Washington Irving(1783-1858) Study Objectives: 1.To understand elements of fiction and the short story. 2.To appreciate the literary features and style of Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”. 3.To practice writing a literary comment on this short story. Understanding the Author 8kEB1DE1OO瓦 GEOFPREY CRMYON,GOL No.I. 三 N不r,Oe (Portrait of Irving in about 1820) Signature: ipdrporp 1
1 Washington Irving (1783 -1858) Study Objectives: 1. To understand elements of fiction and the short story. 2. To appreciate the literary features and style of Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”. 3. To practice writing a literary comment on this short story. Understanding the Author (Portrait of Irving in about 1820) Signature:
"Washington Irving and his Literary Friends at Sunnyside" (Christian Schussele,1863) Washington Irving was the central figure in the American literary world between 1809 and the American Civil War (1861-1865).Though not considered one of the great American writers,Irving,as can be seen in the above popular painting(1863)by Christian Schussele,was beloved by ordinary readers of his time and exerted great influence upon his contemporary fellow writers.For his literary status as the first American to achieve an international literary reputation,and his elegant literary style, he is regarded as a profoundly important writer in the period of American Romantic Literature. Washington Irving was born into a wealthy New York merchant's family,the last of eleven children of a Scottish-born father and English-born mother in the year 1783, in which the colonies won their independence from Britain.From an early age,he began to read widely in English literature at home,modeling his early prose upon the graceful writings of Joseph Addison,William Shakespeare,Oliver Goldsmith,and Laurence Sterne.At nineteen Irving wrote a series of satirical essays on New York society for his brother's newspaper,Morning Chronicle.Attractive,rather self-indulgent and pleasure-loving,shrewdly observant but without any clear-cut ambition,the young Irving led a very agreeable life in New York,a booming little city of sixty thousand inhabitants.He made himself known and popular to the public when his first book A History of New York From the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty (1809),written under the name of Diedrich Knickerbocker,was published.He became the first writer to find a way of treating American materials in a truly "literary"perspective and became an American celebrity. Before 1832,he spent quite a long period of time in Europe either for personal business or on a diplomatic mission to Spain.He travelled a lot in Europe while imitating English literary models and writing out of the European lore.With the publication of The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon,Gent (1819-20),he became the 2
2 “Washington Irving and his Literary Friends at Sunnyside” (Christian Schussele, 1863) Washington Irving was the central figure in the American literary world between 1809 and the American Civil War (1861-1865). Though not considered one of the great American writers，Irving, as can be seen in the above popular painting (1863) by Christian Schussele, was beloved by ordinary readers of his time and exerted great influence upon his contemporary fellow writers. For his literary status as the first American to achieve an international literary reputation, and his elegant literary style, he is regarded as a profoundly important writer in the period of American Romantic Literature. Washington Irving was born into a wealthy New York merchant’s family, the last of eleven children of a Scottish-born father and English-born mother in the year 1783, in which the colonies won their independence from Britain. From an early age, he began to read widely in English literature at home, modeling his early prose upon the graceful writings of Joseph Addison, William Shakespeare, Oliver Goldsmith, and Laurence Sterne. At nineteen Irving wrote a series of satirical essays on New York society for his brother’s newspaper, Morning Chronicle. Attractive, rather self-indulgent and pleasure-loving, shrewdly observant but without any clear-cut ambition, the young Irving led a very agreeable life in New York, a booming little city of sixty thousand inhabitants. He made himself known and popular to the public when his first book A History of New York From the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty (1809), written under the name of Diedrich Knickerbocker, was published. He became the first writer to find a way of treating American materials in a truly “literary” perspective and became an American celebrity. Before 1832, he spent quite a long period of time in Europe either for personal business or on a diplomatic mission to Spain. He travelled a lot in Europe while imitating English literary models and writing out of the European lore. With the publication of The Sketch Book of Geof rey Crayon, Gent (1819-20), he became the
