1、American Literature,Modernism,Section One American Modernism Section Two Modern Poetry Section Three American Drama Section Four Modern Novels,American Modernism (19181945),American Modernism,Backgrounds of American Modernism Definition and Features of American Modernism,Background of Modernism,1 Th
2、e Effect of the First World War and the Great Depression: 2 New Theories and Ideas a. German: Karl Marx and Nietzscheb. Austrian: Sigmund Freudc. William James and Carl Jungd. French Impressionism, German Expressionism and Cubism,Impressionism,Expressionism,Cubism,Definition of Modernism,During the
3、first decades of the 20th century modernism became an international tendency in art and literature. It began in Germany in the 1890s, and spread worldwide, and ended in the early 1940s. It included a wide range of artistic expressions such as symbolism, impressionism, post-impressionism, imagism, ex
4、pressionism and so on.,The distinctive feature of literary modernism was its strong and conscious break with traditional forms, perceptions and techniques of expression, and its great concern with language and all aspects of its medium.,A Ezra Pound (1885-1975) andImagist Movement (19091917) Followe
5、rs of PoundB T. S. Eliot (18881965) and New Poetry MovementFollowers of EliotC E. E. Cummings (18941962)D Three Types of Poets,Modern Poetry,Imagist Movement,Definition of ImagismThree principles of ImagismExamples of Imagist poetry,The Imagist Movement (Imagism),Led by Ezra Pound and flourished fro
6、m 1909 to 1917, the movement advanced modernism in arts which concentrated on reforming the medium of poetry as opposed to Romanticism, especially Tennyson s wordiness and high-flown language in poetry.,The three principles followed by the Imagists were:(1) “Direct treatment“ (2) “Economy of express
7、ion“ (3) “Free verse“,Direct Treatment,The subject of the poem must be expressed in such a way as to resemble it and reproduce it as closely as possible. Simple language must be used to create an “image“ which the reader can immediately see in his own imagination. Each word must be used with great e
8、xactitude to produce a precise image and nothing more.,Economy of expression,No word must be used which does not contribute directly to the image. The language must be concentrated. There must be no drawing of conclusions, no explanations.,Free verse,No unnecessary words may be included in order to
9、make meter or a rhyme. A poem should be composed with the phrasing of music, not a metronome.,Examples of Imagist Poems,In a Station of the Metro by Ezra Pound The Red Wheelbarrow by William Carlos Williams,In a Station of the Metro,The apparition of these faces in the crowd;Petals on a wet, black b
10、ough.,Ezra Pound,The Red Wheelbarrow,So much dependsupona red wheelbarrowglazed with rainwaterbeside the whitechickens,William Carlos Williams,Ezra Pound (18851972) 埃兹拉.庞德,His life His works His contribution,His Life (1),Born in 1885 in Hailey, Idaho Brought up in Pennsylvania Studied Romance langua
11、ges at college and university In 1908 sailed to Europe and first poetry in Venice Arrived in London and founded Imagism In 1912 editor of “Poetry” and blue-penciled “The Waste Land”,His life (2),In 1913 began studying Chinese Language and ancient Chinese culture In 1914 sponsored Vorticism In 1915 f
12、inished “Cathay” and began working on “Cantos” “Homage to Sextus Propertius in 1917 “Hugh Selwyn Mauberley” in 1920 Treason in World War Two and released in 1958 Returned to Italy and died there in 1972,His works,Personae (1909) 人物 Exultations (1909) 狂喜 Cathay (1915) 译著华夏 Homage to Sextus Propertius
13、 (1917) 向赛克斯特斯.普罗波蒂斯致敬 Hugh Selwyn Mauberley (1920) The Cantos The ABC Reading (Literary Essay),A Established Imagism with British poet T. E. Hulmein 1908;B Suggested 3 principles for Imagism with RichardAldington and Hilda DoolittleC Sponsored Vorticism with painter Windham Lewisin 1914; D Leading
