the American national experience of pioneering into the west is a rich fund of material for American writers. It is these Romanticism writers that created an indigenous American literature. c. Puritan influence over American Romanticism was clearly noticeabl
14、e. E.g., the author tended more to moralize than writers in England.,exit,continue,3. Two phases: a. 1770s to 1830s Early period Representatives: Washington Irving, James Fenimore Cooper b.1830s to 1860s Late period summit of American literature Representatives: Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne, Melville
15、, Whitman, Dickinson, Poe etc.,Introduction of American Romanticism,Bryant, Homes, Whittier, Longfellow, and Lowell are Romantic poetsIrving is the Father of American Literature；comic fables of Washington Irving; Cooper，the Father of the American novel；the frontier adventures of James Fenimore Coope
16、r; Edgar Allen Poe, the inventor of the American Short Story and gothic tales of Nathanial Hawthorne, the Psychological romances,Emerson is the Father of American TranscendentalismThoreau is a famous practical transcendentalistMelville and Hawthorne are Anti-RomanticsDickinson and Whitman are bridge
17、 poets between American Romanticism and the 20th century,The rationalistic view of urban life was replaced by the Romantic viewRationalists saw cities as a place to find success and self-realizationRomantics saw the city as a place of moral corruption, poverty, and death,The Romantic journey is to t
18、he countrysideThe Romantics associated the country with independence, moral clarity, and purityThe Gothic Romantic, E.A. Poe, saw the country as a place of phantasm (幻觉)Irving saw the country as idyllic and as an escape,The Romantic Sensibility,Romanticism: valuing feeling and intuition over reasonR
19、omanticism: viewing life as we would like it to be, rather than how it really isRomanticism began in Germany and influenced literature, music, and artRomanticism is a reaction against Rationalism Romantics believed that imagination, emotion, spontaneity(自然性), feelings, and nature were more important
20、 than rational thought,Characteristics of Romanticism,values feelings over intuitionvalues the power of the imaginationseeks the beauty of unspoiled naturevalues youthful innocencevalues individual freedomvalues the lessons of the pastfinds beauty in exotic locales, the supernatural, and in the imag
21、inationvalues poetry as the highest expression of the imaginationvalues myth, legend, and folk culture,Romantic Escapism,Romantic writing looked for comforting or exotic settings from the pastThis was found in the supernatural, in nature, and/or in folk legendsRomantics believed in contemplating, or
22、 becoming one with the natural worldThe Gothic novel emerged from Romanticism,Romantic Escapism,The Gothic novel had wild, haunted landscapesIt had supernatural events in the plotIt was often mysteriousThe Gothic concept had roots in France, Germany, and EnglandEdgar Allan Poe was Romanticisms great
23、 American writer,Romantic Escapism,Romanticism also used lyrical poetry（抒情诗） as a means to contemplate the beauty of natureIt focused on simple natural beautiesIts intent was to seek truth through a calm contemplation of a simple natural beautyRomantics saw God in this contemplation,The American Nov
24、el,Most American Romantic writers imitated the European writing styleAmerican Romantic novelists broke away from the European tradition and discovered uniquely American topics and settingsAmerican novelists explored the vast unknown lands something the Europeans could not do,The American Novel,James
25、 Fenimore Cooper was the first American novelist to break from European traditionHis novels were set in the American frontierHis central character, Natty Bumppo, was the first American literary hero,The American Novel,Bumppo appeared in a series of Cooper novels as other characters: Hawkeye, Deersla
26、yer, Leatherstocking, etc.He was virtuous, moral, distrustful of city life, one with nature, etc.His skills were almost superhumanCoopers series of novels were called The Leatherstocking Tales,The New American Hero,American Romantic literature created this unique personhe was youthfulhe was innocent
27、he was intuitivehe was one with naturehe was a loner uneasy around womenhe was handsomehe was bravehe was moral and honorable,American Romantic Poetry,Most Romantic poets worked within conventional European literary structuresThey proved that American poetry could reflect American subject matter, ye
28、t still hold to conventional poetic styleMost American Romantic poets wrote about the past,American Romantic Poetry,The Fireside Poets, a Boston group of Longfellow, Whittier, Holmes, and Lowell, were widely read and loved in AmericaThey were the TV of the American Romantic period and families gathe
29、red around the fireside to be entertained by their poetryTheir subject matter was comfortable and instructional,exit,continue,V. Washington Irving 1. Life a. born into a wealthy New York merchant family. b. learned law but more interested in writing c. In 1809, his first book A History of New York,
30、written under the name of Diedrich Knickerbocker, was a great success and won him wide popularity. d. In 1815, he went to England to take care of his family business there, and when it failed, had to write to support himself. e. With the publication of The Sketch Book, he won a measure of internatio
31、nal recognition. f. In 1826, as an American diplomatic attach, he was sent to Spain, where he gathered material for his writing. g. From 1829 to 1832, he was secretary of the U.S Legation in London. h. Then when he was fifty, he returned to America and bought “Sunnyside”, his famous home. There he s
32、pent the rest of his life, living a life of leisure and comfort, except for a period of four years (1842-1846), when he was Minister to Spain.,exit,continue,2. works A History of New York from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty 1809 纽约外史 b. The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon,
33、 Gent 1819-1820 见闻札记 c. Life of George Washington 1855-1859 华盛顿传,exit,continue,3. The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent 1819-1820 见闻札记 The Sketch Book is a collection of essays, sketches, and tales. b. In The Sketch Book, the most famous and frequently anthologized are “Rip Van Winkle” 瑞普凡温克 “The
34、 Legend of Sleepy Hollow” 睡谷的传说 c. The short story as a genre in American literature began with The Sketch Book. d. The book touched the American imagination and foreshadowed the coming of Hawthorne, Melville, and Poe. e. It also marked the beginning of American Romanticisms.,exit,continue,4. The st
35、yle of Washington Irving a. Irving wrote to amuse and entertain. b. He is good at enveloping his stories in an atmosphere c. His characters are vivid and true so that they tend to linger in the mind of the reader. d. The humor is such that reading him, it is difficult not to smile. e. His language i
36、s finished and musical.5. The evaluation of Irving a. “Father of American literature” b. “Father of the American short story” c. The first American writher of imaginative literature to gain international fame,exit,continue,VI James Fenimore Cooper 1. Life a. born in a rich family of New Jersey b. At
37、 14, attended Yale but expelled c. spent five years at sea d. inherited his fathers vast fortune then lived a comfortable life e. began to write novels because one day he was disgusted by one novel and challenged by his wife. 2. works a. The Spy 间谍 b. “Leatherstocking Tales” 皮袜子故事集,exit,continue,3.
