Main Points for English Literature
一、Old English : 450-1066
Beowulf
二、Medieval English : 1066 - middle 14th century
Geoffrey Chaucer - the father of English poetry
The Canterbury Tales first time to use heroic couplets
三、The Renaissance - rebirth or revival
Humanism - the essence of the Renaissance, the dignity of human being & the importance of the present life
1.Edmund Spenser - the poets?poet
The Shepherd’s Calendar ; The Faerie Queene
2.Christopher Marlowe - University Wits, the pioneer of English drama
Blank verse, hyperbole夸张
The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus: the human passion for knowledge, power and happiness
The Passionate Shepherd to His Love: pastoral life
3.William Shakespeare - above all writers in the past and in the present time
Four tragedies - Hamlet, Othello, King Lear & Macbeth
Sonnet 18: eternal or immortal beauty
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 greed and brutality.
Hamlet: hesitate between fact and fiction, language and action, too sophisticated to degrade his nature to the conventional role of a stage revenger. To be, or not to be - to live on in this world or to die; to suffer or to take action. Soliloquy or monologue - fully reveal the inner conflict of the characters
4.Francis Bacon - brevity, compactness & powerfulness, his essays is an important landmark in the development of English rose.Inductive method is in place of deductive method.
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 to each other. The correct 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.
5.John Donne
Metaphysical poetry - break away from love poetry, a seemingly unfocused diversity of experiences and attitudes, and a free range of feelings and
moods.Donne frequently applies conceits and syllogistic forms.
The Sun Rising: the busy sun is always ready to interfere with other things and everywhere
Death, Be Not Proud: 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 pleasure 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 man?s body and a birth for his soul.
6.John Milton
Paradise Lost: the only generally acknowledged epic in English literature since Beowulf. The conflict is between human love and spiritual duty. In heaven, Satan led a rebellion against God with his unconquerable will.
Paradise Regained
Samson Agonistes: the most perfect example of the verse drama after the Greek style in English.
四、Neoclassicism - a revival of interest in the old classical works, order, logic, restrained emotion & accuracy
Enlightenment - a progressive intellectual movement, reason (rationality), equality & science
Gothic novel - mystery, horror & castles
1.John Bunyan
The Vanity Fair from The Pilgrim’s Progress：a religious allegory, pursue the truth
2.Alexander Pope
An Essay on Criticism：a poem written in heroic couplets, criticize the present poem lack of true taste & call on people to turn to the old Greek and Roman writers for guidance, “true wit”is best set in a plain (simple & clear) style.
3.Daniel Defoe - the first writer study of the lower-class people
Robinson Crusoe：praise the human labor and the Puritan fortitude.
4.Jonathan Swift - a master satirist. In his opinion, human nature is seriously and permanently flawed.
A Modest Proposal
Gulliver’s Travels, four parts - Lilliput, Brobdingnag, Flying Island & Houyhnhnm
5.Henry Fielding - Father of English novel,Prose Homer,Comic epic in prose
The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling
6.Samuel Johnson - first combine an English dictionary, last neoclassicist enlightener
A Dictionary of the English Language
To the Right Honorable the Earl of Chesterfield
7.Richard Brinsley Sheridan - the only important English dramatist of the 18th century
The Rivals and The School for Scandal are regarded as important links between the masterpieces of Shakespeare and those of Bernard Shaw.
8.Thomas Gray-- The Graveyard School
Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard
五、The romantic period --began with the publication of Wordsworth and Coleridge?s Lyrical Ballads
Romantic - emotion over reason, spontaneous emotion, a change from the outer world of social civilization to the inner world of the human spirit, poetry should be free from all rules, imagination, nature, commonplace
1.William Blake –engraver
The Chimney Sweeper from Songs of Innocence a happy and innocence world from children?s eye
The Chimney Sweeper from Songs of Experience a world of misery, poverty, disease, war and repression with a melancholy tone from men eyes Childhood, paradoxes, a pairing of opposites
The Tyger
2.William Wordsworth - the leading figure of the English romantic poetry, simple, spontaneous, worshiper of nature “Lake Poets” - William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge & Robert Southey. He defines the poet as a “man
speaking to men”, and poetry as “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings”, which originates in “emotion recollected in tranquility”.
I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud the poet is very cheerful with recalling the beautiful sights. In the poem on the beauty of nature, the reader is presented a vivid picture of lively and lovely daffodils and poet?s philosophical ideas and mystical thoughts.
Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802 the sonnet describes a vivid picture of a beautiful morning in London, silent, bright, glittering, smokeless & mildly. It is so touching a sight that the poet expressed his religion piety for nature.
She Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways
The Solitary Reaper thanks to poet?s rich imagination, the mass of associations, this commonplace happening becomes a striking event, the poet succeeds in making the reader?s share his emotion. The poem also shows the poet?s passionate love of nature.
3.Samuel Taylor Coleridge - supernatural, remote Poet can be divided into two groups - the demonic (supernatural) & the conversational.The demonic group includes 3 masterpieces - The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Chrisabel, Kubla Khan
4.George Gordon Byron-“Byronic hero” is a proud, mysterious rebel figure of noble origin, against tyrannical rules or moral principles. Such a hero appears first in Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage.
Song for the Luddites “will die fighting, or live free”the Luddites destroyed the machines in their protest against unemployment. The poet?s great sympathy of the workers in their struggle against the capitalists is clearly shown.
The Isles of Greece from Don Juan (the masterpiece of Byron, a long satirical poem), song by a Greek singer at the wedding of Don Juan and Haidee. “Fill high the bowl with Samian wine”?
5.Percy Bysshe Shelley
Men of England
Ode to the West Wind: terza rima, destructive-constructive potential, hopeful, ?I fall upon the tho rns of life! I bleed!?, ?If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind??
6.John Keats
four great odes - Ode on Melancholy, Ode on a Grecian Urn, Ode to a Nightingale, Ode to Psyche
Ode on a Grecian Urn the contrast between the permanence of art and the
tran sience of human passion, “Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard are sweeter”, “Beauty is truth, truth is beauty”.
7.Jane Austen
Pride and Prejudice
六、The Victorian Period: Critical realists
Darwin?s The Origin of Species and The Descent of Man shook the traditional faith, everything is created by God. Utilitarianism was widely accepted and practiced Critical realists were all concerned about the fate of the common people
1.Charles Dickens - one of the greatest critical realist writers of the Victorian Age
Character-portrayal is the most distinguishing feature of his works. A mingling of humor and pathos.
A Tale of Two Cities, Oliver Twist
2.The Bronte Sisters - Charlotte, Emily & Anne Emily, a rather reserved and simple girl, was very much a child of nature.
Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights
3.Alfred Tennyson - invents dramatic monologue, Poet Laureate, a real artist
Break, Break, Break: the death of his best friend, his sadness feeling are contrasted with the carefree, innocent joys of the children and the unfeeling movement of the ship and the sea waves
Crossing the Bar: we can feel his fearlessness towards death, his faith in God and an afterlife. ?Crossing the bar? means leaving this world and entering the next world
Ulysses: not endure the peaceful commonplace everyday life, old as he is, he persuades his old followers to go with him and to set sail again to pursue a new world and new knowledge, dramatic monologue, ?Myself not least, but honour?d of them all? means I am not the least important, but honoured by all of them
4.Robert Browning - the most original poet, who improve and mature the dramatic monologue
The Ring and the Book: his masterpiece
My Last Duchess: this dramatic monologue is the duke?s speech addressed to the agent who comes to negotiate the marriage, the duke is a self-conceited, cruel and tyrannical man
Meeting at Night /Parting at Morning
5.George Eliot:As a woman of exceptional intelligence and life experience, she shows a particular concern for the destiny of women
Middlemarch: a sharp contrast is set between the cold, lifeless, dull house and Dorothea who is full of youthful life and vigor
6.Thomas Hardy - both a naturalistic and a critical realist writer. Local-colored, Wessex …novels of character and environment?
Tess of the D’Urbervilles: experience is as to intensity, and not as to duration
七、The Twentieth Century: Modernism
The writer concentrated on the private than on the public, more on the subjective than on the objective. They are mainly concerned with the inner being of an individual.
1.“T he Angry Young Men” with lower-middle-class or working class background. Kingsley Amis, John Wain, John Braine and Alan Sillitoe were the major novelists in this group. Osborne, the first “Angry Young Man”
2.James Joyce is the most outstanding stream-of-consciousness novelist;All have the same setting: Ireland, especially Dublin, and the same subject: the Irish people and their life.
“stream of consciousness”: literary approach to the presentation of psychological aspects of characters. Ulysses.
3.William Butler Yeats--poet, the leader of the Irish National Theater Movement.