first American writer to gain an international reputation and he is now mainly remembered for this book.The stories in this book were primarily of German or English origin,but Irving made them appealing to his American audience by planting some of them in the soil of American land against American social and historical background.This book touched the American imagination and marked the beginning of American Romanticism.It also started the tradition of the short story as a literary genre.The whole book abounds in humor and comic scenes as well as in rich country anecdotes that may well reveal manners and customs of 19th-century American rural life.While he himself claimed to attach more importance to feeling and language rather than story and character in writing these tales,Irving's ultimate aim was to develop a distinctive style with enduring literary appeal and a general method appropriate for his own feeling for the world. The success of The Sketch Book was immediate,and over the next years selections from the book entered the classroom as models of English prose just as selections from Joseph Addison and Oliver Goldsmith had long been used.Among the thirty-two tales created out of European folk lore,"Rip Van Winkle"and"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"were two vigorous ones regarded as the literary treasures of the English language. After returning to America at about fifty years of age,Irving became greatly impressed by the opening of the western frontier and the beauty of America in general He wrote some books of secondary importance,such as A Tour on the Prairies(1835), based on his horseback journey into what is now Oklahoma.In the late 1830s,Irving's life is a story of both anticlimax and increasing popular recognition.He bought a mansion named "Sunnyside"near Tarrytown,along the Hudson north of New York City.Here he lived a life of leisure and comfort and continued to produce more writing including biographies of Oliver Goldsmith (1849).He died in 1859, unmarried.Decades before his death,Irving had achieved the status of a classic writer; in his own country he had no rival as a stylist.With The Sketch Book,he was long an inspiration for many more prominent writers. Washington Irving's enduring popularity as a short story writer in our times can be seen in the fact that there have been a lot of notable film and television variations as well as stage and music adaptations since 1920s.For English majors,it is highly recommended that they read and imitate Irving as a model of graceful English, because few can deny that for lucidity,elegance,sensuousness,beauty and music,the language of Irving has achieved immortality Understanding Fiction and the Short Story: Fiction is "a term often used inclusively for any literary narrative,whether in prose or verse,...,which does not purport to be historical truth."(M.H.Abrams, A Glossary of Literary Terms,p.62).It may include novels,short stories,myths. romances,epics and parables.It is one of the three broad genres of literature. Sometimes generally called as "prose fiction or narrative"according to the way 3
3 first American writer to gain an international reputation and he is now mainly remembered for this book. The stories in this book were primarily of German or English origin, but Irving made them appealing to his American audience by planting some of them in the soil of American land against American social and historical background. This book touched the American imagination and marked the beginning of American Romanticism. It also started the tradition of the short story as a literary genre. The whole book abounds in humor and comic scenes as well as in rich country anecdotes that may well reveal manners and customs of 19 th-century American rural life. While he himself claimed to attach more importance to feeling and language rather than story and character in writing these tales, Irving’s ultimate aim was to develop a distinctive style with enduring literary appeal and a general method appropriate for his own feeling for the world. The success of The Sketch Book was immediate, and over the next years selections from the book entered the classroom as models of English prose just as selections from Joseph Addison and Oliver Goldsmith had long been used. Among the thirty-two tales created out of European folk lore, “Rip Van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” were two vigorous ones regarded as the literary treasures of the English language. After returning to America at about fifty years of age, Irving became greatly impressed by the opening of the western frontier and the beauty of America in general. He wrote some books of secondary importance, such as A Tour on the Prairies (1835), based on his horseback journey into what is now Oklahoma. In the late 1830s, Irving’s life is a story of both anticlimax and increasing popular recognition. He bought a mansion named “Sunnyside” near Tarrytown, along the Hudson north of New York City. Here he lived a life of leisure and comfort and continued to produce more writing including biographies of Oliver Goldsmith (1849). He died in 1859, unmarried. Decades before his death, Irving had achieved the status of a classic writer; in his own country he had no rival as a stylist. With The Sketch Book, he was long an inspiration for many more prominent writers. Washington Irving’s enduring popularity as a short story writer in our times can be seen in the fact that there have been a lot of notable film and television variations as well as stage and music adaptations since 1920s. For English majors, it is highly recommended that they read and imitate Irving as a model of graceful English, because few can deny that for lucidity, elegance, sensuousness, beauty and music, the language of Irving has achieved immortality. Understanding Fiction and the Short Story: Fiction is “a term often used inclusively for any literary narrative, whether in prose or verse, …, which does not purport to be historical truth.” (M. H. Abrams, A Glossary of Literary Terms, p. 62). It may include novels, short stories, myths, romances, epics and parables. It is one of the three broad genres of literature. Sometimes generally called as “prose fiction or narrative” according to the way
