Washington-Irving剖析

1、Father of American literature1.the first American (true) literary writer2.the first great prose stylist of American romanticism3. the first belletrist in American literature4. he created the first modern short stories and the first great American juvenile literature. 5. He was among the first of the

2、 moderns to write good history and biography as literary entertainment.6. He was the only American writer of his generation who could chide the British in an atmosphere of good humor.Life and literary careerLife and literary careerHe was born in 3 April 1783, New York and died in 28 November 1859.He

3、 was named for George Washington because his parents were admirers of General Washington.When he was 19, he published his “Jonathan Oldstyle” satires of New York life.When he was 23, he was admitted to the New York bar. And his older brothers financed his tour of France and Italy. Under the pseudony

4、m Diedrich Knickerbocker, he published A History of New York (1809), a satire that has been called the first great book of comic literature written by an American. His fiance died and his whole firm failed in 1818, Irving turned definitely to literature. In 1820, Irving published The Sketch Book und

5、er the pseudonym Geoffrey Crayon. The stories (including Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow) appeared serially in 181920.The hit book made Irving the first American author to gain real fame in Europe. Irvings graveIrvings graveMajor Works1. A History of New York 紐約外史2.The Sketch Book見聞札記

6、3. The History of the Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus 克里斯托弗 哥倫布生平及航海歷史4. The Alhambra 阿爾罕伯拉5. Life of George Washington喬治 華盛頓傳Literary Achievements short storyRip Van Winkle 瑞普 凡 溫克爾 The Legend of Sleepy Hollow 睡谷傳奇short storyA prose narrative that is brief in natureIt also has many of the

7、same characteristics of a novel including characters, setting and plot. However, due to length constraints, these characteristics and devices generally may not be as fully developed or as complex as those developed for a full-length novel. The short story usually deals with a single episode and ofte

8、n a single character. The short story frequently also lacks denouement, ending instead at its climax. Many authors well known for it including Edgar Allan Poe, O Henry Ernest HemingwayPoe first theorized on the structure and purpose of the short story.The Legend of Sleepy HollowSleepy HollowIchabodH

9、e was tall and exceedingly lank, with narrow shoulders, long arms and legs, hands that dangled a mile out of his sleeves, and feet that might have served for shovels, and his whole frame most loosely hung together. His head was small, and flat at top, with huge ears, large green glassy eyes, and a l

10、ong snipe nose, so that it looked like a weathercock perched upon his spindle neck, to tell which way the wind blew. To see him striding along on a windy day, with his clothes bagging and fluttering about him, one might have mistaken him for the genius of famine descending upon the earth, or some sc

11、arecrow eloped from a cornfield.When school hours were over, Ichabod was even the companion and playmate of the larger boys; and on holiday afternoons would convoy some of the smaller ones home, who happened to have pretty sisters, or good housewives for mothers, noted for the comforts of the cupboa

12、rd. Indeed it behooved him to keep on good terms with his pupils. SchoolteacherChoirmasterimaginativeKatrina Van TasselShe was a blooming lass of fresh eighteen, plump as a partridge, ripe and melting and rosy-cheeked as one of her fathers peaches, and universally famed, not merely for her beauty, b

13、ut her vast expectations. She was withal a little of a coquette, as might be perceived in her dress, which was a mixture of ancient and modern fashions, as most suited to set off her charms. She wore the ornaments of pure yellow gold, which her great-great-grandmother had brought over from Saardam;

14、the tempting stomacher of the older time; and withal a provokingly short petticoat, to to display the prettiest foot and ankle in the country round.The Van Tassel stronghold was situated on the banks of the Hudson, in one of those green, sheltered, fertile nooks in which the Dutch farmers are so fon

15、d of nestling. A great elm tree spread its broad branches over it, at the foot of which bubbled up a spring of the softest and sweetest water. Hard by the farmhouse was a vast barn, every window and crevice of which seemed bursting forth with the treasures of the farm. Rows of pigeons were enjoying

16、the sunshine on the roof. Sleek unwieldy porkers were grunting in the repose and abundance of their pens. A stately squadron of snowy geese were riding in an adjoining pond, convoying whole fleets of ducks; regiments of turkeys were gobbling through the farmyard.The pedagogues mouth watered as he lo

17、oked upon this sumptuous promise of luxurious winter fare. As the enraptured Ichabod fancied all this, and as he rolled his great green eyes over the fat meadowlands, the rich fields of wheat, his heart yearned after the damsel who was to inherit these domains, and his imagination expanded with the

18、idea how they might be readily turned into cash, and the money invested in immense tracts of wild land, and shingle palaces in the wilderness. When he entered the house, the conquest of his heart was complete. Brom Van BruntAmong these the most formidable was a burly, roaring, roistering blade of th

19、e name of Brom Van Brunt, the hero of the country round, which rang with his feats of strength and hardihood. He was broad-shouldered, with short curly black hair, and a bluff but not unpleasant countenance, having a mingled air of fun and arrogance. From his Herculean frame, he had received the nic

20、kname of Brom Bones. He was famed for great skill in horsemanship; he was foremost at all races and cockfights; and, with the ascendancy which bodily strength acquires in rustic life, was the umpire in all disputes. He was always ready for either a fight or a frolic, but had more mischief and good h

21、umor than ill will in his composition. He had three or four boon companions who regarded him as their model, and at the head of whom he scoured the country, attending every scene of feud or merriment for miles round. Sometimes his crew would be heard dashing along past the farmhouses at midnight, wi

22、th whoop and halloo, and the old dames would exclaim, Aye, there goes Brom Bones and his gang!The hair of the affrighted schoolteacher rose upon his head, but, summoning up a show of courage, he demanded in stammering accents, Who are you! He received no reply. He repeated his demand in a still more

