Preface (The Development of British Literature)1. Early and Medieval Literature (5th century-1485)2. The Period of English Renaissance (the end of 15th century-the beginning of 17th century)3. 17th Century Literature4. The Period of Enlightenment (the end of 17th century-the middle of 18th century)5. English Romanticism (1798-1832)6. The Age of Realism (1830s-1918)7. The Age of Modernism (1918-1945)8. Contemporary British Literature (1945- )Unit 1 Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400)Lived in the 14th centuryThe greatest writer in this century and the 14th century is usually known as “The Age of Chaucer”Was acclaimed as “father of English poetry”◆Literary Career1. From 1360 to 1372 (French period)Translations: The Romance of the Rose2. From 1373 to 1386 (Italian period)Major works: 1380 The Parliament of Fowls《百鸟议会》1384 The House of Fame《声誉之堂》1385 Troilus and Criseyde《特洛勒斯与克丽西德》1386 The Book of the Duchess《公爵夫人之书》The Legend of Good Women3. From 1387 to 1400 (English period)Masterpiece: The Canterbury Tales1700lines—about half of Chaucer’s entire literary productionThe whole poem is a collection of tales and stories strung together according to a simple plan, which shows the influence of Boccaccio’s Decameron.◆The PrologueThe Prologue is a splendid masterpiece of realistic portrayal, the first of its kind in the history of English literature. We see the whole cavalcade, as it rides out on a fine spring morning.The pilgrims are people from various parts of England, representatives of various walks of life and social groups, with various interests, tastes and predilections. (preference)◆CommentsChaucer makes English the language of literature. The language he used, known as Middle English now, is vivid and smooth.Chaucer’s contribution to English poetry i s that he greatly enriched the rhyme schemes by introducing from France the rhymed stanzas of various types.◆TermsIambic Pentameter:五音步抑扬格It refers to a poetic line consisting of metrical foot in poetry consisting of one short or unstressed syllable followed by one long or stressed syllable.Heroic Couplet:英雄双韵体It refers to a pair of rhymed iambic pentameter lines. A stanza composed of two heroic couplets is called a heroic quatrain.Alliteration:头韵It refers to the repetition of similar sounds, usually consonants or consonant clusters, in a group of words. Sometimes, the term is limited to the repetition of initial consonant sounds.Unit 2 William Shakespeare (1564-1616)William Shakespeare is the most popular and most widely respected writer in all English literature. Comedy Tragedy Historical Play38/39 plays; 154 sonnets; 2 narrative poemsTwo tragedies:Romeo and Juliet；The Life and Death of Julius Caesar 《凯撒大帝》Great tragedies: Hamlet, Prince of DenmarkThe two long narrative poems Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece were respectively published in 1593 and 1594.His Sonnets were published in 1609. They are divided into two groups. One is about the conflicted lover for a young man of superior beauty and the other about the uncontrollable love for a mysterious “dark lady” of irresistible beauty.◆HamletHamlet is considered to be the summit of Shakespeare’s art.Hamlet i s the profoundest expression of Shakespeare’s humanism and his criticism of contemporary life. Major Characters:Hamlet, the Ghost, Claudius, Gertrude, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Polonius, Ophelia, Laertes◆Some of the Problems Troubling Hamlet1. His father was murdered by his uncle who has become the king of Denmark.2. His mother was married to his uncle right after his father’s death.3. The Ghost of his father urged him to seek revenge for his murder, but Hamlet was not quite sure that the ghost was h is father’s spirit, for he feared it might have been a devil sent to torment him.4. His former friends Rosencrantz & Guildenstern were dispatched by the king to spy on him (A betrayal of friendship! As a humanist he attached great importance to friendship).5. His girl friend Ophelia was sent as a tool to find out whether or not he was really mad (A betrayal of love!).◆What do you learn about Hamlet’s mental conflict and character through this soliloquy独白? Further AnalysisIn this soliloquy, Hamlet is detached, reflective, analytic and moral. His thoughts were philosophical rather than practical; his concerns were on the nature of things rather than any specific plans for actions; his feelings were of a deep sorrow over the injustice and vanity, “a sea of troubles” which brought pains into human life. His melancholy and procrastination are also revealed. Here he is pondering on the question of life and death.He is thinking of committing suicide. But he hesitates for he doubts whether death can give him rest and peace. Besides, he is not sure whether the world of death would be better than this one. He gives the reasons why he wants to commit suicide.Apart from his personal revenge (He hasn’t mentioned it in this soliloquy), he cannot bear the social injustices and grievances. He is conscious of his own weakness of thinking too much which makes him dilatory, allowing many opportunities to slip away.