英国文学讲义

1、A Concise History of British LiteratureA Concise History of British LiteratureChapter 1 English Literature of Anglo-Saxon PeriodI. Introduction1. The historical background(1) Before the Germanic invasion(2) During the Germanic invasiona. immigration;b. Christianity;c. heptarchy.thane - middle class

2、(freemen) - lower classd. social classes structure: hide-hundred; eoldermen (lord) (slave or bondmen: theow);e. social organization: clan or tribes.f. military Organization;g. Church function: spirit, civil service, education;h. economy: coins, trade, slavery;i. feasts and festival: Halloween, Easte

3、r; j. legal system.2. The Overview of the culture(1) The mixture of pagan and Christian spirit.(2) Literature: a. poetry: two types; b. prose: two figures.II. Beowulf.1. A general introduction.2. The content.3. The literary features.(1) the use of alliteration(2) the use of metaphors and understatem

4、ents(3) the mixture of pagan and Christian elementsIII. The Old English Prose1. What is prose?2. figures(1) The Venerable Bede(2) Alfred the GreatChapter 2 English Literature of the Late Medieval AgesI. Introduction1. The Historical Background.(1) The year 1066: Norman Conquest.(2) The social situat

5、ions soon after the conquest.A. Norman nobles and serfs;B. restoration of the church.(3) The 11th century.A. the crusade and knights.B. dominance of French and Latin;(4) The 12th century.A. the centralized government;B. kings and the church (Henry II and Thomas);(5) The 13th century.A. The legend of

6、 Robin Hood;B. Magna Carta (1215);C. the beginning of the ParliamentD. English and Latin: official languages (the end)(6) The 14th century.a. the House of Lords and the House of Commons conflict between the Parliament and Kings;b. the rise of towns.c. the change of Church.d. the role of women.e. the

7、 Hundred Years Wasrtarting.f. the development of the trade: London.g. the Black Death.h. the Peasants Revol1t 381.i. The translation of Bible by Wycliff.(7) The 15th century.a. The Peasants Revolt (1453)b. The War of Roses between Lancasters and Yorks.c. the printing-press William Caxton.d. the star

8、ting of Tudor Monarchy(1485)2. The Overview of Literature.(1) the stories from the Celtic lands of Wales and Brittany great myths of the Middle Ages.(2) Geoffrye of Monmouth Historia Regum Britanniae King Authur.(3) Wace Le Roman de Brut.(4) The romance.(5) the second half of the 14th century: Langl

9、and, Gawin poet, Chaucer.II. Sir Gawin and Green Knight.1. a general introduction.2. the plot.III. William Langland.1. Life2. Piers the PlowmanIV. Chaucer1. Life2. Literary Career: three periods(1) French period(2) Italian period(3) master period3. The Canterbury TalesA. The Framework;B. The General

10、 Prologue;C. The Tale Proper.4. His Contribution.(1) He introduced from France the rhymed stanza of various types.(2) He is the first great poet who wrote in the current English language.(3) The spoken English of the time consisted of several dialects, and Chaucer did much in making the dialect of L

11、ondon the standard for the modern English speech.V. Popular Ballads.VI. Thomas Malory and English ProseVII. The beginning of English Drama.1. Miracle Plays.Miracle play or mystery play is a form of medieval drama that came from dramatization of the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church. It developed

12、from the 10th to the 16th century, reaching its height in the 15th century. The simple lyric character of the early texts was enlarged by the addition of dialogue and dramatic action. Eventually the performance was moved to the churchyard and the marketplace.2. Morality Plays.A morality play is a pl

13、ay enforcing a moral truth or lesson by means of the speech and action of characters which are personified abstractions -figures representing vices and virtues, qualities of the human mind, or abstract conceptions in general.3. Interlude.The interlude, which grew out of the morality, was intended, a

14、s its name implies, to be used more as a filler than as the main part of an entertainment. As its best it was short, witty, simple in plot, suited for the diversion of guests at a banquet, or for the relaxation of the audience between the divisions of a serious play. It was essentially an indoors pe

