英国文学第一册.docx

1、英国文学第一册Roman Conquest 55 B.C.Julius Caesar Roman Britain: Britannia (a Roman province) 410 A.D.-withdrew Influence: Roman mood of life (Turkish bath; castles; fortressed; roads)The Anglo-Saxon periodEnglish Conquest About 449 A.D.Angles, Saxons, Jutes (Teutonic tribes) Resistance: Celtic king Arthur

2、 at Camelot; kingdom of Wessex Influence: ancestors of the present English people; a transition from tribal society to feudalism Name its central partEngland (Angla-land) or Anglia Language: old Englishthe foundation of English language and literaturePS: BritishBritons (by Celts) English (by Angles)

3、Literature:Two divisions: Pagan and ChristianPagan: the Anglo-Saxons poetry in the form of oral sagasChristian: the writings developed under teaching of the monks Meant a new language: the literary monkthe culture and literary resources of the Latin language.Anglo-Saxon poets: Caedmona poetic Paraph

4、rase of the Bible Cynewulfon religious subjects (The Christ) Unknown scribesthe great epic (The Song of Beowulf); poems (Widsith, The Travellers Song; Seafarer)The Song of Beowulf The oldest poem in the English language The oldest surviving epic in the English language The only existing manuscript w

5、as written at the beginning of the 10th century and was not discovered until 1705. It reflects events which took place on the Continent at the beginning of the 6th century. The whole epic consists of 3128 lines and is to be divided into two parts with an interpolation (an addition made by the Christ

6、ian who copied The Song). The whole song is essentially pagan in spirit and matter. A pagan poem of all advanced pagan civilization; present an all-round picture of the tribal societyThe subject matter This poem of 3128 lines describes the deeds of the Tuetonic (Scandinavia) hero Beowulf. Hrothgar (

7、king); Heorot (mead hall); Grendel (monster); Grendels mother; dragon Alliteration (head rhyme); kenning (metaphor); understatement The use of the strong stress and consonants; each line is divided into two halves, and each half has two heavy stresses Partly historical and partly legendaryThe Anglo-

8、Norman Period Roman Conquest:1066William, Duke of Normandy, defeated the Anglo-Saxons at the battle of Hastings.Influence: Feudal system was established; FrenchPS: Black DeathThe literature: The bright, romantic tales of love and adventurethe strength and somberness of Anglo-Saxon poetry English lit

9、erature is a combination of French and Saxon elements. Absorbed the French vocabulary, became the English languageThe new literature: Geoffreys Historycontains the native Celtic legends of Arthur The work of the French writersmade the Arthurian legends popular Riming Chronicleshistory in doggerel ve

10、rse (Laysmons Brut) Metrical Romances or tales in verseThree classes: Matter of France: tales about Charlemagne (Chanson de Roland) Matter of Greece and Rome: tales about Alexander and about the fall of Troy Matter of Britain: tales about their heroes Arthur and his knights of the Round TableCycles

11、of Arthurian romances:Gawain, Launcelot, Merlin, the Quest of the Holy Grail, the Death of ArthurGeoffrey ChaucerBiography: “father of English poetry” One of the greatest narrative poets of England Served in a variety of occupations: soldier, ambassador, courtier, office holder, legislator The first

12、 to be buried in the Poets Corner of Westminster AbbeySocial environment: The second half of the 14th century, feudal system begun to crumble 1381, a famous peasant uprising led by Wat Tyler and John Ball The glory of the Catholic Church was on the waneLiterature:Works: He translated various works o

13、f French authors: Romance of the Rose Longer poems in the form of vision so favored in the Middle Age: The Legend of Good Women; The House of Fame; The parliament of Fowls Long narrative poem Troilus and Cressie based upon Boccaccios poem FilostratoFeatures: His allegories and symbols are tinged wit

14、h realistic images. His poem marks a new step in the authors progress to maturity and is distinguished for its profound delineation of character and truthful description of human relation. He greatly contributed to the founding of the English literary language, the basis of which was formed by the L

15、ondon dialect.Three periods: The period of French influence (1359-1372) The period of Italian influence (1372-1386)Chaucers own creativeness shows itself through borrowed themes The period of English influence (1386-1400)The Canterbury Tales Chaucers masterpiece is The Canterbury Tales. Give a pictu

