[英语考试]《英美文学选读》串讲讲义
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《英美文学选读》复习指导资料《英美文学选读》复习指导资料一. 课程介绍:课程介绍:本课程由英国文学和美国文学两个部分组成。
主要内容包括英美文学发展史及代表作家的简要介绍和作品选读。
及代表作家的简要介绍和作品选读。
文学史部分从英美两国历史、文学史部分从英美两国历史、文学史部分从英美两国历史、语言、语言、语言、文化发文化发展的角度,简要介绍英美两国文学各个历史时代的主要历史背景、文学文化思潮、文学流派、社会政治、经济、文化等对文学发展的影响,主要作家的文学生涯,创作思想,艺术特色及其代表作品的主题结构、人物刻画、语言风格、思想意义等。
选读部分主要接选了英美文学史上各个时期重要作家的代表作品,包括诗歌、戏剧、小说、散文等。
戏剧、小说、散文等。
二. 《英美文学选读》的考核目标,按照识记,领会,应用规定应当达到的能力层次要求。
三个层次呈递进关系,其含义是:识记:识记: 有关的概念、定义、知识点等能够记住领会:领会: 在识记的基础上,能够把握基本概念、基本方法和彼此之间的关系和区别和区别应用了在领会的基础上,能运用本课程的基本理论,能运用本课程的基本理论,基本知识和方法来分析基本知识和方法来分析英美文学作品,并能用英语正确表达。
Part 1 English Literature An Introduction to Old and Medieval English Literature 一.重点:有关这部分的文学史内容一.重点:有关这部分的文学史内容1.古代英国文学和中世纪英国文学的起始阶段2.英国文学史上的第一部民族史诗----Beowulf 3.中世纪文学的主要文学形式-----Romance 4.Geoffrey Chaucer 的文学贡献的文学贡献二.练习:二.练习:1. Choose the best answer for each blank. 1). The period of ______ English literature begins from about 450 to 1066, the year of ______. A . Old----Renaissance A. Old----Renaissance B. Middle---- the Norman Conquest of England C . Middle ---- Renaissance C. Middle ---- Renaissance D. Old---- the Norman Conquest of England 2).. 2).. The The The Medieval Medieval Medieval period period period in in in English English English literature literature literature extends extends extends from from from 1066 1066 1066 up up up to to to the the ______ century. A . mid-13th A. mid-13th B. mid-14th C. mid-15th D. mid-16th 3). Beowulf, a typical example of Old English poetry, is regarded today as the national ______ of the Anglo-Saxons. A . sonnet A. sonnet B. essay C. epic D. novel 4). 4). In The Canterbury Tales, ______ presented to In The Canterbury Tales, ______ presented to us us a comprehensive realistic a comprehensive realistic picture picture of of of the the the English English English society society society of of of his his his time time time and and and created created created a a a whole whole whole gallery gallery gallery of of of vivid vivid characters from all walks of life. A. A. Geoffrey Geoffrey Chaucer Chaucer B. B. William Shakespeare Shakespeare C. C. Francis Bacon D. William Langland 5). 5). For For For the the the Renaissance, Renaissance, Renaissance, ______ ______ ______ was was was regarded regarded regarded as as as the the the English English English Homer. Homer. His reputation reputation has has has been been been securely securely securely established established established as as as one one one of of of the the the best best best English English English poets poets poets for for for his his wisdom, humor and ______. A . Geoffrey Chaucer----wits A. Geoffrey Chaucer----wits B. William Shakespeare----wits C . Geoffrey Chaucer----humanity C. Geoffrey Chaucer----humanity D. William Shakespeare----humanity 6). After the conquest of 1066, three languages co-existed in England. They are ______, ______ and ______. A . Old English, Greek, Latin A. Old English, Greek, Latin B. Old English, French, Latin C . Old English, Greek, French C. Old English, Greek, French D. English, Greek, French 7). 7). Geoffrey Geoffrey Geoffrey Chaucer Chaucer Chaucer is is is the the the greatest greatest greatest writer writer writer of of of the the the Medieval Medieval Medieval period period period in in in English English literature. In “The Legend of Good Women”, he used for the first time in English the rhymed couplet of iambic pentameter which is to be called later the ______. A . couplet A. couplet B. blank verse C. heroic couplet D. epic 8). 8). Thematically Thematically Thematically the the the poem poem poem “Beowulf” “Beowulf” “Beowulf” presents presents presents a a a vivid vivid vivid picture picture picture of of of how how how the the primitive people wage heroic struggle against the hostile forces of the ______ world under a wise and mighty ______. A. A. spiritual----hero B . B. natural----leader C. spiritual----god D. natural----monster 9). It can be said that though essentially still a medieval writer, Geoffrey Chaucer bore marks of humanism and anticipated a new ______ to come. A . man A. man B. theory C. doctrine D. era 10). 