Old English Literature.docx

Old English Literature.docx

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OldEnglishLiterature

OldEnglishLiterature1.HistoricalBackground

---Englishliteraturebeginsaroundthe8thcentury,whichisverydifferentfromEnglishtoday

---OldEnglishwasthelanguageofEnglandoralongtimebeforetheNormanConquestinA.D.1066andforsome100yearsafterward

2.Writersandtheirwork

---Beowulf（aboutthe6thcentury）

（---thestudyofEnglishliteratureusuallybeginswiththeAnglo-SaxonepicpoemBeowulf---BeowulfisanAnglo-Saxonepic,inalliterativeverseoriginatingfromthecollectiveeffortsoforalliterature.---thestorytellshowtheheroBeowulfdefeatsthemonsterandfinallyreceiveshisowndeathinfightingwithafiredragon.---KingAlfred（849--991）---InoldEnglishliterature,heisanimportantfigureandtheonlyhonoredas“theGreat”---AfoundationstoneofEnglishhistoryistheAnglo-SaxonChronicle,whichwasbegunbyAlfredorunderhisdirection---theKingmadeordirectedthemanyimportanttranslationsfromLatintoOldEnglish,whichdidmuchtoadvancelearninginwhatwasstillaratherwildkingdom---translationofBede’sEcclesiasticalhistoryoftheEnglishPeopleintooldEnglish

MiddleEnglishLiterature（1100--1500）---GeoffreyChaucer（1340?

--1400）---HewasanEnglishpoet.---hismasterpieceisTheCanterburyTales（1387）,whichcontains24talestoldbyagroupofpilgrimsontheirjourneytoCanterburyandarewritteninverse---Hedidnotcompletehistotaldesignbutthereare24tales---HiscontributionstoEnglishliteratureistheinnovationofEnglishversebyintroducingintothenativealliterativeverseofFrenchandItalianstyles---ChauceristhustoberegardedasthefirstshortstorytellerandthefirstmodernpoetinEnglishliterature.RenaissanceinEngland（16th—17thCentury）---HistoricalBackground---Theword“Renaissance”meansrevival,specificallyrevivalofinterestinancientGreekandRomanculture,whichreferstotheperiodbetweenthe14thandmid17thcentury---RenaissancestartedinFlorenceandVenicewiththefloweringofPaintings,architecture.---Indifferentcountries,themovementoccurredindifferentperiodswithdifferentemphasis:

--inItalyitwasmoststronglyfeltinfinearts--inFranceitwasliterature--inEnglanditwasphilosophyanddrama-RenaissanceinEngland1.HistoricalBackground---RenaissancecamelaterinEnglandthanotherEuropeancountriesbecauseoftheWarofRoseswithinthecountryanditsweakandunimportantpositioninworldtrade---TheEnglishRenaissancehad5characteristics:

---Butwhenitdidcome,itwastoproducesometoweringfiguresintheEnglishandtheworldliteraryheritage---WilliamShakespeareandsoon.2.Writersandtheirworks16thCentury---SirThomasMore（1478--1535）---HewasagreathumanistandtheLordChancellortoHenryVIII.---HiswritingsthebestknownisUtopia（1516）,whichcomesfromtheGreekworkmeaning”nowhere”andtellsofajourneytoanimaginaryislandnamedUtopia,whereanidealfromofsocietyexists---More’sbookhasplacedthewordinourvocabulariesinEnglishLiterature---SirThomasWyatt（1503--1542）---He,withtheEarlofSurrey（1517--47）,establishedthesonnet---a14-linepoem—asanEnglishverseform.

WilliamShakespeare（1564—1616）（HewasamanofthelateRenaissancewhogavethefullestexpressiontohumanistideals.）

★LiteraryAchievements:

·37plays,

·2narrativepoems,

·154sonnets（Sonnets1-126addressedtoayoungman,Sonnets127-152addressedto“DarkLady”,Sonnets153-154addressedtoCupid,theGodofloveinGreekmythology）

★LiteraryPosition:

·“notofanage,butforalltime”,

·thegreatestgiantofEnglishlanguageandpoeticform,

·oneofthefoundersofrealisminworldliterature,

·oneofthegreatestwritersintheworld’sliterature.

---Hisplaysfallintocategoriesasfollowing:

---Tragedies:

Hamlet（1600--1601）Othello（1604--1605）KingLear（1605--1606）Macbeth（1605--1606）RomesandJuliet（1595）---Comedies:

TheTamingoftheShrew（1596）AMidsummerNight’sDream（1596）AsyouLikeIt（1599）TwelfthNight（1600）TheTempest（1611）---ChroniclePlays:

RichardIII（1595）RichardII（1595）HenryIV（1597--1598）---PartI,IIJuliusCaesar（1599）AnthonyandCleopatra（1607）---Sonnets（1609）---HismasterfulplayshavedominatedEnglish-speakingstages,whichhavebeentranslatedintoeverymajorlanguage.17thCenturyBourgeoisRevolutionandRestorationPeriod（十七世纪资产阶级革命时期）

---TheKingJamesBible（1611）---BritainunderJamesI---PublicationoftheEnglishversionoftheBible（1611）---TheKingJamesorderedthetranslationoftheHolyScripture,whichwasconsideredasapermanentmonumentofEnglishliterarystyle---AlthoughitwasnotthefirstEnglishtranslation,thekingJamesversionwillprobablyneverbematchedformajestyoflanguage.---EssaysandOtherProse---FrancisBacon（1561--1626）---HewasanEnglishphilosopher,essayistandstatesmanunderbothElizabethandJames.---HisessaysmadepopularinEnglishaliteraryformwidelypracticedafterward---Bacon’smajorworks:

