Are there any classic papers in European and American literature?

Stephens: the Founder of Australian Literary Criticism

The critic A.G. Stephens has a very important position in the history of Australian literary criticism. On the one hand, he introduced European and American writers and literary works to Australia simultaneously; On the other hand, he promoted many domestic writers. In a large number of his editorial notes and column comments, he raised a series of problems in Australian literary creation, such as the creative standards of Australian literature, the nationalization of literature and literary classics. His unique understanding of these issues established his position in Australian literary criticism in the early 20th century: the founder of Australian literary criticism.

Paper Keywords: Stephens; Australian literary review; Literary creation standards; Literary masterpieces; Nationalization of literature

A.G. Stephens (1865- 1933) occupies a very important position in the history of Australian literary criticism for more than one hundred years. As a literary critic full of nationalist passion, A.G. Stephens brought many contemporary Australian writers and poets, introduced many contemporary overseas literary writers to his compatriots, and insisted on advocating the universal standards of his Australian literary creation all his life, which guided a clear direction for Australian literature from the end of 65438 to the beginning of the 20th century: nationalization of literary creation. However, his efforts were misunderstood and ignored for a long time. However, his lifelong efforts have established his unshakable position in the history of Australian literary criticism: a firm standard-bearer of Australian national literature.

Australian literary critic Leon Cantrell1+0) commented on Stephens in the book A.G. Stephens: Selected Works (1978) edited and published in 1978: "It is still true that Australia has produced such a knowledgeable critic. He is well versed in the standards of literary creation, and he is never afraid to apply them to literary criticism. His criticism and editing work, especially through the famous red page column of the Sydney Gazette magazine, has made him gain an unparalleled position in the Australian literary world. From 1890 to the first few years of this century (the 20th century), every important Australian writer became popular. TomInglisMoore (l90l—I978), another Australian literary critic, described A.G. Stephens as "the most powerful loner in the formation of Australian literature". This evaluation was recognized by Vance Palmer, a famous Australian literary critic (1885-1959). He thinks Stephens' literary criticism is a "very lucky gift" to his contemporaries. The reasons why these comments give A.G. Stephens such a high position are mainly as follows: as a literary editor, he has unique vision and meticulous mind; As a literary critic, he abides by standards and perseveres; As an Australian nationalist, he sized up the situation and gained insight into the inside and outside.

1865 On August 27th, A.G. Stephens was born in Toumba, Queensland, Australia, the eldest son of 13 children. Both parents are British immigrants, 1863 came to Australia after getting married in Britain. 1877, A.G. Stephens became the first student of Tuumba grammar school founded by his father. /kloc-at the age of 0/4, he passed the entrance examination of the University of Sydney and became an apprentice in a local printing factory the next year. 1886, he successfully joined the New South Wales Printer Association after graduating from Sydney Institute of Technology. 1888, after making small achievements in printing, writing and publishing, Stephens returned to the north, joined the Queensland Printers Association, and served as the editor of TheGympieMiner magazine. As a result, he began a lifetime of journalism and literature in Australia.

Since then, he has worked as the editor of many magazines and newspapers, among which the magazine with the longest working time is hTeBulletin, which lasted from 1894 to 1906 1 1 month for 12 years. From 1893 to 1894, he used the income from selling shares in TheArgus magazine to travel overseas in the United States, Canada and European countries. This trip deepened his patriotic complex, made him an impassioned nationalist, and began his life-long activity of establishing Australian national literature. During his tenure in the Gazette, he opened a famous literary column "RedPage" in the new issue of the Gazette published on August 29th, 1896. In the past, this column was just a list of new books on the front page of the magazine, and sometimes there were short comments. After the "Red Page" column was established, Stephens changed it into a weekly magazine. On the one hand, it introduces excellent foreign literary works to readers; On the other hand, it promoted new domestic literary works. The "Red Page" column soon became a "veritable window of literature". 1906165438+10. In October, due to disagreement with the magazine manager at that time, he left the Bulletin magazine, where he worked for many years. Since then, from 1907 to 1933, Stephens only worked in various magazines and newspapers sporadically, making a living on the meager income of freelance writing and speaking. Stephens 1894 got married and had six children after marriage. The family had a heavy burden. 1933 died on April 5, and was heavily in debt when he died.

A.G. Stephens wrote a lot in his life, and his literary thoughts were scattered in the introduction of various collections edited by him or the comments of magazine columns, which did not form a complete system. But this does not affect his position as the founder and standard-bearer of Australian literary criticism at the end of 19 century and the beginning of 20 century. His views on literary creation, literary classics and literary nationalization always flash between his concise writing and unique views.

Stephens' Theory of Australian Literary Creation Standards

Since the first batch of white European immigrants settled in Australia in 1788, the Australian literature recorded in writing is mainly colonial literature. A century later, in 1888, when immigrants celebrated their settlement in Australia 100, Australian nationalist activities surged, and Australian literature was at a watershed from colonial literature to national literature. 190 1 year, Australia announced the end of colonial rule and the establishment of a new country. As an editor and literary critic, A.G. Stephens is living in such an era. He put forward the standard theory of Australian domestic literary creation with keen eyes: Australian literature must have its own universal standard, that is, Australian literature should have its own national characteristics or local characteristics. A.G. Stephens published three short articles entitled "Australian Literature" in 190 1, 1907 and 1922, respectively, which specifically discussed the literary situation and literary creation in Australia and put forward his own views on the emerging Australian literature.

