Transcript Washington Irving 1783-1859

Washington Irving
1783-1859
The first belletrist in
American literature
Washington Irving
Washington Irving
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I. Brief biography
Washington Irving, (1783-1859) American
author, short story writer, essayist, poet,
travel book writer, biographer, and columnist,
best known for the short stories "The Legend
of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle".
Washington Irving
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1．Life
A. Born in a rich merchant family, the last of
11 children
B. Liked traveling and reading
C. Learned law but more interested in writing
D. Went to England for family business
E. Wrote to support himself after business
failure
F. Diplomatic work for a period
Washington Irving
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2．Major works
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(1) A History of New York (1809)
a. written under the name of D. K.;
b. a popular and humorous handbook about the Dutch settlers;
(2) Biographies of Goldsmith and Washington
(3) The Sketch Book (1819 - 20)
a. a collection of essays, sketches and tales;
b. It marks the beginning of American romanticism;
c. Satire is woven throughout the book;
d. Two famous short stories in the collection: "Rip Van Winkle"
and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"
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Washington Irving
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"Rip Van Winkle"
1) the story: Rip felt into sleep before the
American Independence and woke after it
and found the world completely changed.
2) the writer’s conservative attitudes (love of
the old world's tradition, "an old gentleman
speaking English not American”)
Washington Irving
3. Achievements
1) Irving is the first belletrist in American literature,
writing for pleasure at a time when writing was
practical and for useful purposes.
2) He is the first American literary humorist.
3) He has written the first modern short stories. The
short story as a genre in American literature probably
began with Irving's The Sketch Book.
Washington Irving
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4) He is the first to write history and biography as
entertainment.
5) He introduced the nonfiction prose as a literary
genre.
6) His use of the gothic looks forward to Poe.
7) He was the first American writer of imaginative
literature to gain international fame.
Washington Irving
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4. Literary style
(1)“The style is the man;”
(2) neoclassical in form;
(3) English style + German folktale +
American life = Irving’s style;
II. The Author’s Account of Himself
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The whole piece of writing can be divided
into two parts.
Part I (paragraphs 1-3)
The author describes his travels in America.
Part II (paragraphs 4-6)
The author describes his travels in Europe.
II. The Author’s Account of Himself
→Part I
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Travels in America.
Ever since he was a little child, he was fond of
visiting new scenes, and observing strange
characters and manners. His passion for books of
voyages and travels strengthened with his years. He
even neglected the regular exercises of the school
as a student. He visited various parts of his own
country. And he did not do that simply to enjoy the
fine scenery although, according to him, America
had got the most sublime and beautiful natural
scenery in the world.
II. The Author’s Account of Himself
→Part II (1)
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Travels in Europe.
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In the fourth paragraph the author makes a comparison
between America and Europe. America had got the most
sublime and beautiful natural scenery in the world. “But Europe
held forth all the charms of storied and poetical association.”
“〔His〕native country was full of youthful promise; Europe was
rich in the accumulated treasures of age.” He traveled to
Europe for its long history and tradition of civilization, which his
own country lacked. Actually most of the best known American
writers traveled to and stayed in Europe for many years for the
same reason.
II. The Author’s Account of Himself
→Part II (2)
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In the fifth paragraph, he launches an attack on the
self-important and arrogant Europeans, especially
the English. Here in the paragraph you will be able to
see his style of humor and satire.
In the last paragraph, the author tells us how he
wrote when traveling in Europe. He did not write
about the most beautiful scenery or the most
magnificent buildings or monuments. Instead he
sketched in nooks, and corners, and by-places.
II. The Author’s Account of Himself
→Summary
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In this account the author, apart from
narrating his own passion for traveling,
reading and thinking, presents his views of
America and Europe and tells the reader how
he wrote the Sketch Book.
III. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
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"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is a short story by
Washington Irving contained in his collection The
Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., written while
he was living in Birmingham, England, and first
published in 1820. With Irving's companion piece
"Rip Van Winkle", "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is
among the earliest American fiction still read widely
today.
III. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow →Plot
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The story is set in the Dutch settlement of Tarry Town,
New York, in a secluded glen called Sleepy Hollow. It
tells the story of Ichabod Crane, a priggish
schoolmaster from Connecticut, who competes with
Abraham "Brom Bones" Van Brunt, a buff and tough
man, for the hand of eighteen-year-old Katrina Van
Tassel.
III. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow →Plot
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As Crane leaves a party, he is pursued by the
Headless Horseman, supposedly the ghost of a
Hessian trooper who lost his head to a cannon-ball
during "some nameless battle" of the American
Revolutionary War and who "rides forth to the scene
of battle in nightly quest of his head." Crane runs
away from town, leaving Katrina with Brom Bones,
who is implied to be the Headless Horseman.
III. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
→Inspiration
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The denouement of the fictional tale is set at the
bridge in the real location of the Old Dutch Burying
Ground in Sleepy Hollow. The characters of Ichabod
Crane and Katrina Van Tassel may have been based
on local residents known to the author. The character
of Katrina is thought to have been based upon
Eleanor Van Tassel Brush and her name comes from
Eleanor's aunt Catriena Ecker Van Tessel.
III. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
→Inspiration
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"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" follows a
tradition of folk tales and poems involving a
supernatural wild chase, including Robert
Burns's Tam O' Shanter (1790), and Bürger’s
Der wilde Jäger, translated as The Wild
Huntsman (1796).