15、rformance, and generally of an aristocratic nature.Chapter 3 English Literature in the RenaissanceI. A Historical BackgroundII. The Overview of the Literature (1485-1660)Printing press readership growth of middle class trade-education for laypeople-centralization of power-intellectual life-explorati

16、on-new impetus and direction of literature.Humanism-study of the literature of classical antiquity and reformed education.Literary style-modeled on the ancients.The effect of humanism-the disseminatiogogoible attitude of its classically educated adherents.1. poetryThe first tendency by Sidney and Sp

17、enser: ornate, florid, highly figured style.The second tendency by Donne: metaphysical style complexity and ingenuity.The third tendency by Johgogotyle.The fourth tendency by Milton: central Christian and Biblical tradition.2. Dramaa. the gogoical examples.b. the drama stands highest in popular esti

18、mation: MarloweShakespeare -Jonson.3. Prosea. translation of Bible;b. More;c. Bacon.II. English poetry.1. Sir Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard (courtly makers)(1) Wyatt: introducing sonnets.(2) Howard: introducing sonnets and writing the first blank verse.2. Sir Philip Sidney poet, critic, prose writer

19、(1) Life:a. English gentleman;b. brilliant and fascinating personality;c. courtier.(2) worksa. Arcadia: pastoral romance;b. Astrophel and Stella (108): sonnet sequence to Penelope Dvereux platonic devotion. Petrarchan conceits and original feelings-moving to creativeness building of a narrative stor

20、y;theme-love originality-act of writing.c. Defense of Poesy: an apology for imaginative literature beginning of literary criticism.3. Edmund Spenser(1) life: Cambridge - Sidney s friend- “ Areopagus ” lrand - Westminster Abbey.(2) worksa. The Shepherds Calendar: the budding of English poetry in Rena

21、issance.b. Amoretti and Epithalamion: sonnet sequencec. Faerie Queene:lThe general end-A romantic and allegorical epic steps to virtue.l12 books and 12 virtues: Holiness, temperance, justice and courtesy.lTwo-level function: part of the story and part of allegory (symbolic meaning)lMany allusions to

22、 classical writers.lThemes: puritanism, nationalism, humanism and Renaissance Neoclassicism a Christianhumanist.(3) Spenserian Stanza.lll.English Prose1. Thomas More(1) Life:“ Renaissance man ” , scholar, statesman, theorist, prose writer, diplomat, patron of artsa. learned Greek at Canterbury Colle

23、ge, Oxford;b. studies law at Lincoln lnn;c. Lord Chancellor;d. beheaded.(2) Utopia: the first English science fiction.Written in Latin, two parts, the secondplace of nowhere.A philosophical mariner (Raphael Hythloday) tells his voyages in which he discovers a land-Utopia.a. The part one is organized

24、 as dialogue with mariner depicting his philosophy.b. The part two is a description of the island kingdom where gold and silver are worn by criminal, religious freedom is total and no one owns anything.c. the nature of the book: attackigogo time.d. the book and the Republic: an attempt to describe t

25、he Republic in a new way, but it possesses an modern character and the resemblance is in externals.e. it played a key role in the Humanist awakening of the 16th century which moved away from the Medieval otherworldliness towards Renaissance secularism.f. the Utopia(3) the significance.a. it was the

26、first champion of national ideas and national languages; it created a national prose, equally adapted to handling scientific and artistic material.b. a elegant Latin scholar and the father of English prose: he composed works in English, translated fromLatin into English biography, wrote History of R

27、ichard III.2. Francis Bacon: writer, philosopher and statesman(1) life: Cambridge - humanism in Paris knighted - Lord Chancellor bribery - focusing on philosophy and literature.(2) philosophical ideas: advancement of science people:servants and interpreters of naturemethod:a child before nature fact

28、s and observations: experimental.(3) “ Essays ” : 57.a. he was a master of numerous and varied styles.b. his method is to weigh and balance maters, indicating the ideal course of action and the practical one, pointing out the advantages and disadvantages of each, but leaving the reader to make the f

29、inal decisions. (arguments)IV. English Drama1. A general survey.(1) Everyman marks the beginning of modern drama.(2) two influences.a. the classics: classical in form and English in content;b. native or popular drama.(3) the University Wits.2. Christopher Marlowe: greatest playwright before Shakespe

