An Analysis of Washington Irving’s Literary Re-creation

高城明 毕晨慧

【Abstract】Washington Irving is known as the“father of American Literature”. He spent 17 years in Europe to recuperate，and accumulated rich materials for later creation. He published The Sketch Book in1820， which integration of the two cultures. Irving integrates the European stories into his American stories and appropriately combines the two cultural traditions. The book revealed the authors inheritance and admiration of the old world tradition， as well as the hope and affirmation of the new world.He created a new literary form Literary re-creation.

【Key words】Washington Irving; The Sketch Book; literary re-creation

【作者簡介】高城明（1998.12-），女，汉族，山东聊城人，长春光华学院外国语学院英语系学生;（指导教师）毕晨慧（1981.06-），女，汉族，吉林长春人，长春光华学院外国语学院英语系教师，硕士研究生，副教授，研究方向：英语语言文学。

Introduction

With the birth of The Sketch Book in the 19th century of American， it has made a great flutter in the American literature and became well-known throughout the world. They have aroused peoples attention of Washington Irvings literary re-creation.

Irvings The Sketch Book is more artistic than any of his other works. It combines the romantic fantasy with the real description， humor and lyric of daily life scenes with superb artistic skills. He is both a writer and a historian. Many of his works are the perfect combination of history and literature， and the expression of profound historical consciousness. The book leaves a deep brand of European cultural tradition everywhere. While praising the European landscape figures， Irving never forgets to sing about and eulogize the people and mountains of his motherland. Irving is in the pioneering period of American literature， which has its own unique charm. These works full of native consciousness and strong local color play an irreplaceable role in promoting the development of American native literature， expressing American voice， showing American image， constructing American cultural identity and American spirit. In the text， there is a unique image of that era， which provides readers with a huge space of cultural imagination.

1.Definition of Literary Re-creation

As a matter of fact， Irving read a great deal of historical works and European folklore in writing the Sketch Book， which is not only a true record of American historical development and primitive nature， but also has a distinct value orientation， and has a very broad text connotation in history and nature， ideology and theme implication. The history of literature is carried out in succession and innovation. The authors of any era create their own works on the existing style and writing paradigm， and the writers who create excellent works always innovate without sticking to the rules and conventions. Therefore， inheritance and innovation are always in the situation of interdependence， without inheritance there is no way to innovate， without innovation will not become an excellent work， but the aspects of performance are different， the form is hidden， the situation is more complex.

From the social function and development law of literature， we believe that the re-creation of literary works should be recorded faithfully on the basis of respect for history. The folk creation carries on the certain degree processing， according to the adaptation own intention takes out.That is，“faithful record， proper arrangement or rewriting and relatively free re-creation.”

2. The Formation of Washington Irvings Literary Re-creation

2.1The Sources of Material

Irving has publishing The Sketch Book from the accumulated materials in Britain， He looks for and discover legends from life and books， and then rewrite them with his own experiences， instinctively and skillfully integrating them into the material they create. we need to accept that English and the whole European literature have laid the foundation for Irvings creation and provided a rich source of creation.For Irving to explore and develop the history of American literature to provide the necessary conditions.

He believes that as an American “must regard the existing countries in Europe as role models”.America is too young to provide him with material for writing， and Europe is a treasure trove of creative material. The Legend of sleepy hollow and Rip Van Winkle are come from German Folktales，and the author uses the technique of adapting ancient historical stories into modern stories to reproduce the theme art of his own design. As we can see， the relationship between Irving collection and re-creation of folk literature is clear， and he does not confuse a few and even use them for himself at will. Sorting out the folk oral literature that has been passed down from ear to ear among the people for thousands of years is just like mining the gemstones buried in the ground for many years. It requires the folk literature workers to carefully distinguish， repair and remove the dust on the gemstones， so as to reveal its dazzling brilliance.

2.2 Irvings Infatuation with British

As an English-American and a historian， Europe has great charm for Irving. There is a deep connection between the United States and Europe， especially to the former home country of Britain. So his nostalgia lingers in his work.He spent nearly 17 years in Europe. During this time， he carefully observing the various people and strange manners there. Wherever he went， he was excavating the rich artistic resources of the ancient and mysterious land of the man. For Irving，Britain is the representative of European culture， and is his ideal country，so his nostalgia has been haunting his works. Irving have repeated this period of history with literary creation techniques in his works， which should be intended to arouse peoples consciousness of history.

The image of British is reflected in his works. Firstly，historical sites. In the authors view， the charm of Britain is that it can give people historical and poetic association. Unlike Americas vibrant youthful face， Britain has a long history， with its incomparable deep historical and cultural accumulation.Additionally，Humanistic masterpieces， Irving admire British culture， At the beginning of every article in the Sketch Book， there is a long or short beautiful poem. The third one is ancient custom.in the authors view， this idyllic life seems to be more noble and comfortable. In The Sketch Book， the author has a detailed observation of many ancient British customs.

2.3 Irvings Americanism

As an outstanding  writers born under Stars and Stripes， Irving grew up with the United States. At that time， it was widely believed that the United States was a country with extremely scarce creative materials and could not produce truly great writers and literary works.He paid a special visit to Scott， while introducing him to Scotlands long history and cultural tradition， highly praised the “great charm” of the United States. From Scott， Irving read a profound truth： the individuals native consciousness is often spontaneous， isolated. Only when it is closely connected with the cultural tradition and national spirit can it radiate brilliant brilliance.Inspired by Scott， Washington is deeply aware of the “beauty of the United States”， with a strong sense of identity and pride in the history and cultural traditions of the nation. American consciousness and American spirit as the core of the local consciousness has become Irving works consistent spiritual connotation.

Irving wrote in a diary in 1818： “Although I am physically far away from my country， I have never really left psychologically.” Irving was a native American writer and did not leave his country for the first time until the age of 22 to travel to Europe. This fact determines that its ideological character and values must have the basic characteristics of Americanism. Actually， in Irvings work， there are a large number of works reflecting the natural scenery and social life of the United States. These works are completely Americanized and show their unique characteristics， because they are produced in a specific social， historical and cultural context， imply American individualism and intuitive belief， and pursue democratic political equality. Which are full of local consciousness and rich local color， play an irreplaceable role in promoting the development of American native literature， expressing American voice， displaying American image， constructing American cultural identity and American spirit.

3. Conclusion

The Literary re-creation injects a force that cannot be ignored into the literary world. By analyzing these elements， we can clearly see Irvings way of dealing with the contradiction and integration between the new and old world  literary re-creation， that is， faithful record， proper arrangement or rewriting and relative free re-creation.And for this kind of re-creation of literature， is undoubtedly for the creation of novels to give eternal vitality.In a new perspective， Irving incorporated the German story into his story and properly combined the two cultural traditions.

The re-creation of literary works is very special and has advantages different from other writing techniques. This kind of work comes from folklore， so the source of creation is inexhaustible. Moreover， the re-creation of literary works is also a form of recording history， so that our culture and history can be preserved. It is conceivable that its creative source is inexhaustible.

Irving have used his extraordinary literary talent relentlessly all his life， promoting the construction of American literary system and cultural identity. While constantly sublimating the realm of life， this process has found a practical way for human beings to get out of the predicament of survival and realize the dual liberation of themselves and the world. Accordingly，If the re-creation of literary works is promoted， then everyone will be the recorder of history and the holder of folk culture.

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