英国文学与美国文学复习讲义.docx

1、英国文学与美国文学复习讲义英国文学与美国文学复习讲义 英美文学重点English & American LiteratureMedieval English： 1066 - middle 14th century Geoffrey Chaucer - the father of English poetry (wisdom, humor, humanity) first time to use heroic couplet The Renaissance Period: 14th mid 17th started in ItalyA series of historical events:1.

2、 rediscovery of ancient Roman & Greek culture2. new discoveries in geography & astrology(占星学)3. the religious reformation & economic expansionThe Renaissance - rebirth or revival Humanism - the essence of the Renaissance, the dignity of human being & the importance of the present life Best represent

3、atives: Thomas More, Christopher Marlowe, William ShakespeareThe Elizabethan drama: the real mainstream of English RenaissanceMost famous dramatists: Christopher Marlowe, William Shakespeare, Ben JonsonEdmund Spenser - the poets poet 5 quality: 1) a perfect melody 2)a rare sense of beauty 3)a splend

4、id imagination4)a lofty(高尚的) moral purity and seriousness 5)a dedicated idealism lament(哀悼) over the loss of Rosalind 主角：Arthur - who possess 12 virtues Gloriana the Fairy QueenThe theme is not “Arms and the man,” but something more romantic “Fierce warres and faithfull loves”READING: excerpt from T

5、he Faerie Queene 仙后Content: Redcrosse Knight set out on his adventures. 独家提供 Christopher Marlowe “University Wits”, the pioneer of English dramaHyperbole(夸张)Marlowes achievement: 1) blank verse无韵诗歌It is Marlowe who brought vitality(活力) and grandeur(伟大) into the blank verse with his “mighty lines,” w

6、hich carry strong emotions.2) his creation of the Renaissance hero for English drama.(not strong in dramatic construction.) the pioneer of English drama3 tragedies: the human passion for knowledge, power and happiness 帖木耳大帝 a play about an ambitious and pitiless overpowering king. 马尔他的犹太人 考研人的成功俱乐部

7、non-drama pastoral(田园的) life ，the most beautiful lyrics(抒情诗)READING: 1. excerpt from Dr. Faustus 浮士德博士的悲剧A play based on the German legend Content: Faustus is a scholar who has a strong desire to acquire knowledge. By conjuration(念咒文召唤) he call up Mephistophilis, the Devils servant. He make a bond(契

8、约) to sell his soul to the Devil in return for 24 years of life in which Mephistophilis to give him everything he desires. Devils name is Lucifer.Dominant moral is human rather than religious2. The Passionate(热情的) Shepherd to His Lovethis short poem is considered to be one of the most beautiful lyri

9、cs(抒情诗) in English literature.The shepherd(牧羊人) enjoy an ideal country life, cherishing(珍爱) a pastoral(田园的) and pure affection for his love. Strong emotion is conveyed through the beauty of nature. 一起考研社区 William Shakespeare playwright & poet (above all writers in the past and in the present time)1.

10、 , 2. , , , Comedies: , , Tragedy: romantic tragedy. To praise the faithfulness of love and the spirit of pursuing happiness.3. Four tragedies -, , & 4. tragicomedies：Achievement: A. exploring the characterss inner mind. soliloquy(独白) or monologue - fully reveal the inner conflict of the characters

11、contrasts bring vividness to the charactersB. adroit（精巧的） plot constructionC. Irony is a good means of dramatic presentation. Disguise is an important device to create dramatic irony.D. the language.READING： 1. Sonnet 18 (14 line) eternal or immortal（不朽的） beauty, have a faith in the permanence of po

12、etry.A nice summers day is usually transient(短暂的), but the beauty in poetry can last for ever.2.excerpt from The Merchant of Venice to praise the friendship between Antonio and Bassanio, to idealize Portia a heroine of great beauty, wit and loyalty, to expose the insatiable（不知足的） greed and brutality

13、 of the Jew.Double plot:(1) Bassanio ask Antonio for a loan so that he might marriage with Portia(2) Antonio borrow money from Shylock, the Jewish usurer. Shylock make a strange bond that requires Antonio to surrender a pound of his flesh if he fail to repay him within a certain period of time. Port

14、ia disguised as a young lawyer instructed to judge the case: Shylock can take his pound of flesh, but there is no mention of blood in the bond. Otherwise, his lands and goods will be confiscated(充公) according to he law of Venice.3Excerpt from Hamlet hesitate between fact and fiction, language and ac

