American Literature

Colonial Period(1607-1750)

Class Arrangement

Lead-inCourse RequirementsIntroduction to American LiteratureChapter 1: Colonial LiteratureModel Test

Objectives

Enable the Ss to get a general knowledge about the history and religion of America;

Enable the Ss to know the six literary periods in American literary history;

Enable the Ss to know the background, representative writers and their works of the colonial period in American literary history

Major Points

PuritanismAnne BradstreetEdward Taylor

Teaching Material

Supplemented by the lecturer (note-taking by the students)

Compulsory Reading : Novel and Play

3 Hawthorne: The Minister’s Black Veil8 Mark Twain: The Adventures of Huckleberry

Fin11 Jack London: Love of Life15 Ernest Hemingway: A Farewell to Arms19 Arthur Miller: Death of a Salesman

Compulsory Reading : Poems

4 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow5 Edgar Allan Poe6 Walt Whitman7 Emily Dickinson13 Robert Lee Frost18 Ezra Pound

Selected Book List for the Semester

Hawthorne: The Scarlet Letter

Theodore Dreiser: An American Tragedy

F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby

Ernest Hemingway: The Old Man and the Sea

John Steinbeck: The Grapes of Wrath

William Faulkner: The Sound and the Fury

Herman Melville: Moby Dick返回

Brief Outline of American literature

1. Colonial period (1607-1750)Anne BradstreetEdward Taylor

2. Enlightenment and Revolutionary period (1750-1810)Benjamin Franklin 1Philip Freneau

3. Romanticism (1800-1865) Washington Irving

Edgar Allan Poe 5Nathaniel Hawthorne 3William Whitman* Transcendentalism * (New England Renaissance)Ralph Waldo EmersonFillip Thoreau

4. Realism (1865-1914)

Mark TwainHenry James

Naturalism:Stephen CraneTheodore Dreiser

5. Modern Period (1914-1945)

The 1920sT.S. EliotWilliam FaulknerErnest Hemingway (Lost Generation)Imagism: Ezra Pound

Brief Outline of American literature

The 1930sSteinbeckHarlem Renaissance(Black American literature)HughesWrightEllison

American DramaEugene O’Neill

6. Contemporary Period (1945-2000)

The Post-war SceneSaul BellowSalinger

Poetry:Confessional PoetryBlack Mountain PoetsSan Francisco RenaissanceThe Beat GenerationThe New York Poets

Colonial Period (1607-1750)Chapter One

Historical Background

HistoryPeopleReligion: Puritanism

Early History:

1) America was first discovered by Columbus at the end of the 15th century.

2) In 1607, Captain John Smith led some Englishmen across the ocean.

3) In 1620, 102 passengers sailed on the ship Mayflower across the sea and settled on the new continent “New England”.

People

Indians were native inhabitants (aborigines).

Now Americans are mainly immigrants mostly from Europe, esp. from England.

People of America

They were the Puritans who wanted to reform the Church of England but later were persecuted by English government and church. They were called Puritans because they aimed to purify the church of Protestantism. When they came to America, they brought Puritanism to this new continent on which only primitive Indians originally settled. But at the very beginning, they met great difficulties and setbacks and they were helped by Indians. The experiences were recorded by them in travel accounts, sermons and poems, which were the earliest forms of American literature. (based on the reference book: Highlights of American Literature)

People of America

The first settlers who became the founding fathers of the American nation were quite a few of them Puritans.

They were a group of serious, religious people, advocating highly religious and moral principles.

They carried with them to America a code of values, a philosophy of life, a point of view which, in time, took root in the New World and became what is popularly known as American Puritanism.

The Significance of Puritanism

American Puritanism was one of the most enduring shaping influences in American thought and American literature.

Without some understanding of Puritanism, there can be no real understanding of America and its literature.

Puritanism

They follow the ideas of the French reformer and theologian (神学家 )John Calvin

1. Doctrines:(1) Predestination: God decided everything before

things occurred.宿命论，得救预定论（上帝已预先选定某些得救者，余者者受诅咒）

(2) Original sin and Total depravity : Human beings were born to be evil, and this original sin can be passed down from generation to generation.

(3) Limited atonement赎罪 : Only the “elect” can be saved.

Puritanism

2. Puritan values (creeds):Hard work, thrift, piety, sobriety, simple

tastes.Puritans are more practical, tougher, and to be ever ready for any misfortune and tragic failure.They are optimistic.

Puritanism

3. Aims (Why did Puritans come to America?):- to reform the Church of England- to have an entirely new church- to escape religious persecution

* God’s chosen people* To seek a new Garden of Eden* To build “City of God on earth”

Influence of Puritanism on American Literature

(1) A group of good qualities – hard work, thrift, piety, sobriety (serious and thoughtful) influenced American literature.

(2) It led to the everlasting myth. All literature is based on a myth – garden of Eden.

Influence of Puritanism on American Literature

(3) Symbolism: Lots of American writers liked to employ symbolism in their works. To the pious Puritan the physical, phenomenal world is nothing but a symbol of God. (typical way of Puritans who thought that all the simple objects existing in the world connoted deep meaning.) Symbolism means using symbols in literary works. The symbol means something represents or stands for abstract deep meaning.