10). Geoffrey Geoffrey Geoffrey Chaucer Chaucer Chaucer introduced introduced introduced from from from France France France the the the rhymed rhymed rhymed stanzas stanzas stanzas of of of various various types to English poetry to replace the Old English ______ verse. A . rhymed A. rhymed B. alliterative C. social D. visionary 2. Explain the following literal terms. 1). Romance 2). Heroic Couplet 3). Epic 3. Answer the following questions. 1). How many groups do the Old English poetry poetry divided into? What divided into? What are they? Which group does Beowulf belong to? Why? 2). What is the contribution of Geoffrey Chaucer to English literature? Chapter1. The The Renaissance Period一.重点一.重点前言部分前言部分1. 文艺复兴的起源,起始时间,内容及特征2. 人文主义的有关主张及对文学的影响人文主义的有关主张及对文学的影响3. 文艺复兴时期的主要文学形式及其特征练习:练习:Renaissance Period 1. Choose the best answer for each blank. 1). 1). The The The Renaissance, Renaissance, Renaissance, in in in essence, essence, essence, is is is a a a historical historical historical period period period in in in which which which the the the European European ______ thinkers and scholars made attempts to get rid of those old feudalist ideas in medieval medieval Europe, Europe, Europe, to to to introduce introduce introduce new new new ideas ideas ideas that that that expressed expressed expressed the the the interests interests interests of of of the the the rising rising bourgeoisie, and to recover the purity of the early church form the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church. A . Greek and Roman A. Greek and Roman B. humanist C. religious D. loyal 2). 2). Generally, Generally, Generally, the the the ______ ______ ______ refers refers refers to to to the the the period period period between between between the the the 14th 14th 14th and and and mid-17th mid-17th centuries. centuries. It It It first first first started started started in in in Italy, Italy, with with the the the flowering flowering flowering of of of painting, painting, painting, sculpture sculpture sculpture and and literature. From Italy the movement went to embrace the rest of Europe. A. Medieval Period B . B. Renaissance C. Old English Period D . D. Romantic Period 3). ______ is is the the the essence essence of of the the the Renaissance. Renaissance. Thomas More, Christopher Marlowe and _______ are the best representatives of the English humanists. A. Humanity---- William Shakespeare B. Humanism-----Francis Bacon C. Humanity---- Geoffrey Chaucer D. Humanism----William Shakespeare 4). The Elizabethan ______ is the real mainstream of the English Renaissance. The The most most most famous famous famous dramatists dramatists dramatists in in in the the the Renaissance Renaissance Renaissance England England England are are are Christopher Christopher Christopher Marlowe, Marlowe, William Shakespeare, and ______. A . novel--- Geoffrey Chaucer A. novel--- Geoffrey Chaucer B. poetry----Francis Bacon C . drama----Ben Jonson C. drama----Ben Jonson D. drama----Geoffrey Chaucer 5). Humanism sprang from the endeavor to restore a medieval reverence for the antique antique authors authors authors and and and is is is frequently frequently frequently taken taken taken as as as the the the beginning beginning beginning of of of the the the Renaissance Renaissance Renaissance on on on its its conscious, intellectual side, for the Greek and ______ civilization was based on such a conception that ______ is the measure of all things. A . Roman ---- moral A. Roman ---- moral B. French---- reason C. Roman---- man D. French---- God 6).One of the major result of the Reformation in England was the fact that the Bible in English was placed in every church and services were held in English instead of ______ so that people could understand. A. Latin B. French C. Greek D. Anglo-Saxon 7). 7). Wyatt, Wyatt, Wyatt, in in in the the the Renaissance Renaissance Renaissance period, period, period, introduced introduced introduced the the the Petrarchan Petrarchan Petrarchan ______ ______ ______ into into England, while Surrey brought in ______ verse. A. drama----free B . B. sonnet----blank C . C. terzarima----blank D. couplet----free 8). 