英国文学简史复习资料.docx

1、英国文学简史复习资料Part One： Early and Medieval English LiteratureChapter1 The Making of EnglandHistorical Background：5th century B.C. 55 B.C. Roman Conquest 55 B.C. 410A.D.(speak Anglo-Saxon or Old English) 410A.D. 1066 1066 Norman Conquest(the scholar wrote in Latin and the courtier in French)Chapter 2 Beo

2、wulfEpic is an narrative poem in elevated(严肃的) or dignified language，celebrating the feats(功绩) of a legendary or traditional hero.Beowulf，the national epic of the English people.罗马 Virgil：Aeneid 埃涅伊德 德国 Nibelungenlied 尼伯龙根之歌法国 Chanson de Roland 罗兰之歌Artistic Features：Alliteration; kenning (metaphor);

3、 repetition and variation Chapter 3 The Romance（传奇故事）Romance；a tale in verse or prose，embodying life and adventures of Knights Theme：Spirit of chivalry，love，and religionThe Romance Cycles：(1) the ”matters of Britain”(adventures of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table), (2) the ”matters of

4、France ”(Emperor Charlemagne and his peers),(3) the ”matters of Rome”(Alexander the Great and so forth)The Romance of King Arthur is comparatively the most important for the history ofEnglish literature, its culmination in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight高文爵士和绿衣骑士 (metrical romance), and its summing

5、up in Thomas Malorys Le Morte DArthur亚瑟王之死(in English prose) Chapter 5 The English BalladsThe Ballads：a story told in song, 4-line stanzas, the second and forth lines rhymed.The various ballads of Robin Hood(罗宾汉) are gathered into a collection called The Geste of Robin Hood, the whole life of the he

6、ro is portrayed.Chapter6 Chaucer（1340-1400）Geoffrey Chaucer： the founder of English poetry and English fiction.Chaucers Literary Career：1、(1360-1372) the first period consists of works translated from French, as The Romaunt of the Rose(玫瑰罗曼史)；2、(1372-1386) the second consists of works adapted from t

7、he Italian，as Troilus and Criseyde(特罗勒斯和克朋西德)；3、(1386-1400) the third includes The Canterbury Tales, which is purely English.The Canterbury Tales is Chaucers masterpiece and one of the monumental works in English literature.Significance of the The Canterbury Tales：1) all around reflection of society

8、; 2) structure：highly interwoven; 3) humorous tone; 4) contribution to English poetry，heroic couplet introduced. Iambic pentameter(抑扬顿挫格) two syllables(foot音步)Part Two: The English RenaissanceTwo features are striking of the Renaissance：1) the one is thirsting curiosity for the classical literature；

9、2) Another feature of the Renaissance is the keen interest in the activities of humanity.Humanism：1) assumed the dignity and central position of human being in the universe; 2) emphasized the importance in education of studying classical, imaginative and philosophical literature; 3) insisted on the

10、primacy of reason(理性); 4) stressed the need for a rounded development of an individual , diverse powers, ie. physical，mental，artistic and moral abilities.Edmund Spenser埃德蒙斯宾塞 “The Poets Poet”The Shepherds Calendar牧羊人的月历：pastoral poem 田园诗His masterpiece The Faerie Queene仙后, The Faerie Queene written

11、in a special verse form that consists of eight iambic pentameter lines followed by a ninth line of six iambic feet (an alexandrine), with the rhyme scheme ababbcbcc. This form has since been called the Spenserian Stanza.Features of Spensers poetry:1) Perfect melody 2) rare sense of beauty 3) splendi

12、d imagination 4) a lofty moral beauty of seriousness 5) a dedicated idealismFrancis Bacon(1561-1626)Major Works：Advancement of Learning 学术的推进，New Instrument新工具，Essays 随笔(Of Studies，Of Truth)Chapter6 Shakespeare两首叙事长诗，154首十四行诗(Sonnet)和 37部戏剧Periods of Shakespeares Dramatic Composition:1) The First Pe

13、riod(1590-1594)：comedies, apprenticeship学徒期 in play-writing, (Henery VI, parts 1,2,and3 , The Comedy of Errors错误的喜剧The Taming of the Shrew 驯悍记), Romeo and Juliet; Venus and Adonis维纳斯和阿多尼斯；The Rape of Lucrece露克丽丝受辱记（narrative poems）2) The Second Period(1595-1600): mainly the period of “great comedies

14、” and mature historical plays. 6 comedies：A Midsummer Nights Dream仲夏夜之梦, The Merchant of Venice威尼斯商人, The Merry Wives of Windsor温莎的风流妇人, Much Ado about Nothing无事生非, As You Like It皆大欢喜, Twelfth Night; 5 Historical plays: Richard II, Henery IV, parts 1 and 2, Henery V, King John.3) The Third Period(16

15、01-1607): mainly the period of “great tragedies” and “dark comedies”. 5 tragedies: Hamlet，Othello， King Lear， Macbeth, Timon of Athens; 3 comedies: Trious and Cressida, Alls Well That Ends Well, Measure for Measure; 2 Roman tragedies：Antony and Cleopatra，Coriolanus4)The Forth Period(1608-1612)：tragi

16、c-comedies 悲喜剧 4 romances: Pericles泰尔亲王佩里克里斯, Cymbeline辛白林, The Winters Tale冬天的故事, Tempest 暴风雨.The Great Comedies: A Midsummer Nights Dream, The Merchant of Venice, As You Like It皆大欢喜, Twelfth Night.The Great Tragedies: Hamlet，Othello， King Lear， Macbeth.Part Three: The Period of the English Bourgeo