Influence of Puritanism on American Literature

(4) Simplicity characterizes the Puritan style of writing. With regard to their writing, the style is fresh, simple and direct; the rhetoric is plain and honest, not without a touch of nobility often traceable to the direct influence of the Bible.

Influence of Puritanism on American Literature

(5) Fired with a sense of mission, the Puritans looked the worst of life in the face of tremendous optimism. The optimistic Puritan has exerted a great influence on American literature. Early American literature were mainly optimistic because they believed that God sent them to the new continent to fulfill the sacred task so they would overcome all the difficulties they met at last. Gradually Americans found that their dreams would not be successful, so lots of pessimistic literary works were produced.

General Features of the Colonial Literature

Humble origins: diaries, histories, journals, letters, autobiographies/biographies, travel books, sermons etc.

In content: serving either God or colonial expansion or both

In form: imitating and transplanting English literary tradition faithfully

Three major poets in colonial period

Anne Bradstreet: the first noted poetess in colonial period

Michael Wigglesworth: the most popular poet in American Colonial Period :

Edward Taylor: the most gifted (finest) of the Puritan poets

1. Anne Bradstreet (1612-1672)

the first noted poetess in colonial period the first noted poetess in colonial period (( 北美殖民地第一位著名诗人 )

1. Anne Bradstreet’s Works“Some verses on the Burning of Our House”“The Spirit and the Flesh” 《灵与肉》 The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America 《第十位缪斯新近在美洲出现》

Contemplation 《沉思集》

1. Anne Bradstreet’s Life* She was born and educated in England.* At the age of 18, she came to America in 1630 with her father and husband. * She had 8 children.* She became known as the “Tenth Muse” who appeared in America.

the first collection

published by English

colonists living in America

美国女诗人布莱德斯特律 Anne Bradstreet 1612 英格兰 比安普敦～ 1672.9.16, 麻萨诸塞湾殖民地 安多弗

美国最早写出真正有价值的英文诗歌的一位女诗人。 她的宗教组诗《沉思集》 (Contemplations) 受到 20 世纪文学批评界的重视，被认为是

一部不朽之作。父亲汤玛斯 达德利是清教徒林肯伯爵的总管家。她在有文化教养的环境中长大。 16 岁时，她同伯爵的另一被保护人赛门 布莱德斯特律 (Simon Bradstreet) 结婚，在养育 8个孩子和料理家务的同时仍从事写作。

她的姐夫未经她的同意，就将她的诗带到英国，以《第十位缪斯新近在美洲出现》(The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America, 1650) 为题发表，这使她感到意外。美洲第一版的《第十位缪斯》经修订及扩增後出版，书名改为《一些风格各异、充满智慧的诗歌》 (Several Poems Compiled with Great Variety of Wit and Learning) 。

其中大部分诗都是冗长的模仿性作品，只有最後两首《凡人的虚荣》 (Of the vanity of all worldly creatures) 和《大卫对扫罗和约拿单的哀悼》 (David's Lamentation for Sauland Jonathan) 独具风格，意境纯真。她後来的一些诗歌是为她的家庭而写，表现了她全心接受清教徒教义以後在精神上的成长过程。这些诗，如《灵与肉》 (The Flesh and the Spirit) ，因为没有说教而受人喜爱。她也写过一些动人的和更富有个人色彩的诗，其中《献给我亲爱的丈夫》 (To My Dear and Loving Husband) 、《人世正凋萎，万物有终极》 (All things within this fading worldhath end) 描写她在生孩子之前的思想；《心痛手颤写诗句》 (With troubled heart and trembling hand I write) 写一个孙儿之死。

致我亲爱的丈夫Anne Bradstreet If ever two were one, then surely we.

If ever man were lov'd by wife, then thee;If ever wife was happy in a man,Compare with me ye women if you can.I prize thy love more than whole Mines of gold,Or all the riches that the East doth hold.My love is such that Rivers cannot quench,Nor ought but love from thee, give recompense.Thy love is such I can no way repay,The heavens reward thee manifold I pray.Then while we live, in love let's so persevere,That when we live no more, we may live ever.

致我亲爱的丈夫Anne Bradstreet 如果曾经两人默契如一，那就是我和你。

如果曾经丈夫被妻子钟爱，那就是你；如果曾经妻子被丈夫幸福环绕，如果你能，女士们，请跟我来比较。我珍惜你的爱胜过金矿，胜过东方的无尽宝藏。我的爱万水不能冷眼相待，无物可偿还，除了你对我的爱。你如此的爱让我无以为偿，我只能祈祷上苍赐予你缤纷奖赏。

在人间，相爱的我们不衰长盛，而当远离尘世，我们会步入永生。

Evaluation

She became known as the “Tenth Muse” who appeared in America.