14、role in poetic renovation and renaissance in the first 25 years of the 20th centuryE Father of modern American poetry,His contribution,New Poetry Movement,The years 19121914 witnessed the appearance of a new poetic revolution. The new poets wrote a poetry that defied most of the accepted rules, and
15、dealt with subjects which had not been dealt with. They wrote in new ways and techniques. The new verse was responsive to the fragmentized nature of modern life.,T. S. Eliot (18881965),His lifeHis worksHis contributionAbout his work,His life,famous American poet, playwright and critic major figure i
16、n New Poetry Movement a key to modern British and American poetry,Born in St. Louis, Missouri; received a good education, especially with classic literature; went to Harvard in 1906; explored the poetry of the 17th Metaphysical poets; finished The Love Song in 1911; settled down in England in 1915 t
17、eaching, working as a bank clerk, writing book reviews, suffering an unhappy marriage while composing poetry.,His works,Poems:The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock Gerontion The Waste Land The Hollow Men Ash-Wednesday Four Quartets Dramatic works: Sweeney Agonistes; Murder in the Cathedral; The Cockta
18、il Party, The Confidential Clerk;,His contribution,a giver of laws and the arbiter of taste in new poetry and criticism a literary dictator in American literary history.,His basic themes of his criticism concerned the relationship between tradition and individual talent, and between the past, the pr
19、esent and the future.,His famous doctrine on poets and poetry is known as the “impersonal theory” or the theory of impersonality and objectivity. One of the things that this theory emphasizes is the relation of a poem to the poems by other authors and suggests “the conception of poetry as a living w
20、hole of all the poetry that has ever been written”. It explains the importance of tradition and the past. Another thing that this theory tries to focus on is the relation of the poem to its author.,a He started the reevaluation of poets like Milton and the Romantics. b He did more to popularize the
21、17th-century Metaphysical poets and late-19th-century French Symbolism. c He emphasized the need to see the vitality of the literature of the past and to draw from literary traditions other than English literature.,His poetry is difficult to read:1) For one thing the images and symbols seem very muc
22、h disconnected. 2) Another difficulty lies in his learned quotations and allusions.,His The Waste Land (P180-183) 1) It was composed in the autumn of 1921. 2) Its epigraph is taken from the Satyricon of Petronius representing the motif and the somber mood of the poem: desperate struggle to attain sa
23、lvation. 3) Its title draws its significance from the Fisher King lengend. 4) It reveals his strong historical sense: the past is of great significance to writers. 5) It was a poem of despair for the 1920s and 1930s.,E. E. Cummings,His life His works His contribution His style,His works,Poems: Tulip
24、s and Chimneys XLI Poems Is 5 No thanks Complete Poems ,Drama:Him Santa Claus Prose: The Enormous Room-4 months wrong experience in prison Eimi -his experience in RussiaSix Non-lectures-speeches at Harvard,His contributionAgainst traditional poetry with bold attempts at composing poems Unique style
25、Cubism & Dadaism-guide his poems,His style,New spatial arrangement of words; New poems dealing with “un-poetic subjects”; His scramble word order in syntactic anagram; His extension of the semantic possibilities of words (he chooses to stretch, squeeze, or intensify by typographical acrobatics or gr
26、ammatical innovations);(see an example on P208),in Just- spring when the world is mud- luscious the little lame balloonmanwhistles far and weeand eddieandbill come running from marbles and piracies and its springwhen the world is puddle-wonderful the queer old balloonman whistles far and wee and bet
