British Literature（一）Early and Medieval English Literature 早期及中世纪英国文学1.“Beowulf” 《贝奥武夫》The national epic of the English people,finished in 8th century.The hero narrative poem around the year 750.Up to 3000 lines.It’s the most ancient work of all the old English record.And it’s the most great work of the existing ancient literature in English.Also the earliest dialect epic in Europe.它是英国民族史诗，完成于8世纪，约750年左右的英雄叙事长诗，长达3000多行。
是以古英语记载的传说中最古老的一篇，是现存古英文文学中最伟大之作，也是欧洲最早的方言史诗。
2.Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400),the founder of English poetry. .His work The Canterbury Tales telling the clue of the story with a group of pilgrims from various social strata in their way to religious pilgrimage.Showing us clearly the life of people at that time.In all the 23 story, in addition to the two articles, the rest is the work of poetry genre.以一伙来自社会各个阶层的香客在宗教朝圣的路上讲述故事为线索，向我们清楚地展示了那个时代人们的生活。
在所有的23个故事中，除了两篇之外，其余都是诗歌体裁的作品。
（二）The Renaissance文艺复兴时期文学1. William Shakespeare （1564～1616）The great British Renaissance dramatist and poet.And the master of the European Renaissance humanism literature.Shakespeare left 37 plays including some general plays he co-wrote with others.In addition, he also wrote 154 sonnets and three or four long poem.英国文艺复兴时期伟大的剧作家、诗人，欧洲文艺复兴时期人文主义文学的集大成者。
莎士比亚给世人留下了37部戏剧，其中包括一些他与别人合写的一般剧作。
此外，他还写有154首十四行诗和三、四首长诗。
His working:The four great comedy：A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Merchant of Venice, As You Like It ,Twelfth NightThe four great tragedy: Hamlet ,Othello ,King Lear ,Macbethothers：Romeo and Juliet ,etc...2.Francis Bacon, The founder of English materialist philosophy and modern science. 培根（ 1561-1626 ）英国唯物主义和现代科学奠基人,散文家.Bacon is especially famous for his Essays.His representative work is Of Studies.《论学习》（三）The period of English Bourgeois Revolution and Restoration 资产阶级革命时期文学1. John Milton :Paradise Lost 《失乐园》2.John Bunyan :The Pilgrim’s Progress 《天路历程》（四）Eighteenth Century English Literature 十八世纪英国文学1.Daniel Defoe:Robinson Crusoe 《鲁滨逊漂流记》2.Jonathan Swift:Gulliver’s Travels 《格列佛游记》3.Henry Fielding, the Founder of the English Realistic Novel:Joseph Andrew 《约瑟夫安德鲁》4.William Black and Robert Burns: Poet（五）Romanticism in England浪漫主义时期文学1.William Wordsworth ：the representative poet of the early romanticism.2.George Gordon Byron ：Don Juan 《唐·璜》3.Percy Bysshe Shelley:Prometheus Unbound 《解放了的普罗米修斯》(If winter comes, can spring be far behind? )4. John Keats : Ode to a Nightingale 《夜莺颂》5.Jane Austen:Pride and Prejudice 《傲慢与偏见》（六）The Victorian Age 维多利亚时期文学1.Charles Dickens：Oliver Twist 《雾都孤儿》、A Tale of Two Cities《双城记》、David Copperfield 《大卫·科波菲尔》2.William Makepeace Thackeray：Vanity Fair 《名利场》3.George Eliot4.The Brontë SistersCharlotte Brontë：Jane Eyre《简·爱》Emily Brontë：Wuthering Heights 《呼啸山庄》Annie Brontë：Agnes Grey《艾格尼丝·格雷》5.The BrowningsHusband: Robert Browning ,Wife: Elizabeth Browning ,Sonnets from the Portuguese（七）Twentieth Century English Literature 20世纪英国文学1.Thomas Hardy：Tess of the d’Urbervilles《德伯家的苔丝》2.John Galsworthy3.Oscar Wilde：Poet，dramatist, novelist and essayist. The Happy Prince and Other Tales 《快乐王子和其他故事》4.George Bernard Shaw ：the most important English dramatist.Saint Joan《圣女贞德》5. D. H. Lawrence : Lady Chatterley’s Lover 《查泰来夫人的情人》6.Virginia Woolf: the stream of consciousness and the pioneer of the feminism and modernist novels.7.James Joyce :Ulysses《尤里西斯》also the stream of consciousness.My favorite writer-- Jane AustenThere are many famous writers or poets in British history.But my favorite writeris Jane Austen.She is really a great woman.Jane Austen was born in 1775 and died in 1817,only lived 42 years.That’s really a pity for such a genius.She likes reading and writing very much when she was just a young girl.As we all know,in 18th century,people looked down upon female writing,it was said that to have a wife who has a mind is considered not quite proper.In spite of that,she insisted on writing,and finally succeeded.Virginia Woolf thought highly of her, regarding her as "the most perfect artist among women."How admirable!” In fact,not only did I like her books,but also the experience of her life.I will introduce my favorite book at first. Most of us are familiar with Jane’s works such as Sense And Sensibility,Emma and Pride And Prejudice.And I like Pride And Prejudice most.Lord Macaulay ever said:“Shakespeare has had neither equal nor second. But among the writers who, in the po int which we have noticed, have approached nearest to the manner of the great master we have no hesitation in placing Jane Austen, a woman of whom England is justly pr oud. She has given us a multitude of characters, all, in a certain sense, commonplace, all such as we meet every day. ”From that,we can find that how significant Jane’s works are in British literature,and maybe in world’s literature.As far as Pride And Prejudice,it’s the most representative work on the theme of love and marriage,and it shows the view that marriage should combine material and spirit together.The story follows the main character Elizabeth Bennet as she deals with the issues of manners,upbringing,morality,education and marriage in the society of early 19th century England landed gentry.Elizabeth and Darcy first met at a ball.But they were both not satisfied with each other at first sight because of Darcy’s pride and Elizabeth’s prejudice.However,as time passed by,they fell in love with each other.And the young couple finally got married not afraid of Darcy’s aunt’s oppose and lived a happy life ever after.Then,let’s talk about Jane Austen’s life,and it must be her love story and her view of marriage in real life that I like most.I have watched the movie Becoming Jane Austin,and there is no doubt that I favor Jane very much.She fell in love with Lefroy when she was 20,though he was poor she still willing to marry him.But due to many reasons Lefroy married someone else.At that time,Jane’s rich cousin ask her to marry him,but she refused,because she doesn’t love him.As a result,during Jane’s 42 years’ life,she didn’t get married.And it shows her belief that a marriage without love will never be happy.As is reflected in the film,she was an independent woman who endeavored to live by her pen instead of marring a rich man.And what makes me desire most is her spirit,people valued the propriety highly in that time.But Jane played cricket ball with the male,strolled around the fair and even eloped with her lover.How commendable it is at that time!All in all,Jane Austen is the most talent female writer I have ever seen and I intended to learn more about her.。
