American Literature Zhang Minghua

Teaching Objectives  Introduction to Colonial period  Analysis of Anne Bradstreet  Analysis of Edward Taylor

Part I. Introduction  1. What is literature? Robert Frost’s definition:  performance in words 5) Modern definition:  language artistically used to achieve identifiable literary qualities and to convey meaningful messages.  Literature is characterized by beauty of expression and form and by universal intellectual and emotional appeal.

2. Why necessary? 1) language proficiency. 2) your knowledge about the English culture. 3) the nature of human beings. 4) Great ideas.

3.How to define?  American literature mainly refers to literature produced in American English by the people living in the United States.

4.Basic Qualities 1) Independent 2) Individualistic 3) Innovative 4) Critical 5) Humorous

5.How to study? 1) Analytical Approach  the elements of a literary work, eg: plot, character, setting, point of view, etc;  Thematic Approach  “What is the story, the poem, the play or the essay about?” 3) Historical Approach

Our ways of learning  Read (Excerpts, original version,) 1) Learn how to notice details, how to get the main idea, and how to skim to locate the most meaningful passages in a literary work. 2) Cherish a strong desire to share your opinion. author, the plot, character. etc., 3) 我爱记 “ 诗词 ”

Idioms and proverbs

 A bad workman always blames his tools.  拙匠总怪工具差。  AL Alabama [,æl ə ’bæm ə ]  阿拉巴马州  - Montgomery [m ə nt’ ɡʌ m ə ri]  蒙哥马利 Idioms&Proverbs

Outline  Colonial American Literature  Revolutionary American Literature  Romanticism  Realism  Modernism  Contemporary American Literature

The literature of Colonial America( )  American literature begins with the orally transmitted myths, legends, tales, and lyrics of Indian cultures. Indian cultures Colonial Period

 The first colony: set up in 1585 at Roanoke( 洛亚诺克 ), off the coast of North Carolina ( 北卡罗来纳州 )  The second colony was more permanent: Jamestown, （詹姆斯敦） established in Virginia. Symbolize the beginning of American literature.  The written form of Colonial literature drove the oral form of Indian literature away.  The second permanent colony in Plymouth [‘plim ə θ] ( 普利茅斯）， New England.  REASON: People ran away from Europe to escape persecutions from religions. They ran to find a shelter for their freedom in faith. Colonial Period

literature of Colonial America ( )  this period stretches from the early 17th Century to the middle 18 th Century  Literature: ships’ logs （航海日志）， travel books/accounts( 游记）, diaries, journals, letters, reports, sermons, documents  Nature of these works: religious, moral, political, historical and practical  Main influential idea.  Puritanism Colonial Period

American Puritanism  Origins of Puritanism  Calvinism, John Calvin( ), great French theologian [θi ə ’l ə ud ʒ ə n]  Puritanism  a religious reform movement that arose within the Church of England in the late 16th century.  the practices and beliefs of the Puritans who were a group of serious, religious people, advocating highly religious and moral principles. Colonial Period

Basic Puritan Beliefs  Total depravity\Total inability (almighty  Unconditional election  Limited atonement: Only the “elect” can be saved.  Irresistible Grace  Perseverance of the saints 圣徒蒙保守 Colonial Period

Rules for the Puritans to follow each day  Bible to read  Bible was the Law  Simplicity in church service and daily life  Cruelly get rid of heresy  Amusement and arts were forms of evil  Consider joy and pleasure as sin  God was a wrathful God  Seven Sacraments  洗礼 坚信礼 圣体 婚礼 病人敷圣油圣事 受戒 忏悔  “puritan” 理解为一种生活状态。最近在国外据说很推崇的生活观, 其概括 起来的特点如 :“ 不抽烟、不喝酒、没有艳遇、注重环保 ( 开车不开 suv, 尽量 骑车 ) 、不穿名牌、不吃油炸食品等。 Sports Utility Vehicles Colonial Period

