英国文学史重要资料详细解读

1 The Medieval Age1. Types of LiteraturePoetry，Drama，Prose（novels, short stories, and essays）Anglo-Saxons:2. Three tribes---- the Angles, the Saxons, the JutesLanguage: Germanic dialects3. Anglo-Saxon historyAnglo-Saxon period : 449-1066；Anglo-Norman period : 1066-1350；Literature is divided into two parts: Pagan（异教）and Christian4. The Middle AgesIn Europe: usu. from 5th c. to 16th c., marked by division of Western Christianity in the Reformation, the rise of humanism in the Italian Renaissance, and beginnings of European overseas expansion which allowed for the Columbian Exchange.In Britain: 446-14666. 3 stages of English lg DevelopmentOld English /Anglo-Saxon (usu. the language up to 1066)；Middle English (about 1100-1500)；Modern English (about 1500-present)II. Beowulf and balladsBeowulf: heroic epic; 1st English national literary workcf: First Chinese literary workThe Book of Songs (Classic of Poetry)（《诗经》）（305 poems from Xizhou to middle Chunqiu: folk songs, sacrificial songs and ceremonial songs ）III. Geoffrey Chaucer(ca 1343-1400)Major works: The House of Fame(1379-1384) ；Troilus and Criseyde(1372-1385) ；The Canterbury Tales(1386-1400)Status in literature : “father of English poetry” & one of the greatest narrative poets in Britain;first great poet in the current English language;IV. Selected writing1. The Canterbury TalesOriginal plan: a collection of stories in a frame tale, between 1387 and 1400 about 30 pilgrims from London to Canterbury. Each pilgrim, from all layers of society, tells 4 stories to each other to kill time while traveling.Part IV The Renaissance1. RenaissanceDefinition---(Fr.)rebirth or revival: a cultural movement roughly from 14th to 17th c., from Italy in late Middle Ages and later to the rest of Europe; a revival of learning based on classical sources;Influence: literature, philosophy, art, politics, science, religion, & other aspects of intellectual enquiry; best known for artistic developments & contributions of such polymaths(博学大师) as Leonardo da Vinci & Michelangelo, who inspired the term "Renaissance men".Renaissance marked a transition from the Medieval Period to the modern age in European history.2) Two features of Renaissance(1) a thirst for classical lit.: They discovered and read ancient Greek & Roman classics which ledto flowering of painting, sculpture, architecture and so on.(2) a keen interest in life and human activities rather than religion3) Representatives & their famous worksLeonardo. Da Vinci(1452-1519) Mona Lisa (1479-1528), La Gioconda, wife of Francesco del Giocondo The Last Supper 14982) Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (1475-1564) sculptor, painter, architect & poet David Gigantic marble, started in 1501 & finished in 1504 The Holy Family with the infant St. John the Baptist (the Doni Tondo)The Creation of Adam (Fragment of the Sistine Chapel ceiling)1511-12 Fresco(壁画):The Separation of Light and Darkness (1508-1512), Sistine Chapel, V atican3) Dante (1472-1629)Dante Alighieri：poet, prose writer, lit. theorist, moral philosopher, political thinkerDivine Comedy（《神曲》）To be widely considered the central epic poem of Italian literature, & as one of greatest works of world lit.2. Old England in TransitionHistorical background: 16th c----from feudalism to capitalism: “sheep devoured men” by Thomas MoreAbsolute monarchy: break off with the Pope, dissolving all the monasteries & abbeys(修道院), confiscating their lands and proclaiming himself head of the Church of England. Absolute monarchy reached its summit during reign of Queen Elizabeth(1558-1603).Hundred Years’War with France(1336-1453) ￫civil wars.Henry VII(1481-1509): Tudor dynasty, a centralized monarchy of a totally new type, which met the needs of the rising bourgeoisie.sea power after defeating Spaindevelopment of science & art3. English RenaissanceDefinition: Largely literary, a great number of classical works were translated into Eng. during 16th c., which was carried out by progressive thinkers of humanists.Chief interest: not in ecclesiastical（基督教的;(与)教会(有关)的）knowledge, but in man, his environment & doings; brave fight for emancipation（解放）of man from tyranny of the church and religious dogmas.Greatest achievement:Elizabethan