8). In In In the the the early early early stage stage stage of of of the the the English English English Renaissance, Renaissance, Renaissance, poetry poetry poetry and and and ______ ______ ______ were were were the the most outstanding forms and they were carried on especially by William Shakespeare and Ben Jonson. A. fiction B. dramatic fiction C. poetic drama D. novel 9). 9). By By By emphasizing emphasizing emphasizing the the the dignity dignity dignity of of of human human human beings beings beings and and and the the the importance importance importance of of of the the present life, ______ voiced their beliefs that man did not only have the right to enjoy the beauty of this life, but had the ability to perfect himself and to perform wonders. A. humanists B. Protestants C. Catholics D. playwrights 10). ______ was the first important English essayist. He was also the founder of modern science in England. A . A. A. Edmund Edmund Edmund Spenser Spenser B. B. Christopher Christopher Christopher Marlowe Marlowe C. C. Francis Francis Francis Bacon Bacon D. Ben Jonson 2. Explain the following literal terms. 1). the Renaissance Period 2). blank verse 3). Humanism 3. Answer the following questions. 1). 1). Make Make Make a a a comment comment comment on on on the the the influence influence influence of of of Italian Italian Italian literary literary literary works works works upon upon upon the the literature in the Renaissance England. 2). Make a comment on humanism 3). 3). What are the typical characteristics of literary works produced in Renaissance England? 文艺复兴时期的主要作家。
5.1真题分析2、第2本书《美国文学简史》:5.3重点知识点汇总分析(大纲)第七部分大学英语语言文学专业英美文学与中文作文基础知识点框架梳理及基础阶段,复习时间是从5月份至9月份或10月份,这一阶段需要大家认真看完《英国文学史》与《美国文学史》,理清文学史的线索,例如文学史的大致分期,每一阶段的大致时间,社会背景,思想背景及每一阶段的代表人物及其代表作。
文学史这两本书每本至少看两遍。
文学史的复习方法主要以熟悉知识点为主,脑海中线索清晰,重点部分最好能在理解的基础上识记。
文学史的复习时应注意归纳总结出一下内容:●英美文学史的大致分期(整合标题)、每一时期大致的时代背景及思想特征.●记住每一时期最重要的作家及作品,知道文学的基本常识,例如文学术语。
●主要作品的故事情节,主要人物,人物形象,主题思想,作品评价。
A Survey of English History ChangYaoxinA Glossary of Literary Terms:For the convenience of discussion, historians divide the continuity of English literature into segments of time which are called “p eriods”. The e xact numbers, dates and names of these periods vary, but the list below conforms on each period, in chronological order.450-1066 Old English (or Anglo-Saxon)Period Chapter11066-1500 Middle English Period Chapter1、2文学成就不是很高。
文学形式:骑士浪漫传奇;抒情歌谣;神秘剧、传奇剧及道德剧骑士浪漫传奇:《亚瑟王和他的圆桌骑士》、《高文爵士和绿衣骑士》、《查理大帝的传奇》、《亚历山大的传奇》等抒情歌谣:短诗,大多数比较悲哀、凄凉,例如英国的Robin Hood神秘剧:取材于《圣经》中的旧约全书,上帝耶和华传奇剧:《新约》,基督1500-1660 The Renaissance(or Early Modern) Chapter3-4思想、文化、文学运动,最初出现在意大利,然后遍及其他国家。
一莎士比亚In 1593 and 1594, he published two narrative poems(叙事诗), Venus and Adonis(维纳斯和安东尼斯) and The Rape of Lucrece(鲁克丽斯受辱记).Four period:First: The first period of Shakespeare's dramatic career was one of apprenticeship(学徒期). He wrote five history plays: Henry VI, Parts I, II, and III(亨利六世上,中,下),Richard III(理查三世), and Titus Andronicus(泰托斯.安东尼); and four comedies: The Comedy of Errors(错误的喜剧), The Two Gentlemen of Verona(维洛那二绅士), The Taming of the Shrew(训悍记), and Love's Labour's Lost(爱的徒劳).Second: In the second period, Shakespeare's style and approach became highly individualized. By constructing a complex pattern between different characters and between appearance and reality, Shakespeare made subtle comments on a variety of human foibles. In this period he wrote five histories: Richard II(理查二世), King John(约翰王), Henry IV, Parts I and II(亨利四世上部和下部), and Henry V(亨利五世); six comedies: A Midsummer Night's Dream(仲夏夜之梦), The Merchant of Venice(威尼斯商人),Much Ado About Nothing(无事生非), As You Like It(皆大欢喜), Twelfth Night(第十二夜), and The Merry Wives of Windsor(温莎的风流娘们儿); and two tragedies: Romeo and Juliet(罗密欧与朱丽叶) and Julis Caesar(裘里斯.