英美文学选读笔记精挑细选版.docx

1、英美文学选读笔记精挑细选版英美文学选读笔记简单版The RenaissanceDefinitions of the Literary Terms：1. The Renaissance： The Renaissance marks a transition from the medieval to the modern world. Generally， it refers to the period between the 14th & 17th centuries. It first started in Italy， with the flowering of painting， scul

2、pture & literature. From Italy the movement went to embrace the rest of Europe. The Renaissance， which means rebirth or revival， is actually a movement stimulated by a series of historical events， such as the re-discovery of ancient Roman & Greek culture， the new discoveries in geography & astrology

3、， the religious reformation & the economic expansion. The Renaissance， therefore， in essence is a historical period in which the European humanist thinkers & scholars made attempts to get rid of those old feudalist ideas in medieval Europe， to introduce new ideas that expressed the interests of the

4、rising bourgeoisie， & to recover the purity of the early church from the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church.2. Humanism：Humanism is the essence of the Renaissance. It sprang from the endeavor to restore a medieval reverence for the ancient authors and is frequently taken as the beginning of the

5、 Renaissance on its conscious， intellectual side， for the Greek and Roman civilization was based on such a conception that man is the measure of all things. Through the new learning， humanists not only saw the arts of splendor and enlightenment， but the human values represented in the works. Renaiss

6、ance humanists found in the classics a justification to exalt human nature and came to see that human beings were glorious creatures capable of individual development in the direction of perfections， and that the world they inhabited was theirs not to despise but to question， explore， and enjoy. Thu

7、s， by emphasizing the dignity of human beings and the importance of the present life， they voiced their beliefs that man did not only have the right to enjoy the beauty of this life， but had the ability to perfect himself and to perform wonders. Thomas More， Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespea

8、re are the best representatives of the English humanists.3. Spenserian stanza：斯宾塞诗体Spenserian stanza was invented by Edmund Spenser. It is a stanza of nine lines， with the first eight lines in iambic pentameter & the last line in iambic hexameter， rhyming ababbcbcc.4. Metaphysical poetry：The term me

9、taphysical poetry is commonly used to name the work of the 17th century writers who wrote under the influence of John Donne. With a rebellious spirit， the metaphysical poets tried to break away from the conventional fashion of the Elizabethan love poetry. The diction is simple as compared with that

10、of the Elizabethan or the Neoclassic periods， and echoes the words and cadences of common speech. The imagery in drawn from the actual life. The form is frequently that of an argument with the poets beloved， with God， or with himself.5. The Renaissance hero：A Renaissance hero refers to one created b

11、y Christopher Marlowe in his drama. Such a hero is always individualistic and full of ambition， facing bravely the challenge from both gods and men. He embodies Marlowes humanistic ides of human dignity and capacity. Different from the tragic hero in medieval plays， who seeks the way to heaven throu

12、gh salvation and gods will， he is against conventional morality and contrives to obtain heaven on earth through his own efforts. With the endless aspiration for power， knowledge， and glory， the hero interprets the true Renaissance spirit. Both Tamburlaine and Faustus are typical in possessing such a

13、 spirit.Main qualities of Spensers poetrya perfect melodya rare sense of beautya splendid imaginationa lofty moral purity & seriousnessa dedicated idealism2） In his writing， Spenser drew on the conventions & thought of Classical， medieval， & Renaissance literature. However， he added to his fusion of

14、 these diverse elements much that was original， & his works inspired many later English poets. He created a new stanza， called the Spenserian stanza， which is well suited to narrative verse. His skills in writing melodious English verse & his combination of emotion， erudition， & spiritual vision hav

15、e won him the admiration of generations of English poets. It is his idealism， his love of beauty， &his exquisite melody that make him known as the poets poet.William Shakespeare1. 一般识记Brief IntroductionWilliam Shakespeare was the greatest writer of plays who ever lived. His friend & fellow playwrigh

16、t Ben Jonson said that Shakespeare was not of an age but for all time. The 18th-century English essayist Samuel Johnson described his work as the mirror of life. The 19th-century English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge spoke of myriad-minded Shakespeare. The 20th-century English dramatist George Bernar

