英美文学选读自学笔记37页林家毅

1、English literature前言: 配合该笔记，看看选读的文章，有个大概的印象就行了。学会对文章进行分析是考查的最终目标。本人判断力不错，但记忆力不好,考前看了两遍，考了68分。如果能记下要点，应该会考得更好。这次考试的40小题选择题我做对了32题。最后,希望我整理的笔记能提高大家的学习效率,I Old English Literature -(4501066)two groups : religious -on biblical themes - Secular - heroic age - - a protector of people ,fight against the nat

2、ure.II Medieval period -(1066-14th Century)Fame :1066 Norman conquest - three changesfeudalism system established ( politically ) - Catholic Church ( Religiously ) - French, Latin, English (co-existed language )In comparison with old English literature: (1) wider range of subjects (2) themes concern

3、ed with the personal salvation (3) romance love (4) the language is simple and straightforward The epic reflects a heroic age ,the romance reflects a chivalric one 骑士Chaucer : 1 titles: the English Homer , the father of English poetry (from), 2 verse : first use heroic couplet , realistic picture of

4、 his time , vivid characters from all works of his life , the characters are both typical and individual, his ideas is to pursue earthly happiness, opposed asceticism 禁欲主义, advocate humanism, replace alliterative verse with rhymed stanzas (古英语的押头韵变成 中世纪的押尾韵) first use rhymed heroic couplet octosylla

5、bic 八音节诗3.novel: the first modern novel.III Renaissance (14th17th)Fame : move from feudalist ideas to the interest of rising bourgeoisie. recover from corruption of the Roman Catholic Church to the purity of the earthly church .England : the reign of Henry VIII -Englands Golden Age in literature - B

6、ibles in English instead of Latin readable for common people - literary giants : Shakespeare ,Spenser ,Jonson Sidney, Marlowe ,Bacon ,and DonneThe time of Tudos - change monasteries修道院 into schools and universities - the English Renaissance flourishing -first introduced printing into England and tra

7、nslated books in English(by William Caxton)Traits of humanistic poetry : meter, rhyme, scheme, imagery and argument should be combined to frame the emotional theme. Poetry was to be a concentrated exercise of the mind , if craftsmanship and of learning. The most famous dramatists : Shakesperar , Ben

8、 Jonson, and Marlowe Writers : Wyatt (introduced the Petrarchan sonnet into England)Surrey (brought in blank verse)Sidney (brought in sestina and terza rima)Marlowe(brought mighty lines to the blank verse )Spenser( pastoral convention )John Donne, George Herbert ( metaphysical poets)Francis Bacon (t

9、he first important English essayist, the founder of modern science in England)I Edmund SpensorFame: Spenserian Stanza，the poets poet(他的诗节被称为“斯宾塞诗节”，他被称为“诗人中之诗人”) 选读 (Poem)contains 12 books, speaks of 12 virtues of the private gentleman, each of which tells a knight. Arthurthe heros of heros-plays a

10、role in each of the 12 major adventures, serve as a unifying element. The theme is Fierce Wares and faithful loves.The knight here symbolized the Church (Anglican) , is the protector of Una (the Virgin) .Una stands for the true religion. Qualities of Spensors poetry: 1. a perfect melody (music sense

11、) 2.a rare sense of beauty 3. a splendid imagination 4.a lofty moral purity and seriousness. 5.a dedicated idealismII. Christopher MarloweFame: be regarded as University Wits. Perfected the blank verse, brought strong emotion into the blank verse. He created the Renaissance hero for English drama. S

12、uch a hero is always individualistic and full of ambition. (but his verse is not strong in dramatic construction and women s characters are rather pale)Plays: (the name of an ambitious ancient emperor. He rose from a shepherd to an overpowering king through his own effort. By depicting such a great

13、king, Marlow voiced the desire of the man of the Renaissance for infinite power and authority. ) 选读 (Faustus is longing for knowledge and finally sells his souls to the evil. It celebrates the human passion for knowledge ,power and happiness) Poetry: (It deprives from the pastoral tradition , in whi