language is used,fiction is basically imaginary or invented,hence the terms"fictional characters"or "fictitious narrative".There are two general categories of fiction,the commercial fiction (intended mainly to entertain)and the literary fiction(written with a serious artistic intention). The word "novel'comes from the Italian word "novella"(small new thing).By dictionary definition,novel is "a fictitious prose narrative or tale of considerable length".The novel emerged in its recognizably modern form in the Europe of the 18th century.In England,Henry Fielding,Samuel Richardson and Daniel Defoe,among others,started the tradition of novel-writing in the early 18th century.The novel reached its peak of development in the 19th century with the literary achievements of such great novelists as Jane Austen,the Bronte Sisters,George Eliot,Charles Dickens, Anthony Trollope and Thomas Hardy.Prominent American novelists include Nathaniel Hawthorne,Herman Melville,Mark Twain and Henry James. The short story,by definition,is a short concentrated narrative characterized by unity of effect and a closely knit texture,"a brief prose tale"(Edgar Allan Poe). Different from the novel in length,the short story has its origin in the tradition of story-telling practices of old times.As a form of literature,it is the newest of literary genres and has a relatively recent history.It was invented by Washington Irving with his The Sketch Book,a collection of thirty-two essays,sketches and stories based on European folk tales.Following the literary efforts of Irving,other prominent American writers helped to develop the short story form in various mature and complex ways,such as in structuring,suspense and psychological portrayal,and in theory as well.Around Irving's time and a little later,it was set down by Edgar Allan Poe,Nathaniel Hawthorne and Brander Matthews as principles of the short story to be short enough to be read at one sitting,to have a formal structure,a single character(in a single situation at a single moment in time),and the metaphorical significance of situations.Mark Twain helped to enrich the variety of the short story in the 19th century.Many other world-famous writers have also contributed to it in modern times, such as Nikolai Gogol,Anton Chekhov,Katherine Mansfield and James Joyce All works of fiction share a number of common elements that combine to make an organic whole of fiction,such as plot,character,conflict,theme,point of view, setting,tone,suspense and structure.Successful short-story writers are often masters of English language with their own marked writing styles.(See the text-book for detailed explanation of literary terms on pp.2-9 and pp.345-9.) Lead-in Questions: 1.What do you know about the literary background of American Romanticism and the historical background of American westward expansion? 2.What do you think makes a story interesting in a novel or a short prose narrative? 3.Have you ever read any other short stories written by Washington Irving?How do you like them?
4 language is used, fiction is basically imaginary or invented, hence the terms “fictional characters” or “fictitious narrative”. There are two general categories of fiction, the commercial fiction (intended mainly to entertain) and the literary fiction (written with a serious artistic intention). The word “novel’ comes from the Italian word “novella” (small new thing). By dictionary definition, novel is “a fictitious prose narrative or tale of considerable length”. The novel emerged in its recognizably modern form in the Europe of the 18 th century. In England, Henry Fielding, Samuel Richardson and Daniel Defoe, among others, started the tradition of novel-writing in the early 18 th century. The novel reached its peak of development in the 19 th century with the literary achievements of such great novelists as Jane Austen, the Bronte Sisters, George Eliot, Charles Dickens, Anthony Trollope and Thomas Hardy. Prominent American novelists include Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Mark Twain and Henry James. The short story, by definition, is a short concentrated narrative characterized by unity of effect and a closely knit texture, “a brief prose tale” (Edgar Allan Poe). Different from the novel in length, the short story has its origin in the tradition of story-telling practices of old times. As a form of literature, it is the newest of literary genres and has a relatively recent history. It was invented by Washington Irving with his The Sketch Book, a collection of thirty-two essays, sketches and stories based on European folk tales. Following the literary efforts of Irving, other prominent American writers helped to develop the short story form in various mature and complex ways, such as in structuring, suspense and psychological portrayal, and in theory as well. Around Irving’s time and a little later, it was set down by Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Brander Matthews as principles of the short story to be short enough to be read at one sitting, to have a formal structure, a single character (in a single situation at a single moment in time), and the metaphorical significance of situations. Mark Twain helped to enrich the variety of the short story in the 19 th century. Many other world-famous writers have also contributed to it in modern times, such as Nikolai Gogol, Anton Chekhov, Katherine Mansfield and James Joyce. All works of fiction share a number of common elements that combine to make an organic whole of fiction, such as plot, character, conflict, theme, point of view, setting, tone, suspense and structure. Successful short-story writers are often masters of English language with their own marked writing styles. (See the text-book for detailed explanation of literary terms on pp. 2-9 and pp.345-9.) Lead-in Questions: 1. What do you know about the literary background of American Romanticism and the historical background of American westward expansion? 2. What do you think makes a story interesting in a novel or a short prose narrative? 3. Have you ever read any other short stories written by Washington Irving? How do you like them?
