英国文学教案British Literature

1、British LiteratureAnglo-Saxon literatureTeaching objectives: Through this lecture, the students are expected to have a rough idea about the making of Great Britain, and how three groups of Germanic people called the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes came to settle on the British Isles, and became the

2、 ancestors of present day British people; apart from these, it is also hoped that the students can learn something about the epic poem Beowulf, by which the social structure, the world view of these people are reflected. Teaching focus: The making of the British nationThe epic poem BeowulfTeaching s

3、teps:Warming-up questions 1.1. Do you know who were the earliest inhabitants on the British Isles whose civilization we can trace back to a certain time through some tangible evidences? 1. 2. Where did the Angles, Saxons and Jutes come from, and what are the major characteristics of these people? 1.

4、3. Why did the Romans invade Britain from the 1st century BCE to the 4th century, why did they at last withdraw from this piece of land, and what traces of their civilization left on the island? 1.4. Do you know anything about the literary genre epic, what themes are likely to appear in epics?2. Poi

5、nts to be covered in the teachers lecture 2.1. the making of the nation:earliest history of Great Britain 2.2. The major characteristics of the Germanic people 2.3. The features of epic poemsAnalysis of the epic poem Beowulf 3.1. Content 3.2. World view of the Germanic people reflected in the poem 3

6、.3. Language 3.4. StyleHomework: See the movie Beowulf after class Lecture Two Anglo-Norman literatureTeaching objectives:Through this lecture, the students are expected to have some knowledge about the Norman Conquest and its profound consequences on the British society and people; apart from this,

7、 it is also hoped that students should learn something about the major literary genre during that period of time and the most popular Romance in Britain. Teaching focus:1. the Norman Conquest and its consequences2. The major theme and features of Romance3. The Romance King Arthur and his Round Table

8、 KnightsTeaching steps: 1. Warming-up questions1.1. Do you know anything about the Norman Conquest, when did it occur, who was the winning side and what were the major consequences of this conquest on the British people?1.2. Say something about knights and chivalry1.3. Have you ever heard king Arthu

9、r and his round table knights? 2. Points to be covered by the teachers lecture2.1. The Normans and Normandy in France back in the 10th century2.2. The situation in Britain at roughly the same time2.3. The reason for the invasion of Britain by the Normans in Normandy2.4. The battle of Hastings and th

10、e Norman Conquest2.5. The major consequences of the Norman Conquest 3. Read and analyze certain passages from King Arthur Homework See the movie King Arthur after class Lecture Three Geoffrey ChaucerTeaching objectives: Through this lecture, the students are expected to get some knowledge about Chau

11、cers life and his literary creation and also his great contribution and influence to later generations.Teaching focus 1. Chaucers life experience 2. Chaucers literary career 3. Chaucers Canterbury Tales Teaching steps 1. Warming-up questions 1.1. Have you ever learned anything about Chaucer? 1.2. Ch

12、aucer is called the Father of English Poetry, can you guess why he is called so? 1.3. Do you know anything about the book Decameron by Boccaccio? 1.4. Do you know the meaning of pilgrim and pilgrimage? 2. Points to be covered by the teachers lecture 2.1. Chaucers family background and his ties with

13、the royal court 2.2. Chaucers various roles during his life time 2.3. The Canterbury Cathedral and the Saint Thomas Becket 2.4. The popular practice of making repentance by going pilgrimage during Chaucers lifetime 2.5. The three stages of Chaucers literary career 2.6. The Canterbury Tales 2.7. Chau

14、cers literary contribution to the canon of British literature 3. Read and analyze the General Prelude of Canterbury Tales Homework Read Chaucers Canterbury Tales Lecture Four Renaissance Literature (1)Teaching objectives: Through this lecture, the students are expected to learn something about the R

15、enaissance movement in Italy and other western European countries and especially in Britain; students are also expected to learn something about Queen Elizabeth I and the situation in Britain during her reign; of course, it is essential that students should learn some knowledge about the major liter

16、ary achievements in this period.Teaching focus 1. Renaissance in Italy 2. Renaissance in Britain 3. The development of theaters in LondonTeaching steps 1. Warming-up questions 1.1. What is the meaning of renaissance, and what is the meaning of Renaissance? 1.2. Say something about the Italian Renais

17、sance 1.3. What was the most important entertainment for the people of London during the reign of Elizabeth I? 2. Points to be covered by the teachers lecture 2.1. The general spirit of Renaissance 2.2. The Italian Renaissance 2.3. The favorable social conditions in Britain for the development of th

18、eRenaissance movement 2.4. The evolution of plays 2.5. Flourishing of theaters in the outskirts of LondonHomework Read the book England and the Italian Renaissance by John HaleLecture Five Renaissance Literature (2)Teaching objectives: Through this lecture, the students are expected to learn somethi

19、ng about the University Wits, and especially about Christopher Marlowe and his three great plays and his grand style of the blank verse.Teaching focus: 1. A rough outline of the University Wits 2. Christopher Marlowe and his Doctor FaustusTeaching steps 1. Warming-up questions 1.1. Have you ever rea

