美国文学简史名词解释定义

American

Puritanism

:

Puritanism

was

a

religious

reform

movement

that

arose

within the Church of England in the late sixteenth century. Under siege from church

and crown, it sent an offshoot in the third and forth decades of the seventeenth century

to

the

northern

English

colonies

in

the

New

World---

a

migration

that

laid

the

foundation for the religious, intellectual, and social order of New England, Puritanism,

however,was

not

only

a

historically

specific

phenomenon

coincident

with

the

founding

of

New

England;

it

was

also

a

way

of

being

in

the

world---a

style

of

response to lived experience---that has reverberated through American life ever since.

Doctrinally, Puritans adhered to the Five Points of Calvinism as codified at the Synod

of Dort in 1619:(1) unconditional election ( the idea that God had decreed who was

damned

and

who

was

saved

from

before

the

beginning

of

the

world);

(2)

limited

atonement

(

the

idea

that

Christ

died

for

the

elect

only);

(3)

total

depravity

(humanity's

utter

corruption

since

the

Fall);

(4)

irresistible

grace

(regeneration

as

entirely a work of God, which cannot be resisted and to which the sinner contributes

nothing);

and

(5)

the

perseverance

of

the

saints

(the

elect,

despite

their

backsliding

and faintness of heart , cannot fall away from grace).

American

Dream:

The

American

Dream

is

the

faith

held

by

many

in

the

United

States of America that through hard work, courage, and determination one can achieve

a better life for oneself, usually through financial prosperity. These were values held

by many early European settlers, and have been passed on to subsequent generations.

Nowadays

the

American

Dream

has

led

to

an

emphasis

on

material

wealth

as

a

measure of success and or happiness.

Gothic tradition:

Gothic novel or Gothic romance is a story of terror and suspense,

usually set in a gloomy old castle or monastery. In an extended sense, many novels

that

do

not

have

a

medievalized

setting,

but

which

share

a

comparably

sinister,

grotesque, or chaustrophobic atmosphere have been classed as Gothic. It contributed

to the new emotional climate of Romanticism.

Historical novel: a novel in which the action takes place during a specific historical

period

well

before

the

time

of

writing

(

often

one

or

two

generations

before,

sometimes several centuries), and in which some attempt is made to depict accurately

the customs and mentality of the period. The central character--- real or imagined---is

usually subject to divided loyalties within a larger historic conflict of which readers

know the outcome. The pioneers of this genre were Walter Scott and James Fenimore

Cooper

American

Romanticism:

Romanticism

refers

to

an

artistic

and

intellectual

movement

originating

in

Europe

in

the

late

18th

century

and

characterized

by

a

heightened interest in nature, emphasis on the individual's expression of emotion and

imagination,

departure

from

the

attitudes

and

forms

of

classicism,

and

rebellion

against

established

social

rules

and

conventions.

The

romantic

period

in

American

literature stretched from the end of the 18th century through the outbreak of the Civil