Synopsis: "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"tells the story of Ichabod Crane and his unsuccessful attempt to win the heart and hand of a native beautiful young woman in the context of a comical ghost story.Ichabod comes to Sleepy Hollow,New York, from his home state of Connecticut,to be the schoolmaster of the village.Sleepy Hollow is a small,very quiet town said to be under some kind of enchantment.Its residents are almost all descended from its original Dutch settlers,has more than its fair share of supernatural occurrences,or at least stories of them.Sleepy Hollow's most famous supernatural phenomenon is the ghost of the Headless Horseman,who is believed to be always in search of his head.Ichabod is fascinated by this story,being especially interested in tales of the supernatural. Ichabod is a strict teacher but not a cruel one.He lives by turn in the houses of native villagers who have children in Ichabod's school.He also has an insatiable hunger and a taste for the finer things. Katrina Van Tassel,an attractive girl of eighteen,is one of Ichabod's students. She is also the only child of Baltus Van Tassel,one of the more successful farmers in the area.Ichabod is quickly taken in by her flirtatious charms,but it is when he first visits her father's abundant farm that he considers himself truly in love with her.He quickly sets out to win her hand in marriage,coming by the Van Tassel farm frequently to woo her.Ichabod is not alone in his fascination with Katrina,however. Her beauty,charm,and wealth have entranced many other men in the village, especially the formidable Brom Van Brunt,also known as Brom Bones.Brom is notorious for his boisterous personality,love of pranks,and great skill at horseback riding-all of which make him something of a village hero. One day,upon invitation,Ichabod goes to a party at the Van Tassels',where he apparently finds himself the best man in the house.When the party is over,he stays behind to have a private talk with Katrina.For some reason,however,Katrina disappoints him.Ichabod leaves crest-fallen. On his way back home,Ichabod tries to keep himself from getting too scared,but soon he finds himself chased by a large,dark horse.Greatly disturbed,he tries to shake off his pursuer,but in vain.Finally,he notices that the rider has no head on his shoulders;the head seems to be sitting on the saddle in front of the man.Both Ichabod and the skilled rider end up near the church,the scene of most of the stories of the Headless Horseman.Ichabod crosses the bridge and looks back,but he sees the Horseman,instead of disappearing,hurl his detached head at him.It knocks Ichabod off his horse. The next day,Ichabod's horse returns to its owner's farm,but there is no sign of Ichabod.Ichabod is never heard from again in Sleepy Hollow,although later on it seems that he is alive elsewhere and has told his story.Some of the townspeople believe that Brom Bones pulled off a great prank,which put Brom in the final position to marry Katrina,but the old women and local folklore maintain that he was taken by the Headless Horseman. 5
5 Synopsis: “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” tells the story of Ichabod Crane and his unsuccessful attempt to win the heart and hand of a native beautiful young woman in the context of a comical ghost story. Ichabod comes to Sleepy Hollow, New York, from his home state of Connecticut, to be the schoolmaster of the village. Sleepy Hollow is a small, very quiet town said to be under some kind of enchantment. Its residents are almost all descended from its original Dutch settlers, has more than its fair share of supernatural occurrences, or at least stories of them. Sleepy Hollow’s most famous supernatural phenomenon is the ghost of the Headless Horseman, who is believed to be always in search of his head. Ichabod is fascinated by this story, being especially interested in tales of the supernatural. Ichabod is a strict teacher but not a cruel one. He lives by turn in the houses of native villagers who have children in Ichabod’s school. He also has an insatiable hunger and a taste for the finer things. Katrina Van Tassel, an attractive girl of eighteen, is one of Ichabod’s students. She is also the only child of Baltus Van Tassel, one of the more successful farmers in the area. Ichabod is quickly taken in by her flirtatious charms, but it is when he first visits her father’s abundant farm that he considers himself truly in love with her. He quickly sets out to win her hand in marriage, coming by the Van Tassel farm frequently to woo her. Ichabod is not alone in his fascination with Katrina, however. Her beauty, charm, and wealth have entranced many other men in the village, especially the formidable Brom Van