首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
American Literature A literature is the record of human experience and people have always been impelled to write down their impr
American Literature A literature is the record of human experience and people have always been impelled to write down their impr
admin
2014-04-28
82
问题
American Literature
A literature is the record of human experience and people have always been impelled to write down their impressions of life. Specific characteristics of the American literature are as follows;
I. The beginning of the American literature
—The first English colonies in Virginia and New
England. —Colonists came to find religious (1)_____ and
prosperity. —No spirit of (2) _____;English legends,ballads,
poems and the richness of the English language. —The history of American literature is short. —A mirror reflecting the social life and the product of
the development of the American society.
II. The influence of Puritanism
1) Puritanism
—Supreme view of (3)_____
—Puritans’ demand for a (4)_____population
2) Puritan life
—Harsh and unlovely life
—Puritans’ zeal,courage,and moral nature
—Man is (5)_____of evil actions
III. Periods of the American literature
A. from 1607 to 1765;Colonial Period;
B. from 1765 to roughly 1830; the Early National and Revolutionary Period;
C. from 1830 to 1865:the Romantic Period;
D. from 1865 to 1900:the (6)_____Period;
E. from 1900 to 1930; the Naturalistic and Symbolistic Period;
F. from 1930 to 1960:the Modern Period;
G. from 1960 until now:the Postmodern Period.
IV. Terms
—American Renaissance;the period of 1850—1855
—Transcendentalism;Ralph Waldo Emerson’s masterpiece (7)_____.
—American Romanticism.
—Realism; a reaction against" the lie " of Romanticism and Sentimentalism.
—American Naturalisms somber and dark picture; the general tone is (8)_____.
—Imagism: a reaction to the traditional English poetic principle in the 1920s.
V. Characteristics of the American (9)_____
literature
—The scope is broad.
—The meaning is deeper and more complex.
—Modern writing is technically sophisticated.
—The language is simpler.
—There is more (10)_____.
American Literature
Hello everybody, welcome to attend my lecture about the American literature. Today I’d like to introduce to you briefly the American literature.
It is commonly accepted that wherever there are people,there will be a literature. A literature is the record of human experience and people have always been impelled to write down their impressions of life. They do so in diaries and letters,in pamphlets and books and in essays, poems, plays and stories. In this respect American literature is like any other. There are,however,many characteristics of American writing that make it different from all others.
American literature began with the first English colonies in Virginia and New England. (I) Colonists came to the New World to find religious freedom and prosperity. (2) They came, however, in no spirit of revolution. They came as Englishmen, bringing with them the literary wealth of English legends, ballads and poems and the richness of the English language. They were loyal to the Crown. The settlers did not even call themselves Americans yet.
How the English colonists slowly came to think and act as "Americans" is a familiar and proud story. How their literature slowly grew to be "American"writing is less well-known. The growth of American literature,however,follows closely the history of the nation from its beginning to the present time.
There is space here to discuss only the most important and the best. Even a short summary .however, shows something of the splendid accomplishment of American literature since it emerged from its crude colonial beginnings more than 300 years ago.
The history of American literature is short, roughly about 200 years. Until the War of Independence and the founding of the US, American literature showed its own characteristics as a mirror reflecting the society. American literature was formed and developed at the time of the War of Independence. It showed great importance on the stage of world literature, it is the product of the development of the American society, reflecting the social life of America.
The influence of Puritanism is of vital importance in the development of American literature, especially in the early periods. For more than 100 years after the Pilgrim landing in 1620,life and writing in New England were dominated by the religious attitude known as Puritanism. To understand the colonial life and literature, one must understand Puritanism, one of the major influences in American life.
In the Puritan view,God was supreme. The Puritans held that he revealed his will through the Bible, which they believed literally. Clergymen interpreted the Bible in sermons, but each man and woman was obliged to study it for themselves too. The people had to be educated in order to read the Bible,to discuss it,and to write about it. (4) Harvard College was then founded in 1636 partly to meet this demand for an educated population. Indeed,the intellectual quality of New England life,which later influenced other parts of the country, is traceable to the Puritans’ need for a trained and literate population.
The nation owns a great debt to Puritanism. It is true that in several ways Puritan life was harsh and unlovely,as one learns from reading "The Scarlet Letter" ,Nathaniel Hawthorne’s great novel. Nevertheless one must admire the Puritans for their zeal, their courage, and their strong moral nature. (5) They recognized that man is often guilty of evil actions. The 20th century has seen enough cruelty and depravity for one to believe that the Puritan view of human beings was valid in some aspects.
The development of American Literature can be studied in the following several periods:the Colonial Period,from 1607 to 1765; the Early National and Revolutionary Period,from 1765 to roughly 1830; the Romantic Period,from 1830 to 1865; (6) the Realistic period, from 1865 to 1900; the Naturalistic and Symbolistic Period, from 1900 to 1930; the Modern Period,from 1930 to I960; and the Postmodern Period, from 1960 until now.
