美国文学Unit2Poe.pptx

,单击此处编辑母版标题样式,单击此处编辑母版文本样式,第二级,第三级,第四级,第五级,*,Selected Readings,in,American Literature,Unit 2,The American Romanticism,I.What is Romanticism,A literary movement flourished as a cultural force associated with imagination and boundlessness.,The Romantic Period stretches from,the end of the 18th century to the outbreak of the Civil War,.,It is a period of the great flowering of American literature.,The,desire for an escape from society and a return to nature,became a permanent convention of American literature.,The most clearly defined romantic literary movement in the U.S.A was,Transcendentalism.,Washington Irving,and James Fennimore Cooper,and those of the late period contain,Ralph Waldo Emerson,Henry David Thoreau,Walt Whitman,Nathaniel Hawthorne,Herman Melville,Edgar Allan Poe.,II.Features of American romanticism,(1)It was the expression of“a real new experience(全新 体验)”.,(2)American Puritanism was a cultural heritage.Many American romantic writings intended to edify(启发)more than they entertained.,(3)American Romanticism is full of,“newness(新奇)”.,Ideals：Individualism;political equalityDream：America:a new Garden of Eden,(4)American romanticism was,both imitative and independent.,Edgar Allan Poe,(1809-1849),E.A.Poe(18091849),Poes mother,Life,a,short,and,tragic,life.,(1)a,miserable,childhood;,lost,both of his,parents,;,adopted by a southern wealthy merchant,John Allan;,unhappy,relation,(2)He entered University of Virginia and then,West Point,but did,not finish,.,(3)He worked as editor and writer most of his life and he was always,poor,.,(4)At 27 he married his 13-year-old cousin,whose,death,in 1847 left him inconsolable.,(,5)One winter night,he was found,unconscious,on the street and,died,the next day in hospital in,1849,Edgar Allan Poe(18091849),father of,modern short story,father of,modern detective story,father of,psychoanalytic criticism,A Writer,Poet,Critic,Once controversial,in Am.literary history,Demons,Alcohol addiction,Gambling Addiction,Guilt of Incest,Emotional Instability,Social“Misfit”,Financial Failure,Catalytic Sleeping Illness,the most controversial and most misunderstood literary figure.,Works,Tales of the Grotesque and the Arabesque,奇异怪诞故事集,MS.Found in a Bottle,瓶子里发觉旳手稿,The Murders in the Rue Morgue,毛格街杀人案,The Fall of the House of Usher,厄舍古屋旳倒塌,The Masque of the Red Death,红色死亡旳化装舞会,The Cask of Amontillado,一桶酒旳故事,The Raven,乌鸦,Israfel,伊斯拉菲尔,Annabel Lee,安娜贝尔李,To Helen,致海伦,The Poetic Principle,诗歌原理,The Philosophy of Composition,创作哲学,Poems,1.,Theory,Poems should be short,concise and readable at one sitting.,The aim of poem writing is beauty;the most beautiful thing described by a poem is the death of a beautiful woman;the desirable tone of a poem is melancholy.,He opposed didactic poems.,He stressed the form of poem,especially the beautiful and neat rhyme.,2.Famous Poems:,The Raven,Annabel Lee,To Helen,Short Story,2.Features,Gothic elements,deep analysis of human psychology,precursor of detective stories and science stories,style:ordinary,traditional,language:,mannerism,特殊习惯；矫揉造作；怪癖,Comments on Poe,most controversial and most misunderstood literary figure in the history of American literature,enjoyed respect and welcome in Europe,the majority of critics have recognized him as a great writer of fiction,a poet of the first rank,and a critic of acumen and insight,Poe worked in a variety of genres,Criticism,-he gained a national reputation as a virulently sarcastic critic,a literary hatchetman.打手；受雇诽谤文人；职业杀手；,Poetry,-He was an experimental poet.,Psychological fiction-,-He wanted to produce the greatest possible horrific effects on the reader.,Detective Story-,-Poe created this form when he was 32,will all its major conventions complete.,Elements of Gothic in Poes Fiction,Grim setting,Landscapes are often reflections of characters mind.,Unusual buildings,extremes of nature,eccentric works of art,Very few of his stories take place in America;most take place in Europe or Never-never-land.,Themes,1.death predominant theme,2.horror,“Poe is not interested in anything alive.Everything in Poes writings is dead.”,3.negative thoughts of science,An element of Poes style,Poe uses,vocabulary,to create setting,for rhetorical effect,rather than for information.,Modern horror films use music to create atmosphere;Poe used vocabulary.,Hawthorne/Poe,Hawthorne described the conflict between the intellect and heart.,Poe described the conflict between two sides of the intellect.,“The Cask of Amontillado”,by,Edgar Allan Poe,Cask of Amontillado,Published in 1846.,Poe was known for,The Raven,(1844)and of several short stories,.,His early stories were argued over by critics who found them brilliant and disturbing,and their author perplexing and immoral.,Vocabulary,Precluded,-v.prevented;made impossible in advance,Retribution,-n.payback;punishment for a misdeed,Accosted,-v.greeted,especially in an aggressive way,Afflicted,-v.suffering or sickened,Explicit,-adj.clearly stated,Vocabulary cont.,Recoiling,-v.staggering