20、d Genesis in the Old Testament, and are you familiar with the Fall of Adam and Eve and the Tree of knowledge of good and evil? 1.2. In what way is Faustus similar to Adam? 2. Points to be covered by the teachers lecture 2.1. The University Wits and their works 2.2. Christopher Marlowe and three of h

21、is great plays 3. Read and analyze the first part of Doctor Faustus by MarloweHomework Read Doctor Faustus after class Lecture Six Renaissance Literature (3)Teaching objectives: Through this lecture, the students are expected to learn something about the personal life of Shakespeare, his literary ge

22、nres and achievements and his contribution to the canon of British literature and the English language.Teaching focus 1. Shakespeare the man 2. Shakespeare the dramatist 3. Shakespeares HamletTeaching steps 1. Warming-up questions 1.1. You surely know Shakespeare, what words would you use to describ

23、e him? 1.2. Can you name some of the plays by Shakespeare? 1.3. Can you summarize briefly the plot of Hamlet? 2. Points to be covered by the teachers lecture 2.1. Shakespeares personal life 2.2. Commentary of Shakespeare by his contemporaries 2.3. Shakespeares literary career 2.4. Shakespeares contr

24、ibution to British literature and The English language 2.5. The major theme of Hamlet 3. Read and analyze the famous soliloquy of Hamlet: To be or Not to beHomework Read Hamlet after class Lecture Seven English literature during the Puritan RevolutionTeaching objectives: Through this lecture, the st

25、udents are expected to learn something about the causes of the Puritan Revolution during the reign of Charles I, and also the two groups of poets called the Metaphysical poets and the Cavalier poets and the style of their poems and the spirit reflected by their writing. Teaching focus 1. The Puritan

26、 Revolution 2. The Metaphysical poets 3. The Cavalier poetsTeaching steps 1. Warming-up questions 1.1. Do you know the meaning and connotation of Puritans? 1.2. Do you know the meaning of regicide and the destiny of Charles I? 1.3. Do you know Cromwell and the meaning of Protectorate? 2. Points to b

27、e covered by the teachers lecture 2.1. The personality of Charles I 2.2. The conflicts between Charles I and the Parliament, and between the rising bourgeoisie and the declining land gentries 2.3. The outbreak of the Puritan Revolution and the execution of Charles I 2.4. The Metaphysical poets and t

28、he Cavalier poets Read and analyze John Donnes Flea and Robert Herricks Gather Ye Rose Buds while Ye MayHomework Read the book John Donne and the Metaphysical Poets after class Lecture Eight English literature during the RestorationTeaching objectives: The students are expected to learn something ab

29、out the Restoration and the Glorious Revolution, and the two major literary figures of this period: John Milton and John Dryden.Teaching focus: 1. The Restoration and the Glorious Revolution 2. John Milton and his Paradise Lost 3. John Dryden and his Neo-classical ideas concerning the writing of pla

30、ysTeaching steps 1. Warming-up questions: 1.1. Can you summarize briefly the first part of Genesis (concerning the creation of the world and the downfall of Adam and Eve )in the Old Testament？ 1.2. Name two works by John Milton2. Points to be covered by the teachers lecture 2.1. A general summary of

31、 the Restoration and the Glorious Revolution 2.2. John Miltons life 2.3. John Miltons literary works3. Read and analyze the first part of Paradise Lost HomeworkRead the first part of Genesis and Paradise Lost and make a comparison between them from different aspects Lecture Nine English literature d

32、uring the eighteenth century (1)Teaching objectives Through this lecture, the students are expected to grasp the scientific and rational spirit of the age, and have some knowledge about the literary genres such as periodicals and novels that catered to the taste of the rising bourgeoisie and a burge

33、oning female audience, and became tremendously popular during the age.Teaching focus 1. A general introduction of the spirit of the age of Enlightenment 2. Addison and Steele and The Spectator and The Tatler, two very influential and popular periodical by them 3. Alexander Pope and his heroic couple

34、t 4. Samuel Johnson and his English DictionaryTeaching steps 1. Warming-up questions 1.1. Say something about Isaac Newton and his major theory 1.2. Do you know some of the very well-known sayings by Pope, such as “Whatever is, is right”? 2. Points to be covered by the teacher 2.1. Isaac Newtons inf

35、luence on the age of reason 2.2. The general spirit and atmosphere in Britain during this period 2.3. The emergence of the periodical and their major concerns 2.4. Alexander Pope and his The Rape of the Lock 2.5. Samuel Johnson and his famous letter to the Earl of Chesterfield3. Read and analyze the

36、 certain passages from The Rape of the Lock Homework Read Age of Reason by Thomas Paine Lecture Ten English literature during the eighteenth century (2)Teaching objectives The students are expected to have a general idea about the emergence of novels and two important novelists during this period, a

37、nd they are also expected to learn something about the sentimentalists and their attitude towards a daily changing world.Teaching focusJonathan Swift and his Gullivers TravelsDenial Defoe and his Robinson CrusoeSamuel Richardson and his Pamela, Virtue RewardedHenry Fielding and The History of Tom Jo