4.George Bernard shaw-dramatist (leading playwright, considered to be the best-known English dramatist since Shakespeare)
早期Widowers’ Houses ;Candida; Mrs. Warren’s Profession; Caesar and Cleopatra
中期Man and Superman
晚期Back to Methuselah;The Apple Cart
5.John Galsworthy: A conventional writer, having inherited the traditions of Victorian novelists of the critical realism.
Play: The Silver Box
Novels: The Forsyte Saga(trilogy:The Man of Property;In Chancery; To Let--The three are masterpieces of critical realism in the early 20th century) ;A Modern Comedy
6.T.S.Eliot: one of the important verse dramatists
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock: dramatic monologue, an ironic contrast
The Waste Land: the most famous poem，is a poem concerned with the spiritual breakup of a modern civilization in which human life has lost its meaning, significance and purpose.
7.D. H. Lawrence: rich symbolism and complex narrative
Autobiographical novel :Sons and Lovers
Masterpieces:The Rainbow; Women in Love
《英国文学史及选读》第一册复习要点 1. Beowulf: national epic of the English people; Denmark story; alliteration, metaphors and understatements (此处可能会有填空,选择等小题 2. Romance (名词解释 3. “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”: a famous roman about King Arthur’ s story 4. Ballad(名词解释 5. Character of Robin Hood 6. Geoffrey Chaucer: founder of English poetry; The Canterbury Tales (main contents; 124 stories planned, only 24 finished; written in Middle English; significance; form: heroic couplet 7. Heroic couplet (名词解释 8. Renaissance(名词解释 9.Thomas More—— Utopia 10. Sonnet(名词解释 11. Blank verse(名词解释12. Edmund Spenser “The Faerie Queene” 13. Francis Bacon “essays” esp. “Of Studies” (推荐阅读,学习写正式语体的英文文章的好参照,本文用词正式优雅,多排比句和长句,语言造诣非常高,里面很多话都可以引用做格言警句,非常值得一读 14. William Shakespeare四大悲剧比较重要,此外就是罗密欧与朱立叶了,这些剧的主题,背景,情节,人物形象都要熟悉,当然他最重要的是 Hamlet 这是肯定的。他的sonnet 也很重要,最重要属 sonnet18。 (其戏剧中著名对白和几首有名的十四行诗可能会出选读 15. John Milton 三大史诗非常重要,特别是 Paradise Lost 和 Samson Agonistes。对于 Paradise Lost 需要知道它是 blank verse写成的,故事情节来自 Old Testament,另外要知道此书 theme 和 Satan 的形象。
考试课程：英国文学史及选读考核类型：A 卷 考试方式：闭卷出卷教师: XXX 考试专业：英语考试班级：英语xx班 I.Multiple choice (30 points, 1 point for each) select from the four choices of each item the one that best answers the question or completes the statement. 1._____，a typical example of old English poetry ,is regarded today as the national epic of the Anglo-Saxons. A.The Canterbury Tales B.The Ballad of Robin Hood C.The Song of Beowulf D.Sir Gawain and the Green Kinght 2._____is the most common foot in English poetry. A.The anapest B.The trochee C.The iamb D.The dactyl 3.The Renaissance is actually a movement stimulated by a series of historical events, which one of the following is NOT such an event? A.The rediscovery of ancient Roman and Greek culture. B.England’s domestic rest C.New discovery in geography and astrology D.The religious reformation and the economic expansion 4._____is the most successful religious allegory in the English language. A.The Pilgrims Progress B.Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners C.The Life and Death of Mr.Badman D.The Holy War 5.Generally, the Renaissance refers to the period between the 14th and mid-17th centuries, its essence is _____. A.science B.philosophy C.arts D.humanism 6.“So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,/So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.”(Shakespeare, Sonnets18)What does“this”refer to ? A.Lover. B.Time. C.Summer. D.Poetry. 7.“O prince, O chief of my throned powers, /That led th’ embattled seraphim to war/Under thy conduct, and in dreadful deeds/Fearless, endangered Heaven’s perpetual king”In the third line of the above passage quoted from Milton’s Paradise Los t, the phrase“thy conduct”refers to _____conduct. A.God’s B.Satan’s C.Adam’s D.Eve’s
英国文学史 I. Old English Literature & The Late Medieval Ages
