英美文化概论课程论文

英美文化概论课程论文

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What I've Learnt in This Course

Author name: 杨坤student number : During this course，we have get the knowledge about

America and Britain of their history , language , literature , education , politics and so on .

United Kingdom covers only a small part area of the earth's surface , but its people share many

different origins and cultures including the Scots , the Welsh , the Irish and the English .

The English we use today has experienced too many changes . Old English of

Anglo-saxon ,although it is the ancestor of modern English ,appears quite different from today's

language .

During AD 587-1066 , They used both Latin and Germanic scripts but always called their language

Englisc .With the Norman invasion led by William the Conqueror in 1066 , norman French became

the official language of English .The following phases are Middle English , Modern

English ,Standard English .

British government system The monarchy is the oldest secular institution in the United

Kingdom .The British constitution is consisted of Acts of Parliament , the Prerogative of the

Grown , Conventions of the Constitution , Common Law and Parliamentary Privilege . There are

three elements in Parliament——the Crown , the House of Lord , the House of Commons .

English literature begins around the 8th century in a language called Old English or Anglo-saxon .

During this time the master work is Beowulf , a story of a great king who fought against monsters.

The middle English period , generally defined as 1100 to 1500 , sees the true beginning of the

magnificent heritage of English literature .During t his period many outstanding writers appeared

as like Chauccer and the Shakespeare . Chaucer was the first to use English creation of court

writer. He lived in London, use natural central England each county English, not dialect in

northern or south England . His works made great contribution to the formation of modern

English . when he was young , Chaucer translated part of the love poem "rose legend "into

English. His first work is "the duchess's book. "Especially Roy Russ and klein west Germany based

on boccaccio , show the great poem talent of Chaucer . His last longest and most famous work is

the Canterbury tales. His work in Britain has always been treated as the best until Shakespeare's

time. Shakespeare wrote tragic (Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, as king Lear) , comedy(The merchant

of Venice, a midsummer night's dream, happy, twelfth night) , tragicomedy(Romeo and

Juliet) ,historical play(Henry iv, Henry v, Henry vi, Henry viii, king John, Richard ii, Richard iii) and

sonnet (Lover's complaint, LuKeLi silk non-virgins remember, Venus and adonis, enthusiasm of

pilgrims, phoenix and doves) .

Everybody knows that the Britain is Christians . The church of England is one of the many

"Protestant" sects which broke away from the more ancient and more orthodox Roman Catholic

Church several centuries ago , during the great religious upheaval called the Reformation.

Being different from the Britain , the America has a very big land . In its vast area the United

States comprehends most of the physical condition known to men : heat

and cold , forest and desert , tropical-awamp and Arctic waste , mountains and endless plain , empty apace and megalopolis , and the world's largest river system .

Around the year 1000 , a party of Icelandic Vikings under Leif Ericson sailed to the eastern coast

of North America . 500 years later , the need for increased trade and anerror in navigation led to

another European encounter with America .

Since 1607 , England began build the permanent colonies, in 150 years, after a lot of settlers

poured in, settled in coastal regions, including many from Britain, it is partly from France,

Germany, the Netherlands and Ireland and other countries. Middle of the 18th century, 13 British

colonies had formed. Because of the climate and geographical environment, the 13 colonial area

formed the different economic , political system and ideas . On April 19 ,1775 , revolution

erupted .In 1782 30 November, Britain and America sign the Paris peace treaty, 1783 September

3rd, Britain formally recognized American independence .

Each American is subjected to two governments , that of his state and that of the Union , and

each has its own distinct function . In America each state made a constitution of its own and in its

own way .That is very different from us . Every state constitution divided political power among

three element .Each state entrusted the executive power to a governor . Finally , Each state had a