英国文学史学生笔记.docx

英国文学史学生笔记.docx

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英国文学史学生笔记

Partone:

EarlyandMedievalEnglishLiterature

HistoricalBackground

1.Whendoesearlyandmedievalperiodreferto?

“Early”heremeansEnglishliteratureinprimitiveandslaverysociety.

“Medieval”meansEnglishliteratureinfeudalEnglandbeforetheRenaissance.

2.Whatmaineventshappenedduringthisperiod?

Romanconquest

Englishconquest

Normanconquest

LiteratureAchievementsinoldEnglishperiod

1.twogroupsofEnglishpoetryinAnglo-Saxonperiod.ThefirstgroupwasthepaganpoetryrepresentedbyBeowulf,thesecondwasthereligiouspoetryrepresentedbytheworksofCaedmonandCynewulf.

2.Inthe8thcentury,Anglo-Saxonproseappeared.ThefamousprosewritersofthatperiodwereVenerableBedeandAlfredtheGreat.

VenerableBede:

isthefirstscholarandchroniclerinEngland.Themostimportantworks:

TheEcclesiasticalHistoryoftheEnglishPeople.

AlfredtheGreat:

startedtheAnglo-SaxonChronicle.

Beowulf

I.Definitionofepic:

anextendednarrativepoeminelevatedordignifiedlanguage,celebratingthefeatsofalegendaryortraditionalhero.

II.StoryofBeowulf:

P3-4

Questions:

1.setting:

2.characters:

3.plot

III.Someimportantpoints

“Beowulf”isafolklegendbroughttoEnglandbyAnglo-Saxonsfromtheircontinentalhomes.HoweveritalsoreflectedthefeaturesofthetribalsocietyinBritain.

OriginallyBeowulf,thegreatepic,wasinoralformanditmustbeacollectivecreation.

Beowulfintheepicisalegendaryfigure.InformalhistoryyoucannotfindamannamedBeowulf.

IV.Artisticfeaturesof“Beowulf’’

1.Usingalliteration

Definitionofalliteration:

Wordsbeginningwiththesameconsonantsalliteratewitheachotherwithineachline.Eachlineofversemaycontainanindefinitenumberofwordsorsyllablesbutgenerallyhasfourstresses,withapausebetweenthesecondandthethirdstresses.

SomeexamplesonP4

2.·Usingmetaphorandunderstatement

Definitionofunderstatement:

expressingsomethinginacontrolledway

UnderstatementisatypicalwayforEnglishmentoexpresstheirideas.YoumayfindsomeexamplesonP5

LiteraryFeaturesoftheAnglo-SaxonPeriod

1）secular（非宗教的）poetry,

nonreligiouspoemsbutwithChristiancoloring;

2）createdcollectivelyandorally;

3）basedonhistory,legendoreventsofthetime;

4）forentertainment;

5）unknownwriters,writtendownbythemonksinthe10thcentury

LiteratureachievementinMiddleEnglishPeriod

1.Romance:

（fornoble）

2.Ballads:

（folkliterature）（oral）（forEnglishpeople）

3.Poetry:

1）WilliamLangland（popularliterature）

2）Chaucer（thefounderofEnglishliterature）

1.Romance:

ItisthemostprevailingkindofliteratureinEnglandonfeudalperiod.Itisalongcomposition,inverseorinprose.Itdescribesthelifeandadventuresofanoblehero.ThecentralthemeisloyaltytokingandLord.ThecodeofmannersandmoralsofaknightisChivalry.ThemostimportantromanceiskingArthurandhisknightsoftheRoundTable.

2.Ballads:

a.ItisthemostimportantformofEnglishfolkliterature.

b.Itisastorytoldinsong,usuallyin4-linestanzaswiththesecondandfourthlinerhymed.

c.Itisaliteratureofcommonpeople,（mainlytheliteratureofthepeasants）fromthemoneisabletounderstandtheoutlookoftheEnglishcommonpeopleinfeudalsociety.

d.ItflourishedinEnglandinthe15thcentury.

e.ThemostimportantballadsinEnglandareRobinHood.

3.Poetry

WilliamLangland:

a.life:

b.content:

1.attackonthecorruptionoftherichandthewickednessofclergy

2.thepoliticalsituationofthetime

3.searchfortruth

4.attackonthesevenDeadlySins:

（pride,lechery（色欲），envy,wrath,Avarice,glutton,sloth）

c.Socialsignificance:

1.aclassicofpopularliterature

2.kindledthetoilingpeople’ssenseofhumandignityandequalitybeforeGod

3.arousingrevolutionarysentiment

d.artisticfeatures:

1.Itiswrittenintheformofadreamvision.

2.Itisanallegorywhichrelatestruththroughsymbolism.Butinthemain,itisarealisticpictureofmedievalEngland.

3.Thepoemusessatireinhisdescriptionofsocialabusescausedbythecorruption

4.Thepoemiswritteninalliteration.

5.languagestyle:

livelyspeechofthecountryside,bluntandunpolishedwords.

GeoffreyChaucer

I.Hislife

II.Literarycareer:

3stages

III.Hisworks:

a.TroilusandCriseyde

b.TheCanterburyTales

IV.HisContributions:

♦I.HisLife

♦Borninawinemerchant’sfamily

♦Triptothecontinentondiplomaticmissions,twoofwhichtookhimtoItaly

♦BuriedinWestminsterAbbey,thepoets’corner

♦Politicalbackground:

relationwithJohnofGaunt

♦II.LiteraryCareer:

♦Frenchperiod:

TheBookoftheDuchess

♦Italianperiod:

worksadaptedfromtheItalian:

TroilusandCriseyde

♦Englishperiod:

TheCanterburyTales

Hereachedmaturityandwasfreefromdominantforeigninfluence.