◆SonnetA fourteen-line lyric poem, usually written in rhymed iambic pentameter.It includes three Quatrains and a concluding Couplet, with rhyme scheme abab cdcd efef gg.Each quatrain deals with a different aspect of the subject and the couplet either summarizes the theme or makes a final comment.Unit 3 Francis Bacon (1561-1626)◆Literary CareerBacon’s works ma y be divided into three classes: the philosophical, the literary, and the professional works.1. Philosophical works:1605 The Advancement of Learning (in English)1620 Novum Organum (in Latin)2. Literary works:1597-1625 Essays(Of Truth, Of Death, Of Revenge, Of Friendship)3. Professional works:1630 Maxims of the Law1642 Reading on the Statue of Uses◆Of Studies“Of Studies” is the one of the shortest, but probably the most popular of Bacon’s 58 essays.1. It analyzes the major functions of studies and the different ways of pursuing studies by different people.2. It probes into the effects studies have upon human character.3. Forceful and persuasive, compact and precise, the essay best reveals Bacon’s mature attitude towards learning.The essay starts with the general use and benefits of studies, namely, delight, ornament and ability.Then it goes on to relate studies to experience and reveals the mutual-promoting relation between them.Bacon also points out that studies need to be treated properly and conducted in right ways.By doing it right, he reckons, our characters shall be improved in different aspects.The whole essay seems to be a manifesto of the Renaissance and a declaration of the beginning of the coming Age of Reason.◆CommentsBacon was a representative of the Renaissance in England.He was a prominent philosopher and scientist as well as an essayist.He contributed to the foundation of modern science with his scientific way of thinking and fresh observation rather than authority as a basis for knowledge.Although he wrote much in Latin, he was capable of varied and beautiful styles in English and there is a peculiar magnificence and picturesque-ness in much of his writing.Many of his sentences in Essays have assumed almost the character of proverbs.His Essays is the first example of that genre in English literature, which has become a landmark in the development of English prose.Unit 7 Jane Austen (1775-1817)◆Main works:《理智与情感》（Sense and Sensibility，1811)《傲慢与偏见》（Pride and Prejudice，1813)《曼斯菲尔德庄园》（Mansfield Park，1814)《爱玛》（Emma，1816)《诺桑觉寺》（Northanger Abby，1818)《劝导》（Persuasion，1818)◆Pride and PrejudiceThe whole story portrays life in the genteel rural society of the day, and focuses on the relationship between Elizabeth Bennet and the haughty Darcy. Their relationship begins with the initial misunderstandings and ends with their mutual enlightenment. Finally they learn that their first impressions, based on pride and prejudice, were incorrect.◆Major Characters:Mr. Bennet＋Mrs. Bennet五个女儿：Jane（Mr. Bingley）; Elizabeth（Mr. Darcy）; Mary; Kitty; Lydia（Mr. Wickham）Lady Catherine（Mr. Darcy的姨妈）Charlotte（Elizabeth最好的朋友，和Mr. Collins结婚）◆人物分析Mr. BennettHe is a queer, sarcastic man.Being the father of 5 daughters, he is destined the responsibility for the future of them. But when a prospective catch comes, he keeps reserved and calm; he even teases his wife inconsiderately when she urges him to visit the new comer.This and his other oddities can only be accounted for that Mr. Bennett is regretful for his own marriage and thus becomes hesitant about his daughters. But he is now at a loss to help it, since there is such a gossipy and garrulous（唠叨，爱管闲事的）wife in the house. That is why he rarely talks to his wife as an equal and prefers to have the privacy of his library, his country and his self-entertaining irony.After all, he is a lively character.Mrs. BennettShe fails by all relevant criteria.empty-headed, snobbish, inconsiderate, ill-mannered, vulgar, foolish…She has no feminine charm.As a parent, she is partly responsible for the superficial characters of her 3 younger daughters. Lydia is clearly in her mother’s mold.She thinks of marriage mainly as a means of social and economic advancement.JaneThe eldest of the Bennett girls has two distinguishing characteristics: she is very beautiful, and she is very unperceptive, or, she is so pure of heart and mind that she will go to any length not to believe evil of any one.On the most superficial level, the plot is the story of the romance of Jane and Bingley; but actually their story provides only the occasion for the real interest of the novel.Jane and Bingley exhibit neither pride nor prejudice. The themes of social status arise only indirectly in their case. Choice for them is never problematic. Their function rather is to show how people can suffer from the pride and prejudice.