英国文学.docx

英国文学.docx

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英国文学

LiteraturebeforetheRenaissance

OldEnglishPoetry

Generallyspeaking,theOldEnglishpoetrythathassurvivedcanbedividedintotwogroups:

thesecular,orpagan,groupandthereligious,orChristian,one.

Theformerisoralsagassungbyscops（吟游诗人）;andthelatterrepresentsthewritingsdevelopedunderteachingofthemonks,thusismainlyonbiblicalthemes.

Mostworkswerepreservedandputdowninwrittenformbyunknownscribes.OneofthemostimportantisthenationalepicTheSongofBeowulfandsomelyricalpoemsofshorterlength,suchasWidsithorTheTraveller’sSong,andtheSeafarer.

Epic

TheSongofBeowulf

1.BeowulfistheoldestpoemontheEnglishlanguage,andalsotheoldestsurvivingepicintheEnglishlanguage.

2.Themanuscriptwaswrittenatthebeginningofthe10thcenturyandwasnotdiscovereduntil1705.Thepoemitselfwasprobablycomposedintheearly8thcentury,aftertheChristianizationofthewholenation.Thehistoricaleventdescribedinthepoembelongstotheearly6thcentury.

3.ThoughitisregardedtodayasthenationalepicoftheAnglo-Saxons,thestorytookplaceinScandinavia

Content

1.ThestoryisaboutthethreefeatsofbraveryperformedbyBeowulf,nephewoftheKingoftheGeats.

2.BeowulffirstfightsamonstercalledGrendelandwoundsitfatally.

3.ThenhekillsGrendel’smotherwithagiantsword,ashe-monsterandcomesinrevengeofherson.

4.Withthesehonorswon,hereturnstohishomelandandreignsasitskingfor50years.Thenafire-breathingdragoncomesoutofitsdenandkillsmanypeople.

5.Thougholdnow,Beowulfstillkillsitsingle-handedly.Buthetooisfatallywoundedandlaterdied.

MedievalEnglishLiterature

From1066toearly14th-century,therewasnotmuchtosayaboutliteratureinEngland.Butafterthat,Englishliteraturestartedtoflourish:

SirGawainandtheGreenKnight,ThePearl,PiersthePlowman,andGeoffreyChaucer’sCanterburyTales

ChivalricRomance

1.TheNormanConquestbroughtanewliterature,whichisremarkableforitsbright,romantictalesofloveandadventure,inmarkedcontrastwiththestrengthandsombernessofAnglo-Saxonpoetry.

2.Romancebecomesapopularliteraryform,indicatingtheagetobeachivalricratherthanheroicone.

3.Theromanceisalongverse/prosecompositionaboutthelifeandadventuresofanoblehero,withthecharacteristicmedievalmotifsofthequest,thetest,themeetingwiththeevilgiantandtheencounterwiththebeautifulbeloved.

SirGawaintheGreenKnight

1.ThelegendofKingArthurandhisRoundTableKnightswasthemostpopularthemeemployedinEnglishromances.

2.SirGawaintheGreenKnight,writtenin1360-1370,inalliterativeverse,isthebestofArthurianromances.

3.SirGawainacceptsthechallengeofagiganticknight（toexchangeblowsofabattle-ax）.Gawainthenbeginshislongjourney,wherehemeetsallsortsofadventuresandtests.FinallythetwomeetattheGreenChapel,andGawainisalmostkilledbutforhisrepentanceforhisdeception.

PopularBallads

1.TheMiddleAgeswitnessedthefloweringofseveraltypesofpopularliterature,themostimportantformofwhichisthepopularballads.

2.Balladsareanonymousnarrativesongsthathavebeenpreservedbyoraltransmission.

3.FewoftheEnglishballadswereprintedbeforethe18th-century.ThemostfamouscollectionisBishopThomasPercy’s（1729-1811）ReliquesofAncientEnglishPoetry.

4.TheEnglishballadasfolkliteratureportraysthecharactersofthelowerclassestothelife,especiallythosebraveoutlawsingreenwood,who,havingbeenoppressedanddoneaninjusticebythenobles,foughtfortheweakagainstthestrong.

5.ThemostimportantofpopularballadsaretheRobinHoodballads,aseriesof37balladsofdifferentlengths.RobinHoodisportrayedasbothstrong,brave,clever,andtender-heartedandaffectionate.

6.TherearealsohumoursballadssuchasGetupandBartheDoor.

GeoffreyChaucer（1343-1400）

1.ChauceristhefirstgreatpoetwhowroteinthecurrentEnglishlanguage.

2.HisproductionofsomuchexcellentpoetryisanimportantfactorinestablishingEnglishastheliterarylanguageofthecountry.

3.AndhemadethedialectofLondonthefoundationforModernEnglishspeech.That’swhyJohnDrydencalledhim“theFatherofEnglishPoetry.”

HisWorks

1.RomanceoftheRose（atranslationfromFrench）;

2.TheLegendofGoodWomen;

3.TheHouseofFame;

4.TheParliamentofFowls;

5.TroilusandCressie（basedonBoccaccio’sFilostrato）;

6.TheCanterburyTales.

TheCanterburyTale

1.TheCanterburyTales,generallyconsideredtobeChaucer’smasterpiece,waswrittenchieflyintheyears1387-1400.

2.Forthefirsttime,hewasaddressinghimselfnottothecourtbuttoawiderreadingpublic.Heproducedhisworksoffullmaturityfreefromanydominantforeigninfluence.

