第1章　殖民地時期的美國

1.1　復習筆記

I. American Puritanism（美國清教主義）

The settlement of North American continent by the English began in the early part of the seventeenth century. The first permanent English settlement in North America was established at Jamestown, Virginia in 1607. In 1620, the ship Mayflower carried about one hundred Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth, Massachusetts. The first settlers in America were quite a few of them Puritans. They came to America out of various reasons. They carried with them American Puritanism which took root in the New World and became the most enduring shaping influence in American thought and American literature.

英國向北美的移民活動開始于17世紀上半葉。英國于1607年在北美建立了第一個永久性海外殖民區：弗吉尼亞州的詹姆斯敦。1620年“五月花”號載運100余名移民抵達馬薩諸塞州的普利茅斯。很多美國早期的移民是清教徒，他們出于多種原因來到美國。他們信奉的清教主義后來在新大陸生根發芽，并對美國思想和美國文學產生了根深蒂固的影響。

1．Doctrines of Puritanism（清教主義的教義）

The Puritans accepted the doctrine predestination, original sin and total depravity, and limited atonement (or the salvation of a selected few), which theologian John Calvin had preached.

清教徒信奉神學家約翰·加爾文宣揚的預設定論，原罪，徹底的墮落，有限制的救贖等神學主張。

2．The influence of Puritanism on American literature（清教主義對美國文學的影響）

(1) The idealism of Puritan had exerted a great influence on American writers.

It is a common place that American literature—or Anglo-American literature—is based on a myth, that is, the Biblical myth of the Garden of Eden. This literature is in good measure a literary expression of the pious idealism of the American Puritan bequest. The Puritan dreamed of living under a perfect order and worked with courage and hope toward building a new Garden of Eden in America, where man could at long last live the way he should. Fired with such a sense of mission, the Puritan looked upon even the worst of life in the face with a tremendous amount of optimism. All this went, in due time, into the making of American literature. The spirit of optimism burst into the pages of so many American authors.

(2) The American puritan’s metaphorical mode of perception was chiefly instrumental in calling into being a literary symbolism which is distinctly American.

Puritan doctrine and literary practice contributed to no small extent to the development of an indigenous symbolism. To the pious Puritan the physical phenomenal world was nothing but a symbol of God. Every passage of life, en-meshed in the vast context of God’s plan, possessed a delegated meaning. It is impossible to overlook the very symbolizing process that was constantly at work in Puritan minds. This process became, in time, part of the intellectual tradition in which American authors were brought up along with their people. For Jonathan Edwards, Emerson, Hawthorne, Melville, Howells and many others, symbolism as a technique has become a common practice. This peculiar mode of perception was an essential part of their upbringing.

(3) With regard to technique, the simplicity which characterize the Puritan style of writing greatly influenced the American literature.

The style of the writing of the Puritan writers 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. All this left an indelible imprint on American writing.

(1) 清教徒的理想主義對美國作家的文學創作產生了深遠的影響。

從總體來看，美國文學——至少是白人的美國文學——是建筑在《圣經》伊甸園神話基礎上的文學。在很大程度上，它是美國清教主義遺產——虔誠理想主義的一種文學形式。清教徒夢想著生活在一種完善的秩序之下，懷著勇氣和希望在美國建立新的伊甸園，以使得他們能最終過上理想的生活。在這種使命感的鼓舞下，他們面對艱難險阻卻充滿樂觀主義情緒。這些都成為美國文學產生發展的重要滋養。樂觀主義彌漫在許多美國作家的作品里。

(2) 美國清教徒形象地觀察事物的方式導致了具有典型美國文學特點的象征主義的產生。

清教神學和清教徒的文學實踐是美國本土象征主義發展的主要原因。在虔誠的清教徒看來，現實的大千世界只是上帝的象征而已。生活中的一切現象都是上帝意圖的組成部分和具體表現。很容易發現這種在清教徒思維中經常發生的象征過程。隨著時間的推移，這一過程便成為美國人民和作家賴以成長的文化傳統的一部分。喬納森·愛德華茲，愛默生，霍桑，麥爾維爾來說，象征主義已成為一種常用的技巧。清教徒這種獨特的觀察世界的方式是他們所受教育的一個基本構成部分。

(3) 在寫作技巧方面，清教徒作品的樸實無華也深刻地影響了美國文學。

清教徒作家的寫作風格是語言清新、簡單、直接；修辭簡樸、誠摯，帶有圣經直接影響下的高貴氣質。這些都給美國文學留下了持久的印跡。

II. Overview of the colonial literature（殖民地文學簡介）

American literature grew out of humble origins. Diaries, histories, journals, letters, commonplace books, travel books, sermons, in short, personal literature in its various forms, occupied a major position in the literature of the early colonial period.

