古希腊罗马神话故事对英国文学的影响英语专业 学位论文.docx

古希腊罗马神话故事对英国文学的影响英语专业 学位论文.docx

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古希腊罗马神话故事对英国文学的影响英语专业学位论文

2015届本科生毕业设计（论文）

题目：

古希腊罗马神话故事对英国文学的影响

英文题目：

TheInfluenceofGreco-Roman

MythologyonEnglishLiterature

学生姓名：

曾育婷

院系：

外国语学院英语系

届别：

2015届

专业、班级：

英语专业1班

学号：

080520110003

指导教师：

常文彩

　　　　　　　　完成日期：

2015年6月5日

二0一五年六月

Acknowledgements

Inthecourseofwritingthisthesis,Ireceivedalotofhelpandsupportfrommyteachersandfriends,andIwouldliketotakethisopportunitytoexpressmygratitudetoallwhohavehelpedme.

Firstandforemost,Iwanttogivemyprofoundthankstomysupervisor,ChangWencai,forherconstantencouragement,criticalinstructions,greatcareandpreciousadviceandsuggestions.Withherhelp,thisthesisappearsinthepresentform.

IalsoowemysinceregratitudetomyfriendsandmyfellowclassmateswhogavemetheirsupportandhelpedmeworkouttheproblemsIencounteredwhenwritingthethesis.

Thankyouverymuch.

摘要

古希腊罗马神话作为西方文明的源头之一，对西方文化产生了深远的影响。

英国文学是继古希腊罗马文化之后的又一颗璀璨的明珠。

许多英国文豪都在神话中寻觅着灵感。

细心品味，我们不难发现在各种类型的英国文学作品中散落着的美丽而神秘的古希腊罗马神话故事。

作为一名英语学习者，如果我们没有足够的希腊罗马神话知识，它们将成为我们欣赏作品的障碍。

因此，一定程度地掌握古希腊罗马神话对了解和赏析经典文学作品，提高审美能力和想象力是非常有必要的。

关键词：

古希腊罗马神话；英国文学；诗歌；想象力；

Abstract

GreekandRomanmythologyisoneoftheoriginsofthewesterncivilization,whichhasafar-reachinginfluenceonthewesternculture.Englishliteratureisanothercrystalofhumanbeing’swisdomaftertheGreco-Romanmythology.Manyfamouswriterscontinuouslysoughtinspirationinthemyths.ItiseasyforustofindthattherearesomanyworkscloselyrelatedtotheGreco-Romanmythology.TheinfluenceofGreco-RomanmythologyuponEnglishliteratureisbeyonddescription.AsanEnglishlearner,ifwedon’thaveenoughknowledgeofGreekandRomanmythology,itishardforustounderstandandappreciatemanyclassicalworks.Therefore,itisnecessaryforustoknowmoreabouttheGreco-Romanmythology,whichcanhelpustounderstandtheclassicliteraryworksandimproveanappreciationofaestheticsandimagination.

KeyWords:

Greco-Romanmythology;Englishliterature;poem;imagination

Contents

Acknowledgements

Abstract（Chinese）ii

Abstract（English）iii

Introduction1

ChapterOneHistoricalOriginandInfluenceofGreco-RomanMythology2

1.1OriginandCombinationofGreekandRomanMythology2

1.2ImpactofGreco-RomanMythologyonWesternCulture3

ChapterTwoTheInfluenceofGreco-RomanMythologyonEnglishLiterature5

2.1TheMythologicalThemeofEnglishPoetryandDramainthePeriodofRenaissance5

2.2OntheUseofGreekandRomanMythsinBritishRomanticPoetry7

2.3TheMythologicalComplexofEnglishNovelistsandDramatistsinthePeriodofRealism9

ChapterThreeRealisticSignificanceofStudyingGreekandRomanMyths11

3.1StimulateModernPeople’sImagination11

3.2PracticalSignificanceforEnglishLearners11

Conclusion13

Bibliography14

Introduction

Eachnationhasitsownbeautifulmythsandlegends.Greco-Romanmythologyisoneoftheoriginsofthewesterncivilization,whichisthebeautifulsedimentofthesplendidcivilizationofhumanbeings.Also,itcontainsarichandpreciousliteraryheritage,whichisleftbyancientGreekandRomanpeople.KarlMarxoncesaid:

“Greekmythologyandepicistheperfectproductofhumanchildhooddevelopment,withpermanentcharm.”Becauseofthiskindofenduringcharm,itstimulatesmillionsofpeople’sinterestinreadingandslowlytastingthebeautifulandtouchinglegendsofGreco-Romanmythologicalstories.Moreover,Englishliteratureisanothercrystalofmankind’swisdomaftertheCreco-Romanculture,enduringandenrichinggenerations.Ifyoupatientlyreadandtastecarefully,itisnothardforyoutofindthattherearesomanyworksarecloselyrelatedtotheancientmyths.AndasanEnglishlearner,ifwehavelittleaboutGreco-Romanmythology,thesestorieswillbecomethebarriersinreadingsuchkindofEnglishliteraryworks.Whileifweknowsomeaboutit,itwillbethekeyforustounderstandandappreciatetheworksmorecompletely.SotheGreco-Romanmythsinthewesternworldisveryimportant,peopleoftenjudgeone’seducationlevelfromhisunderstandingoftheGreekandRomanmyths.AsBulfinchsaid,“withoutaknowledgeofmythology,muchoftheelegantliteratureofourownlanguagecannotbeunderstood”（Bulfinch,2000:

2）.Obviously,Greco-Romanmythologyplaysanintegralpartinthewesternculture.AsastudentofEnglishmajor,itisnecessaryforustoknowmoreabouttheGreco-Romanmythology,whichisgoodforustoshapewesterncultureandthewayofwesternpeoplethink.Inmyopinion,Greco-Romanmythsarenotonlytheproductsoftheimagination,butalsoadooropenforustoappreciatethousandsofculturalcharmofwesternworld.

