《英美文学选读》（美）浪漫主义时期（2）Washing Irving
2007-02-04 20:51阅读：
二。美国浪漫主义时期的主要作家 Ⅰ。 Washington
Irving（1783-l859）
Irving''s position in American literature Washington Irving was
one of the first American writers to earn an international
reputation， and regarded as an early Romantic writer in the merican
literary history and Father of the American short stories.
一。一般识记
His life and major works
Washington Irving was born in New York City in a wealthy family.
From a very early age he began to read widely and write juvenile
poems， essays， and plays. In l798， he conc1uded his education at
private schools and entered a law office， but he loved writing
more.
His first successful work is A History Of New York from the
Beginning Of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty， which，
written under the name of Diedrich Knickerbocker， won him wide
popularity after it came out in 1809. With the publication of The
Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon， Gent. in serials between 1819 and
1820， Irving won a mea
sure of international fame on both sides of the Atlantic. The book
contains familiar essays on the Eng1ish life and Americanized
versions of European folk tales like 'Rip Van Winkle＂， and 'The
Legend of Sleepy Hollow.' Geoffrey Crayon is a carefully contrived
persona and behind Crayon stands Irving， juxtaposing the Old World
and the New， and manipulating his own antiquarian interest with
artistic perspectives.
The major work of his later years was The Life of George
Washington.
二。识记
1.Irving''s great indebtedness to European literature
Most of Irving''s subject matter are borrowed heavily from
European sources， which are chiefly Germanic. Irving''s
relationship with the Old World in terms of his literary
imagination can hardly be ignored considering his success both
abroad and at home.
A History of New York is a patchwork of references， echoes， and
burlesques. He parodies or imitates Homer， Cervantes， Fielding，
Swift and many other favorites of his. He was also absorbed in
German Literature and got ideas from German legends for two of his
famous stories 'Rip Van Winkle' and 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.'
The Alhambra is usually regarded as Irving''s 'Spanish Sketch Book'
simply because it has a strong flavor of Spanish culture. Most of
the thirty-three essays in The Sketch Book were written in England，
filled with English scenes and quotations from English authors and
faithful to British orthography. Washington Irving brought to the
new nation what its peop1e desired most in a man of 1etters the
respect of the Old World.
2.Irving''s unique contribution to American literature
Irving''s contribution to American literature is unique in more
than one way. He was the first American writer of imaginative
literature to gain international fame. Although greatly influenced
by European literature， Irving gave his works distinctive American
flavor. 'Rip Van Winkle' or 'The Legend of Sleepy Hol1ow'， however
exotic these stories are， are among the treasures of the American
language and culture. These two stories easily trigger off American
imagination with their focus on American subjects， American
landscape， and， in Irving''s case， the legends of the Hudson River
region of the fresh young 1and. It is not the sketches about the
Old World but the tales about America that made Washington Irving a
household word and his fame enduring. He was father of American
short stories. And later in the hands of Hawthorne and Melville the
short story attained a degree of perfection.
三。领会
1.Irving''s theme of conservatism as is revealed in 'Rip Van
Winkle'
Irving''s taste was essentia1ly conservative and always exa1ted a
disappearing past. This socia1 conservatism and literary preference
for the past is revea1ed， to some extent， in his famous story 'Rip
Van Winkle.' The story is a tale remembered mostly for Rip''s
20-year s1eep， set against the background of the inevitably
changing America. Rip went to sleep before the War of Independence
and woke up after it. The change that had occurred in the 20 years
he slept was to him not always for the better. The revolution upset
the natural order of things. In the story Irving ski1lfu1ly
presents to us paralleled juxtapositions of two totally different
worlds before and after Rip''s 20 years'' s1eep. By moving Rip back
and forth from a noisy world with his wife on the farm to a wild
but peaceful natural world in the mountains， and from a
pre-Revolution village to a George Washington era， lrving describes
Rip''s response and reaction in a dramatic way， so that we see
clearly both the narrator and Irving agree on the preferabi1ity of
the past to the present， and the preferability of a dream-like
world to the real one. Irving never seemed to accept a modern
democratic America.
2.Irving''s literary craftsmanship
Washington Irving has always been regarded as a writer who
'perfected the best classic style that American Literature ever
produced.'