凯撒).Third: Shakespeare's third period includes his greatest tragedies and his so-called dark comedies. The tragedies of this period are Hamlet(哈姆雷特), Othello(奥赛罗), King Lear(李尔王), Macbeth(麦克白), Angony and Cleopatra(安东尼与克利奥佩特拉), Troilus and Cressida(克利奥拉纳斯), and Coriolanus(). The two comedies are All's Well That Ends Wells(终成眷属)and Measure for Measure(一报还一报).Last: The last period of Shakespeare's work includes his principal romantic tragicomedies(浪漫悲喜剧): Pericles(伯利克里), Cymbeline(辛白林), The Winter's Tale(冬天的故事) and The Tempest(暴风雨); and his two final plays: Henry VIII(亨利八世) and The Two Noble Kinsmen(两位贵族亲戚).Shakespeare's authentic non-dramatic poetry consist of two long narrative poems: Venus and Adonis(维纳斯和安东尼斯) and The Rape of Lucrece(鲁克丽斯受辱记), and his sequence of 154 sonnets. Shakespeare's sonnets are the only direct expression of the poet's own feelings.With three exceptions (99,126,154) Shakespeare writes his sonnets in the popular English form, first fully developed by Surrey, of three quatrains and a couplet(三节四行诗加一节偶句).Shakespeare's history plays are mainly written under the principle that national unity under a mighty and just sovereign is a necessity(在一个强大英明的君主统治下的国家,统一是非常必要的).The three history plays on the reign of Henry VI are the beginning of Shakespeare's epic treatment.The first and second parts of Henry IV are undoubtedly the most widely read among his history plays. It reveals a troubled reign in the 15th century. Shakespeare presents the patriotic spirit when mourning over the loss of English territories in France. He also dramatizes the class struggle between the oppressors and the oppressored during Jack Cade's rising of 1450. Furthermore, he condemns the War of the Roses waged by the feudal barons in which innocent people were killed. Here Shakespeare has liberated himself from any imitations of the contempory example .In his romantic comedies, Shakespeare takes an optimistic attitude toward love and youth, and the romantic elements are brought into full play.(在他的浪漫喜剧中,莎士比亚以乐观的态度对待爱情与青春,并将流浪色彩渲染到极致。
自考英语本科《英美文学选读》英国现代主义一天全掌握The Modern Period现代主义时间:1914-194背景background:1) Natural and social sciences advanced greatly, capitalism came into its monopoly stage, the gap between the poor and the rich was deepened;2) The First World War and The Second World War happened, which influenced people greatly;3) All kinds of philosophical ideas were produced.特点characters:1) Modernism rose out of scepticism and disillusionment of capitalism;2) The French symbolism heralded modernism;3) Modernism takes the irrational philosophy and the theory of psycho-analysis as its theoretical base;4) The major theme of Modernism are the distorted, alienated and ill relationship between man and society, man and nature, man and man, man and himself;5) The Modernists concern about the private, subjective, inner individual and the tone is disillusioned.影响这一时期的哲学思想philosophical ideas influenced Modernism:1) Karl Marx’s scientific socialism;2) Darwin’s t heory evolution -the social Darwinism "survival of the fittest";3) Einstein’s theory of relativity;4) Freud’s analytical psychology;5) The irrational philosophy.Why Modernism is different from Realism? 现代主义与现实主义的区别In many aspects, Modernism acts against Realism;1) Modernism rejects rationalism, while Realism stresses it;2) Modernism includes internal, subjective, psychological world, while Realism stresses external, objective, and material world;3) Modernism advocates new forms and new techniques, and it casts away all the traditional elements such as: story, character, etc. while Realism stresses it.4) Modernism works are called anti-novel, anti-poetry, anti-drama etc.萧伯纳George Bernard Shawa brilliant dramatist杰出的戏剧家Shaw wroted more than 50 plays《鳏夫的房产》、《康帝坦》、《华伦夫人的职业》、《凯撒和克里奥特拉》、《圣女贞德》、《人与超人》、《皮克马利瓮》、《回到麦修色拉》、《苹果车》主要作品介绍:His criticism was witty, biting, and often brilliant.Widower's House 鳏夫的房产is a grotesquely荒诞地realistic exposure of slum贫民窟landlordism地主所有制; Mrs Warren's Profession华伦夫人的职业, written in 1893 but published 5 years later, is a play about the economic oppression of women对妇女们经济上的压迫. These two can be regarded as the typical representatives of Shaw's early plays.The Apple Cart苹果车(1929) is about politics; John Bull's Other Island 约翰布尔的另外岛屿(1904) is about racial problems;Too True to Be Good难以置信(1932) is a better play of the later period, with the author's almost nihilistic betterness on the subjects of the cruelty and madness of WorldWar I and the aimlessness and disillusion of the young.主题是对残忍疯狂的第一次世界大战近乎虚无主义的嘲讽和对幻灭失落的青年一代的忧伤。