The core of the three papers is that Australian literature should have its own national or local characteristics. In the article "Australian Literature II", he pointed out: "The literary prosperity of Italy, France and Britain was formed by plundering the treasure house of Greek literature. A lot of images, a lot of emotions, a lot of ideas-all the wealth rediscovered from classical literature was used by those medieval elites. They stole a ready-made broom. The Renaissance in Europe is not so much an era inspired by generate as an era of mass theft. "

For Australia, he thinks that writers can't steal literary classics from other countries like their white predecessors in Europe, but should "apply existing technology to this ancient and young country" ... Our writers can repeat ancient stories in their new environment-this is all that this era and Australia require. Innovation is the charm of literature, and diversity is the spice of art, so a book inadvertently mentions acacia trees and marks them with Australia. In this essay, Stephens pointed out that the difference between one country's literature and another country's literature is essentially only due to the difference of local characteristics, while the means of literary stimulation are still the same and have always been dominant. His borrowing wine vividly proves this point. He believes that all the different pleasures brought by alcohol are only due to the difference of 2% perfume substances contained in wine, and the literature in various countries is no different. The difference between French brandy and Australian whisky is only the difference of local characteristics. We can only use old wine in new bottles. If we brew new wine, it is the old alcohol that gives the new wine its wine effect. "So, we should use Australia to restate this familiar world. Our literature is Australian literature and will become world literature. "

In the discussion of Australian literary creation standards, a typical example of Stephens' comments is the famous Australian writer henry lawson (1867- 1922). Stephens has written many times to comment on Lawson and his works, and his views are pertinent. When evaluating Lawson and his works, Stephens thinks that "Lawson, as a representative of Australian writers, is one of the most original and distinctive Australian writers cultivated in Australia so far". The value of his works lies in the individuality and locality of his works, which embodies the value of Australia, but its "outstanding Australian characteristics" reduce the world literary power of his works. His vision is narrow. This also increased his appeal to Australia, but decreased his appeal to literature. "From this, we seem to think that Stephens is using double literary standards to measure Lawson. In fact, Stephens criticized Lawson and his works with a very sincere attitude. He deliberately emphasized a very important fact: "literature with narrow vision can spread extremely important historical and sociological significance without becoming a great work." According to the highest standards of literary criticism, Lawson is obviously a failure. But according to the highest standard of Australian experience, his' shortcomings' are nothing compared with his advantages. "As an Australian writer, Lawson is obviously more important to Australian readers than writers from other countries. This is because Lawson is explaining this well-known world with his vision of Australia. His literary works must first be Australian, and then they can become world-wide. Stephens pointed out in the article "Australian Literature (III)", "Although those countries with a long history naturally go further than Australia in terms of artistic development and understanding of beauty, no country's local literature is more dynamic than Australia. No country's local literature is more concerned and cherished than Australia's. "Therefore, the literature created by Australian writers should first have local or national characteristics, which is the standard of Australian literature creation in the early 20th century.

Second, Stephens' literary classic epistemology.

A.G. Stephens has a broad vision. He always leads the literary creation of Australian writers by "looking outward" and "looking inward", so he pays great attention to foreign writers and their works. These writers, whether Europeans or Americans, such as the Brandt sisters, George Eliot, robert burns, Russell, Stephen Crane and so on, are all within the scope of their comments. Although some of these European and American writers' works have not yet become literary classics in the era when A.G. Stephens lived, he used the "red page" column to introduce them in time and did not hesitate to put forward his own views and words. He believes that Charlotte Brandt "has extraordinary observation and analysis ability, extraordinary intelligence, as well as keen language talent and strong feelings ... her insight and writing ability make her a genius." When Stephens commented on Russell, he thought Russell's writing was as unfathomable as his brain. The Red Warrior Medal written by American writer Stephen Crane looks more like Tolstoy and Zola to him. In his view, Stephen Crane "aims to present the true colors of things and real men and women. He never gives any poetic traces to the objects in his works, and never uses fancy modifiers unless he can reflect the facts more accurately. His ability to understand the world is equal to his language expression ability: his language makes his thoughts vivid, but he "lacks epic rationality, and imagination is very important for this rationality ... his thinking is too close to the object of description; It needs a broad perspective. His novels are all descriptions of exquisite patterns or outlines, which are broken from the outside world. "We can see that A.G. Stephens has been treating these European and American writers critically.

On the issue of literary classics, almost all literary critics will elaborate their own unique views, and A.G. Stephens is no exception. In his view, the fashion in poetry is just like the fashion in clothes. The difference is that in the field of poetry, our ancestors have deeply influenced us. Homer, Dante and Milton have a far-reaching influence on later generations. Although their poems have become heavy and outdated according to the current creative standards, they are still revered. This is because "we have inherited the tradition of reverence from our parents, and it is difficult for us to be strong enough to shake it out of our minds." This tradition has been deeply engraved in the hearts of every generation of writers, and they can't get rid of it. Therefore, "only people with poor taste will refuse to admit that Paradise Lost and Paradise Lost are one of the two great achievements in the history of human poetry".

Nevertheless, Stephens pointed out that people's attitude towards Homer and Dante is only verbal, and people pay more attention to contemporary poets and writers. He wrote in the article "Fashion Poetry": "Even if you ask people who should have taste and classic taste, you will find that they are reading Keats, Heine, or Stephen Phillips; If you pay attention to which writers they talk about tirelessly, you will find Browning, Malamei or Kipling. Dante and Homer are undoubtedly everyone; But their works were shelved together with Reid's local government bill. " ... this is because "Homer is undoubtedly one or several great poets of his time, but that is not our time." We have other ideas, other tastes and other needs. Homer's charm and humanism will always have its value, but the straightforward emotion and single scene that made the Greeks ecstatic 2,700 years ago are not the highest poetry that modern readers expect. "