她的鸟是英国鸟，她的花是英国花。 作者生活在后世所称宗教狂热和偏执登峰造极的年代。

对天国的最动人的描绘出现在“ The Flesh and the Spirit” 中，这首诗运用“分裂的自我”或“双重人格”手法，是传统文学的一种重要手法，是一种挖掘人的内心世界的文学手法。

Michael Wigglesworth (1631-1705)

The most popular poet in American Colonial Period

Work: The Day of Doom (1662)

Edward Taylor (1642?--1729)

the most gifted (finest) of the Puritan poets 北美殖民地时期最伟大的诗人

Resembling the metaphysical poets in Elizabethan England, he was a meditative poet( 诗禅 ), Taylor wrote with an inventiveness, a boldness, and a brilliance unparalleled in colonial period.

Taylor is first and last, a Puritan poet. Work: Preparatory Meditation 《预备沉思录》 The Poems of Edward Taylor (1960)

by Donald E. Stanford is the best edition.

Other Representative Writers

Cotton Mather (1663-1728)Magnalia Christi Amricana 《基督在北美

的辉煌》又名 The Ecclesiastical History of New England 《新英格兰宗教史》

Other Representative Writers

Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758)

-The Great Doctrine of Original Sin defended(1758)

-Sinner in the Hands of an Angry God 《愤怒的上帝手中之罪人》 (sermon)

Freedom of the Will 《论自由意志》

Jonathan Edwards

Born into a very religious New England family, educated in Yale

The first modern American and the country’s last medieval man

He represents the element of piety, the religious passion, the aspect of emotion and ecstasy, of New England tradition

Edwards was a great deal of a transcendentalist

Other Representative Writers

Roger Williams (1603-1683) -one of the greatest Puritan dissenters

-to preach for civil and religious liberty

-to call for democratic government

-to oppose the eviction of the Indians from their ancestral properties

2. The Main Features of this period

1) American literature grew out of humble origins. Diaries, histories, journals, letters, commonplace books, travel books, sermons, in short, personal literature in its various forms, occupy a major position in the literature of the early colonial period.

2) In content these early writings served either God or colonial expansion or both. In form, if there was any form at all, English literary traditions were faithfully imitated and transplanted.

3) The Puritanism formed in this period was one of the most enduring shaping influences in American thought and American literature.

Model Test

I. Blank filling.1. Hard work, thrift, piety and sobriety,

these were the _____ values that dominated much of the early American writing.

2. The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America is a collection of poems composed by______.

Model Test

II. Multiple Choice1. Jonathan Edwards’ best and most

representative sermon was ______A. the True Sight of SinB. Sinners in the Hands of an Angry GodC. A Model of Christian CharityD. God’s Determinations

Model Test

2. The Common thread throughout American literature has been the emphasis on the ______.

A. EvolutionismB. ReasonC. IndividualismD. Rationalism

美国人为什么会有优越感？

与加尔文教义一脉相承的清教主义思想是镶嵌在美国人灵魂中的特征（ an embedded strand in the American psyche) 。 加尔文教与清教的教义都强调一种精英思想，即他们认为只有上帝的选民才可以获得上帝的恩宠被拯救（ only certain persons, the elect, were chosen by God to be saved, and these could be saved only by God's grace.）。

美国人为什么会有优越感？ 这一清教思想在领土扩张与西进运动中（ territorial

expansion and westward movement)又产生了文化中学到的“天定命运论（ The Manifest Destiny)”. 这是由民主党政治家约翰沙利文（ John L. O'Sullivan)提出的。“天定命运论”极大地体现了美国的大国沙文主义，即认为美国人作为上帝的选民在扩张领土的同时是在将民主与文明带给这些地区。而任何民族都不该阻止其进行“上帝的工作” 附： The Manifest Destiny are threefold: (1)the inevitable of the foundation of the United States of America; (2) the legitimacy of the expansion of American Territory;(3)the spread of American democracy being the task of American people who were chosen to do the Lord's work.

美国人为什么会有优越感？

清教主义是美国文化的“根”。 就早期美国文学来说有些作品反映了美国人的精英思想。 其中杰出的代表毫无疑问应属：Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758); Benjamin Franklin （ 1706-1790）与 Ralph Waldo Emerson(1803-1882).

美国人为什么会有优越感？

在 17-18 世纪中最杰出的代表的就应该算是 Edwards 与 Franklin. Sinner in the Hands of an Angry God (愤怒的上帝手中之罪人 ) 1. Edwards's work "Sinner in the Hands of an Angry God" is his famous sermon. 2. It expresses such basic puritan tenets as God's absolute sovereignty, original sin and predestination.

美国人为什么会有优越感？ The Autobiography ( 富兰克林自传） 1. The

Autobiography records his rising from poverty or humble beginnings to success. It realistically describes the life of Franklin as a shrewd and industrious businessman, whose rags-to-riches experience became the prototype of the American Dream. 2. The prototype embraces such qualities as self-culture, self-improvement, self-reliance, self-cultivation, faith in the progress of society and the ideals of future, practical and optimistic attitude toward life and final success( 美国梦也是精英思想的一种体现）。

Assignment

Read Chapter VI of Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography on P 271 in the textbook and be prepared to answer the questions afterwards.