◆CharacterizationWhich of these methods does Jane Austen employ? Cite examples to illustrate your choices.1. Physical description of a character by the author;2. A description of another character;3. The use of dialogue or conversation;4. An explanation of a character’s inner thoughts;5. The behavior or actions of a character;6. The reactions of a character to another character or to a situation◆Theme: Love and MarriageIn this novel, Austen provides 4 different marriages. They are utilitarian marriage, sex-oriented marriage, moral marriage and perfect marriage.It is analyzed that one’s character reflects his/her marriage and attitudes towards love and social mores are reflected in their marriage’s formation.The conditions for love and marriage: material wealth and social position; beauty and passion; true love with consideration of the partner’s personal virtue as well as his economic and social status.It is wrong to marry just for money, or beauty; it is also wrong to marry without it.Elizabeth thinks she is happier than Jane.◆Writing StyleIn style, Austen is a classicism advocate, upholding those traditional ideas of order, reason, and gracefulness in novel writing. She writes within a very narrow sphere. The subject matter, the character range, the social setting and plot are all restricted to the provincial life of the late 18th century England, concerning three or four landed gentry families with their daily routine life.Irony（反讽）A contrast or an incongruity between what is stated and what is really meant, or between what is expected to happen and what actually happens.“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.”In this statement, Austen cleverly illustrates 3 points: she declares that the main subject of the novel will be courtship and marriage; she has established the humorous tone of the novel by taking a simple subject to elaborate and to speak intelligently of; she has prepared the reader for a chase in the novel of either a husband in search of a wife, or a woman in pursuit of a husband.The first line also defines Jane’s book as a piece of literature that connects itself to the 18th century period, in which, the emphasis on man in social environment was important, and the use of satire and wit was a common form of the 18th century literature.Unit 8 Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822)◆Ode (颂)1. It refers to a complex and often lengthy lyric poem, written in a dignified formal style on some lofty or serious subject.2. Odes are often written for a special occasion, to honor a person or a season or to commemorate an event.◆Ode to the West Wind1. Talking about the poem, Shelley says that it was his emotional response to a strong hailstorm in which he happened to be swallowed one autumn evening in 1819 on the Arno near Florence.2. Shelley sees, in the storm of the natural world, an apt metaphor for the storm of revolution in the human world. The poet had been feeling depressed at the triumph of the reactionary Holy Alliance over Napoleon and the French Revolution and was emphatic in his forecast that the storm of revolution would make a powerful comeback yet.◆The Form1. This ode contains five 14-lined stanzas of iambic pentameter, each containing four tercets and a closing couplet.2. The rhyme scheme in each part follows a pattern known as terza rima, the three-line rhyme scheme first used by Dante in his well-known The Divine Comedy.3.In the three-line terza rima stanza, the first and third lines rhyme, and the middle line does not; then the end sound of that middle line is employed as the rhyme for the first and third lines in the next stanza. The final couplet rhymes with the middle line of the last three-line stanza.4. Thus, each of the five stanzas follows the rhyme scheme aba, bcb, cdc, ded, ee.5. Function: This linked chain gives a feeling of onward motion and the verse has a breathless quality which is in keeping with the onward motion of the wind’s movement.Ⅰ哦，狂暴的西风，秋之生命的呼吸！你无形，但枯死的落叶被你横扫有如鬼魅碰到了巫师，纷纷逃避：黄的，黑的，灰的，红得像患肺痨，呵，重染疫疠的一群：西风呵，是你以车驾把有翼的种子催送到黑暗的冬床上，它们就躺在那里，像是墓中的死穴，冰冷，深藏，低贱，直等到春天，你碧空的姊妹吹起她的喇叭，在沉睡的大地上响遍，（唤出嫩芽，像羊群一样，觅食空中）将色和香充满了山峰和平原。