英国文学史 Part one: Early and Medieval English Literature Chapter 1 The Making of England 1. The early inhabitants in the island now we call England were Britons, a tribe of Gelts. 2. In 55 B.C., Britain was invaded by Julius Caesar. The Roman occupation lasted for about 400 years. It was also during the Roman role that Christianity was introduced to Britain. And in 410 A.D., all the Roman troops went back to the continent and never returned. 3. The English Conquest At the same time Britain was invaded by swarms of pirates（海盗）. They were three tribes from Northern Europe: the Angles, Saxons and Jutes. And by the 7th century these small kingdoms were combined into a United Kingdom called England, or, the land of Angles. And the three dialects spoken by them naturally grew into a single language called Anglo -Saxon, or Old English. 4. The Social Condition of the Anglo -Saxon Therefore, the Anglo -Saxon period witnessed a transition from tribal society to feudalism. 5. Anglo -Saxon Religious Belief and Its Influence The Anglo -Saxons were Christianized in the seventh century. Chapter 2 Beowulf 1. Anglo -Saxon Poetry But there is one long poem of over 3,000 lines. It is Beowulf, the national epic of the English people. Grendel is a monster described in Beowulf. 3. Analysis of Its Content Beowulf is a folk lengend brought to England by Anglo -Saxons from their continental homes. It had been passed from mouth to mouth for hundreds of years before it was written down in the tenth century. 4. Features of Beowulf The most striking feature in its poetical form is the use of alliteration, metaphors and understatements. Chapter 3 Feudal England 1）T he Norman Conquest 2. The Norman Conquest The French -speaking Normans under Duke William came in 1066. After defeating the English at Hastings, William was crowned as King of England. The Norman Conquest marks the establishment of feudalism in England.
一、The Anglo-Saxon period (449-1066) 1、这个时期的文学作品分类：pagan(异教徒) Christian(基督徒) 2、代表作：The Song of Beowulf 《贝奥武甫》( national epic 民族史诗) 采用了隐喻手法 3、Alliteration 押头韵（写作手法） 例子：of man was the mildest and most beloved, To his kin the kindest, keenest for praise. 二、The Anglo-Norman period (1066-1350) Canto 诗章 1、romance 传奇文学 2、代表作：Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (高文爵士和绿衣骑士) 是一首押头韵的长诗 三、Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400) 杰弗里.乔叟时期 1、the father of English poetry 英国诗歌之父 2、heroic couplet 英雄双韵体：a verse unit consisting of two rhymed(押韵) lines in iambic pentameter(五步抑扬格) 3、代表作：the Canterbury Tales 坎特伯雷的故事(英国文学史的开端) 大致内容：the pilgrims are people from various parts of England, representatives of various walks of life and social groups. 朝圣者都是来自英国的各地的人,代表着社会的各个不同阶层和社会团体 小说特点：each of the narrators tells his tale in a peculiar manner, thus revealing his own views and character. 这些叙述者以自己特色的方式讲述自己的故事，无形中表明了各自的观点，展示了各自的性格。 小说观点：he believes in the right of man to earthly happiness. He is anxious to see man freed from superstitions(迷信) and a blind belief in fate(盲目地相信命运). 他希望人们能从迷信和对命运的盲从中解脱出来。 4、Popular Ballads 大众民谣：a story hold in 4-line stanzas with second and fourth line rhymed(笔记) Ballads are anonymous narrative songs that have been preserved by oral transmission(书上). 歌谣是匿名叙事歌曲,一直保存着口头传播的方式
①Beowulf: The national heroic epic of the English people. It has over 3,000 lines. It describes the battles between the two monsters and Beowulf, who won the battle finally and dead for the fatal wound. The poem ends with the funeral of the hero. The most striking feature in its poetical form is the use if alliteration. Other features of it are the use of metaphors(暗喻) and of understatements(含蓄). ②Alliteration: In alliterative verse, certain accented(重音) words in a line begin with the same consonant sound(辅音). There are generally 4accents in a line, 3 of which show alliteration, as can be seen from the above quotation. ③Romance: The most prevailing(流行的) kind of literature in feudal England was the Romance. It was a long composition, sometimes in verse(诗篇), sometimes in prose(散文), describing the life and adventures of a noble hero, usually a knight, as riding forth to seek adventures, taking part in tournament(竞赛), or fighting for his lord in battle and the swearing of oaths. ④Epic: An epic is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significantly to a culture or nation. The first epics are known as primacy, or original epics. ⑤Ballad: The most important department of English folk literature is the ballad which is a story told in song, usually in 4-line stanzas(诗节), with the second and fourth lines rhymed. The subjects of ballads are various in kind, as the struggle of young lovers against their feudal-minded families, the conflict between love and wealth, the cruelty of jealousy, the criticism of the civil war, and the matters and class struggle. The paramount(卓越的) important ballad is Robin Hood(《绿林好汉》). ⑥Geoffrey Chaucer杰弗里.