27、tyandisbel come dancing from hop-scotch and jump-rope and,its spring and the goat-footedballoonman whistles far and wee,Three Types of Modern Poets,A: Chicago Poets B: Leading figures in the poetic revolution C: in-between poets,Chicago Poets,Vachel Lindsay (18791931) 维切尔.林赛 Edgar Lee Masters (18691
28、950) 埃德加.李.马斯特斯 Carl Sandburg (18781967)卡尔.桑德堡 Hart Crane (18991932) 哈特.克兰/克莱恩,Leading figures in the poetic revolution,Ezra Pound (18851972) 埃兹拉.庞德 T. S. Eliot (18881972) T. S. 艾略特 E. E. Cummings (18941962) 卡明斯,Followers of Imagism:,Amy Lowell (18741925) 艾米.洛威尔 Hilda Doolittle (18861961)（希尔达.杜利特尔）
29、William Carlos Williams (18831963)威廉.卡洛斯.威廉斯,Followers of T. S. Eliot:,Wallace Stevens (18791955) 华莱士.史蒂文斯,in-between poets,Robert Frost (18741963) 罗伯特.弗罗斯特 Edwin Arlington Robinson (18691935) 埃德温.阿灵顿.罗宾逊,Chicago Poets,Chicago: the revolutionary center against traditional poetry Poetry (a magazine)
30、Adhere to the tradition of Whitman Reflect feelings of laboring people,Vachel Lindsay (18791931) 维切尔.林赛,“a tramp and a beggar” The Tree of Laughing Bells Rhymes To Be Traded for Bread General William Booth Enters into Heaven and Other Poems The Congo and Other Poems -widely recognized as an exponent
31、 of the “new poetry”Tried to stimulate a popular taste for poetry through a method that he called “the higher vaudeville” in which his recitations were marked by a dramatic use of gesture and chant, emphasizing his strong rhythms and syncopation. Eg: Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight ; The Congo The
32、 Santa-Fe Trail ,The Chinese Nightingale and Other Poems -marked the peak of his artistic achievement: its title poem and The Ghost of Buffaloes In Praise of Johnny Appleseedone of his most significant piecesLater collections with comparatively little value: The Daniel Jazz The Golden Whales of Cali
33、fornia Collected Poems The Candle in the Cabin Johnny Appleseed His prose works include: Adventures While Preaching the Gospel of Beauty A Handy Guide of Beggars The Golden Book of Springfielda mystic Utopia based on his gospel of beauty The Litany of Washington Streeta book of political essays His
34、biography was written by his friend Edgar Lee Masters Mark Harriss City of Discontentan interpretation of his life and his region,Edgar Lee Masters (18691950) 埃德加.李.马斯特斯,Kansas-born lawyer in Chicago First entered literature as an avocation A Book of Verse Maximilianblank-verse drama Spoon River Ant
35、hology: free-verse epitaph suddenly catapulted into fame The New Spoon River-a bitter commentary on the vicious urban standards of changing America Domesday Book and its sequel The Fate of the Jury 陪审团的命运 among the best of his later poetry,other later poetry: Songs and Satires The Great Valley Towar
36、d the Gulf Starved Rock Dramatic poems: Lee Jack Kelso Godbey Lichee Nuts statements of philosophy in the Chinese manner Invisible Landscapes Poems of People The New World panoramas of America and its outstanding figures Illinois Poems Also wrote prose and novel,Carl Sandburg (18781967)卡尔.桑德堡,Americ
37、an modern poet and biographical writer Benefit from his humble personal backgrounds and rich experience Write plain poems for plain people “为朴素的人民写朴素的诗” To be sound of the people 成为“人民的声音” Contribution to colloquial style of American literature be awarded the American Poetry Society prize in 1919 an
38、d 1920 be awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his Complete Poems in 1950 ,His works,In Reckless Ecstasy Chicago Poems Famous Imagist poems: Fog Lost The Harbor Chicago Cool Tombs I Am the People, the Mob The People, Yes The American Songbag -folk songs of cowboys, vagabond and black people Biography of L
39、incoln (6 volumes) 1 autobiography 1 historical novel Cornhuskers Smoke and Steel Good Morning, America Collected Poems ,Hart Crane (18991932) 哈特.克兰/克莱恩,Poor childhood，adolescence and life White Buildings -early 23 poems The Bridge He was not approved until 1937.,Amy Lowell (18741925) 艾米.洛威尔,Female