38、nes, a FoundlingTeaching stepsWarming up questions 1.1 Do you know anything about Gulliver and his various adventures in all kinds of strange places? 1.2 Have you ever heard the story of Robinson Crusoe and his survival on a deserted and isolated island for more than ten years all by himself? Points

39、 to be covered by the teacher 2.1 Jonathan Swifts political life and his satirical writing Gullivers Travels 2.2 Denial Defoes adventures on the sea and his tremendously popular novel Robinson Crusoe 2.3 Samuel Richardson and his sentimental novel Pamela 2.4 Henry Fielding and his picaresque novel T

40、om JonesRead and analyze certain passages from Gullivers Travels and Robinson CrusoeHomeworkTry to finish reading all the four novels mentioned above after class Lecture Eleven The Sentimental School of Poets and the Pre-Romantic PoetsTeaching objectives The students are expected to learn some knowl

41、edge about the Sentimental school of poets and the spirit reflected in their poems, and they are also expected to learn something about two Pre-Romantic poets and some of their poems.Teaching focusThomas Gray and the one poem that makes him immortal: Elegy Written in a Country ChurchyardRobert Burns

42、 and his Scottish Highland poemsTeaching stepsPoints to be covered by the teacher 1.1 Oliver Goldsmith and his The Deserted Village 1.2 Thomas Gray and his Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard 1.3 Robert Burns and his Auld Lang Syne 1.4 William Blake and his Tiger, Tiger, Burning BrightRead and ana

43、lyze some passage of Elegy Written in a Country ChurchyardHomeworkRead more poems by Robert Burns such as “My Heart is in the Highland” and “My Love is like a Red, Red Rose Lecture Twelve English literature of the Romantic Period (1)Teaching objectives The students are expected to have some knowledg

44、e about the French Revolution and its impact on the Romantic movement, and they are also expected to grasp the major characteristics of Romanticism and have some ideas about the first generation of the Romantic poets and their poems.Teaching focusThe French Revolution and its spirit and impact The m

45、ajor characteristics of Romantic poetryWordsworth and ColeridgeTeaching steps1. analysis of the major characteristics of the Romantic poetrythe concept of poetry and poetspoetic spontaneity and freedomthe “nature” poetrythe glorification of the commonplacethe supernatural and the strangeness to beau

46、tysome information about the first generation of the romantic poets 2.1 William Wordsworth 2.2 Robert Southey 2.3 Samuel Taylor Coleridge3. Read and analyze The Solitary Reaper by WordsworthHomeworkRead the Prelude to Lyrical Ballads Lecture Thirteen English literature of the Romantic period (2)Teac

47、hing objectives The students are expected to have some knowledge about the personal life of Byron, Shelley and Keats, the so-called second generation or active Romantic poets, and also some of their representative works. Teaching focusByron and his Don Jon Shelley and his Ode to the West WindKeats a

48、nd his To AutumnTeaching stepsWarming up questions 1.1 I think you are more familiar with the second generation of the Romantic poets than the first generation, so can you say something about them? 1.2 Have you ever head the expression “Byronic hero”, what are the major characteristics of a Byronic

49、hero? 1.3 “If winter comes, can spring by far away” appears in which poem, what does it connote? Points to be covered by the teacher 2.1 the personal life experiences of Byron, Shelley and Keats 2.2 Their attitude towards the French Revolution 2.3 the major themes of their poetry 2.4 their represent

50、ative worksRead and analyze Ode to the West Wind and To AutumnHomeworkRead Keats To Autumn carefully, and then write a short poem of your own describing the scenes of autumn Lecture FourteenJane Austen and Walter ScottTeaching objectives The students are expected to have some knowledge about the his

51、torical and legendary novels by Scott and the realistic novels by Austen.Teaching focusScott and his novel IvanhoeAusten and her novel Pride and PrejudiceTeaching stepsWarming up question Surely you have heard that famous sentence “It is a universally acknowledged truth that a rich man is in need of

52、 a wife”, where does it come from, what does it indicate, and could you guess from this topic sentence what theme is going to concern the author in the novel?Points to be covered by the teacher 2.1 The tremendous influence of the Scottish border on the historical and legendary writings of Scott and

53、his legacy and impact to later writers 2.2 the major theme of Jane Austens novels and her humorous languageRead and analyze some passages from Pride and Prejudice HomeworkRead Pride and Prejudice and writer a short paper analyzing its language Lecture Fifteen English literature of the Victorian Era

54、(1)Teaching objectives First of all, students are expected to have some knowledge about the Industrial Revolution in Britain and Charles Darwins theory of evolution, because these had tremendous influence upon the life style and world view of the Victorian era; and they are also expected to learn so

55、mething the novelists during the 1830s to the 1850s, and their major concerns and their critical attitude towards the evil phenomena of their time and endeavor to use their pens to influence the authorities to ameliorate some of the evils of the society.Teaching focusThe evils and alienation brought about by the Industrial RevolutionDarwins theory of evolutionCharles Dickens and his worksThackeray and his Vanity FairTeachin