Puritan  Puritan: “A member of a group of English Protestants who in the 16th and 17th centuries advocated strict religious discipline along with simplification of the ceremonies and creeds of the Church of England.”  The Puritans, in short, were people who wanted to reform or purify their church. Colonial Period

 Protestant 是 16 世纪脱离罗马天主教的各基督教派的新教徒。  Puritan 是英国 世纪的英国新教中要求简化宗教仪式的 那一派。  Pilgrim 是 1620 年到美国创建普利茅斯殖民地的那些 Puritan 。  A pilgrim is one who makes a journey for a religious purpose.  Pilgrim: the small band of English people who came here in 1620 on a vessel called the Mayflower and settled in Plymouth. Colonial Period

The Function of Puritan Writers  1. To transform a mysterious God - mysterious because he is separate from the world.  2. To make him more relevant to the universe. 3. To glorify God. Colonial Period

The Style of Puritan Writing  1. Protestant - against ornateness 华丽辞藻 ; reverence for the Bible.  2. Purposiveness - there was a purpose to Puritan writing.  3. Puritan writing reflected the character and scope of the reading public, which was literate and well-grounded in religion. Colonial Period

Characteristics of Puritan writings  Form — personal literature, diaries, histories, journals, letters, travel books, sermons, etc.  Style — fresh, simple and direct  Content — strong religious color  Rhetoric( 修辞 )— plain and honest  faithfully imitated and transplanted English literary traditions.  The puritans were against Fiction, drama. The people there were struggling to survive  Characteristic: Religion esp. Puritanism Colonial Period

Influence of Puritanism  A group of good qualities – hard work, thrift, piety, sobriety (serious and thoughtful) influenced American literature.  It led to the everlasting myth.  All literature is based on a myth – garden of Eden.  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. Colonial Period

Ways of looking at things:  1)sybolism:Nature was the symbol of God 2)simplicity:Literary language should be clear, simple, direct. Colloquialism by Mark Twain and Hemingway  3)sense of value: Literature focuses on sermonic aesthetics( 美学） ( preaching 1 st, amusement 2 nd ) Colonial Period

Common Themes in Early Puritan Writing  1. Idealism - both religious and political.  2. Pragmatism - practicality and purposiveness. Colonial Period

John Smith ( )  The first American writer  Originally an English soldier and sailor.  Associated with the native American princess Pocahontas( 波卡洪塔斯 )  Major works:  A True Relation of Such Occurrences and Accidents of Note as Hath Happened in Virginia since the First Planting of That Colony (1608)  A Map of Virginia: with a Description of the Country(1612)  General History of Virginia(1624) Colonial Period

William Bradford ( ) 威廉 · 布雷福德  The Father of American History.  the first historian of his colony: because of His participation in the migration to Holland and the Mayflower voyage to Plymouth, and his duties as governor.  History Of Plymouth Plantation 《普利茅斯种植 园史》 (1651), is a clear and compelling account of the colony's beginning.Of Plymouth Plantation  Bradford also recorded the first document of colonial self-governance in the English New World, the "Mayflower Compact," 《五月花号 公约》"Mayflower Compact," Colonial Period

John Winthrop(1588 – 1649 ) 约翰 · 温斯罗普  governor of the Massachusetts Bay colony  The History of New England,( two Volumes,1825,1826)  Different from Bradford, his The History of New England is written in the form of diary. Colonial Period

Anne Dudley Bradstreet 安妮 · 布雷特兹里特 ( )  born and educated in England  came to America in 1630 with her father and husband  became known as the “Tenth Muse” appearing in America Colonial Period

the first noted poetess in colonial period  published the first book of poems in American history. ( the first noted poetess in colonial period )  The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America (1650) 《最近在北美出现的第十位缪 斯》（ the only one before her death) shows the influence of Edmund Spenser, Philip Sidney, and other English poets as well. Colonial Period

Characteristics of her works  Generally imitative  Major Influences: Edmund Spencer The Faerie Queene （《仙后》） ; Bartas( 巴塔斯 (Du Bartas) )  Highly religious—God; heaven; Original sin; death; immortality (piety, the intense inner struggle for salvation)  Metaphorical way of observing the world characteristic of the Puritans.  Love for her Family—her husband and children Colonial Period