乔叟: He was an English author, poet, philosopher and diplomat. He is the founder of English poetry. He obtained a good knowledge of Latin, French and Italian. His best remembered narrative is the Canterbury Tales(《坎特伯雷故事集》), which the Prologue(序言) supplies a miniature(缩影) of the English society of Chaucer’s time. That is why Chaucer has been called “the founder of English realism”. Chaucer affirms men and women’s right to pursue their happiness on earth and opposes(反对) the dogma of asceticism(禁欲主义) preached(鼓吹) by the church. As a forerunner of humanism, he praises man’s energy, intellect, quick wit and love of life. Chaucer’s contribution to English poetry lies chiefly in the fact that he introduced from France the rhymed stanza of various types, especially the rhymed couplet of 5 accents in iambic(抑扬格) meter(the “heroic couplet”) to English poetry, instead of the old Anglo-Saxon alliterative verse. ⑦【William Langland威廉.朗兰: Piers the Plowman《农夫皮尔斯》】
Chapter1 Early and Medieval Literature Three stages of English literary development: The Roman Conquest（55BC——410AD） The Anglo-Saxon Period（410——1066AD） Three tribes：Jutes，the Angles，and the Saxons The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle盎格鲁撒克逊编年史 The greatest literary achievement during this period is Beowulf。Beowulf贝奥武甫——epic，alliteration ★Epic: a long narrative poem telling about the deeds of a great hero and reflecting the values of the society from which it originated. Many epics were drawn from an oral tradition and were transmitted by song and recitation before they were written down. ★The whole epic is divided into two parts and tells of two major events in the life of Beowulf.①He kills a monster;②He fights a dragon. The Norman Conquest(1066-------1350AD) 下层：ballad民谣（ballads which are the most important parts of English folk literature） 上层：chivalry骑士文学：Sir Gawain and the Green Knight （alliteration verse） ★Most of the English romances deal with three major themes: Ⅰ.The Matter of Britain——which is about the adventures of King
History and Anthology of English Literature Part One The Anglo-Saxon Period Beowulf Questions: 1.The earliest literature falls into two divisions ___________, and_______________. 2.Christianity brings England not only __________ and___________but also the wealth of a new language. 3.Who is Beowulf? And What is Beowulf? 4.How did Beowulf come into being? 5.Who is Grendel? And what is the result of Grendel?s fight with Beowulf? 6.How did the Jutes hold the funeral for him? Key points of this part: The most important work of old English literature is Beowulf------- the national epic of the English people. It is of Germanic heritage, perhaps the greatest Germanic epic and contains evidently pre-Christian elements existing at first in an oral tradition, the poem was passed from mouth to mouth for generations before it was written down. The manuscript preserved today was written in the Wessex tongue about 1000A.D., consisting altogether of 3183 lines. There are three episodes related to the career of Beowulf: 1.the fight with the monster, Grendel. 2.The fight with Grendel?s mother, a still more frightful she-monster. 3.The moral combat with the fire Dragon. The significance lies in the vivid portrayal of a great national hero, who is brave, courageous, selfless, and ever helpful to his people. There are three important features:: 1.Alliteration (words beginning with the same consonant sound). This is characteristic of all old English verse. 2.Metaphors and understatements. There are many compound words used in the poem to serve as indirect metaphors that are sometimes very picturesque. , e.g. “riging-giver”is used for King; “hearth-companions “for his attendant warriors; “Whale?s road” for the sea; “spear-fighter” for soldier etc. And as understatement we can see: “not troublesome”for welcome; “need not praise”for a right to condemn. This quality is often regarded as characteristic of the English people and their language. 3.Mixture of pagan and Christian elements: the observing of omen, cremation, blood-revenge, and the praise of worldly glory.