4*4’英国2218’B1分)C2A1分)2>1—2分)3>2—3分)4>1—2分)5>3—4分)1>时间+来源(0.5分—1分)3>2—3分)4> 1分)5>0.5—1分)6>0.5—1分)3>1—2分)4>2—3分)5>1—2分)6>0.5—1分)介绍论述题中关于作1>0.5—1分)2>1—2分)1>0.5—1分)2>1—2分)literary trend1798-1832Lyrical Ballads in 1798Walter Scott's death in 1832.is a literary trend.It prevailed in(place)during the period of xxxx-xxxx,beginning with xxxx in (time),ending with in(time).was greatly influenced by the.Generally speaking, the expressed the ideology and sentiment of those classes......The great writers in this period are............时期th to mid-17th )时期 1.<<>>2.3.1.2. 1.2.3.pun 3.英国文学 1.2.3.1.英国小说之父the father of English Novels2.讽刺satire1.2.3. 1.2.details细腻英国文学Period Period1836-1901 1.2.3.T ·S4.1.2.critical realist 3.4.3.4.5. 1.2.1.2.1.2.3.4.5.6.现实Period 美国文学1.2.3.4.5.老人与海6.现代Period1.2.3.4.浪漫Period1.Old English Literature-(450——1066封建建立)a. Religious-——b. Secular--heroic age---<Beowulf>盎格鲁撒克逊人的史诗---a protector of people, fight against the nature.————•••例题例题【正确答案:B】Background:a by a①The of&②The new in&the&本质与主张③The in&to get rid of to new ideas that the the&to the of the early from theEngland①---②都铎)Traits of humanistic poetry: dramatistsWriters:1.早期---andPetrarchan)2.中期the Ageblank verse)3.后期抽象founder of modern science)Life381542I.5 history plays and 4 comedies. (apprenticeship 学徒时期)•5•III>;and.•4部.•,II. 5 history plays ,6 comedies and 2 tragedies (style became highly individualized)•5II>,I,II,V>•6()••to•and•and loyal•其他•II. 5 history plays ,6 comedies and 2 tragedies (style became highly individualized) 2III. The Third stage---peak of his creation, included his greatest tragedies and his so-called dark comedies: ---Greatest four tragedies:<Hamlet><King Lear><Othello><Macbeth>III. The Third stage---peak of his creation, included his greatest tragedies and his so-called dark comedies:---Theme: The impossibility of certainty; the complexity of action;the mystery of death;the nation as a diseased body.blood-and-thunderand butIV. Principal Romantic tragicomedies: <The Tempest>①.②forth byto the one he人物塑造独白情节结构语言风格Paradise Lost<Lycidas挽歌<Areopagitica><Paradise LostThe is the“Fall of Man”.流放<Paradise Regained诱惑<Samson Agonistes>①②③④⑤例题例题【正确答案:B】background:Time:Background:Traits:Thoughts:节俭迷信EnlightmentLiterature ideas:教导.<A Modest ProposalLiterature ideas:Schools of literature:Daniel Defoe, Samuel Richardson, Henry Fielding, Laurence Sterne, Tobias George Smollett, and Oliver Goldsmith.2.Gothic novels ⋯⋯⋯Schools of literature:Daniel DefoeThe True born Englishman wonThe Review<Robinson Crusoe>②③坚韧④the lower-class people.选读<Robinson Crusoe> Theme:①②③创作风格:①②③方言。
英美文学选读要点总结精心整理[英国』Chapter1 The Renaissance period(14世纪至十七世纪中叶)文艺复兴1. Humanism is the essence of the Renaissance.人文主义是文艺复兴的核心。
2. the Greek and Roman civilization was based on such a conception that man is the measure of all things.人文主义作为文艺复兴的起源是因为古希腊罗马文明的基础是以“人”为中心,人是万物之灵。
3. Renaissance humanists found in then classics a justification to exalt human nature and came to see that human beings were glorious creatures capable of individual development in the direction of perfection, and that the world they inhabited was theirs not to despise but to question, explore, and enjoy.人文主义者们却从古代文化遗产中找到充足的论据,来赞美人性,并开始注意到人类是崇高的生命,人可以不断发展完善自己,而且世界是属于他们的,供他们怀疑,探索以及享受。
4. Thomas More, Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare are the best representatives of the English humanists.托马斯.摩尔,克利斯朵夫.马洛和威廉.莎士比亚是英国人文主义的代表。
5. Wyatt introduced the Petrarchan sonnet into England.怀亚特将彼特拉克的十四行诗引进英国。