15、tion, too sophisticated（复杂的） to degrade his nature to the conventional role of a stage revenger content: Hamlet, the prince, appearing in a mood of world-weariness（厌世） occasioned by his fathers death and his mothers hasty remarriage with Claudius, his fathers brother. Hamlet is informed that Claudiu

16、s has murdered his father and then taken over both his fathers throne and widow. Thus Hamlet is urged to seek revenge. Note: To be, or not to be - to live on in this world or to die; to suffer or to take action Francis Bacon philosopher, scientist, essayist, lay the foundation for modern scienceHis

17、Essays is the first example of that genre in English literature.Bacons essays are famous for their brevity, compactness & powerfulness, well-arranging and enriching by Biblical allusions（典故）, metaphors（隐喻） and cadence（韵律）. mans understanding consists of three parts: history to mans memory, poetry to

18、 mans imagination and creation, and philosophy to mans reason. written in Latin on methodology方法论Bacon suggests the inductive reasoning归纳法 ( i.e. proceeding from the particular to the general) in place of Aristotelian method, the deductive reasoning 演绎法( i.e. proceeding from the general to the parti

19、cular)READING: Of Studies uses and benefits of study studies serve for delight, for ornament, and for ability. Studies perfect nature, and are perfected by experience. Different ways adopted by different people to pursue studies - studies and experience are complementary (互补) to each other. The corr

20、ect attitude to reading books - to weigh and consider. How studies exert influence over human character - reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man, and writing an exact man. 独家资料John Donne Metaphysical poetry（玄学诗）- break away from love poetry, the diction(用语) is simple, the imagery is from

21、the actual, the form is frequently an argument with the poets beloved, with God, or with himself. A)conceits B)syllogism (三段论) Poetry早期: holds that the nature of love is the union of soul and body.晚期: religious poemProse: his sermons, which are both rich and imaginativeREADING: 1. The Sun Rising 2.

22、Death, Be Not Proud ( a sonnet,14 lines) 社区奉献 the busy sun is always ready to interfere with other things and everywhere whatever you are, you can not escape from death. When you are living, you are always in the shadow of death. Death only lasts a moment, our life after death is eternal. The more p

23、leasure the death gives people, not only the pleasure of the rest & the sleep, because whom the gods love die young. Though death is usually considered powerful, it actually provides a rest for a mans body and a birth for his soul. John Milton 独家资料Achievement: 1)the early poetic works 2) the middle

24、prose(散文) 3)the last great poemsElegy(挽歌) -利西达斯 (his early work)Epic(史诗) - Dramatic poem(诗剧) - 力士参孙 the most perfect example of the verse drama after the Greek style in English.READING: excerpt from Paradise Lost the only generally acknowledged epic in English literature since Beowulf. The conflict

25、is between human love and spiritual duty. The freedom of the will is the keystone of Miltons creed(纲领).Take from the Old Testament, the theme is the “Fall of Man”: Satan rebel against God and are driven from Heaven. He determined to revenge by seduce(引诱) Adam and Eve to eat the fruit from the Tree o

26、f Knowledge against Gods instructions. So, Adam and Eve are exiled by God from the paradise. 会员奉献 The Neoclassical Period : 1660-1798 with the publication of Lyrical ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge- a revival of interest in the old classical works, order, logic, restrained emotion(抑制情感) & accura

27、cythe Age of Enlightenment/Reason the movement was a furtherance of the Renaissance of the 15th and 16th centries,a progressive intellectual movement, reason (rationality), equality & science (the 18th century)modern English novel newly rising literary form现实主义小说诞生（the mid-century）Gothic novel(哥特式小说

28、) - mystery, horror & castles (from middle part to the end of century) 社区奉献 John BunyanREAING: The Vanity Fair名利场 an excerpt form The Pilgrims Progress (天路历程), a religious allegory(寓言), its purpose is to urge people to abide by Christian doctrines and seek salvation(拯救) through constant struggles wi

29、th their own weaknesses and all kinds of social evils. Its predominant metaphor life as a journey 独家提供Alexander Popeone of the first to introduce rationalism to England, for him the supreme value was order.READING: excerpt from An Essay on Criticism(论批评) a poem written in heroic couplets(对句), criticize the present poem lack of true taste & call on people to turn to the old Greek and Roman writers for guidance, true wit which is best set in a plain (simple & clear) style. 一起考研社区 Daniel Defoe - the first writer study of the lower-class peop