30、are and most gifted of the Wits.(1) Life: first igogoical poetry then in drama.(2) Major worksa. Tamburlaine;b. The Jew of Malta;c. The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus.(3) The significance of his plays.V. William Shakespeare1. Life(1) 1564, Stratford-on-Avon;(2) Grammar School;(3) Queen visit to

31、Castle;(4) marriage to Anne Hathaway;(5) London, the Globe Theatre: small part and proprietor;(6) the 1st Folio, Quarto;(7) Retired, son Hamnet; H. 1616.2. Dramatic career3. Major plays-men-centered.(1) Romeo and Juliet-tragic love and fate(2) The Merchant of Venice.Good over evil.Anti-Semitism.(3)

32、Henry IV.National unity.Falstaff.(4) Julius CaesarRepublicanism vs. dictatorship.(5) HamletRevenge Good/evil.(6) OthelloDiabolic character jealousy gap between appearance and reality.(7) King LearFilial ingratitude(8) MacbethAmbition vs. fate.(9) Antony and Cleopatra.Passion vs. reason(10) The Tempe

33、stReconciliation; reality and illusion.3. Non-dramatic poetry(1) Venus and Adonis; The Rape of Lucrece.(2) Sonnets:a. theme: fair, true, kind.b. two major parts: a handsome young man of noble birth; a lady in darkcomplexion.c. the form: three quatrains and a couplet.d. the rhyme scheme: abab, cdcd,

34、efef, gg.VI. Ben Jonson1. life: poet, dramatist, a Latin and Greek scholar, the“ literary king” (Sons of Ben)2. contribution:(1) the idea of“ humour”.(2) an advocate of classical drama and a forerunner of classicism in English literature.3. Major plays(1) Everyone in His Humour ” humour” ; three uni

35、ties.(2) Volpone the FoxChapter 4 English Literature of the 17th CenturyI. A Historical BackgroundII. The Overview of the Literature (1640-1688)1. The revolution period(1) The metaphysical poets;(2) The Cavalier poets.(3) Milton: the literary and philosophical heritage of the Renaissance merged with

36、 Protestant political and moral conviction2. The restoration period.(1) The restoration of Charles II ushered in a literature characterized by reason, moderation, good taste, deft management, and simplicity. (school of Ben Jonson)(2) The ideals of impartial investigation and scientific experimentati

37、on promoted by the newly founded Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge (1662) were influential igogoe as an instrument of rational communication.(3) The great philosophical and political treatises of the time emphasize rationalism.(4) The restoration drama.(5) The Age of Dryden.III

38、. John Milton1. Life: educated at Cambridge visiting the continent involved into the revolution persecuted writing epics.2. Literary career.(1) The 1st period was up to 1641, during which time he is to be seen chiefly as a son of the humanists and Elizabethans, although his Puritanism is not absent.

39、 LAllegre and IL Pens eroso (1632) are his early masterpieces, in which we find Milton a true offspring of the Renaissance, a scholar of exquisite taste and rare culture. Next came Comus, a masque. The greatest of early creations was Lycidas, a pastoral elegy on the death of a college mate, Edward K

40、ing.(2) The second period is from 1641 to 1654, when the Puritan was in such complete ascendancy that he wrote almost no poetry. In 1641, he began a long period of pamphleteering for the puritan cause. For some 15 years, the Puritan in him alone ruled his writing. He sacrificed his poetic ambition t

41、o the call of the liberty for which Puritans were fighting.(3) The third period is from 1655 to 1671, when humanist and Puritan have been fused into an exalted entity. This period is the greatest in his literary life, epics and some famous sonnets. The three long poems are the fruit of the long cont

42、est within Milton of Renaissance tradition and his Puritan faith. They form the greatest accomplishments of any English poet except Shakespeare. In Milton alone, it would seem, Puritanism could not extinguish the lover of beauty. In these works we find humanism and Puritanism merged in magnificence.