名著导读：《简爱》梗概、知识点和习题大集合 《简·爱》是英国十九世纪著名的女作家夏洛蒂·勃朗特的代表作，也是英国文学史上的一部传世之作。人们普遍认为《简·爱》以第一人称叙述，是夏洛蒂·勃朗特“诗意的生平”的写照，是一部具有自传色彩的作品。 【作品简介】 《简·爱》是英国十九世纪著名的女作家夏洛蒂·勃朗特的代表作，也是英国文学史上的一部传世之作。人们普遍认为《简·爱》以第一人称叙述，是夏洛蒂·勃朗特“诗意的生平”的写照，是一部具有自传色彩的作品。 这部带有浓厚自传色彩的作品成功地塑造了英国文学史中第一个对爱情、生活采取独立自主、积极进取态度，敢于斗争、敢于争取自由平等地位的女性形象，小小说诠释了这样一个主题：人的价值=尊严+爱。书中弱小的简爱不仅具有坚强刚毅的个性、自尊自爱的品格，而且还拥有足够的才智和对自由平等爱情的追求。 当时已经驰名文坛的萨克雷评价说：”《简·爱》是一位伟大天才的杰作。” 【故事概要】 一、苦难的童年(1--4 章) 幼小的简·爱寄养在舅父母家里。舅父里德先生去世后，简·爱过了10年倍受尽歧视和虐待的生活。舅母把她视作眼中钉，并把她和自己的孩子隔离开来，从此，她与舅母的对抗更加公开和坚决了，简被送进了罗沃德孤儿院。 二、艰难中成长（5——10章） 洛伍德义塾，一个教规严厉、条件极为艰苦的地方。简.爱刚到这里的第一年便赶上了一场突如其来的瘟疫，眼看着一个个同学在这里倒下，特别是好友海伦.彭斯的离去，使简爱幼小的心灵体会到了生命的残酷。在这里，简爱虽然历经磨难，却坚强地生存了下来。 度过第一年的难关后，学校改善了学生们的生活饮食条件。简爱在这里又做了六年学生、二年老师。期间的八年中，谭普尔小姐成为简爱敬仰和感激的至爱之师和人生挚友，因为“我获得的一些最宝贵的知识，都要归功于她的指导。”“她充当了我的母亲及家庭教师的角色，后来又成为我的伴侣”。“她的友谊及与她的交往始终是我的一种安慰”。因此，当谭普尔小姐要离开洛伍德义塾时，简.爱也在一番思索后决定要到“一个陌生的环境里担当新职务，过一种新生活”。 三、体验爱情（11--27章）
Part I The Anglo-Saxon Period(449-1066) I Background 449 the Teutons ( the Jutes, the Anglos, the Saxons) II Literature The literature of this period falls into two divisions—pagan and Christian Two Anglo-saxon Christian poets: Caedmon （凯德蒙，公元7世纪盎各鲁－萨克逊基督教诗人）who lived in the latter half of the 7th century and who wrote a poetic Paraphrase of the Bible. Cynewulf（基涅武甫,盎各鲁――萨克逊诗人，生活在公元9世纪，其古英语诗稿于10世纪被发现，有《埃琳娜》,《使徒们的命运》，《基督升天》和《朱莉安娜》）, the author of poems on religious subjects III The Song of Beowulf( Beowulf, 公元7-8世纪之交开始流传于民间的同名史诗中的主人公，曾与水怪，火龙搏斗) Status: England’s national epic Written at the beginning of the tenth century Composed much earlier Length:3182 The whole song is essentially pagan in spirit and matter. Features : alliteration; metaphors; understatement Subject matter Part II The Anglo-Norman Period (1066—1350) I historical background: The Norman Conquest II. The Literature The literature which they brought to England is remarkable for its bright, romantic tales of love and adventure. III. Romance 1. Romance was the prevailing form of literature in feudal England. 2. Definition and features(理解) IV. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight a late-14th century middle-English outlining an adventure of Sir Gawain, a knight of King Arthur’s Round Table. It was a verse romance of 2530 lines, considered as the best of Arthurian romances. Part III Geoffrey Chaucer(1340?-1400) I Major works The Romaunt of the Rose《玫瑰传奇》is a translation from a French poem. His masterpiece: The Canterbury Tales II Contributions 1. Chaucer—the forerunner of Renaissanc e
