1、American Romanticism The romantic period stretches from the end of the eighteenth century through the outbreak of the Civil War (1790-1865).1. Background (1) Political background and economic development Territorial Expansion Industrial Growth The Civil War (2) Romantic movement in European countrie

2、s Derivative foreign influence Commonplaces of American RomanticismNew emphasis upon the imaginative and emotional qua1ities of literature. An increasing emphasis on the free expression of emotions and displayed an increasing attention to the psychic states of their character. The strong tendency to

3、 exalt the individual and the common man was almost a national religion in America Specific Features of American Romanticism (1) American Romanticism was in essence the expression of “a real new experience and contained “an alien quality” for the simple reason that “the spirit of the place” was radi

4、cally new and alien. (2) There is American Puritanism as a cultural heritage to consider. American romantic authors tended more to moralize. Many American romantic writings intended to edify more than they entertained. (3) The “newness” of Americans as a nation is in connection with American Romanti

5、cism. (4) As a logical result of the foreign and native factors at work, American Romanticism was both imitative and independent.New England Transcendentalism The phase of New England Transendentalism is the summit of American Romanticism on Puritan soil. Transcendentalism emphasized the power of in

6、tuition, believing that people could learn things both from the outside world by means of the five senses and from the inner world by intuition. Spirit first and matter second!Literary characteristics Literature ceased to be primarily didactic, a servant of politics and religion. Novels, short stori

7、es and poems replaced semons and manifestos as Americas principal literary forms. Read the book on p57-58, know more about the literary characteristics at that time.Figures of the time: Washington Irving (1783-1859) 華盛頓歐文早期浪漫主義小說家 Several names attached to Irving: A. He is Father of American Literat

8、ure. He is the first American writer of imaginative literature to gain international fame. He is equal to English writers. Before him, American literature was influenced by British Literature. Through Irving, American literature attained its independent status. The short story, as a literary genre,

9、begins with Washingtons The Sketch Book. Several names attached to Irving: B. He is the first short stories writer of English literature as well as American literature.The Sketch Book marks the beginning of Romanticism in U.S. A.C. He is considered as the prince of story-tellers, skillful in telling

10、 a story. Rip Van Winkle is an idle, ambitionless mortal. He is a comic burlesque of traditional American values created by Irving. Being a victim of his wifes nagging at home, he seeks refuge in the mountains where he meets several mountain spirits ant tastes the liquor left by them out of curiosit

11、y. Overwhelmed by the magic power of the drink, Rip falls into a twenty-year sleep. When he wakes up, every thing has undergone a tremendous change. Every thing is strange to him. The village is larger and more populous and young people in the village dont recognize him. His own house which Dame Van

12、 Winkle has always kept in neat order, is now empty, forlorn, and apparently abandoned. The portrait of King George on the pole before the village inn has been replaced by the flag of stars and stripes. In places where he used to enjoy peace and ease there is now quarrel and disputes over parties an

13、d he is even suspected as a spy. Finally he is recognized by his daughter and taken home. He spends his late years telling his stories to whoever might care to listen to him. Rip Van WrinkleThe theme of the short story (be against the traditional values and the war, for the sleeping period was the t

14、ime when the war broke out) the story of man who has difficulties facing his advancing age the contradictory impulses in America toward workthe puritan attitude as opposed to the American desire for leisure the theme of escape from ones responsibilities and even ones history the loss of identity. Ea

15、ch of these themes is woven together throughout the tale. Works: A History of New York紐約的歷史-美國人寫的第一部詼諧文學杰作；(1809) The Sketch Book見聞札記(1819-1820) The Legend of Sleepy Hollow睡谷的傳說-使之成為美國第一個獲得國際聲譽的作家 Bracebridge Hall布雷斯布里奇田莊(1822) Tales of Traveller 旅客談(1824) The Alhambra 阿爾罕伯拉 a famous volume of stories and