3.Originallyplannedfor120stories（2storieseachwayonpilgrimagefromLondontoCanterburyfor30pilgrims）,butonly22completed,with2fragmentarytales.

TheCanterburyTales

1.Chaucercreatedastrikinglybrilliantandpicturesquepanoramaofhistimeandhiscountry.

2.Hisrealism,trenchantironyandfreedomofviewsreachedsuchahighlevelofpowerthatithadnoequalinalltheEnglishliteratureuptothe16thcentury.

3.Hisworkispermeatedwithbuoyantfree-thinking,socharacteristicoftheageofRenaissancewhoseimmediateforerunnerChaucerthusbecomes.

TheRenaissance

TheRenaissanceinEngland

•ThetermRenaissanceoriginallyindicatedarevivalofclassicalartsandsciencesafterthedarkagesofmedievalobscurantism.

•

•Thestudyandpropagationofclassicallearningandartwascarriedonbytheprogressivethinkersofthehumanists.

•

•Thehumanistsheldtheirchiefinterestnotinecclesiasticalknowledge,butinman,hisenvironmentanddoingsandbravelyfoughtfortheemancipationofmanfromthetyrannyofthechurchandreligiousdogmas.

ImportantFigures

•ThomasMore（1478-1535）:

Utopia（1516）,aprofoundandtruthfulpictureofthepeople'ssufferingsandofanidealfuturehappysociety;

••ThomasWyatt（1503?

-1542）:

thefirsttointroducethesonnetintoEnglishliterature;

••EdmundSpenser（1552-1586）:

TheFairyQueen,thegreatestepicpoemofthetime;

EnglishDrama

•TheepochofRenaissancewitnessedaparticulardevelopmentofEnglishdrama.

••ThegreatestofthepioneerswasChristopherMarlowe（1564-1593）whoreformedthatgenreinEnglandandperfectedthelanguageandverseofdramaticworks.

••ItwasMarlowwhomadeblankversetheprincipalvehicleofexpressionindrama.

WilliamShakespeare（1564-1616）

•154sonnets,37plays,and2longnarrativepoems.

•GreatTragedies:

Othello,KingLear,Macbeth,andHamlet.RomeoandJulietisveryfamous.

•Historicals:

HenryIV,HenryV,RichardIII;

•Comedies:

AMidsummerNight’sDream;TheMerchantofVenice;TwelfthNight;

•Romances:

TheWinter’sTale;TheTempest.

Hamlet

•Hamletisgenerallyregardedasthegreatestofalltragedies,thesummitof

Shakespeare’sart.

•ThewholetragedyispermeatedwiththespiritofShakespeare’sowntime.

•

•HamletistheprofoundestexpressionofShakespeare’shumanismandhiscriticismofcontemporarylife.

Hamlet’sCharacter

•ThecastofHamlet’smindissospeculative,soquestioning,andsocontemplative.

•Hislifeisoneofconstantrole-playing,examiningthenatureofactiononlytodenyitspossibility,forheistoosophisticatedtodegradehisnaturetotheconventionalroleastagerevenger.

SoliloquyinHamlet

•Soliloquy:

ormonologue,adramaticorliteraryformofdiscourseinwhichacharacterrevealshisorherthoughtswhenaloneorunawareofthepresenceofothercharacters.

•ForsuchafigureasHamlet,soliloquyisanaturalmedium,anecessaryreleaseofhisanguish;andsomeofhisquestioningmonologuespossesssurpassingpowerandinsight,whichhavesurvivedcenturiesofbeingtornfromtheircontext.

•Themostfamoussoliloquyisperhaps“tobeornottobe”inActIII,SceneI,Hamlet.

TheFormoftheSoliloquy

•Blankverse（素体诗）:

anunrhymediambicpentameterlines（无韵的抑扬五步格）.

•Unrhymed:

havingnoregularcorrespondenceofsoundsattheendsoflines.

•iambus:

ametricalfootconsistingofanunstressedsyllable（-）followedbyastressedsyllable（\）,e.g.:

begin（-\）.

•Apentametermeansalineofverseconsistingoffivemetricalfeet.

•Afootis（usually）twoorthreesyllablesthatcontainonestrongstress.

IambicPentameter

-\-\-\\--\-

Tobe,|ornot|tobe:

|thatis|thequestion:

\--\-\-\-\-

Whether|'tisnob|lerin|themind|tosuffer

Notes:

ThethirdfootinLine1andthefirstfootinLine2aretrochees（扬抑格）.

Thelastunstressedsyllableineachlineiswhatiscalledthefeminine,orthe“weak”ending（阴性结尾）.

Tobeornottobe

•Functionsofthesoliloquy:

•togiveexpressiontoacomplicatedstateofmindandfeelingofacharacter

•toprovideapointofviewontheeventsoftheplay.

•MainIdea:

•Thisisaninternalphilosophicaldebateontheadvantagesanddisadvantagesofexistence,andwhetheritisone'srighttoendhisorherownlife.

•Itpresentsamostlogicalandpowerfulexaminationofthethemeofthemorallegitimacyofsuicideinanunbearablypainfulworld.

Analysis

•Inadditiontoitscrucialthematiccontent,thisspeechisimportantforwhatitrevealsaboutthequalityofHamlet’smind.

•Hisdeeplypassionatenatureiscomplementedbyarelentlesslylogicalintellect,whichworksfuriouslytofindasolutiontohismisery.

•HehasturnedtoreligionandfounditinadequatetohelphimeitherkillhimselforresolvetokillClaudius.

•Here,heturnstoalogicalphilosophicalinquiryandfindsitequal