美國文學由很多粗糙的文體發展而來。日記、稗史、札記、書信、備忘錄、游記及布道文稿等在內的各種形式的私人文字，在早期殖民時期的文學中占據著主要地位。

1．Major writers of colonial period（殖民地時期主要作家）

(1) John Smith (1580-1631)（約翰·斯密斯）

Captain John Smith was one of the founders of the colony Jamestown, Virginia. His writing about North America became the source of information about the New World for later settlers.

In The General History of Virginia he wrote about his capture by the Indians and his rescue by the famous Indian Princess, Pocahontas.

Another thing he wrote about that became historically important was his description of the fertile and vast new continent in his A Description of New England.

約翰·斯密斯上校是弗吉尼亞州詹姆斯敦殖民地的建立者之一。他的作品中有關北美的敘述成為后來移民了解北美新大陸的信息來源。

約翰·斯密斯在《弗吉尼亞通史》中講述了他被印第安人俘虜及被著名的印第安公主郎波克杭特絲營救的故事。

他的另一部具有重大歷史意義的作品是《新英格蘭概覽》，其中描述了肥沃且廣袤的美洲新大陸。

(2) William Bradford (1590-1657)（威廉姆·布雷福德）

In 1620 William Bradford led the Mayflower endeavor and became the first governor of the Plymouth Plantation with his group of pilgrim fathers.

His major work is Of Plymouth Plantation.

在1620威廉姆·布雷福德率領清教徒前輩移民乘“五月花”號到達美洲，他后來成為普利茅斯的首任總督。

他的主要作品是《普利茅斯開發史》。

(3) John Winthrop (1588-1649)（約翰·溫思羅普）

John Winthrop was the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay colony.

In his famous speech A Model of Christian Charity he stated that “we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill, the eyes of all people are upon us.”

The two major poets in the colonial period were Anne Bradstreet and Edward Taylor.

約翰·溫思羅普是馬薩諸塞灣殖民地的首任總督。

在其著名演說《基督教博愛的典范》中他說到“我們將成為山顛之城，全世界人民的眼光都在注視著我們。”

殖民時期的兩大詩人是安·布雷茲特里特和愛德華·泰勒。

(4) Anne Bradstreet (1612-1672)（安·布雷德斯特里特）

Anne Bradstreet was known as the “Tenth Muse” who appeared in America.

她被稱作在美國出現的“第十個繆斯”。

①Major works（主要作品）

The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America《美洲最近出現的第十位繆斯》

Contemplations《沉思錄》

“Upon the Burning of Our House”《寫在我家失火之際》

“To My Dear and Loving Husband”《獻給我親愛的丈夫》

“In Reference to Her Children”《關于她的孩子們》

“The Flesh and the Spirit”《靈與肉》

“As Weary Pilgrim”《疲憊的朝圣者》

②Analysis of her major works（主要作品分析）

◆Contemplations (9)《沉思錄》第九首

When the poet heard the grasshopper and cricket sing, she thought of this as their praising of their Creator and searched her own soul accordingly. It is evident that she saw something metaphysical, inhering in the physical, a mode of perception that was singular Puritan.

當詩人聽到蟈蟈和蛐蛐同時鳴叫，她感到這是它們對上帝恩惠的贊揚。她由此開始反思自己。這首詩突出地表現出清教徒形象地觀察世界的方式。

◆“The Fresh and the Spirit”《靈與肉》

This poem depicts two sisters arguing about their values. The flesh is forthright with her assertion of her views about the importance of this world while the Spirit, the other, tries to convince her of the greatness of the kingdom of God. The twin sisters are evidently the integral parts of one Puritan mind.

這首詩描述了兩姐妹的爭論。“肉”所代表的是世俗的物質的誘惑力。而“靈”則試圖說服“肉”相信上帝的神圣偉大。兩姐妹代表了一個清教徒的完整思想。

(5) Edward Taylor (1642-1729)（愛德華·泰勒）

Edward Taylor was a Puritan poet, concerned about how his images spoke for God.

愛德華·泰勒是個清教徒詩人，他的詩歌形象主要為上帝辯護。

①Analysis of major works（主要作品分析）

◆“Huswifery”《家務》

This poem indicates that the poet saw religious significance in a simple daily incident like a housewife spinning. The spinning wheel, the distaff, the flyers, the spool, the reel and the yarn have all acquired a metaphysical significance in the symbolic, Puritan eyes of the poet.

