British Literature-2

1、Lecture Two Medieval English Literature o Please make a comment on Beowulf.RevisionHistorical BackgroundThe Norman Conquest:o It marks the establishment of feudalism in England. (After the conquest, feudal system was established in English society. )o By the end of the 14th century, the Middle Engli

2、sh emerged.Historical Backgroundo Conditions in the Feudal England o Class division became very obvious and class contradictions became very sharpo The poor peasants rose up to fight against the ruling class The Norman Conquest:o The Influence of the Norman Conquest upon English Language and literat

3、ureo The prevailing form of literature in the feudal England was the Romance The Romance (骑士文学骑士文学)oRomance: a long composition, sometimes in verse, sometimes in prose, describing the life and adventures of a noble hero.Knight -central character of romanceso It is a special group of people existed i

4、n the Middle Age in Europe. Nearly all nobles were knights. However, nobody was born a knight. One nobleman must experience hard training and then the king will give him knighthood.1.Codes of the Knight（骑士准（骑士准则）则）:o protect the weak o fight for churcho loyal to your lord, loyal to Kingo respect wom

5、en of noble birth 2. The theme of loyalty to king and lord is an important common theme of the Romance. So they were composed for the noble classThe essential features of Romanceo Lacks the resemblance to truth or realityo Exaggerates the vices of human nature and idealizes the virtueso Contains per

6、ilous adventures remote from ordinary lifeo Lays emphasis on supreme devotion to a fair ladyo The knight3.The great majority of the romances fall into three groups:o matters of France : Charlemagne, a very great French emperor. 查理曼大帝o matters of Rome: Alexander the Great, a very great emperor in anc

7、ient Greece. 亚历山大大帝o matters of Britain: The Romance of King Arthur and his Round Table knights,亚瑟王和他的圆桌骑士，is comparatively the most important for the history of English literature, especially the works called “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”. 格温爵士和绿衣骑士The Age of Chaucer o William Langland o Piers

8、Plowmano Geoffrey Chaucero The Canterbury Tales “Piers Plowman” （ 农夫皮尔斯）农夫皮尔斯） William LanglandWilliam Langland lived in lower social position all his life and he was a person with strong Christian color. These two elements concerning with his life experience influenced his literary creation.“Piers

9、Plowman” is one of the greatest of English poems. The poem sets forth a series of wonderful dreams, through which we can see a picture of feudal England, esp. the corruption of the Court and the Church, in contrast with the hard life of the poor peasants.Artistic feature of the production: o1.writte

10、n in the form of dreamo2.the usage of allegory（寓言）, personification（拟人）, symbolism（象征主义 ), and alliterationLimitations: conservatism, Social significance: kindling the toiling peoples sense of human dignity and equality before God and playing a part in arousing their revolutionary sentiment.Artistic

11、 Featureso In the form of a dream versiono An allegory which relates truth through symbolism o Use satire in the description of the social abuseso Written in alliteration The English BalladsA ballad is a story told in song, usually in 4-line stanzas, with the second and fourth lines rhymed. meter: a

12、 generally regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry.Stanza: Its a structural division of a poem, consisting of a series of verse lines which usually comprise a recurring pattern of meter and rhyme. Features of ballads:o 1. Flourished in the 15th centuryo 2. Originally oral lite

13、rature (Ballads were collected and written down in the 18th century.)o 3. Collective creation (no certain writer for each ballad)o 4.Ballads wrote on all kinds of subjects.Robin Hood -partly historical and partly legendary character o “The character of Robin Hood is manysided. Strong, brave and clev

14、er, he is at the same time tender-hearted and affectionate. He is a man with a twinkle in his eye, a man fond of joke and a hearty laugh. But the dominant key in his character is his hatred for the cruel oppressors and his love for the poor and downtrodden.” Social Significance:showing the fighting

15、spirit, courage and revolutionary energy of English peasantryChaucerthe founder of English poetryLife:o 1. born in a family which had connections with the Court.o 2. as a page in a noblemans household.o 3.went to France and joined the Army.o 4.married Philippa, who was also a court attendant.o 5.wen

16、t to the Continent several times, two of which to Italy.Literary Career:o three periods of creationo 1.French: Romaunt of the Rose 玫瑰传奇o 2.Italian: Troilus and Criseyde 特罗勒斯与克丽西德 o 3.British: The Canterbury Tales 坎特伯雷故事集 Troilus and Criseydeo a poem of more than 8000 lines, is Chaucers major work be

17、sides The Canterbury Tales. It is the tragic story of the Trojan prince Troilus and his beloved, CriseydeThe Canterbury Tales Chaucer masterpiece The story opens with a general prologue. telling that on a spring evening, 29 pilgrims, and the poet on the way to Canterbury, stopped at an inn. At the p

18、roposal of the host of the Inn, each was to tell 4 stories on the way to and back from Cant. Host would be the judge, the best teller would get a free supper at the cost of all the rest upon their return to the inn. There should be 120 stories altogether, but only 24 tales were written due to the au

19、thors death in 1400. The Prologue o It was considered the best part of the whole work., which supplies an artistic group of people from all walks of life in the medieval England. So from the prologue, we know at once how people lived in that era. That is why Chaucer has been called “ the founder of English realism. The Wife of Bath -巴斯夫人巴斯夫人 the story of the married life of a woman of the middle class. We may see a colorful pic