"To My Dear and Loving Husband" (1678)  If ever two were one, then surely we. If ever man were loved 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. Colonial Period

New words  quench  [kwent ʃ ]  vt.  ( 用水 ) 扑灭 ( 火焰等 )  The firemen were unable to quench the fire.  消防人员无法扑灭这场大火。  解 ( 渴 )  I quenched my thirst with a glass of cold beer.  我喝了一杯冰啤酒解渴。 Colonial Period

New words  recompense  [‘rek ə mpens]  vt. n.  赔偿, 报酬, 补偿  We have to recompense the peasants for the loss of their goats.  我们得赔偿农民损失的山羊。  He received $2000 in recompense for the damage to his car.  他收到二千元作为对他汽车的损坏赔偿。 Colonial Period

New words  manifold  [‘mænif ə uld]  adj. 多种多样的 ; 多方面的  He has manifold talents.  他有多方面的才能。  The City Council has a manifold plan to beautify the city.  市政府制定了一个美化城市的多重规化。  The reasons are manifold.  原因是多方面的。 Colonial Period

 persevere  [,p ə :si’vi ə ]  vi. 坚忍, 坚持  Although he is in poor health, he still perseveres in his studies.  尽管他身体不好, 他仍孜孜不倦地学习。  You'll need to persevere if you want the business to succeed.  要想事业成功, 就得持之以恒。 Colonial Period

"To My Dear and Loving Husband" (1678)  If ever two were one, then surely we. If ever man were loved 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. Colonial Period

Quotes from the Bible “ Song of Solomon ”  8:7 Many waters cannot quench love,  Nor can the floods drown it.  愿爱情，大水不能熄灭， 众水不能淹没 ~~~  出自圣经 旧约 雅歌 8:7 （雅歌八章第七节. ） Colonial Period

"To My Dear and Loving Husband" (1678)  oriental imagery, love theme, and idea of comparison popular in Europe at the time, but gives these a pious （虔诚的） meaning at the poem‘s conclusion. Most frequently quoted:  Then while we live, in love let’s so persevere That when we live no more, we may live ever.  当我们活在世上，让我们爱情长存。  当我们不再活着，让我们因此永生。 Colonial Period

Contemplations (9) 观想 Anne Bradstreet  I heard the merry grasshopper then sing. The black-clad cricket bear a second part; They kept one tune and played on the same string. Seeming to glory in their little art. Shall creatures abject thus their voices raise And in their kind resound their Maker’s Praise, Whilst I, as mute, can warble forth no higher lays? Colonial Period

New words  grasshopper  [‘ ɡ r ɑ :s,h ɔ p ə ]  n. 蚱蜢  Grasshoppers die in fall.  蚱蜢在秋天死去。 Colonial Period

 clad  [klæd]  adj.  [ 古 ] clothe 的过 去式及过去分词  穿衣的  被覆盖的  nurses clad in white; white-clad nurses.  穿着白色衣服的护士；穿着白色衣服的护士。 Colonial Period

 Part  partsinging  n. 重唱 ( 法 )  part-song  n. 合唱歌曲 Colonial Period

 String  ( 乐器上的 ) 弦  His fingers swept the strings of the guitar.  他的手指轻拂着吉他的弦。  Of late they have been harping on the same string.  他们近来一直在重弹一个调。 Colonial Period

 glory in  v. 自豪, 得意  Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom.  智者不可夸耀自己智慧。  glory in honest poverty  甘守清贫 Colonial Period

 abject  [‘æbd ʒ ekt]  adj.( 指境况 ) 凄惨的 ; 绝望的  The most abject slaves joined in the revolt.  大多数生活悲惨的奴隶加入了起义。  This policy has turned out to be an abject failure.  这一政策最后以惨败而告终。 Colonial Period