23、 agitated voice. Still there was no answer. Once more he cudgeled the sides of the inflexible Gunpowder and, shutting his eyes, broke forth with involuntary fervor into a psalm tune. Just then the shadowy object of alarm put itself in motion and, with a scramble and a bound, stood at once in the mid

24、dle of the road. He appeared to be a horseman of large dimensions, and mounted on a black horse of powerful frame. He kept aloof on one side of the road, jogging along on the blind side of old Gunpowder, who had now got over his waywardness. Ichabod quickened his steed, in hopes of leaving this midn

25、ight companion behind. The stranger, however, quickened his horse to an equal pace. Ichabod pulled up, and fell into a walk, thinking to lag behind - the other did the same. His heart began to sink within him. There was something in the strangers moody silence that was appalling. It was soon fearful

26、ly accounted for. On mounting a rising ground, which brought the figure of his fellow traveler in relief against the sky, gigantic in height, and muffled in a cloak, Ichabod was horrorstruck on perceiving that he was headless! But his horror was still more increased on observing that the strangers h

27、ead was carried before him on the pommel of the saddle.3. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow introduction The Characters The plotsBrom Bones too, who shortly after his rivals disappearance conducted the blooming Katrina to the altar, was observed to look exceedingly knowing whenever the story of Ichabod wa

28、s related, and always burst into a hearty laugh at the mention of the pumpkin, which led some to suspect that he knew more about the matter than he chose to tell.Analysis: Romantic CharacteristicsThe first of the Romantic characteristics we see is imagination. Ichabod has a wild imagination to say t

29、he least if he believes he was hunted down by the headless horseman. Actually, Ichabod is good about letting his imagination run wild, and if it werent for that, wed have no story to be told.The element of the supernatural is also apparent throughout the story. Wild chases are traditional in folk ta

30、les, and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is no different. Of course, we have the ghost stories, but the most prominent comes to life just at the climax of the story. And while Irving does give us the chance to see that the supernatural was only Ichabods imagination running wild, he does leave us with a

31、little bit of a wink that the legend could be true.Stylistically, Washington Irving uses wisdom from the past by basing his story off of German folktales, but his characters fall in line with the characteristics as well. The citizens of Sleepy Hollow are eager to hear the bewitching stories from the

32、 past in hopes of seeing them manifested in their own time. Even Ichabods habit of carrying Cotton Mathers writing is a tongue-in-cheek nod to the wisdom we can gain from the past.1. Discuss how Ichabods powerful imagination leads to his downfall.2. Your opinion about the fact that Brom marries Katr

33、ina, even though Ichabod is the protagonist.3. What do ghosts and ghost stories represent metaphorically in this tale?James Fennimore Cooper James Fennimore Cooper (17891851)(17891851)Life story 1. He was born into a rich family in New Jersey in 1789.2. He attended Yale but expelled because of misco

34、nduct.3. He spent five years at sea and wrote The Pilot (1824).4. He inherited fortune and lived a comfortable life.2. Major worksIn his lifetime Cooper wrote thirty-two novels, eight of which are set in the frontiers he and his family had known.His novels fall into 4 categories:(1) historical novel

35、-The Spy (1821)(2) socio-political novel(3) the sea adventure tale-The Pilot (1824)(4) the frontier saga- The Leatherstocking Tales 皮襪子故事集 (1823 - 41)The History of the Navy of the United States of America, 1839.The Leather-Stocking Tales (1823 41)account for five of these novels about pioneer life,

36、 and yet in popularity they have outweighed all of Coopers other works. The Tales contain a five volume biography of their protagonist Natty Bumppo(納蒂納蒂 班波班波). The Deerslayer (1841) 殺鹿者殺鹿者 The Last of the Mohicans (1826) 最后的莫希干人最后的莫希干人The Pathfinder (1840) 探路者探路者The Pioneer (1823) 拓荒者拓荒者The Prairie

37、(1827) 大草原大草原Natty Bumppo:several names for the same character: Hawk-eye, the Pathfinder, the Deerslayer, Leatherstocking; a typical frontier man: honest, simple, innocent, generous; represents brotherhood of man, nature and freedom; an ideal American, or a perfect example / father image of the fron

38、tier manTheme: modern civilization advancing on the wilderness and the conflicts between them Features1) Good at inventing plots (Cooper had never been to the frontier area personally.)2) Style: powerful, yet clumsy and dreadful3) Wooden Characters 4) Use of dialect, but not authentic Contributions

39、of Cooper 1) The first successful American historical romance in the vein of Sir Walter Scott (The Spy, 1821). 2) The first sea novel (The Pilot, 1824). 3) The first attempt at a fully researched historical novel (Lionel Lincoln, 1825). 4) The first full-scale History of the Navy of the United State

40、s of America (1839). 5) The first American international novel of manners (Homeward Bound and Home as Found, 1838). I. A Brief Biography6) The first trilogy in American fiction (Satanstoe, 1845; The Chainbearer, 1845; and The Redskins, 1846).7) The first and only five-volume epic romance to carry it

41、s mythic hero - Natty Bumppo - from youth to old age.8) Finding the West and the frontier life as materials for literary works; introducing Western tradition into American literature.I. A Brief BiographyJames Cooper has had many critics. One of the well-known people who put Coopers novels under grea

42、t scrutiny and attacked his works continuously has been Mark Twain. Although scholars agree that some of Coopers novels have flaws, most agree that he is usually underestimated. As Warren points out without Cooper America would be deprived of brilliant power of observation. The Last of the MohicansT

43、he Last of the MohicansThe Last of the MohicansThe Last of the MohicansThe story is set in the British province of New York during the French and Indian War, and concerns a massacre of a colonial garrison and a fictional kidnapping of two sisters, who were the daughters of the commander of Fort William Henry. Parts of the s