♦III.Hisworks:

♦TheBookoftheDutchess《公爵夫人之书》

♦TheHouseofFame《声誉之堂》

♦TheParliamentofFowls《百鸟议会》

♦TheCanterburyTales《坎特伯雷故事集》

♦TroilusandCriseyde《特罗勒斯和克莱西》

TroilusandCriseyde

♦ItisbasedonapoembyBoccaccio,hislongestpoem,writtenintherhymedroyal（君王体）（aseven-linestanzainiambicpentameterrhymingababbcc.）

TheCanterburyTales

♦Questions:

1.theorganizationofthebook

（therelationshipbetweenthegeneralprologueandeachtale）

2.ThemainfeaturesofChaucer’snarration

3.TheimageofWifeofBath

♦Basicinformation

form:

mostofthetalesarewritteninheroiccouplet

setting:

TabardInn

characters:

typesofliterature:

courtlyromance,folktale.,beastfable,storyoftravelandadventure,saint’slife,allegoricaltale,sermon,alchemicalaccount.

Language:

MiddleEnglish,vivid,exact,word-pictures

Length:

plannedtobe120stories.TheGeneralprologue,20completetales,4fragments,separateprologuestoeachtalewithlinks,comments,quarrels,etc.inbetween.

Arrangement:

linkedthroughthehost’scommentsandprologue.twoways:

thepersonalityofthehostaffordsaclearstringofconnectionfromthe1sttothelasttale.Thereisanintimateconnectionbetweenthetalesandprologue.

Typicalcharacters:

almostallmedievalfiguresfromdifferentsidesoflifeexceptnobleandserfs.

CharacterofthewifeofBath

theownerofaclothfactory,light-hearted,merry,

somewhatvulgarandtalkative.alengthyaccountofherfeelingsaboutmarriage.

♦TheCanterburyTales’significance

reflectionofhistimes---apanoramicviewofhiscontemporarylife;reflectionofhishumanistidea----heexposedtheevilsofthechurch,thecorruptionoftheupperclass,praiseman’sintellectandlove;heaffirmsmenandwomen’srighttopursuetheirhappinessandopposethedogmaofasceticismpreachedbychurch.

♦IV.Chaucer’scontributions:

a.Forerunnerofhumanism

b.Thefirstrealisticwriter

c.FatherofEnglishpoetry

d.MasteroftheEnglishlanguage

PartTwo:

TheEnglishRenaissance

HistoricalBackground

RenaissanceandHumanism

Mainliteraryform:

poetryEdmundSpencer

drama:

mostimportantWilliamShakespeare

essay:

（prose）FrancisBacon

TheEnglishRenaissance

1.RenaissanceinEurope

a.Itbeganinthe14thcenturyinItaly.

b.nature:

aculturalandintellectualmovement

c.content:

therearoseacurrentforthestudyofGreekandLatinauthors;ageneraldissatisfactionatthecatholicandfeudalideas.

d.twostrikingfeatures:

curiosityforclassicalliterature

interestintheactivitiesofhumanity

II.HistoricalBackground

TheestablishmentofTudorDynasty（1485-1603）

ReligiousReformation

TheestablishmentofProtestantism

Commercialexpansionabroad

ThewarwithSpain

（Englishbourgeoisiefoughtforexistenceandpower）

III.RenaissanceandHumanism

Humanism

a.Nature:

aliteraryandphilosophicalsystemofthoughtwhichattempttoplacetheaffairsofmankindatthecenterofitsconcerns.

b.Origin:

inItaly

c.Source:

basedonanewreadingofGreekandRomanliterature,andanaffirmationoftheimportanceofPlatonicphilosophyandreinterpretationofthewritingsofAristotle.

d.Idea:

Ittookthelifeofmaninthepresenceasamajorinterest.

e.HumanismwasoneofthemostimportantfactorsgivingrisetotheRenaissance.Itisanattituderatherthanaphilosophy.

ThemaintraitsoftheRenaissanceLiterature

a.ItschiefcharacteristicistheexpressionofsecularvalueswithmaninsteadofGodasthecenteroftheuniverse.

b.Itemphasizesthedignityofman,affirmsandeulogizesthevalueofman.

c.Itadvocatesthefullexpressionofindividualismandthefulfillmentofone’sabilitiesagainstthedespoticruleofthefeudalism.

d.Itaffirmsthedelightofearthlyachievementaswellasmen’sdesireforhappinessandpleasure.

Poetry

I.TwopoetsbeforetheElizabethanAge:

ThomasWyatt;HenryHoward,EarlofSurrey

a.sonnet:

anexactformofpoetryin14linesofiambicpentameterrhymed,introducedtoEnglandfromItalybySirThomasWyattandHenryHoward,EarlofSurrey.

b.Surrey:

thefirstEnglishblankverse,theformofpoetrytobelatermasterlyhandledbyShakespeareandMilton.

TwopoetsbeforetheElizabethanAge

c.thesongsandsonnetsbyWyattandSurreywasthefirstanthologyofEnglishlyricpoems.

II.TwopoetsoftheElizabethanAge

1.PhilipSidney

a.life:

well-knownasapoetandcriticofpoetry.HeisSpencer’sfriend.SpencerwroteShepherd’sCalendartodedicatetohim.Hewasacourtier,ascholarandsoldier.

b.hiscollectionoflovesonnets:

AstrophelandStella

c.criticism:

ApologyforPoetry:

representthespiritofliterarycriticismoftheRenaissance.

2.EdmundSpencer

a.life:

aminornoblefamily,goo