38、“Leatherstocking Tales” It is a series of five novels about the frontier life: The Pioneer拓荒者,The Last of Mohicans最后的莫希干人,The Prairie大草原,The Pathfinder探路者,The Deerslayer杀鹿者 b. Its central character: Natty Bumppo (several names for same character: Hawk-eye, thePathfinder, the Deerslayer, Leatherstock
39、ing). He is a typical frontier man: honest, simple, innocent, generous and represents brotherhood of man, nature and freedom a. Its historical importance lies in the fact that it eas propbably the first romance of the frontier in American literature. b. The central character: Natty Bumppo represents
40、 the ideal American, living a virtuous and free life In Gods world.,exit,continue,4. The features of Cooper a. He is a mythic writer Good at inventing plots (Cooper had never been to the n frontier area personally.) c. Style: powerful, yet clumsy and dreadful d. Wooden Characters e. Use of dialect,
41、but not authentic (criticized by Mark Twain),32,6. Transcendentalism,A philosophic and literary movement that flourished in New England, particularly at Concord (c.183660), as a reaction against 18th-century rationalism, the skeptical philosophy of Locke, and the confining religious orthodoxy of New
42、 England Calvinism. This romantic, idealistic, mystical, and individualistic belief was more a cast of thought than a systematic philosophy. It was eclectic in nature and had many sources.,33,Based on this identification of the individual soul with God, there developed the doctrine of self-reliance
43、and individualism, the disregard of external authority, tradition, and logical demonstration, and the absolute optimism.,34,3. Edgar Allan Poe (18091849),Poe, a pioneering aesthetician, psychological investigator, and literary technician. Poe worked hard at structuring his tales of aristocratic madm
44、en, self-tormented murderers, neurasthenic necrophilias, and other deviant(反常的) types so as to produce the greatest possible horrific effects on the reader. Such writers have been influenced by Poe: Frank Norris, Theodore Dreiser, and William Faulkner, Vladimir Navokov. Charles Baudelaire and Stepha
45、ne Mallarme idolize Poe and translate his works lovingly.,35,3. Washington Irving: (17831859),the first native American author to win worldwide fame. Style: His graceful, humorous, stylistically careful writing is in the tradition of Addison, Steele, and Goldsmith. colorful legends of the Hudson Riv
46、er Valley,36,His stories based on the legends of Europe; lacked a creative gift;Knickerbocker, fictitious author of History of New York by Washington Irving,37,3.1. Washington Irving: “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”,1. Setting: What is the location of this story? The atmosphere and the history of this
47、 area? 2. Who is the protagonist of this story? Describe his physical features and the meaning of his name. Where did he come from? What was he doing there to make a living? 3. What is the main conflict? 4. Describe the plot of the story. 5. Retell the story of the headless horseman. 6. Brom Bones (
48、 (see question No. 2) 7. Katrina Van Tassel,38,4. James Fenimore Cooper (17891851),39,James Fenimore Cooper:,He is the Pioneer of- a. American sea novel; b. American espionage story; c. American frontier adventure tales; d. American sociopolitical novel.,40,The Leatherstocking Tales, tell the tale o
49、f their central character Natty Bumppo, backwoodsman and wilderness scout. Natty is a fictional character, based on certain originals remembered from the authors boyhood. Here, embodied in a clear-cut romantic type is the American moral ideal.,4. 1 The Leatherstocking Tales,41,4.2 Characters in The
50、Last of the Mohicans,Hawkeye in The Last of the Mohicans, was a perfect example of the western man who had broken away from the artificiality of civilization. Chingachgook, Hawkeyes Indian companion, was Coopers conception of the natural man, or “noble savage,” shows native intelligence, loyalty, and brotherly love. He was not spoiled by civilization.,
