外国文学论文外国文学AMERICAN PURITANISM.doc

外国文学:American Puritanism American Puritanism1. Time: 17th century2. place: New England, the North America3. Historical Background:In the year 1620, 102 Pilgrims went on board the ship “the Mayflower” for Virginia, the British colony at that time. They arrived at Cape Cod at the eleventh of November and settled at Plymouth (at the south of Massachussetts) and established the first colony, Plymouth. While on board the ship, 41 out of the 102 passengers signed “The Mayflower Compact ”, the first written law in American history.4. Basic Puritan Beliefs1). Total Depravity - the concept of Original Sin2). Unconditional Election - the concept of predestination3). Limited Atonement - Jesus died for the chosen only, not for everyone.4). Irresistible Grace - Gods grace is freely given, it cannot be earned or denied.5). Perseverance of the “saints” - those elected by God have full power to interpret the will of God, and to live uprightly. If anyone rejects grace after feeling its power in his life, he will be going against the will of God.5. The Function of Puritan Writers1). 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.6. The Style of Puritan Writing1). Protestant - against ornateness; reverence for the Bible.2). Purposiveness - there was a purpose to Puritan writing - described in Part II above.3). Puritan writing reflected the character and scope of the reading public, which was literate and well-grounded in religion.7. Common Themes in Early Puritan Writing1). Idealism - both religious and political.2). Pragmaticism - practicality and purposiveness.8. Some Writers:毕业论文网 论文网1). the first American writer: Captain John Smith(1580-1631)Captain John Smith is now associated wih the English expedition that founded the Jamestown colony(in East Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in North America) in 1607. Since his writings were the first ones appearing in English in the New World, those who favor the definition of “America” in terms of English cultural sources suggest that American literature literally begins with Captain Smith. However, this view might be culturally too narrow-minded.Works: 1) A Description of New England (1964)2) Advertisements for the Unexperienced Planters of New England, or Anywher e(1631)3)The True Travels, Adventure, and Observations of Captain John Smith (1630)4)General History of Virginia, New England, and the Summer Isles (1624)2). William Bradford(1590-1657),Bradford was a colonial writer whose name has become synonymous with the Pilgrims and the Mayflower. In 1620, the bradford party sailed on the Mayflower and came to Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Between 1621 and his death in 1656, Bradford was elected the Pilgrim Governor of Massachusetts thirty times. His best known work is The History of Plymouth Plantation which he began in 1630 (the completed version was first published two hundred years later, in 1856.) His concern is more with the spiritual pursuit in America.3) John Winthrop(1588-1649) came to America in 1630 on the Arbella. He was the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony states .Works: The History of New England A Model of Christain Charity4). Two Verse writers: Anne Bradstreet (The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America) and Edward Taylora. Anne Bradstreet(1612-1672), a Puritan poet who wrote “ponderous verses of interminable, inter-locking poems” on the four elements, the constitutions and ages of man, the seasons of the year, and the chief empires of the ancient world. Annes “domestic” poems and the Contemplations are today recognized as her best literary achievement.b. Edward Taylor(ca.1642-1729) was the poet of “wilderness baroque,” and is regarded as a major figure in colonial literature. His reputation, however, was postuhumously established. As he lay dying at the age of 88, Taylor requested that his poetry not to be published. His heirs honored his request. Consequently, Taylors poems lay buried in dust and anonymity for two centuries. In 1937 his manuscript, some four hundred pages bound in a leather book, was discovered in the Yale University Library. In his elaborate metaphors he was reminiscent of Richard Crashaw (1613-1649), and George Herbert (1593-1633). In his splended, exotic images, Taylor came nearest to the English baroque poets. Works: Series of Meditations, Huswifery 毕业论文网 论文网c. John Cotton: the first major intellectual spokesman of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, “the Patriarch of New England”. Concerned with authority than with democracy