论美国殖民地时期文学中的幽默

Humor in the Literature of Colonial America

美国殖民地时期文学已经具备了幽默元素,为美国文学的幽默传统奠定了基础,这一传统的形成与美国的社会历史、宗教哲学、民族精神以及多元文化基因有着密切的关联。殖民地时期的幽默作家主要包括纳撒尼尔·沃德、乔治·艾尔索普、本杰明·富兰克林等,他们的创作体现出一些共同的特点:以实用主义为哲学基础,具有鲜明的反知倾向;大量运用夸张手法,充分显现出美利坚民族的自信心;将幽默与讽刺相结合,揭示社会和人类的弊病;运用降格手法以及方言俚语,使幽默具有本土化和大众性特点。殖民地时期文学中的幽默是否具有"美国性",曾经引起了美国学者的广泛争论,本文作者在介绍争论双方主要论点的基础上,对此问题提出了自己的看法,并探讨了美国早期幽默文学对后世的影响。

Humor tradition of American literature has shaped since the colonial period, which is related to the social and historical backgrounds, national character, religion, philosophy and multiple cultures. Nathaniel Ward, George Alsop and Benjamin Franklin are the representative humor writers in the colonial days, whose humorous works indicate the following similar qualities： they are based on pragmatism; they show an anti-knowledge tendency; they frequently employ exaggeration to manifest the national confidence; they combine humor and satire to reveal the evils of society and human beings; they use debasement and dialect to make their humor native and public. Whether the humor in the literature of colonial America has a ＂native quality＂ has evoked scholars＇ debates for a long time. The author of this article presents her own opinion on this issue and discusses the influences of the early American humor literature.