Chapter One The LIterature of ColonIal AmerIca
Ⅰ.Early AmerIcan and ColonIal PerIod to 1776
1.1 IntroductIon
1.2 The LIterature of ExploratIon

Ⅱ.The ColonIal PerIod In New England
2.1 John SmIth（1580——1631）
2.2 WIllIam Bradford （ 1590——1657 ）
2.3 John WInthrop（1588——1649）
2.4 John Cotton（1585——1652）
2.5 Roger WIllIams（1606——1683）
2.6 Anne Bradstreet（1613——1672）
2.7 Edward Taylor（1644——1729）

Ⅲ.AmerIcan PurItanIsm
3.1 DefInItIons of PurItans
3.2 BasIc PurItan BelIefs
3.3 The FunctIon of PurItan WrIters
3.4 The Style of PurItan WrItIng and Common Themes
3.5 Reasons for PurItan LIterary DomInance over the VIrgInIans

Chapter Two The LIterature of Reason and RevolutIon
Ⅰ.The AmerIcan EnlIghtenment
Ⅱ.DemocratIc OrIgIns and RevolutIonary WrIters, 1776——1820
Ⅲ.BenjamIn FranklIn（1706——1790）
3.1 HIs LIfe and Works
3.2 The AutobIography ： Part I, FIrst SectIon
3.3 CharacterIstIcs of HIs LIterary Works

Ⅳ.Thomas PaIne （ 1737——1809 ）
4.1 HIs LIfe and Works
4.2 Common Sense

Ⅴ.Thomas Jefferson（1743——1826）
5.1 HIs LIfe and Works
5.2 The DeclaratIon of Independence

Ⅵ.PhIlIp Freneau（1752——1832）
6.1 HIs LIfe and Major Poems
6.2 The Nature Poems

Chapter Three The LIterature of RomantIcIsm
Ⅰ .The OrIgIn of RomantIc AmerIcan LIterature
Ⅱ.Its SocIal,HIstorIcal and Cultural Background
Ⅲ.The Important Concepts of AmerIcan RomantIc LIterature
Ⅳ.New England TranscendentalIsm
Ⅴ.WashIngton IrvIng（1783——1859）
5.1 HIs LIfe and Major Works
5.2 IrvIngs Great Indebtedness to European LIterature
5.3 RIp Van WInkle
5.4 The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
5.5 IrvIngs UnIque ContrIbutIon to AmerIcan LIterature

Ⅵ.James FenImore Cooper
6.1 HIs LIfe and Major Works
6.2 The Last of MohIcans
6.3 Themes of The Last of MohIcans
6.4 AnalysIs of Major Characters
6.5 Coopers TechnIque and Style

Ⅶ.WIllIam Cullen Bryant（1794——1878）
7.1 HIs LIfe and Major Works
7.2 ThanatopsIs
7.3 Bryant as a Poet
7.4 CommunIon wIth HIs \\\"Maker\\\"

Ⅷ.Edgar Allan Poe（1809——1849）
8.1 HIs LIfe and Major Works
8.2 Poe as a Critic and a Romancer
8.3 To Helen
8.4 The Raven
8.5 The Fall of the House of Usher

IX.Ralph Waldo Emerson（1803——1882）
9.1 His Life and Major Works
9.2 Emersonian Transeendentalism
9.3 Nature （Chapter One）
9.4 Self-Reliance
9.5 Style of Emersons Essays

X.Henry David Thoreau（1817——1862）
10.1 His Life and Major Works
10.2 Thoreaus Transcendentalism
10.3 Walden （Chapter Two）
10.4 Major Themes of Walden

XI.Nathaniel Hawthorne（1804——1864）
11.1 Hawthornes Life and Major Works
11.2 Hawthornes Thematic Concerns
11.3 The Scarlet Letter
11.4 Themes of This Novel
11.5 Analysis of Major Characters
11.6 The Structure and the Form of This Novel
11.7 Hawthornes Use of Symbolism
11.8 Young Goodman Brown
11.9 Hawthornes Writing Style

XI[.Herman Melville（ 1819——1891 ）
12.1 His Life and Major Works
12.2 Moby-Diek
12.3 Major Themes of Moby-Diek
12.4 Major Symbols of Moby-Dick
12.5 Analysis of Major Characters

XIII.Henry Wadsworth Longfellow（1807——1882）
13.1 His life and Major Works
13.2 Analysis of A Psalm of Life
13.3 Longfellows Poetic Gifts

Chapter Four　The Literature of Realism
I.The Historical and Socio-Cultural Background of American Realism

1I.Walt Whitman
2.1 Whitmans Life and Major Works
2.2 Whitmans Democratic Ideals
2.3 Summary of Song of Myself
2.4 Analysis of Song of Myself
2.5 Overview of Beat ！ Beat ！ Drums ！
2.6 Themes in Whitmans Leaves of Grass
2.7.Whitmans Poetic Style
2.8 Whitmans Language

III.Emily Dickinson（1830——1886）
3.1 Dickinsons Life and Major Works
3.2 I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died
3.3 Because I Could Not Stop for Death
3.4.I Died for Beauty——But Was Scarce
3.5.A Bird Came Down the Walk——
3.6.Subject of Dickinsons Poems
3.7 Original Artistic Features of Dickinsons Poetry

IV.Harriet B.Stowe （1812－1896）
4.1 Her Life and Major Works
4.2 Uncle Toms Cabin
4.3 Themes of This Novel
4.4 Symbols of This Novel
4.5 Analysis of Major Characters

V.Mark Twain （1835——1910）
5.1 Mark Twains Life and Major Works
5.2 The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
5.3 Themes of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
5.4 Analysis of Major Characters
5.5 Mark Twains Style
Chapter Five Twentieth Century Literature
Reference Books and Resources~