40、American poet and critic Leading advocator and organizer of Imagist Movement together with Ezra Pound Amplify Pounds principles for Imagism (36) John Keats (1925) A Dome of Many Colored Glass (1912) Sword Blades and Poppy Seed (1914) Men, women and Ghosts (1916) Pictures of the Floating World (1919)
41、 Legend (1921) ,Hilda Doolittle (18861961)（希尔达.杜利特尔）,Well-known as an American Imagist poet One major representative of Imagism Once lover and later friend of Ezra Pound H. D. (pen name given by Ezra Pound) Trilogy : The Walls Do Not Fall (1944) Tribute to Angles (1945) The Flowering of the Rod (194
42、6) Heliodora and Other Poems (1924) Collected Poems (1925, 1940); Helen in Egypt (1961) Her long novels: Hedylus (1928) Bid Me to Live (1960) ,William Carlos Williams (18831963)威廉.卡洛斯.威廉斯,a most important figure in modern American poetry unique theory on literary composition “say it! No ideas but in
43、 things.” (Book I, Paterson)“思想仅寓于事物中” Free verse and accentual verse 自由体诗、重音诗 Famous American poet,His works,Poem 诗集 The Tempers Spring and All A Novelette and Other Prose Kora in Hell Collected Earlier Poems Collected Later Poems The Desert Music Journey to Love Pictures from Breughed The Red Whee
44、lbarrow Paterson White Mule 小说三部曲Many Loves and Other Plays In the American Grain Selected Essays Selected Letters Autobiography ,Wallace Stevens (18791955) 华莱士.史蒂文斯,Unsuccessful lawyer and then worked in insurance company Insurance and poetryreality and imagination/art value of art and mission of a
45、rtists duty of poets Harmonium (first collection of his poems at the age of 44) Notes toward a Supreme Fiction The Idea of Orders The Man with the Blue Guitar Parts of a World Transport to Summer The Auroras of Autumn Collected Poems Opus Posthumous The Necessary Angel ,Robert Frost (18741963) 罗伯特.弗
46、罗斯特,“New England poet” Robert Frost was the most popular American poet of this century. received four Pulitzer Prizes for his poetry: The Road Not Taken Mending Wall Fire and Ice Acquainted with the Night,Robert Frost,Literary Achievements His works His style Appreciation of his poems:1 Stopping by
47、Woods on a Snowy Evening2 The Road Not Taken,Literary Achievements,Frost mainly wrote about the landscape and people in New England. He wrote many poems that investigate the basic theme of mans life.,His works:,My butterfly A Boys Will North of Boston Mountain Interval New Hampshire West-Running Bro
48、ok A Further Range Mending Wall After Apple-Picking The Birches A Witness Tree Steeple Bush A Masque of Mercy Collected Poems Complete Poems In the Clearing won Pulitzer Prize 4 times Appointed as professor or visiting poet by dozens of universities Be entitled “national poet” by American senate at
49、age of 75 Recited his poem The Gift Outright on Inauguration Day of John Kennedy Last poem at age of 88,His style,Frost took no part in the literary movement in the 20th century. He did not experiment with form, as many poets did in the 1920s. He used conventional forms, plain and a graceful style.
50、His poems were very carefully constructed yet he made them seem effortless by using colloquial language and familiar, conversational rhythms. Images and metaphors in his poems are drawn from the simple country life and the pastoral landscape that can be easily understood-mowing, scything, winds rust
51、ling in the grass, birds singing, as well as ponds, roads, the cycle of the seasons, and the alteration of night and day. Most of Frost s poems are short and direct on the information level, and they have simple diction. However, profound ideas are delivered under the disguise of the plain language
52、and the simple form. By using simple spoken language and conversational rhythms, Frost achieved an effortless grace in his style. He combined traditional verse forms sonnet, rhyming couplets, blank verse. He wrote in both the metrical forms and the free verse, and sometimes he wrote in a form that borrows freely from the merits of both, in the form that might be called semi-free or semi-conventional.,