這首詩中，詩人從家庭主婦紡織這一普通的日常事件上看到強烈的宗教意味。在詩人這個清教徒的眼里，紡車、線桿、梭子、線筒及線卷，這些意象都具有抽象的意義。

◆“Upon a Spider Catching a Fly”《蜘蛛捕蠅有感》

The pet sees the spider as a symbol of Hell. It is obvious that Taylor has faith in God who can save the erring, or sinful, humankind from the evil designs of Hell.

詩人認為蜘蛛是地獄的象征。顯然，泰勒信仰上帝，認為上帝能把犯錯之人，甚至是有罪之人從地獄的邪惡圈套里拯救出來。

(6) Thomas Paine (1737-1809)（托馬斯·潘恩）

Thomas Paine was born in England and came to America in 1774. His life was one of continual, unswerving fight for the rights of man. He was a major influence in the American Revolution.

托馬斯·潘恩出生于英國，于1774年來到美國。他的一生堪稱為人的權利而堅持不懈、努力奮斗的一生。他是美國獨立革命時期最有影響力的人物之一。

①Major works（主要作品）

Common Sense《常識》

The American Crisis《美國危機》

“The Times that Try Men’s Souls”《考驗人的靈魂的時代》

The Rights of Man《人的權利》

The Age of Reason《理性的時代》

②Analysis of his major works（主要作品分析）

◆Common Sense《常識》

Common Sense attacked the British monarchy and added fuel to the fire which was soon to bring the colossus of its colonial rule down in flame. Paine declared that the crisis with which the North American colonies were then faced could only be solved by an appeal to man’s instincts and common sense and impulses of conscience. The booklet was warmly received in the colonies as a justification for their cause of independence and as an encouragement to the painfully fighting people.

《常識》抨擊了英國的君主制，推動了即將到來的推翻殖民統治的斗爭的發展。潘恩宣布只有通過聽從人的直覺、常識和良心的召喚，北美殖民地面臨的危機才能得以解決。這個小冊子在殖民地受到熱捧，它既是獨立事業合法化的宣言書，也是對深陷痛苦斗爭中的人們的精神鼓勵。

◆The American Crisis《美國危機》

The American Crisis is made up of 16 pamphlets written between 1776 and 1783. The first pamphlet “The Times that Try Men’s Souls” came out at one of the darkest moment of the revolution. “The harder the struggle, the more glorious the triumph,” when Washington had it read to the troops, it proved a heartening stimulus, a spurring excitement to further action with hope and confidence.

《美國危機》由16篇寫于1776年至1783年的小冊子組成。其中第一篇《考驗人的靈魂的時代》寫于美國獨立戰爭最灰暗的時刻。“戰斗越艱苦，勝利越光榮，”當華盛頓把這篇文章念給士兵聽時，它宛如一劑興奮劑，鼓舞軍民滿懷信心和希望勇往直前。

(7) Philip Freneau（菲利普·弗瑞諾）

Philip Freneau was important in American literary history in a number of ways. Apart from the fact that he used his poetic talents in the service of a nation struggling for independence, writing verses for the righteous cause of his people and exposing British colonial savageries, he was a most notable representative of dawning nationalism in American literature. Almost alone of his generation, Freneau managed to peer through the pervasive atmosphere of imitativeness, see life directly, and appreciate the natural scenes on the new land and the native Indian civilization.

菲利普·弗瑞諾美國文學史上的重要地位體現在很多方面。他把自己的詩歌創作才能奉獻給了國家的獨立斗爭事業，其詩歌歌頌了人民的正義事業，揭露了英國殖民者的暴行。除此之外，他還是開啟美國文學民族主義的突出代表之一。弗瑞諾率先擺脫模仿英國詩作的羈絆，直接觀察和描寫四周的一切。他崇尚美洲大地的風貌和印第安文明。

①Major works（主要作品）

“The Wild Honey Suckle”《野生的金銀花》

“The Dying Indian: Tomo Chequi”《奄奄一息的印第安人：托姆·柴吉》

“The Indian Burying Ground”《印第安人墓地》

②Analysis of major work（主要作品分析）

◆“The Wild Honey Suckle”《野生的金銀花》

In this poem, the lyric beauty, the heartfelt pathos, and the multiple emotional responses and echoes that the sight described are simply amazing. Here we can see the poet enjoys the beauty that the American landscape is capable of offering. This poem is an indication of the poet’s dedication of American subject matter.

這首詩旋律優美，傷感之情動人心扉，其中描寫的景色引發復雜的情感激蕩和共鳴。詩人盡情享受著美國土地所擁有的美麗風景。該詩顯示了詩人致力于描寫美國本土的題材。