drama →Shakespeare, C. Marlow (blank verse) & B. Johnson;prose →F. Bacon, T. More (Utopia)Subject matter: away from religious subjects, & into other realms of social & personal lifeII. William Shakespeare (1564-1616)1. Life and career1564: Born in market town--- Stratford-upon-Avon; 1571: local grammar school (Latin & Greek); 1585, left for London, 1st worked by taking care of horses, gradually joined actors, & by 1592, a leading actor. In addition to acting, began to write plays and poems.2. WorksRoughly 4 periods: 37 plays, 2 narrative poems & 154 sonnets1590 -1594 -- apprenticeship: early history plays & a group of comedies1595 -1600 -- rapid growth & development: more careful & artistic work, better plot, and amarked increase in knowledge of human nature1601 - 1608-- gloom and depression: a period of his tragedies1609 -1612-- restored serenity: calm after storm1) ComedyAll’s Well That Ends Well (dark comedy) As You Like It The Comedy of Errors Cymbeline (romantic tragic comedy)（辛白林）Love’s Labour’s Lost (《爱的徒劳》) Measure for Measure The Merry Wives of Windsor Merchant of VeniceA Midsummer Night's Dream Much Ado About Nothing Pericles, Prince of TyreTaming of the Shrew The Tempest（骚动）(romantic tragicomedy) Troilus and Cressida Twelfth Night Two Gentlemen of Verona Winter's Tale (romantic tragicomedy)2) History Henry IV, part 1 Henry IV, part 2 Henry VHenry VI, part 1 Henry VI, part 2 Henry VI, part 3 Henry VIII King John RichardII Richard III3) Tragedy Antony and Cleopatra Coriolanus Hamlet * Julius Caesar King Lear * Macbeth * Othello * Romeo and Juliet Timon of Athens Titus Andronicus4) Poetry Sonnets A Lover's Complaint The Rape of Lucrece V enus and Adonis Funeral Elegy（哀歌）by W.S.3. Shakespeare’s achievements1) He represents the trend of history in giving voice to the desires & aspirations of the people: peace under a strong monarch who would unite the whole country.2) Humanism: More important than his historical sense of his time, he reflects the spirit of his age.3) Characters are “round”(many aspects or dimensions): vice & virtue commingle, true of common sense of humanity;4) Originality: though drawing mostly from sources known to audience, his plays are original for his instilling into old materials a new spirit.5) Shakespeare as a great poet---both a great dramatist & poet:Sonnets, long poems, his dramas all in poetic form rich in images, conceit（别出心裁的比喻）, metaphors & symbols;lyrical, poetical, ecstatic, pathetic（狂喜的）, cynical（愤世嫉俗的）, sarcastic, and ironic.6) Shakespeare as master of the English language:A command of about 15,000 words with different meanings of the same word, or vice versa; many of his quotations & phrases have been absorbed into the English lg.4. Work study: HamletMaster art---madness real & sham; intentional killing & unintentional; play within the play;reversion or surprise turn of events; hesitation: both love & hatred for the mother;killing & delay; language & characterization, etc.Languagecourtly: elaborate, witty discourse Hamlet is most skilled at rhetoric: highly developed metaphors, stichomythia(轮流对白), & in 9 memorable words, deploying both anaphora（首语重复）& asyndeton（连接词省略）: "to die: to sleep—/ To sleep, perchance to dream".precise & straightforward，st. punsThemerevenge & struggle for the throne within the court, but main purpose was for the revelation of sthmore profound & realistic: contradiction between humanist ideals and the reality.Soliloquy（独白）a dramatic speech delivered by one character speaking aloud while under the impression of being alone. The soliloquist reveals inner thoughts & feelings to audience, either in supposed self-communion or in a consciously direct address; also known as interior monologue(内心独白). Hamlet's soliloquiesHe interrupts himself, vocalising either disgust or agreement with himself, & embellishing(润色) his own words. He has difficulty expressing himself directly and instead blunts thrust of his thought with wordplay. It is not until late in the play, after his experience with the pirates, that he is able to articulate his feelings freely.译文欣赏生存还是毁灭，这是一个值得考虑的问题；默然忍受命运暴虐的毒箭，或是挺身反抗人世间无涯的苦难，通过斗争把它们扫清，这两种行为，哪一种更高贵？死了；睡着了；什么都完了；要是在这一种睡眠之中，我们心头的创痛，以及其他无数血肉之躯所不能避免的打击，都可以从此消失，那正是我们求之不得的结局。