（1） We get a strong sense impression as we read him along， since
the language he used best reveals what a Romantic writer can do
with words. We hear rather than read， for there is musicality in
almost every line of his prose.
（2） We seldom learn a mora1 lesson because he wants us amused and
relaxed. So we often find ourselves lost in a world that is
permeated with a dreaming quality.
（3） The Gothic elements and the supernatural atmosphere are
manipulated in such a way that we could become so engaged and
involved in what is happening in a seemingly exotic place.
（4） Yet Irving never forgets to associate a certain place with
the inward movement of a person and to charge his sentences with
emotion so as to create a true and vivid character. He is worth the
honor of being 'the American Goldsmith' for his literary
craftsmanship.
四。应用
Selected Reading：
An Excerpt from 'Rip Van Winkle'
The story of Rip Van Winkle
Rip， an indolent good-natured Dutch-American， lives with his
shrewish wife in a village on the Hudson during the years before
the Revolution. One day while hunting in the Catskills with his dog
Wolf， he meets a dwarflike stranger dressed in the ancient Dutch
fashion. He helps him to carry a keg， and with him joins a party
silently playing a game of ninepins. After drinking of the liquor
they provide， Rip falls into a sleep which lasts 20 years， during
which the Revolutionary War takes place. He awakes as an old man
and returns to his home village that has greatly altered. Upon
entering the village， he is greeted by his old dog， which dies of
the excitement and then learns that his wife has long been dead.
Rip is almost forgotten but he goes to live with his daughter， now
the mother of a family， and is soon befriended with his generosity
and cheerfulness.
This excerpt below is taken from the story， describing for us
Rip''s difficulties at home， which he often escapes by going to the
local inn to spend his time with his friends and sometimes by going
hunting in the woods with his dog， and then focusing on Rip ''s
return from his 20 years'' sleep to his greatly altered home
village. Here， Irving''s pervasive theme of nostalgia for the
unrecoverable past is at once made unforgettable.
What are the theme and the artistic features of 'Rip Van
Winkle'？
（1） The theme：
Irving''s taste was essentia1ly conservative and always exa1ted a
disappearing past. This socia1 conservatism and literary preference
for the past is revea1ed， to some extent， in his famous story 'Rip
Van Winkle.' The story is a tale remembered mostly for Rip''s
20-year s1eep， set against the background of the inevitably
changing America. Rip went to sleep before the War of Independence
and woke up after it. The change that had occurred in the 20 years
he slept was to him not always for the better. The revolution upset
the natural order of things. In the story Irving ski1lfu1ly
presents to us paralleled juxtapositions of two totally different
worlds before and after Rip''s 20 years'' s1eep. By moving Rip back
and forth from a noisy world with his wife on the farm to a wild
but peaceful natural world in the mountains， and from a
pre-Revolution village to a George Washington era， lrving describes
Rip''s response and reaction in a dramatic way， so that we see
clearly both the narrator and Irving agree on the preferabi1ity of
the past to the present， and the preferability of a dream-like
world to the real one. Irving never seemed to accept a modern
democratic America.
（2） The artistic features：
'Rip Van Winkle' is not only well-known for Rip''s 20-year sleep
but also considered a model of perfect English in American
Literature and in the English language as well. Washington Irving
has always been regarded as a writer who 'perfected the best
classic style that American Literature ever produced.' He has a
clear， easy style.
（a） We get a strong sense impression as we read him along， since
the language he used best reveals what a Romantic writer can do
with words. We hear rather than read， for there is musicality in
almost every line of his prose.
（b） We seldom learn a mora1 lesson because he wants us amused and
relaxed. So we often find ourselves lost in a world that is
permeated with a dreaming quality. He uses genial humor to
exaggerate the seriousness of situation. He uses dignified words to
produce a half-mocking effect.
（c）The Gothic elements and the supernatural atmosphere are
manipulated in such a way that we could become so engaged and
involved in what is happening in a seemingly exotic place.（ Rip Van
Winkle was overwhelmed by the magic power of the drink and fell
into sleep for 20 years.）
（d）Yet Irving never forgets to associate a certain place with the
inward movement of a person and to charge his sentences with
emotion so as to create a true and vivid character. He is worth the
honor of being 'the American Goldsmith' for his literary
craftsmanship.