英国文学史复习资料（上册） ★《贝奥武夫》Beowulf 它体现的是英雄叙事长诗，完成于公元九世纪。全诗长3183行，以斯堪的纳维亚（Sc andinavia）的英雄贝奥武夫（Beowulf）的英勇事迹构成主要内容。勇士贝奥武甫与怪物格伦德尔搏斗，使其断臂而死。怪物之母为子复仇，又被他追踪杀死。后来他做了国王。一次火龙来犯，他挺身斩龙，伤重而死，人民为他举行了隆重的葬礼。本诗以西撒克斯（Wessex）方言写成，押头韵而不押尾韵，用双字隐喻而不用明喻。是现存古英语文学中最古老的作品，是流传至今的欧洲最完整的一部史诗，也是欧洲最早的方言史诗。在语言学方面也是相当珍贵的文献。（安格鲁-撒克逊时期） ★《高文爵士与绿衣骑士》Sir Gaw ain and the Green Knight是英语韵文浪漫诗的杰出代表。全诗共2529行，作者不详，创作于诺曼时期向新时代过渡的14世纪它的题材属于亚瑟王和圆桌骑士的传说系列。作品以巨大的艺术表现力反映了骑士制度的理想，是中世纪封建贵族文化的精髓。在艺术上，此诗语言优美含蓄，情节完整紧凑，人物性格细腻丰满，诗中对大自然的精确而富于魅力的描写尤为引人注目，代表了中古英格兰北部头韵体诗歌艺术的最高成就。（安格鲁-罗马时期） ★杰弗雷·乔叟(Geoffrey Chauc er,约1343～1400）率先采用伦敦方言写作，并创作“英雄双行体”，对英国民族语言和文学的发展影响极大，故被誉为“英国诗歌之父”。代表作《坎特伯雷故事集》Canterbury Tales,描写一群香客（pilgrim）聚集在伦敦一家小旅店里，准备去坎特伯雷城朝圣。店主人建议香客们在往返途中各讲两个故事，看谁讲的最好。故事集包括了23个故事，其中最精彩的故事有：骑士讲的爱情悲剧故事、巴斯妇讲的骑士的故事、卖赎罪券者讲的劝世寓言故事、教士讲的动物寓言故事、商人讲的家庭纠纷的故事、农民讲的感人的爱情和慷慨义气行为的故事。作品广泛地反映了资本主义萌芽时期的英国社会生活，揭露了教会的腐败、教士的贪婪和伪善，谴责了扼杀人性的禁欲主义，肯定了世俗的爱情生活。《坎特伯雷故事集》的艺术成就
《英国文学史及选读》第二册练习题 I. 浪漫主义时期 I. Each of the statements below is followed by four alternative answers. Choose the one that would best complete the statement and put the letter in the brackets. 1. English Romanticism is generally said to have begun with_____in 1798. A. the publication of Lyrical Ballads B. the death of Sir Scott C. the birth of William Wordsworth D. the passage of the first Reform Bill in the Parliament 2. The Romantic Period is first of all an age of_____. A. Novel B. poetry C. drama D. prose 3. Romanticism does not emphasize_____. A. the special qualities of each individual’s mind B. the inner world of the human spirit C. individuality D. the features that men have in common 4._____ is not a Romantic poet. A. William Blake B. Sir Scott C. P. B. Shelley D. Lord Byron 5. _____ is a Romantic novelist but is impressed with neo-classic strains. A. Walter Scott B. Mary Shelley C. Jane Austen D. Ann Radcliff 6. _____ is not characteristic of Will iam Blake’s writing. A. plain and direct language B. compression of meaning C. supernatural quality D. symbolism 7. Wordsworth published Lyrical Ballads in 1789 with _____. A. Byron B. Coleridge C. Shelley D. Keats 8. Wordsworth thinks that _____ is the only subject of literary interest. A. the life of rising bourgeoisie B. aristocratic life C. the life of the royal family D. common life 9. Don Juan is the masterpiece of_____. A. Lord Byron’s B. P. B. Shelley’s C. John Keats’s D. Samuel Coleridge’s 10. _____ is not a novel written by Jane Austen. A. Jane Eyre B. Sense and Sensibility C. Pride and Prejudice D. Emma II. Complete each of the following statements with a proper word or a phrase according to the textbook. 1. In essence, Romanticism designates a literary and philosophical theory which tends to see the_____as the very center of all life and all experience. 2. For the Romantics, _____ is not only the major source of poetic imagery, but also provides the dominant subject matter. 3. Wordsworth is regarded as a “worshipper of _____.” 4. According to the subjects, Wordsworth’s short poems can be classified into two groups: poems about nature and poems about _____. 5. Coleridge’s achieveme nt as poet can be divided into two remarkably diverse groups: _____ and the conversational.