14、ch the shepherd enjoys an ideal country life, cherishing a pure affection for his love.)III. William Shakespeare (15641616)Background: from merchants family .父亲是个当地镇里的多面手，有点名气。他的戏剧分早期、中期，中晚期和晚期。（I，II，III，IV）.他的作品很多，影响很大。T: I Five history plays and four comedies. 历史剧 Henry VI, Parts I,II ( It reveals

15、 a troubled reign in the 15th century, Shakespeares mounted over the loss of English territories in France. He condemns the War of the Roses , in which innocent people were killed) II Five history plays ,six comedies and two tragedies喜剧：（an optimistic attitude toward love and youth, praise the frien

16、dship between Antonio and Bassanio, to idealize Portia as a heroine., and Shylock as an evil figure ） )悲剧： (eulogizes the faithfulness of love and spirit of pursuing happiness ,though a tragedy, is permeated with optimistic spirit) , III His greatest four tragedies (each of the characterss fates is

17、closely connected with the fate of the whole nation. Each of them has his weakness of nature. ) 选读（the first of the greatest tragedies, most popular play on the stage. It has the qualities of a blood and thunderthriller and a philosophical exploration of life and death. Hamlet is a melancholic 优柔寡断p

18、rince,who is too sophisticated to degrade his nature to the conventional role of revenger. Shakespeares condemns the hypocrisy and treachery and general corruption at the royal court） (the old King Lear suffers form treachery背叛and infidelity不忠)(Othellos inner weakness is made use of by the outside e

19、vil force)(Macbeth s lust for power stirs up his ambition and leads him to endless crimes.) two dark comedies ()IV Romantic tragicomedies: (the best of his final romances,it is a typical example of Shakespeare s pessimistic view toward human life and society in his late years. He wishes to solve the

20、 conflict by dreams and supernatural power)., , Two final plays: Henry VIII , The Two Noble Kinsmen.Poems long narrative poems : , . Sequence of 154 sonnets: 选读 (Shakes has a faith in the permanence of poetry. A nice summers day is usually transient, but the beauty in poetry in poetry can last for e

21、ver.艺术的美常存)艺术特征人物塑造1 He employs soliloquies独白 in his plays to fully reveal the inner conflict of his characters.2. He portrays his characters in pairs(可能指情侣) .3. His characters are individuals representing certain types.情节结构1 He adopted plots from some old plays or storybooks2 In order to make the p

22、lay more lively , he would shorten the time and intensify the story.3 There are usually several threads running through the play (,thus providing the story with suspense and apprehension)语言风格1. irony 2. Disguise 3. vocabulary ( He has an amazing wealth of vocabulary and idiom, his coinage of new wor

23、ds and distortion of the meaning of the old ones also create striking effects on the reader.)Conscience (顾虑) does makes cowards of us all. (心有顾虑使人畏手畏脚，优柔寡断-Hamlet)IV. Francis Bacon (1561-1626)Fame: A prose, lays the foundation for modern science.His works can be divided into three groups1. is a grea

24、t tract短论on education. HE separates theology from scientific observations and experiments. Mans understanding consisted of three parts:history to mans memory; poetry to mans imagination and creation ; philosophy to mans reason. 2. 论说文 is a successful treatise (written in Latin) on methodology ,the u

25、se of inductive 归纳法in scientific research in place of the deductive reasoning 演绎法3 选读-more than half of the fifty-eight essays are about public life or public duty /Bacon s essays are famous for their brevity简洁, compactness紧凑 and powerfulness /The sentences are charged 充满感情的 and crowded with symmetr

26、ies. “The general counsels, the plots and marshaling of affairs ,come best from those that are learned” - 通盘考虑及事务的安排，做得最好的是那些博学的人。V John Donne (15721631) Life: “Metaphysical school”, Herbert ,Vaughan ,Crashaw, Marvell and Cowley are also considered to be metaphysical poets. 商人之家，想当牧师，牛津剑桥大学肆业生，十年地下婚

27、姻使他穷困潦倒，但是他对妻子很忠诚。天主教改信英国国教，当牧师尽职尽力，洞察力深邃。早期写爱情诗，晚期写宗教诗。他认为爱的本质是身体和灵魂的结合。Works: 选读Love poems (1. Donne applies conceits ,he combines easy conceits with the difficult ones 2. Donnets interest lies in dramatizing and illustrating the state of being in love. 3. His language is brief ,simple . The argum