back,Termination,-n.end,Subsided,-v.settled down;became less active or intense,The Cask of Amontillado,Literary Elements,Irony,Verbal Irony,a character says one thing but means another,Ex:Fortunato:“I shall not die of a cough”,Fortunato:“I drink to the buried that repose around us.”,Montresor:“And I to your long life.”,Dramatic Irony,:,When audience knows what will happen before a character knows.,Ex:Fortunato does not know that he will soon die.,Mood,The feeling/atmosphere created for the readers,What is the mood of“The Cask of Amontillado?”,Consider descriptive passages:,“,Its walls had been lined with human remains,piled to the vault overhead,in the fashion of the great catacombs of Paris”,(212).,Imagery,Description that appeals to the senses sight,smell,taste,sound,touch,“We had passed through walls of piled bonesinto the inmost recesses of the catacombsThe drops of moisture trickle among the bones”,(211).,Plot Summary,Montresor,carries a grudge against,Fortunato,that is never explained.,He leads a drunken Fortunato through a series of chambers beneath his palazzo with the promise of a taste of Amontillado.,When the two men reach the last underground chamber,Montresor chains Fortunato to the wall,seals shim in,and leaves him to die.,Setting,The story begins around dusk,one evening during the carnival season in an unnamed European city.,The location quickly changes,from the,lighthearted,activities associated with such a festival,to the,damp,dark catacombs,under Montressors palazzo which helps to establish the,sinister atmosphere,of the story.,Point of View,Poe writes this story from the perspective of Montresor who vows revenge against Fortunato in an effort to support his time-honored family motto:,Nemo me impune lacessit(No one can attack me without being punished.),Poe does not intend for the reader to sympathize with Montresor because he has been wronged by Fortunato,but rather to judge him.,Telling the story from Montresors point of view,intensifies the effect of moral shock and horror.Once again,the reader is invited to delve into the inner workings of a sinister mind.,Theme,The Cask of Amontillado is a powerful tale of,revenge,.,Montresor,the sinister narrator of this tale,pledges revenge upon Fortunato for an insult.,Montresor intends to seek vengeance in support of his family motto:Nemo me impune lacessit.“,(No one assails me with impunity.),Quotes,“The thousand injuries of Fortunado I had borne as I best could,but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge.”,Montresor is clearly crazy.Hes going to get revenge for an insult?,“A succession of loud and shrill screams,bursting suddenly from the throat of the chained form,seemed to thrust me violently back.”,Montresor is enjoying torturing Fortunado with the knowledge that he will die soon.,The Cask of Amontillado,Cultural Literacy,and,Background for Understanding,Carnival,Carnival,Carnival is celebrated from December 26 to Ash Wednesday,also known as Mardi Gras.,Excess is permitted.,Everyone is intent on partying,singing,dancing,gambling and playing games.,people are costumed in a black silk hood,a lace cape,a cloak,a three-cornered hat and a white mask.,That allows them to party incognito.,Carnival,Carnival is a secular holiday,but it evolved from the Christian observance known as Lent.大斋节（亦称“齐斋节”，自圣灰星期三开始至复活节前旳40天，在此期间进行斋戒和忏悔）,Lent is a solemn forty-day period of fasting prior to Easter.,CARNIVAL,Traditionally,the fasting during Lent involves abstaining from eating meat.,Modern interpretations of fasting may involve abstaining from anything one enjoys.,Carn +Val,FLESH(Meat)+FAREWELL,In anticipation of the solemnity of Lent,the celebration of Carnival evolved.,Participants engage in excessive and extreme behavior to bid,farewell to meat-eating,and merriment.,What happens during Carnival?,Carnival is a time of EXCESS and INDULGENCE.,BINGEING upon food and alcohol is common.,Partying in the streets and masquerading are enjoyed.,The combination of alcohol and costumes creates an atmosphere where people tend to let down their inhibitions.,European Carnival traditions survive in the United States in the form of Mardi Gras.四旬斋前旳最终一天,“The Cask of Amontillado”is set during the“,supreme madness,”of Carnival.In such a riotous atmosphere,it is easy to see how a crime could go unnoticed,.,Lifestyles of the Rich,Circa 1700-1800,The wealthy class enjoyed indulgences such as,Gemmary,Painting,Palazzos(mansions),Fine Wine(vintages),Vineyards,where the grapes for producing wine are grown,create picturesque settings for owners estates.,Casks,Wooden barrels where wine is aged and stored.,This is what the Amontillado is stored in.,The narrator plans for his revenge to take place in the catacombs beneath his estate.What are,catacombs,?,Catacombs,The catacombs were a subterranean burial place for the Christians.,These burial sites were either simple graves marked to preserve the memory of a Christian martyr,or to mark vaults of noble families sympathetic to the Christian