英美文学选读英美文学选读1.课程性质与学习目的英美文学选读课是全国高等教育自学考试英语语言文学专业本科段的必修课程,是为培养和检验自学应考者英美文学的基本理论知识和理解、鉴赏英美文学原著的能力而设置的一门专业理论课程.设置本课程旨在使英语自学者对英美两国文学形成与发展的全貌有一个大概的了解;并通过阅读具有代表性的英美文学作品,理解作品的内容,学会分析作品的艺术特色并努力掌握正确评价文学作品的标准和方法.由于本课程以作家作品为重点,因此考生需仔细阅读原作.通过阅读,努力提高语言水平,增强对英美文学原著的理解,特别是对作品中表现的社会生活和人物思想感情的理解,提高他们阅读文学作品的能力和鉴赏水平.2.课程内容与考核目标本课程的考试要求为全日制普通高等学校英语语言文学专业《英美文学选读》课程本科的结业水平.课程的内容和考核目标是根据本课程的性质、学习目的以及自学考试的特点编制而成的.本课程由英国文学和美国文学两部分组成.主要内容包括英美文学发展史及代表作家的简要介绍和作品选读.文学史部分从英美两国历史、语言、文化发展的角度,简要介绍英美两国文学各个历史断代的主要历史背景,文学文化思潮,文学流派,社会政治、经济、文化等对文学发展的影响,主要作家的文学生涯、创作思想、艺术特色及其代表作品的主题结构、人物刻画、语言风格、思想意义等;选读部分主要节选了英美文学史上各个时期重要作家的代表作品,包括诗歌、戏剧、小说、散文等,详见全国高等教育自学考试指导委员会编写的指定用书《英美文学选读》〔X伯香主编,外语教学与研究1999年12月第2版〕.根据本课程考试的大纲,凡要求"识记"的内容,所涉及的知识和理论都与考核点直接相关,考生应熟知其概念和有关知识,理解其原理,并能在语言环境中予以辨认.凡要求"领会"的内容,必须做到掌握有关知识和理论.凡要求"应用"的内容,必须做到在掌握有关知识和理论的基础上使之转换为能力,即能用有关知识和理论来分析解决英美文学中的相关问题,并指导作品的阅读.凡要求"一般识记"的内容,所涉及的知识和理论,一般不直接作为考核时命题的内容,但由于这些内容对于其他相关知识和理论以及作品阅读能力的考核有直接或间接的影响,因此要求考生在自学过程对这些内容也要有所了解.英美文学选读第1章<英国文学>文艺复兴时期第1节Edmund Spenser第2节Christopher Marlowe第3节William Shakespeare第4节Francis Bacon第5节John Donne第6节John Milton第2章新古典主义时期第1节John Bunyan第2节Alexander Pope第3节Daniel Defoe第4节Jonathan Swift第5节Henry Fielding第6节Samuel Johnson第3章浪漫主义时期第1节William Blake第2节William Wordsworth第3节Samuel Taylor Coleridge第4节George Gordon Byron第5节Percy Bysshe Shelley第6节John Keats第7节Jane Austen第4章维多利亚时期第1节Charles Dickens第2节The Bronte Sisters第3节Alfred Tennyson第4节Robert Browning第5节George Eliot第6节Thomas Hardy第5章现代时期第1节George Bernard Shaw第2节John Galsworthy第3节William Butler Yeats第4节T. S. Eliot第5节D. H. Lawrence第6节James Joyce第6章<美国文学>浪漫主义时期第1节Washington Irving第2节Ralph Waldo Emerson第3节Nathaniel Hawthorne第4节Walt Whitman第5节Herman Melville第7章现实主义时期第1节Mark Twain第2节Henry James第3节Emily Dickinson第4节Theodore Dreiser第8章现代时期第1节Ezra Pound第2节Robert Lee Frost第3节Eugene O'Neill第4节F. Scott Fitzgerald第5节Ernest Hemingway第6节William Faulkner<英国文学>文艺复兴时期本章简介<>The Renaissance marks a transition from the medieval to the modern world. Generally, it refers to the period between the 14th and mid-17th centuries. It first started in Italy, with theflowering of painting, sculpture and literature. From Italy the movement went to embrace the rest of Europe. The Renaissance, which means rebirth or revival, is actually a movement stimulated by a series of historical events, such as the rediscovery of ancient Roman and Greek culture, the new discoveries in geography and astrology, the religious reformation and the economic expansion. The Renaissance, therefore, in essence, is a historical period in which the European humanist thinkers and scholars made attempts to get rid of those old feudalist ideas in medieval Europe, to introduce new ideas that exssed the interests of the rising bourgeoisie, and to recover the purity of the early church from the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church. The Renaissance was slow in reaching England not only because of England's separation from the Continent but also because of its domestic unrest. The century and a half following the death of Chaucer is the most volcanic period of English history. The war-like nobles seized the power of England and turned it into self-destruction. The Wars of Roses are examples to show how the energy of England was violently destroying itself. The frightful reign of Richard III marked the end of civil wars, making possible a new growth of English national feelings under the popular Tudors. But it was not until the reign of Henry VIII <from 1509 to 1547> that the Renaissance really began to show its effect in England. With Henry VIII's encouragement, the Oxford reformers, scholars and humanists introduced classical literature to England. Education, based upon the classics and the Bible, was revitalized, and literature, already much read during the 15th century, became even more popular. Thus began the English Renaissance, which was perhaps England's Golden Age, especially in literature. Among the literary giants were Shakespeare, Spenser, Johnson, Sidney, Marlowe, Bacon and Donne. The English Renaissance had no sharp break with the past. Attitudes and feelings which had been characteristic of the 14th and 15th centuries persisted well down into the era of Humanism and Reformation. Humanism is the essence of the Renaissance. It sprang from the endeavor to restore a medieval reverence for the antique authors and is frequently taken as the beginning of the Renaissance on its conscious, intellectual side, for the Greek and Roman civilization was based on