28、ent is continuous throughout the poem. )Religious poems: Sermons (散文形式的传道书)选读 is from 表达诗人无畏死亡的气概。VI John MiltonLife:商人后代，剑桥大学，有过旅欧经历，喜欢史诗，后来眼睛瞎了。 the greatest prose writer of his age.Fame: is the greatest epic in English literature since Works: 早期诗歌： elegies , for his best friend Edward King,who di

29、ed of drown.The poem begins with grief and a feeling of immaturity. The emotion moves from sadness to acceptance in the end.中期散文： plea for freedom of press -smooth and carms 晚期史诗：选读 a long epic divided into 12 books. The story is taken from the Bible. Satan and other angels rebel against God. Satan

30、succeeds in seduce Eve to eat the apple form the tree of knowledge. As a result , Adam and Eve are exiled by God from the paradise. In the fall of man, Adam discovered his full humanity. shows how mankind withstands the temper诱惑,Christs temptation in the wilderness is the theme. The picture of Israe

31、ls mighty champion英雄, blind ,alone, afflicted by cruel enemies but preserving a noble ideal to the end. is a fitting close to the life work of the poet himself, The whole poem strongly suggests Miltons himself could bring destruction down upon the enemy at the cost of his own life. The drama is the

32、most perfect example of the verse drama after the Greek style in English.Chapter Two The Neoclassical PeriodTime: It starts from the return of the Stuarts to the English throne in 1660 to the publication of Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge in 1798.Traits: Age of Reason, or Age of Enlighte

33、nment. Thoughts: 1. They believe in hard work, self-reliance, and self-restraint. To work, to economize 节俭and to accumulate wealth constituted the whole meaning of their life. 2. They called for order ,reason ,and rules, which can save people from superstition, injustice and oppression. They believe

34、 that if the masses were well educated, they may be capable of perfection, the equal human society may come into being.Literature ideas: 1. The literature is heavily didactic 教导 and moralizing说教的.2.They believe that the artistic ideals should be order, logic ,restrained emotion and accuracy. And tha

35、t literature should be judged in terms of its service to humanity. 3.Prose should be precise, direct ,smooth and flexible. by Jonathan Swift is regarded as the best model of satire in the whole English literary history. 4. Poetry should be lyrical , epical ,didactic, satiric or dramatic. 5.Drama sho

36、uld be written in Heroic Couplets .The three unities of time, space and action should be strictly observed. Regularity in construction should be adhered to .and type characters rather than individuals ,should be represented. Schools of literature: 1.the modern English realistic novel gives a realist

37、ic presentation of life of the common English people. Among the pioneer were Daniel Defoe, Samuel Richardson, Herry Fielding. Laurence Sterne, Tobias George Smollett, and Oliver Goldsmith. 2.Gothic novels takes places in some haunted or dilapidated Middle Age castles. .Such stories often contains my

38、stery and horror. 3. Graveyard School : lamenting lyrics. 4 Neoclassicism: In the field of literature , the Englightenment movement brought about a revival of interest in the old classical works. This tendency is known as neoclassicism. I. John BunyanLife: 出身贫穷锡匠家庭，没有接受正规教育，继承父业。结婚后，笃信基督教，因没有得到英国国教的

39、批准擅自到处传教，而被监禁12年，而后，又因同样原因，被监禁3年，其间写出他的代表作朝圣之旅 ，班扬对虚伪的堕落的富人充满愤怒。他相信通过灵与肉的搏斗，人能得到得救。Works : Excepts: Ideas: The pilgrims progress is the most successful religious allegory in the English language . Its purpose is to urge people to abide Christian doctrines seek salvation through constant struggle wit

40、h their own weekness. And all kinds of social evils .The predominant metaphor -life as a journey -is simple and familiar. His language is concrete and lively. He observed carefully and presents the details vividly . It s east to read II. Alexander Pope.Life: Well-to-do merchant family of Roman Catho

41、lic faith .Ill health ,like making friends , like to satire all sorts of false learning of his times.Fame: Pope was one of the first to introduce rationalism to England, he was the greatest poet of his time.Works: 选读A poet It is a didactic poem written in heroic couplets , It consists of 744 lines a

