（完整版）美国文学史-知识点梳理
Part I The Literature of Colonial America
I．Historical Introduction
The colonial period stretched roughly from the ttlement of America in the early 17th century through the end of the 18th. The first permanent ttlement in America was established by English in 1607. ( A group of people was nt by the English King James I to hunt for gold. They arrived at Virginia in 1607. They named the James River and build the James town.)
II．The pre-revolutionary writing in the colonies was esntially of two kinds:
1) Practical matter-of-fact accounts of farming, hunting, travel, etc. designed to inform people "at home" what life was like in the new world, and, often, to induce their immigration
2) Highly theoretical, generally polemical, discussions of religious questions. III．The First American Writer
The first writings that we call American were the narratives and journals of the ttlements. They wrote about their voyage to the new land, their lives in the new land, their dealings with Indians.
Captain John Smith is the first American writer.
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: A Description of the Country (1612)
General History of Virgini a (1624): the Indian princess Pocahontas
Captain John Smith was one of the first early 17th-century British ttlers in North America. He was one of the founders of the colony of Jamestown, Virginia. His writings about North America became the source of information about the New World for later ttlers.
One of the things he wrote about that has become an American legend was his capture by the Indians and his rescue by the famous Indian Princess, Pocahontas. IV．Early New England Literature
William Bradford and John Winthrop
John Cotton and Roger Williams
Anne Bradstreet and Edward Taylor
V．Puritan Thoughts
1. The origin of puritan
In the mediaeval Europe, there was widespread religious revolution. In the 16th Century, the English King Henry VIII (At that time, the Catholics were not allowed to divorce unless they have the Pope's permission. Henry VIII wanted to divorce his
wife becau she couldn't bear him a son. But the Pope didn't allow him to divorce, so he)
broke away from the Roman Catholic Church & established the Church of
England. But there was no radical difference between the doctrines of the Church of England and the Catholic Church. A group of people thought the Church of England was too Catholic and wanted to purify the church. Then came the name Puritans.
2. Puritanism -- bad on Calvinism
(1) predestination: God's elect
Puritans believed they are predestined before they were born.
Nothing or no good work can change their fate.
They believed the success of one's business is the sign to show he is the God's elect. So the Puritans works very hard, spend very little and invest more for the future business. They lived a very frugal life. This is their ethics.
(2) Origianl sin and total depravity
Man is born sinful. This determines some puritans pessimistic attitude towards life.
(3) Limited atonement (the salvation of a lected few)
(4) theocracy
They combined state with religion. Their government is at least not a liberal one.
The Puritans established American tradition -- intolerant moralism. They strictly punished drunks, adultery & heretics.
Puritans changed gradually due to the verity of frontier environment
3. Influence on American Literature
(1) Its optimism
American literature was from the outt conditioned by the Puritan heritage. It can be said American literature is bad on the Biblical myth of the Garden of Eden. After that, m
an have an illusion to restore the paradi. The puritans, after arriving at America, believing that God must have nt them to this new land to restore the lost paradi, to build the wilderness into a new Garden of Eden. Fired with such a strong n of mission, they treated life with a tremendous amount of optimism. The optimistic Puritan has exerted a great influence on American literature.
(2) Puritan's metaphorical mode of perception changed gradually into a literary symbolism.
Part II The Literature of Reason And Revolution
I．Historical Introduction
With the growth, especially of industry, there appeared the inten strain with England. The British government did not want colonial industries competing with tho in England. The British wanted the colonies to remain politically and economically dependent on the mother country. They took a ries of measures to insure this dependence. They prevent
ed colonial economy by requiring Americans to ship raw materials abroad and to import finished goods at prices higher than the cost of making them in this country. Politically, the British government forced dependence