43、3. Major Works(1) Paradise Losta. the plot.b. characters.c. theme: justify the ways of God to man.(2) Paradise Regained.(3) Samson Agonistes.4. Features of Milton s works.(1) Milton is one of the very few truly great English writers who is also a prominent figure in politics, and who is both a great

44、 poet and an important prose writer. The two most essential things to be remembered about him are his Puritanism and his republicanism.(2) Milton wrote many different types of poetry. He is especially a great master of blank verse. He learned much from Shakespeare and first used blank verse in non-d

45、ramatic works.(3) Milton is a great stylist. He is famous for his grand style noted for its dignity and polish, which is the result of his life-long classical and biblical study.(4) Milton has always been admired for his sublimity of thought and majesty of expression.IV. John Bunyan1. life:(1) purit

46、an age;(2) poor family;(3) parliamentary army;(4) Baptist society, preacher;(5) prison, writing the book.2. The Pilgrim Progress(1) The allegory in dream form.(2) the plot.(3) the theme.V. Metaphysical Poets and Cavalier Poets.1. Metaphysical PoetsThe term “ metaphysical poetry” is commonly used to

47、designate the works of the 17th century writers whowrote under the influence of John Donne. Pressured by the harsh, uncomfortable and curious age, the metaphysical poets sought to shatter myths and replace them with new philosophies, new sciences, new words and new poetry. They tried to break away f

48、rom the conventional fashion of Elizabethan love poetry, and favoured in poetry for a more colloquial language and tone, a tightness of expression and the single-minded working out of a theme or argument.2. Cavalier PoetsThe other group prevailing in this period was that of Cavalier poets. They were

49、 often courtiers who stood on the side of the king, and called themselves“ sons ” of Ben Jonson. The Cavalier poets wrote lightpoetry, polished and elegant, amorous and gay, but often superficial. Most of their verses were short songs, pretty madrigals, love fancies characterized by lightness of hea

50、rt and of morals. Cavalier poemshave the limpidity of the Elizabethan lyric without its imaginative flights. They are lighter and neater but less fresh than the Elizabethan s.VI. John Dryden.1. Life:(1) the representative of classicism in the Restoration.(2) poet, dramatist, critic, prose writer, sa

51、tirist.(3) changeable in attitude.(4) Literary career four decades.(5) Poet Laureate2. His influences.(1) He established the heroic couplet as the fashion for satiric, didactic, and descriptive poetry.(2) He developed a direct and concise prose style.(3) He developed the art of literary criticism in

52、 his essays and in the numerous prefaces to his poems.Chapter 5 English Literature of the 18th CenturyI. Introduction1. The Historical Background.2. The literary overview.(1) The Enlightenment.(2) The rise of English novels.When the literary historian seeks to assign to each age its favourite form o

53、f literature, he finds no difficulty in dealing with our own time. As the Middle Ages delighted in long romantic narrative poems, the Elizabethans in drama, the Englishman of the reigns of Anne and the early Georges in didactic and satirical verse, so the public of our day is enamored of the novel.

54、Almost all types of literary production continue to appear, but whether we judge from the lists of publishers, the statistics of public libraries, or general conversation, we find abundant evidence of the enormous preponderance of this kind of literary entertainment in popular favour.(3) Neo-classic

55、ism: a revival in the seventeenth agogo of order, balance, and harmony in literature. John Dryden and Alexander Pope were major expogogochool.(4) Satiric literature.(5) SentimentalismII. Neo-classicism. (a general description)1. Alexander Pope(1) Life:a. Catholic family;b. ill health;c. taught himse

56、lf by reading and translating;d. friend of Addison, Steele and Swift.(2) three groups of poems:e. An Essay on Criticism (magogom);f. The Rape of Lock;g. Translation of two epics.(3) His contribution:h. the heroic couplet finish, elegance, wit, pointedness;i. satire.(4) weakness: lack of imagination.

57、2. Addison and Steele(1) Richard Steele: poet, playwright, essayist, publisher of newspaper.(with(2) Joseph Addison: studies at Oxford, secretary of state, created a literary periodical“ SpectatorSteele, 1711)(3) Spectator Club.(4) The significance of their essays.a. Their writings in “The Tatler ”, and “The Spectator ” provide a new code of social morality for the rising bourgeoisie.b. They give a true picture of the social life