42、nd is divided into three parts .The whole poem is written in a plain style, hardly containing any imagery or eloquence and therefore make easy reading. A mock epic讽刺史诗 tells a lord cut a lock of hair from the head of a young lady, thus breaking up the friendship between the two family. His best sati

43、ric poem is . He developed a satiric concise, smooth-graceful, and well-balanced style. (Translated by pope. )III. Daniel DefoeLife: butchers family. Interested in business (也是一位热衷冒险的人).his “The True born Englishman” won him friendship from the king. He found The Review. When he was sixty ,he begun

44、to write novels. his first novel “Robinson Crusoe” was a great success. Fame： Four novels about lower-class people are the first literary works devotes to the study of problems of the lower-class people. “Robinson Crusoe” considered to be his masterpiece.Works:Novels about middle-class people-选读. 主角

45、介绍 Robinson is a typical 18 century English lower-class people man, with a great capacity for work., persistence in overcoming obstacles, in struggling against the hostile environment. 文章目的 In describing Robinsons life on the island, Defoe glorifies human labor and the Puritan fortitude, which save

46、Robinson form despair and and are a source of pride and happiness. 作品文采 Defoe is a very good story-teller. He organized minute details in a vivid way.His sentences are sometimes short , crips and plain ,sometimes long and rambling. His language is smooth ,easy ,colloquial (口语) and mostly vernacular(

47、方言). Four Novels about lower-class people-andThe novel reflects the struggle of the poor unfortunate for mere existence. Their desire for great wealth comes into conflicts with the social environment , which prevents them from obtains their goals ,thus forces them into criminal actions or bold adven

48、tures.Others : (它是伦敦大瘟疫的别传)IVJonathan Swiftlife：爱尔兰都柏人，一位posthumous child（遗腹子）。叔叔资助他完成学业，在远房一位亲戚那里受职，了解许多官场的内幕，成为爱尔兰人民反抗英国严酷统治的著名民主斗士。他曾是英国托利党党报The Examiner的主编，当任过都柏林圣Patrick大教堂的主教。Fame：他的两部著作（A Tale of Tub和A Battle of Books分别反映宗教腐败和学术界腐败现象）established his name as a satirist. Gullivers Travels is Jo

49、nathan Swifts best work of satiric. 他是英国散文史上最杰出的大师。他的风格是把每个单词都放在它 们最恰当的位置（ proper words in proper places）In his opinion. The nature of human is seriously and permanently flawed. To better the human life. Enlightenment is needed, but to redress(mend) it is very hard. In his writing ,he intends not to

50、 condemn but to reform and improve human nature and human institution.选读：.内容：It contains four parts , which is an organic whole (小人国Lilliput，大人国Broddingnag，哲学宗教王国Flying Island 和智力像人的动物王国Houyhnhnm Land) 思想：It is Jonathan Swifts best work of satiric。It criticizes and satirizes all aspects in the Engli

51、sh and European life.-(politically,socially , religiously,philosophycally, and sciencifically and morality ) .Its social significance is great. 语言：The language is simple.direct and precise. IV. Henry Fielding 生平：出生贵族家庭，写剧本唯生， 办报纸。他的写作目的不只是为了娱人，更是为了育人。他的作品特色是戏剧化的对话和充满悬念、巧合和出乎意料的结局。名声：father of the En

52、glish novel.The first to give the modern novel its structure and style. (他之前的小说家叙事方式是采用书信体或是传奇体（picaresque），但是作者采用第三人称叙述法，作者扮演全知的“上帝”，可以很好地表现人物的内心活动，他在极力保留古典的史诗形式时，又能忠实于现实生活，他主要关心普通人生活中戏剧性的一面)， prose Homer.作品：第一部小说“Joseph Andrews”拥有hearty的幽默，excellent的人物刻画，timely的人物出场和退场，及robust的基调。开创”Comic epic in prose”第二部作品 The history of Jonathan Wild the Great 属于Satiric biography. 主题是所谓的伟人有时看上去不过像个“伟大的”恶棍。是他的代表作。第三部作品（选读）is a masterpiece on human nature, brings him the name of Prose Homer. The novels presents the country and city life of 18th century England with scores of di