---TheAdvancementofLearning（1605）---TheNewAtlantis（1610）---TheNovumOrganum（NewMethod）（1620）---Essays（1625）---SomeofthefamousquotationsfromBacon:

Knowledgeispower.Somebooksaretobetasted,otherstobeswallowed,andsomefewtobechewedanddigested…Booksmustfollowsciences,andnotsciencesbooks---ThomasHobbees（1588--1679）---HewasoneofthemostcelebratedpoliticaltreatisesandhewrotehisfamousLeviathan,---JohnMilton（1608--1674）andtheEnglishRevolution---IntheEnglishRevolution,thereweretwoleaders:

---Cromwellwasthemanofactioninpolitics---Milton,themanofthought,whorankswithShakespeareandChaucer.---Miltonwrotemanyessays,thebestknownproseAreopagitica---DuringtheshadowoftheRestoration,hewrotehisthreemasterepicpoems:

---ParadiseLost（1667）--whichisalongepicpoemdividedinto12books---ParadiseRegained（1671）---SamsonAgonistes（1671）---Hisbodyofpoetryalsoincludessomefinesonnets.---JohnBunyan（1628--1688）---Hewasoftencalled”thetinkerofElstow”andaPuritanwriter---Hismajorworks:

---ThePilgrim’sProgressfromthisworldtoThatwhichistocome（1678）---TheLifeandDeathofMr.Badman（1680）---TheHolyWar（1682）RestorationandEighteenthCenturyEnlightenment（王朝复辟和启蒙主义时期）

1.GeneralIntroduction---TheEnlightenmentcharacterizestheeffortsbycertainEuropeanwriterstousecriticalreasontofreemindsfromprejudice,authorityandoppressionbyChurchorState.---Themostimportantforerunnersweretwopersons:

---JohnLocke’smaterialisttheory---Newton’stheoryofgravitation2.Writersandtheirworks---JonathanSwift（1667--1745）---Hewasagreatsatiricalwriterinthe18thcentury---HisnameislinkedwiththefancifulaccountoffourvoyagesknowntousasGulliver’sTravels（1726）---AlexanderPope（1688-1744）---HewasagiftedEnglishpoetinthe18thcentury---Twoofhisessaysinversestandout---theEssayonCriticism（1711）---TheRapeoftheLock（1712--14）---SamuelJohnson（1709--84）---Heisalexicographer,essayist,andpoet---theeditorofaDictionaryoftheEnglishLanguage（1747-1755）,thefirstgreatEnglishdictionary.---Majorworks:

---VanityofHumanWisnes（1749）---Rasselas（1769）---TheLivesofthePoets（1779--1781）---Burke,BurnsandBlake---Burke（1729-97）,whowasawriteroffineprose---Burns（1759--96）,whoproducedamuch-lovedpoetinScottishdialect---Blake（1757--1827）,whoillustratedmuchofhisownwork,aswellastheBibleandotherwritings.---hismostfamouspoemTheTigerandSongsofInnocence---DanielDefoe（1660?

--1731）---Defoe’sfirstandgreatestnovelappearedin1719,whichwasRobinsonCrusoe---manyotherbooksMollFlanders（1722）andRoxana（1724）---SamuelRichardson（1689-1761）---HeisnovelistandoftencalledthefounderoftheEnglishdomesticnovel---Histypeofnoveliscalledtheepistolarynovel.---Majorworks---Pamela,orvirtueRewarded（1740）---Clarissa,ortheHistoryofaYoungLady（1748）---HenryFielding（1707--1754）---Hewascalled“FatheroftheEnglishnovel”althoughhewasnotthefirstEnglishnovelist---Hewasinstrumentalinthecreationanddevelopmentofthemodernnovel---HismasterpieceisTheHistoryofTomJones,aFoundling（1749）---JournalismandthePeriodicalEssay---JosephAddison（1672--1779）,whoisessayist,poetandstatesman.---RichardSteele（1672--1729）,Whoisanessayist,dramatistandpolitician.---Bothcontributedto---TheTatler（1709--1711）---TheSpectator（1711--1712）TheEarly19thCentury---Romanticism（浪漫主义运动时期）1.GeneralIntroduction---Romanticismwasamovementinliterature,Philosophy,musicandartwhichdevelopedinEuropeinthelate18thandearly19thcenturies.---Itemphasizedindividualvaluesandaspirationsabovethoseofsociety,whichgaveimpetustothenationalliberationmovementin19th-centuryEurope.---theleadingRomanticwriters---BlakeWordsworth,Byron,ShelleyandsooninEngland---HugoandSandinFrance---HeineinGermany---ManzoniandLeopardiinItaly---PushkininRussia---MichiewicainPoland---ThistendencytoreturntonatureandtochildlikeinnocencebecamesuchastirringcallthatmanyotherformsofthinkingactiveatthetimesuchasPantheism.2）.TwoRevolutions---theFrenchrevolution---theIndustrialRevolution3）.Writersandtheirworks---TheRomanticpoetscanbedividedintotwotypes:

---ThePassiveRomanticPoets---TheLakers---WordsworthandColeridge---Wordsworth（1770--1850）---LyricalBallads（1798）---ThePrelude（1850）---Coleridge（1772--1834）---BiographicLiterature（1817）---TheRimeoftheAncientMariner---theActiveRomanticPoets