16、re of contemporary English life Only 24 tales were written of which 2 are left unfinished Heroic couplets On their way to Canterbury, Pilgrims gathered at Tabard Inn. The “jolly innkeeper”, Harry Baily, proposed that each pilgrim should tell two tales on the way to Canterbury and two more on the way

17、 back. The Prologue is a splendid masterpiece of realistic portrayal, the first of its kind in the history of English literature. It provides a framework for the tales and it comprises a group of vivid pictures of various medieval figures. The Knight; the Pardoner; Nuns Priest; the Wife of Bath In T

18、he Canterbury Tales, Chaucer created a strikingly brilliant and picturesque panorama of his time and his country. Free-thinking; believes in the right of man to earthly happinessPopular BalladsThe 15th century has been traditionally described as the barren age in English literature. But it is the sp

19、ring tide of English ballads. Ballads are anonymous narrative songs that have been persevered by oral transmission. English ballads were probably composed during the 500yaers period from 1300 to 1700, few of them were printed before the 18th century and some not until the 19th. Songs and ballads wer

20、e widespread among the populace of England and Scotland. They were created and preserved by the people, termed “Popular Ballads”. Be devoted to historical events The age-long struggle between the Scots and the English is reflected in the “border ballads”. Bishop Thomas Percy was among the first to t

21、ake a literary interest in ballads Discovery of a 17th century manuscript which had been copied down among a great welter of Middle English verse Public in his Reliques of Ancient English PoetryRobin Hood BalladsRobin Hood is a partly historical and partly legendary character.The first mention of Ro

22、bin Hood in literature is in Langlands The Vision of Piers, the PlowmanThe History of Great Britain, in Latin, 1521Robin Hood, a Saxon by birth, was an outlaw, a robber, robbed only the rich and never molested the poor and needy.Robin Hoods character: strong, brave, clever, tender-hearted, affection

23、ate, hatred for the cruel oppressors, love for the poor and downtroddenThe ballads of Robin Hood gained great popularity in the second half of the 14th century. (at the time of the poors struggle)PS: humorous balladsGet Up and Bar the DoorThe RenaissanceHistorical background: The 16th century in Eng

24、lish was a period of the breaking up of feudal relations and the establishing of the foundations of capitalism. The ReformationHenry (reigned 1509-1547) broke off with the Pope and proclaimed himself head of the Church of Englandfurthered the strengthening of English monarchy The old English aristoc

25、racy having been exterminated in the course of the War of the Roses (1455-1485, the House of Lancaster VS the House of York) New classthe class of bourgeoisie Absolute monarchy in England reached its summit during the reign of Queen Elisabeth (reigned 1558-1603) The progress of bourgeois economy mad

26、e England a powerful state and enabled her in 1588 to inflict a defeat on the Spanish Invincible Armada (the triumph of the rising bourgeoisie over the declining old feudalism). The aggravation of the contradiction between the wealth of the ruling classes and the poverty of the peopleuprising of the

27、 peasantry (1549, in Norfolk, Robert Ket)Literature From the first half of the 16th century, the English Renaissance began to develop into a flowering of literature and then England became “a nest of singing birds”.Renaissance“rebirth”: a revival of classical (Greek and Roman) arts and sciences afte

28、r the dark ages of medieval obscurantism. The works of classical authors were translated into English. Propagation of classical learning and art Humanists held their chief interest in manhis environment and doings and bravely fought for the emancipation of man from the tyranny of the church and reli

29、gious dogmasEnglish Renaissance Period was an age of poetry and drama.Prose:Thomas MoreUtopia: gave a profound and truthful picture of the peoples sufferings and put forward his ideal of a future happy society.Francis BaconLyrical poems: In the first half of the 16th centuryThomas Wyattthe first to

30、introduce the sonnet into English literatureHenry Howard; Earl of Surrey In the second half of the 16th century lyrical poetry became widespread in England.Philip Sidney; Thomas CampionEdmund Spenser (the poets poet)The Fairy QueenNovel: Dealing with court life and gallantryJohn LylyEupheus: gave ri

31、se to the term “euphuism”, designating an affected style of court speechThomas Loge Realistic tendenciesdevoted to the everyday life of the lower classesThomas Deloney; Thomas NasheDrama: the epoch of Renaissance witnessed a particular development of English dramaChristopher Marlowe (the most gifted of the “university wits”)made blank verse the principal vehicle of expression in dramaRobert GreenGeorge Green, the Pinner of WakefieldWilliam Shakespeare (1564.4.231616.4.23) The greatest of all English authors One of the first founders of rea