In addition to the different periods of the American literature, we should understand some of the most important terms in different periods. The middle of the 19th century saw the beginning of a truly independent American literature. Thus this period,especially the years 1850—1855,has been called the American Renaissance. (7)In 1836,Ralph Waldo Emerson made a tremendous impact on the intellectual life of America with his little book entitled Nature. That is Transcendentalism which is the summit of American Romanticism. As a literary movement Realism came in the latter half of the 19th century as a reaction against" the lie" of Romanticism and Sentimen-talism. It expressed the concern for the world of experience, of the commonplace, and for the familiar and the low. With American Naturalism, writers wrote about the helplessness of man, his insignificance in a cold world, and his lack of dignity in face of the crushing forces of environment and heredity. (8) The whole picture is somber and dark and the general tone despair. In the 1920s,Imagism appeared as a reaction to the traditional English poetic principle.
American literature of the 20th century is different from earlier literature in significant ways. It is possible to list several of its characteristics which are implied in the term modern;
1. The scope of modern literature is broad. Writers are able to treat ugliness and violence freely.
2. The meaning of modern literature is deeper and more complex than in earlier writing because life has become more complex.
3. Modern writing is technically sophisticated.
4. If technique is complicated, the language of modern writing is simpler than that of earlier times.
5. (10) Modern literature exhibits more variety than that of earlier periods.
To sum up, in today’s lecture we have mentioned briefly the history of American Literature,the characteristics and important terms in different development periods. Next lecture we’ll deal with detailed explanations of each period.
选项
答案
Nature
解析
本题为细节题。此处考查美国文学发展中的文学术语和文学作品,其中超验主义(Transcendentalism)代表人物Ralph Waldo Emerson的代表作品是Nature。注意英文著作为斜体。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/yWpO777K
0
专业英语八级
相关试题推荐
There’sadirtylittlesecretinmanyAmericanhomes--couplesfightaboutthehousework.It’sNo.1issuemyhusbandandIargu
Englishhasundergonedramaticperiods.The______periodisroughlyfrom449to1100.
ThecurrentlotterycrazeinChinahasreachedcollegecampuses,wherethepromiseofovernightwealtheasilygoestotheheads
Beguninthelate1960sbyPentagonweaponsresearchersasasystemforeasingcommunicationbetweencomputersindisparateelec
Nowastothematteroflying.Youwanttobeverycarefulaboutlying;otherwiseyouarenearlysuretogetcaught.Oncecaught
"Nowadayspeoplespendtoomuchoftheirsparetimeindoors".Howfardoyouagreewiththisstatement?Writeacompositionofa
HowtoPresentaSeminarPaperToinvolvetheirstudentsmoreactivelyinthelearningprocess,manyuniversityteachersusu
现在,我国的《红楼梦》研究,可以说是百花烂漫,盛况空前。“中国艺术研究院”设立了“红楼梦研究所”,从事这部伟大小说及其作者的专门研究。目前,已经完成了《红楼梦》新校本的校注和其他若干研究项目。此外,全国各研究机关和大专院校,也都拥有不少从事“红学”研究的专
LiteratureandLifeInareactionagainstatoo-rigid,over-refinedclassicalcurriculum,someeducationalphilosophershave
随机试题
一般来说,应收账款评估后,账面上的“坏账准备”科目按________计算()
某公司生产需要外购甲材料,该材料的年需求量为10800千克,预计每次订货费用为50元,单位存货年储存成本为12元。一年按360天计算。要求:计算年最优订货次数和订货周期。
A.外周血中幼稚细胞、原始细胞>15%B.外周血有较多幼稚粒细胞伴嗜酸、嗜碱性粒细胞增多C.外周血中幼红、幼粒细胞易见,骨髓呈现“干抽”D.外周血中出现较多异型淋巴细胞E.外周血中易见盔形细胞、小球形细胞及破碎红细胞CML血涂片可见
观察颈椎椎间孔病变,正确的摄影体位是
患者,女,54岁,诊断为“糖尿病”。住院期间因琐事与护士争执而感到焦虑不安、心慌气促。此情况属于
填石路堤施工时,填筑方法有()。
元认知调节策略与监控策略无关。()
关于语言的特征,下列表述正确的有()
Themoreparentstalktotheirchildren,thefasterthosechildren’svocabulariesgrowandthebettertheirintelligencedevelop
在一次足球比赛中,开始时大家都坐着看球,但是有一个人为了看得更清楚,就站了起来。当只有他一人站着其他人都坐着的时候,他确实能比别人看得清楚,但是因为他站着别人看不见,其他人也只能站起来,最后看比赛的人都站了起来。这样看来,全站着和全坐着没什么不同。根据这段
最新回复
(
0
)