17、is RevolutionHistorical Background：Religion (puritants vs. prostants); Politics (Monarch vs. parliament)Literary Features：baron( gloom, pessimism, decadence, frivolity)Chapter 2 Milton(1608-1674)Major Works：Areopagitica论出版自由，Comus 科马斯，LAllegro快乐的人，Defence of the English People, Second Defence of the

18、 English People, Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained, Samson Agonistes 力士参孙(案头剧Closet Drama).Paradise Lost：Its a long epic in 12 books, written in blank verse. The stories were taken from the Old Testament：the creation；the rebellion in the Heaven of Satan and his fellow-angels；the creation of the earth

19、 and of Adam and Eve；the fallen angels in hell plotting against God theme：to justify the ways of God to man Brief Summary：political both in his life and his art，his influence is omnipresent in almost later English poetry，a master of blank verse，a great stylist (grand style)， his sublimity of his tho

20、ught and majesty of expression. Chapter 3 Bunyan (1628-1688)The Pilgrims Progress: a religious allegory. It tells the spiritual pilgrimage of Christian，who flies from the city of Destruction，meets with the perils and temptations of the Slough of Despond, Vanity Fair，and Doubting Castle，faces and ove

21、rcomes the demon Appollyon, and finally comes to the Delectable Mountains and the Celestial. Artistic Features：1) famous for the simple and lively pose style, 2) religious allegory, 3) vivid characterization 4) the solemn dignity and simplicity of the language of the English Bible.Chapter 4 Metaphys

22、ical Poets and Cavalier PoetsJohn Donne(1572-1631): Ellegies and Satizes, The Songs and Sonnet, The Flea Idealistic：The Canonization(圣人) Cynical：Go and Catch a Falling StarMetaphysical Poets: a school of intellectual poetry, marked by bold &ingenious, conceits, incongruous, imagery, complexity of th

23、ought, frequent use of paradox，deliberate harshness, rigidity of expression. Themes：love，death，religionThe Cavaliers：royalist, courtliness, urbanity, polished; 及时行乐Part Four：The Eighteenth Century1 Historical Background：peaceful Golden Age；politics：King vs. parliament， territory expansion，industrial

24、 revolution.2 Literary Background：“Enlightenment” ( fight against Feudal Survivals)“education”of the people3 Cultural Background：Copyright Act (1709) 版权法 social clubs, coffee shops4 Characteristics of literature: Realism (common people, daily life)； Satire 5 Division of 18th Century: 1) 1688-1730s n

25、eo-classicism( Pope，Defoe, Addison)，realistic traditional of novel； 2) 1740s-1750s realistic novel established (major genre ) 3) 1750s-1790s sentimentalismGray pre-romanticismBlake/BurnsNeo-classicism: modeled after ancient Greek，Roman writers， French contemporary ones，artistic ideal，order logic，res

26、torical emotion, accuracy.In literary expressionproportion, unity, graceChapter 3 Pope ( 1688-1744)Alexander Pope：leading neo-classic writer/poet，satiric & didactic verseMajor Works: Essays on Criticism论批评, The Rape of the Lock卷发遇劫记，The Dunciad 群愚史诗，Essays on Man 论人类political/philosophical viewpoint

27、 Achievements：1) outstanding enlightener and the greatest English poet of the classical school in the first half of the 18th century；2) a master of heroic couplet；3)style：satiric，concise，smooth， graceful，well-balancedChapter 4 Swift (1667-1745)Jonathan Swift: satirist Major Works：A tale of aTub 一只桶的

28、故事，The Battle of the Books 书的战争，Gullivers Travels, A Modest Proposal 一个小小的建议Gullivers Travels：1) Lilliput 2) Brobdingnag 3) Laputal Flying Land 4) HouyhnhnmsComments: 1) master of satire 2) democratic beliefs 3) master of prose ，simple，direct，clear & vigorous.Chapter 5 Defoe(1660-1731)Daniel Defoe：h

29、e was a kind of jack-of-all-around，he was a merchant，soldier，economist，politician，journalist，pamphleteer, publicist and novelist.Major works: Captain Singleton 辛格顿船长，Moll Flanders 摩尔弗兰德斯，Colonel Jacque，Robinson Crusoe.Comments: 1) great story teller (vivid details, construction) 2) the central ideal

30、：man is good/ noble by nature，but may succumb to an evil society，society is the source of crime and vices 3) realistic writer：memoirs, historical (narratives) “real”storyChapter 7 Fielding(1707-1754) Henry Fielding：”Father of English Novel”Novels：Tom Jones，Joseph Andrews 约瑟夫安德鲁斯， Jonathan Wild 乔纳森王尔

31、德，Amelia 阿米莉亚Comments: 1) sets up theory of realism in literary creation 2) vivid observation of life 3) amuse and teach the reader/audienceChapter 9 Sheridan ( 1751-1816)Richard Brinsley Sheridan: The Rivals 情敌，The School for Scandal 造谣学校( Comedy of Manners 风俗喜剧)The trical art: 1) dramatic techniqu

32、es 2) well-organized plot，sharply drawn：characters 3) witty dialogues：decent languageChapter 14 Blake(1757-1827)William Blake： Simplicity，imaginative，visionary，lyric beauty with immerse impression of meaning，symbolism. Pre-Romantic Major works： Songs of Innocence 天真之歌， Songs of Experience 经验之歌 The Marriage of Heaven and Hell 天堂和地狱的联姻 The Chimney Sweeper 扫烟囱的孩子Chapter 15 Burns (1759-1796)Robert Burns：national poet for Scotland.