17、d Shaw stressed his enormous power over language.his dramatic career is divided into 4 periods.Shakespeares authentic non-dramatic poetry consists of two long narrative poems： Venus & Adonis & The Rape of Lucerne & his sequence of 154 sonnets.3. 领会His Influence1） Contributions to languageMany words

18、and commonly used phrases have been added to everyday English vocabulary through their appearance in Shakespeares works.2） Effects on literatureShakespeares plays & poetry have had a pervasive influence on world literature. Most of the great literary figures of the world have been inspired & stimula

19、ted by his achievement.On the whole， however， Shakespeares contribution has been to the language & spirit of later writing rather than to its form. References & parallels to Shakespeares phraseology have occurred in literature since the 16th century. Perhaps the greatest inspiration to subsequent au

20、thors has been Shakespeares capacity to depict life in all its complexity & to illuminate mans character & destiny.His Major Theme1） Shakespeare is against religious persecution & racial discrimination， against social inequality & the corrupting influence of gold & money. 2） He was a humanist of the

21、 time & accepted the Renaissance views on literature.6. 领会His Literary Achievements1） Characterization His major characters are neither merely individual ones nor type ones； they are individuals representing certain types. Each character has his or her own personalities； meanwhile， they may share fe

22、atures with others. The soliloquies in his plays fully reveal the inner conflict of his characters. Shakespeare also portrays his characters in pairs. Contrasts are frequently used to bring vividness to his characters.The women in the plays are vivid creations， each differing from the others. Shakes

23、peare was fond of portraying mocking wenches， such as Kate of the Taming of the Shrew， Rosaline of Loves Labors Lost， & Beatrice of Much Ado About Nothing， but he was equally adept at creating gentle & innocent women， such as Ophelia in Hamlet， Desdemona in Othello， & Cordelia in King Lear. His fema

24、le characters also include the treacherous Goneril & Regan， the iron-willed Lady Macbeth， the witty & resourceful Portia， the tender & loyal Juliet， & the alluring Cleopatra.2） Plot ConstructionShakespeares plays are well known for their adroit plot construction. He seldom invents his own plots； ins

25、tead， he borrows them from some old plays or storybooks， or from ancient Greek & Roman sources. There are usually several threads running through the play， thus providing the story with suspense & apprehension.3） LanguageIn Shakespeares time， English grammar & spelling were not yet formalized， so Sh

26、akespeare could freely inter charge the various parts of speech， using nouns as adjectives or verbs， adjectives as adverbs， & pronouns as nouns. Such freedom gave his language an extraordinary flexibility， which enabled him to express his thoughts as easily in poetry as in prose.Most of Shakespeares

27、 dramatic poetry is in blank verse， or unrhymed iambic pentameter. His bland verse is especially beautiful & mighty. He has an amazing wealth of vocabulary & idiom. His coinage of new words & distortion of the meaning of the old ones also create striking effects on the reader.Chapter II The Neoclass

28、ical Period1） The Enlightenment MovementThe 18th-century England is known as the Age of Enlightenment or the Age of Reason. The Enlightenment Movement was a progressive intellectual movement which flourished in France & swept through the whole Western Europe at the time. The movement was a furtheran

29、ce of the Renaissance of the 15th & 16th centuries. Its purpose was to enlighten the whole world with the light of modem philosophical & artistic ideas. The enlighteners celebrated reason or rationality， equality & science. They called for a reference to order， reason & rules & advocated universal e

30、ducation. Famous among the great enlighteners in England were those great writers like John Dryden， Alexander pope & so on.2） NeoclassicismIn the field of literature， the Enlightenment Movement brought about a revival of interest in the old classical works. This tendency is known as neoclassicism. A

31、ccording to the neoclassicists， all forms of literature were to be modeled after the classical works of the ancient Greek & Roman writers （Homer， Virgil， & so on）& those of the contemporary French ones. They believed that the artistic ideals should be order， logic， restrained emotion & accuracy， & t

32、hat literature should be judged in terms of its service to humanity. This belief led them to seek proportion， unity， harmony & grace in literary expressions， in an effort to delight， instruct & correct human beings， primarily as social animals. Thus， a polite， urbane， witty， & intellectual art developed.3） The heroic couplet英雄双行诗It means a pair of lines of a type once common in English poetry， which rhyme & are written with five beats each4） the Realistic