religion.,Catacombs:Cities of the Dead,At a certain point in European history,catacombs,underground burial chambers,became a viable alternative to cemeteries.,Catacombs are characterized by extensive tunnels leading to chambers or recesses where the dead repose for eternity.,The wealthy could opt for family catacombs beneath their estates.,The narrator of“The Cask of Amontillado”carries out his revenge within the catacombs beneath his palazzo.,The narrator is able to lure his victim into the catacombs with the promise of,amontillado,a fine sherry雪利酒（西班牙产旳一种烈性白葡萄酒）wine.,The“supreme madness”of Carnival aside,why doesnt the suggestion of a journey to the catacombs for a taste of wine seem odd or suspicious to the victim?,The Storage of Wine,For wines to maintain their best quality,they need to be stored at fairly cool and constant temperatures.,During the time period in which the story is set,modern electric refrigeration was not available.To protect wine collections,connoisseurs adopted the practice of storing wines under the ground where temperatures remain ideal year-round.,Basements,cellars,and even catacombs serve as excellent storage facilities for the precious vintages.,Herein,where wine bottles intermingle with the bones of the dead,the narrator carries out his plan for revenge.,Edgar Allan Poe,Author,not the narrator,of the story.,Developed characters whose sanity is questionable.,“The Cask of Amontillado”ENJOY THIS LITERARY JOURNEY INTO THE DARK SIDE OF REVENGE!,1)Who is the narrator?What wrong does he want to redress?,It is Montresor.Fortunato has given Montresor thousands of injuries that he has to bear before he has this opportunity of taking revenge.,2)What is the pretext Montresor uses to lure Fortunado to his wine cellar?,He claims that he has just got a cask of Amontilado and stores it in the wine cellar before he may find a connoisseur to testify to its authenticity.,3)What happens to Fortunado in the end?,The deceived Fortunado is killed because of his inability of getting out of the catacomb.,4)Describe briefly how Poe characterizes Mortresor and Fortunado as contrasts.,Poe characterizes Mortresor and Fortunado as seemingly contrasting characters chiefly by presenting their identical habit in wine,and their different manners towards each other,but actually he intends to show some similarly defective aspects in their nature.,The similarity in their nature is also suggested by their names as synonyms in Italian:,Mortresor means“fortune”,while,Fortunado means “treasure”.,Their defective nature is highlighted when the revenger Mortresor,who is fully prepared on psychological and operating levels,throws,the hardly prepared but totally deceived wrong-doer Fortunado into the deep and damp catacomb and blocks up its entrance with huge rocks.,1),To Montresor,the fatal weakness of Fortunato is his _ for his connoisseurship in wine.,A)knowledgeB)arroganceC)faithD)seeming ignorance,b,2)Montresor wants to take revenge on Fortunato during the carnival because _,A)almost all the people would habitually celebrate the festival,excessively drinking and dancing in delight and giving less attention to other activities beyond celebration.B)Fortunato would be too busy as a wine connoisseur during the festival so that he might not see through the tricky plan of Montresor to put an end to his life.C)he would work together with Fortunato during the festival so as to have chance to kill him.D)he chooses the time at random instead of a deliberate scheme.,a,3)In the story Amontillado is known as the good wine whose _,as Montresor deceptively claims,has strong appeal to Fortunato.,A)taste and smellB)reputation and tasteC)reputation and quantityD)recommendations by Italian virtuosos,c,4)Who is Luchresi?,A)a boy in the barB)a arrogant neighborC)a wine connoisseurD)a Sherry producer,c,5)As Montresor and Fortunato walk further into the catacomb,the latter keeps coughing because _.,A)the nitre hanging like moss upon the vaults increases to strongly provoke him.B)he pretends so in order to encourage himself.C)he takes,Nemo me impune lacessit,.D)the nitre distills the rheum of intoxication.,a,6)Before taking his last breath,Fortunato still seems unable to perceive the intention of Montresor,mistaking what Montresor does to him as a very good joke,indeed an excellent jest.Why does he react so slowly?,A)Fortunato has drunk too much to see his coming death.B)Poe intends to use Fortunatos slow comprehension as a foil to the blackness of Montresor s well-planned revenge.C)Fortunato wants to get Montresors mercy by fooling him this way so that he may free himself from the threshold of death.D)It is only Montresors illusion because Fortunato has been dead when the former builds up the eleven tiers of the stone wall.,b,7)Where does the story take place?,A)It is only a psychological experience without the setting in reality.B)Poe never intends to give any information about the setting.C)It couldnt be identified.D)Italy as the setting of the st