ThisthesisanalysestheinfluenceofGreco-RomanmythologyonEnglishliterature.Therearethreepartsinthisthesis.ThefirstpartgivesanintroductionoftheoriginandcombinationoftheGreekandRomanmythsanditsinfluenceonthewesternworld.ThesecondpartdiscussesthattheGreco-RomanmythologyhadagreatimpactonthethreeimportanttrendsofthoughtsofEnglishliterature.ThethirdparttalksaboutthepracticalmeaningsoflearningGreco-Romanmythology.

ChapterOneHistoricalOriginandInfluenceofGreco-RomanMythology

1.1OriginandCombinationofGreekandRomanMythology

AncientGreekcivilizationfloweredmorethan2500yearsagoandprovidedthefoundationofwesternculture.ThedeepestexpressionofGreekideologylaysinitsmythology.Itissorichthatitslegacyhasenduredtothepresentday.Greekmyths,originallytransmittedorally,werenarrativesconcerningancientGreekreligion.Itisoftenconcernedwiththeactionsofgodsandothersupernaturalbeingsandofheroes,whotranscendhumanbounds.

MajorsourcesforGreekmythsincludeHesiod’sTheogonyandtheHomericepics.Hesiodwasthefirstgreatauthor,whowroteTheogonyintheeighthcenturyBCE.Thiswasalongpoeminwhichheattemptedtocollecttogetherallthemythsthathadbeenhandeddownorallyandorganizedthemintoacomprehensivegenealogy.Homer,whowrotetwogreatepicpoems,oneistheIliad,theotherisOdyssey.ThetwoexcellentepicsarethoughttohavebeencomposedtowardstheendoftheeighthcenturyBCE.TheIliadchieflyrecountseventsthattookplaceduringtheTrojanWar.ItconcentratesonkeyheroicfiguressuchasAchilles,AgamemnonandHector.However,OdysseyrelatestoadventuresofOdysseusonhisreturnjourneyfromTroy.Althoughheusedhistoricalmaterials,Homer’saimwasnotsomuchtorecordpasteventsastogiveanexcitingaccountofheroicaction.

RomanmythsareviewedmostlyfromtheframeofitsGreeklegacy.SomepeoplethinkthatRomanmythologylargelyseemsasacopyofGreekmythology.Infact,thatisnotcompletelytrue.Intheverybeginning,theRomansregardedtheirdeitiesmoreaspowersthanaspersons.Atthattime,theyhaddevelopedtheirownmythology.Theirdeitiesdidn’thavehumanmotives,theydidn’tfightormarryorhaveloveaffairswithhumanbeings.OnlyafterRomansbegantocontactwithGreeksplendidculture,theygraduallyrepresentedtheirgodsinhumanforms.Atthesametime,mostoftheGreekgodswereadoptedbytheRomans,althoughinmostcasesonlychangeofnames.Forexample,ZeusisthegodofskyandthunderandtheruleroftheOlympiansofMountOlympus.ThenameofZeusiscognatewiththefirstelementofRomanJupiter,andZeusandJupiterbecamecloselyidentifiedwitheachother.Thiskindofexamplegoesonandon.Astimewentby,weknowthattheGreekmythsandRomanmythsaredeeplyconnected,whichhasgraduallydeveloped“theGreco-RomanMythology.”

1.2ImpactofGreco-RomanMythologyonWesternCulture

AncientGreekandRomancivilizationaretheoriginofthewesterncivilization.Asculturalcarries,theGreco-Romanmythologycontainabundantconnotation,anddeeplyaffecttheformationanddevelopmentofthewesternculture.

Firstandmost,accordingtocarefulinvestigationandstudy,linguistsfoundthatGreekandRomanmythshadagreatinfluenceonEnglishlanguageuntilnow.Thereareagreatnumberofwords,idiomsrelatedtosomeimagesinthemyths,andinfluencedthenameofsomeplaces,months,constellations,animalsandplantsaswell.Mostofthesewordsareverycommontous,suchas“January,”“narcissus,”“Europe,”“Athens”,“Mars”andsoon.Onthemeanwhile,itisnotdifficultforustofindthattherearealargenumberofphrasesandidiomscandatebacktotheancientmyths,suchas“Achilles’Heel”,“TheswordofDamocles”,“AfreedomofPan”,“Cupid’sBow”and“Pandora’sbox”,whichknowntous.Eachofthesewordsisnotonlythetreasureoflanguage,glitteringwithlusterofthewisdomofancestors,butalsothedepositofwesternculture,loadingwithmassivewesternhistory.

Moreover,GreekandRomanmythologyhaveaprofoundimpactonbothEnglishandAmericanculture.Theyarewidelyusedinmanyfields,suchaseconomy,politics,artsandpeople’sdailylife.Overtime,ithasbecomeanindispensablepartofmythicalthinkingofwesternpeople.Letmegivejustafewexamples.

“Whatwillitbewhentheincreaseofyearlyproductionisbroughttoacompletestop?

Hereisthevulnerableplace,theheelofAchilles,forcapitalisticproduction.”（FriedrichEngels）

TheheelofAchillesmeansadeadlyweakness,inspiteofoverallstrength,whichactuallyleadstodownfall.InGreekmythology,whenAchilleswasababy,itwasforetoldthathewoulddieyoung.HismotherThetistopreventthedeathofherson,takingAchillestotheRiverStyx,whichwassupposetoofferpowersofinvulnerability,anddippedhisbodyintothewater.ButasThetisheldAchillesbytheheel,his