 resound  [ri’zaund]  vi.( 指声音等 ) 回荡于某处 ; 产生回响  The echo resounded back to us.  回声传回到我们的耳中。  ( 指某处 ) 回荡着声音 ; 回响  The concert hall resounded with laughter and applause.  音乐厅里充满了笑声和掌声。 Colonial Period

 mute  [mju:t]  adj. 缄默的 ; 无声的  She gave me her hand with mute thanks.  她向我伸手表示无言的谢意。  哑的, 不会说话的  The boy is mute and deaf.  这男孩既聋又哑。 Colonial Period

 warble  [‘w ɔ :bl]  v. 鸟鸣, 用柔和的颤声唱  n. 鸟啭, 颤声  warble songs  以颤声唱歌 [ 鸣啼 ] Colonial Period

Contemplations (9) 观想 Anne Bradstreet  I heard the merry grasshopper then sing. The black-clad cricket bear a second part; They kept one tune and played on the same string. Seeming to glory in their little art. Shall creatures abject thus their voices raise And in their kind resound their Maker’s Praise, Whilst I, as mute, can warble forth no higher lays? Colonial Period

 Hearing the singing of the grasshopper and cricket, she thought these creatures were praising the God- -their Maker. Thus she began to search her own soul-- whether it could become closer to God.  This is the right idea of Puritans, who dreamed to purify the Church and Christianity and dedicate themselves to God. Colonial Period

Meditation Tradition  Imagine a scene or see a subject  Draw arguments regarding eternal truths or relation to God from the subject  Colloquy with God involving the will, in which the meditator  determines to have more faith  to cease from sin  to abide by God's laws  to come to moral discernment Colonial Period

Edward Taylor ( ) 爱德华 · 泰勒  a New England puritan and a meditative poet  came from England as a young man and attended Harvard  the most accomplished poetic craftsman of the early years Colonial Period

Edward Taylor ( ) 爱德华 · 泰勒  The greatest poet of Colonial period  A selfless and pious man,  working as the town minister, doctor, and civic leader.  Taylor never published his poetry while he was alive and people discovered in manuscript in 1930s. Colonial Period

 To him, God and the war between God and Satan are reflected in the whole universe, from the sunrise to the moonset, from flowers to spiders.  Preparatory Meditations 《准备领受圣餐前的内省》  Praise God, autocriticism, ([ ɔ :t ə ukritisiz ə m] 自我反 省 ). Purify the soul.  Lord’s Supper, baptism  Metrical History of Christianity 《诗体基督教史》  God’s Determinations Touching His Elect 《上帝对 其选民有影响的决定》  Sermons, Funeral elegies( 哀歌, 挽歌 ), Lyrics,( 抒情 诗 ),Translation Works Colonial Period

Characteristics of his works  Mostly dealing with religious themes extolling Jesus Christ who sacrifices himself to save mankind  Following the style and forms of the leading English poets of the mid-17 th century  Metaphysical by nature (fanciful imagery) Colonial Period

 Each man's death diminishes me, for I am involved in mankind. Therefore, send not to know for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee.  — John Donne  The Flea  Oh stay! three lives in one flea spare Where we almost, yea more than married are. This flea is you and I, and this Our marriage-bed and marriage-temple is. Colonial Period

Huswifery By Edward Taylor

Background  Edward Taylor ’ s work was generally unknown during his lifetime.  Some believe that he chose not to publish his poems because their joyousness in the sensory experience countered Puritan attitudes that poetry be for moral instruction only.  The discovery in the 1930 ’ s of a stash of Taylor ’ s poems is considered a major literary find of the twentieth century. Huswifery

 Compares the household task of making cloth with the gift of God ’ s salvation.  This extended metaphor expresses Edward Taylor ’ s deep belief in God and celebrates the divine presence in daily life.  The poem is like a prayer imploring God to guide the speaker to do his bidding.  By submitting to God ’ s will, the speaker hopes to achieve eternal glory. Huswifery