Brunt, also known as Brom Bones. Brom is notorious for his boisterous personality, love of pranks, and great skill at horseback riding — all of which make him something of a village hero. One day, upon invitation, Ichabod goes to a party at the Van Tassels’, where he apparently finds himself the best man in the house. When the party is over, he stays behind to have a private talk with Katrina. For some reason, however, Katrina disappoints him. Ichabod leaves crest-fallen. On his way back home, Ichabod tries to keep himself from getting too scared, but soon he finds himself chased by a large, dark horse. Greatly disturbed, he tries to shake off his pursuer, but in vain. Finally, he notices that the rider has no head on his shoulders; the head seems to be sitting on the saddle in front of the man. Both Ichabod and the skilled rider end up near the church, the scene of most of the stories of the Headless Horseman. Ichabod crosses the bridge and looks back, but he sees the Horseman, instead of disappearing, hurl his detached head at him. It knocks Ichabod off his horse. The next day, Ichabod’s horse returns to its owner’s farm, but there is no sign of Ichabod. Ichabod is never heard from again in Sleepy Hollow, although later on it seems that he is alive elsewhere and has told his story. Some of the townspeople believe that Brom Bones pulled off a great prank, which put Brom in the final position to marry Katrina, but the old women and local folklore maintain that he was taken by the Headless Horseman
Text: Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" (See docs) Questions for Discussion: 1.What are the most impressive details to you in this short story?Why? 2.Make a brief description of Ichabod Crane's personality as a character. 3.How does Irving make use of the special atmosphere of the locale for characterization and artistic effect?Point out two scenes for comparison. 4.What can we learn about the author's attitude toward life of the Hudson River Valley and the country's development at that time? 5.What is the major conflict in this work? 6.For all its humor and comic effect,is there any serious thematic concern shown in such a conflict? 7.Do you see any metaphorical significance in the fictional situation and conflict? 8.Pick out and share with your study peers one or two textual extracts and tell them why 9.What are the technical(rhetorical)devices Irving uses in the work?Comment on their effectiveness with examples. 10.What are the major literary features Washington Irving demonstrates in this work? 11.Some critics argue that Geoffrey Crayon as an involved narrator of this short story (and also of The Sketch Book)"was to have an important a part,technical and philosophical,in the development of fictional method."Discuss. 12.Translate Paragraphs 36 and 37.(The first one begins with"The small birds were taking their farewell banquets."and the second one begins with "As Ichabod jogged slowly on his way,his eye,ever open to every symptom of culinary abundance,....") Writing Task: Write a comment on Washington Irving's literary style as demonstrated in this short story. 6
6 Text: Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” (See docs) Questions for Discussion: 1. What are the most impressive details to you in this short story? Why? 2. Make a brief description of Ichabod Crane’s personality as a character. 3. How does Irving make use of the special atmosphere of the locale for characterization and artistic effect? Point out two scenes for comparison. 4. What can we learn about the author’s attitude toward life of the Hudson River Valley and the country’s development at that time? 5. What is the major conflict in this work? 6. For all its humor and comic effect, is there any serious thematic concern shown in such a conflict? 7. Do you see any metaphorical significance in the fictional situation and conflict? 8. Pick out and share with your study peers one or two textual extracts and tell them why. 9. What are the technical (rhetorical) devices Irving uses in the work? Comment on their effectiveness with examples. 10. What are the major literary features Washington Irving demonstrates in this work? 11. Some critics argue that Geoffrey Crayon as an involved narrator of this short story (and also of The Sketch Book) “was to have an important a part, technical and philosophical, in the development of fictional method.” Discuss. 12. Translate Paragraphs 36 and 37. (The first one begins with “The small birds were taking their farewell banquets.” and the second one begins with “As Ichabod jogged slowly on his way, his eye, ever open to every symptom of culinary abundance, ….”.) Writing Task: Write a comment on Washington Irving’s literary style as demonstrated in this short story