Huswifery - Vocabulary  distaff: n. staff on which flax or wool is wound for use in spinning.  affections: n. Emotions  flyers: n. part of a spinning wheel that twists fibers into yarn.  quills: n. Weaver ’ s spindles or bobbins  ordinances: n. Sacraments or religious rites.  fulling mills: n. Machines that shrink and thicken cloth to the texture of felt.  pinked: v. decorated Huswifery

 Although this poem uses simple words to describe common household items, Taylor has created a rich, multi-layered metaphor.  Increasingly complex connections – spinning wheel to yarn to loom to cloth to holy robes – represent steps the speaker hopes he can follow in life to glorify God and to achieve a state of grace. Huswifery

 The poem begins with an analogy between the writer and a spinning wheel.  However, at the end of the poem suddenly he is no longer the spinning wheel, he is now a man wearing the cloth that was spun by the spinning wheel.  How could the main analogy of the poem shift so drastically?  Actually, upon closer inspection, the shift does not seem so bizarre.  The main idea of the poem is followed through from beginning to end.  It is the story of a man who is truly devoted to the Lord and how his relationship with the Lord evolves from the point where he is seeking God in his life to the point where he has found him and become a changed man.  As the man changes, the analogy within the poem must naturally evolve to keep up with his changes. Huswifery

 In the first line, Edward Taylor asks that God be the master spinner behind his spinning wheel self which indicates his desire for the Lord to take control of his life and to use that life to create what He will.  He then expounds upon this idea by incorporating many of the parts of a spinning wheel into the analogy.  Taylor asks that all that he believes come from the Holy Word (his distaff) and that all that he longs for be kept in line with the Lord's wishes by His "swift flyers".  He wants his conversation to spring forth from that which the Lord is creating in him, just as the thread, once spun, does not change in nature as it is wound around the reel. Essentially, in this stanza, he is saying: Lord, take me and mold my heart for I am Yours. Huswifery

 The second stanza starts off saying much the same thing. It expands upon the idea of wanting the Lord to mold his heart and shape the kind of person that he is.  He again gives complete control to the Lord as he says, "Then weave the web thyself. The yarn is fine." Going along with the fabric = heart analogy, this would seem to indicate that he wants the Lord to pull together the pieces of his heart, bring together all of his thoughts and affections and focus them into one beautiful creation.  The "The yarn is fine." part of the line displays a feeling of fragility. He does not believe that he is capable of shaping his heart himself, and this is why he must hand it over to the Lord. In his mind, if he tries to do it on his own, the pieces will most likely break (since the yarn is thin) and he will be just another tattered rag thrown by the wayside, not usable for its intended purpose.

 Once he has been completely woven, and all the essentials of a God-serving heart are completed, he then goes on to ask of the Lord that He not just leave him plain and dull.  He wants to be dyed with "heavenly colors choice." and "pinked with varnished flowers of paradise." A garment that has been woven and is left plain is very functional for the owner of that garment, but will not be beautiful or attractive to others. No one else will feel a great desire to have a similar one for themselves.  One possible interpretation of this point is to think that the author is now turning away from God and seeking his own glory, asking that others be envious of him. However, this would not fall in line with the very humble, God-serving attitude displayed throughout each of the stanzas. It seems more likely that he desires for others to see his inner beauty that they might desire that same inner beauty for themselves, leading them too to seek after the Lord. Huswifery

 Now that the colors and extra frills have been added on to the garment, it is completed. His heart is now a finished work, fully devoted to God - not limited to only himself, but also reaching out to others and bringing others to devote their lives to God as well.  And so, in the third stanza the spinning wheel is completely dropped out of the poem which makes sense, for once a machine's work is complete, there is no longer a need for that machine. In essence, he's saying that his life was just a machine for serving and creating hearts devoted to God. Now that this purpose is complete, it is time for him to pass on.  But he asks one thing of the Lord. Though his earthly body and life may pass away, he wishes for his eternal soul, for all that truly makes up who he is to be clothed with the virtues the Lord has instilled in him. This is so that his "apparel shall display before [God]" that he is "clothed in holy robes for glory." In other words, he has done his best, followed the Lord all his life, and now he is ready to be taken to his eternal reward in Heaven. Huswifery