such a conception that man is the measure of all things. Through the new learning, humanists not only saw the arts of splendor and enlightenment, but the human values resented in the works. In the medieval society, people as individuals were largely subordinated to the feudalist rule without any freedom and independence; and in medieval theology, people's relationships to the world about them were largely reduced to a problem of adapting to or avoiding the circumstances of earthly life in an effort to pare their souls for a future life. But Renaissance humanists found in the classics a justification to exalt human nature and came to see that human beings were glorious creatures capable of individual development in the direction of perfection, and that the world they inhabited was theirs not to despise but to question, explore, and enjoy. Thus, by emphasizing the dignity of human beings and the importance of the sent life, they voiced their beliefs that man did not only have the right to enjoy the beauty of this life, but had the ability to perfect himself and to perform wonders. Humanism began to take hold in England when the Dutch scholar Desiderius Erasmus <1466-1536> came to teach the classical learning, first at Oxford and then at Cambridge. Thomas More, Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare are the best resentatives of the English humanists. The long reign of Henry VIII was marked not only by a steady increase in the national power at home and abroad but also by the entrance of the religious reformation from the Continent. It was Martin Luther <1483-1546>, a German Protestant, who initiated the Reformation. Luther believed that every true Christian was his own priest and was en学习指导d to intert the Bible for himself. Encouraged by Luther's aching, reformers fromnorthern Europe vitalized the Protestant movement, which was seen as a means to recover the purity of the early church from the corruption and superstition of the Middle Ages. The colorful and dramatic ritual of the Catholic Church was simplified. Indulgences, pilgrimages, and other practices were condemned. In the early stage of the continental Reformation, Henry VIII was regarded as a faithful son of the Catholic Church and named "Defender of the Faith" by the Pope. Only his need for a legitimate male heir, and hence a new wife, led him to cut ties with Rome. But the common English people had long been dissatisfied with the corruption of the church and inspired by the reformers' ideas from the Continent. So they welcomed and sup-ported Henry's decision of breaking away from Rome. When Henry VIII declared himself through the approval of the Parliament as the Sume Head of the Church of England in 1534, the Reformation in England was in its full swing. One of the major results was the fact that the Bible in English was placed in every church and services were held in English instead of Latin so that people could understand. In the brief reign of Edward VI, Henry's son, the reform of the church's doctrine and teaching was carried out. But after Mary ascended the throne, there was a violent swing to Catholicism. However, by the middle of Elizabeth's reign, Protestantism had been firmly established, with a certain extent of compromise between Catholicism and Protestantism. The religious reformation was actually a reflection of the class struggle waged by the new rising bourgeoisie against the feudal class and its ideology. Strong national feeling in the time of the Tudors gave a great incentive to the cultural development in England. English schools and universities were established in place of the old monasteries. With classical culture and the Italian humanistic ideas coming into England, the English Renaissance began flourishing. And one of the men who made a great contribution in this respect was William Caxton, for he was the first person who introduced printing into England. In his lifetime, Caxton printed about one hundred books in English, including Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales <1483> and Malory's Morte Darthur <1485>. Thus, for the first time in history it was possible for a book or an idea to reach the whole nation in a speedy way. With the introduction of printing, an age of translation came into being. And lots and lots of continental literary works both ancient and modern were translated and printed in English. For instance, Plutarch's Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans was translated by North, Ovid's etamorphoses by Golding, Homer's The Iliad by Chapman, and Montaigne's Essays by Florio. As a result, the introduction of printing led to a commercial market for literature and provided numerous books for the English people to read, thus making everything ready for the appearance of the great Elizabethan writers. The first period of the English Renaissance was one of imitation and assimilation. Academies after the Italian type were founded. And Petrarch was regarded as the fountainhead of literature by the English writers. For it was Petrarch and his successors who established the language of love and sharply distinguished the love poetry of the Renaissance from its counterparts in the ancient world. Wyatt and Surrey began engraving the forms and graces of Italian poetry upon the native stock. While the former introduced the Petrarchan sonnet into England, the latter brought in blank verse, i.e. the unrhymed iambic pentameter line. Sidney followed with the sestina and terza rima and with various experiments in classic meters. And Marlowe gave new vigor to the blank verse with his "mighty lines. "From Wyatt and Surrey onwards the goals of humanistic poetry are: skillful handling of conventions, force of language, and, above all, the development of a rhetorical plan in which meter, rhyme, scheme, imagery and argument should all be combined to frame the emotional theme and throw it into high relief. Poetry was to be a concentrated exercise of the mind, of craftsmanship, and of learning. Spenser'sThe Shepheardes Calender showed how the pastoral convention could be adopted to a variety of subjects, moral or heroic, and how the rules of decorum, or fitness of style to subject, could be applied through variations in the diction and metrical scheme. In "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love," Marlowe spoke with a voice so innocent that it would be very difficult for us to connect it with the voice in his tragedies. In the early stage of the Renaissance, poetry and poetic drama were the most outstanding literary forms and they were carried on especially by Shakespeare and Ben Jonson. But the poetry written by John Donne, George Herbert and others like them <who were later labeled as the metaphysical poets by Dryden and Johnson> resented a sharp break from the poetry by their decessors and most of their contemporaries. The Elizabethan drama, in its totality, is the real mainstream of the English Renaissance. It could be dated back to the Middle Ages. Interludes and morality plays thriving in the medieval period continued to be popular down to Shakespeare's time. But the development of the drama into a sophisticated art form required another influence- the Greek and Roman classics. Lively, vivid native English material was put into the regular form of the Latin comedies of Plautus and Terence. Tragedies were in the style of Seneca. The fusion of classical form with English content brought about the possibility of a mature and artistic drama. The most famous dramatists in the Renaissance England are Christopher Marlowe, William Shakespeare, and Ben Jonson, who wrote plays with such universal qualities of greatness. By imitating the romances of Italy and Spain, embracing the mysteries of German legend, and combining the fictions of poetic fancy with the facts of daily life, they made a vivid depiction of the sharp conflicts between feudalism and the rising bourgeoisie in a transitional period. And with humors of the moment, abstractions of philosophical speculation, and intense vitality, this extraordinary drama, with Shakespeare as the master, left a monument of the Renaissance unrivaled for pure creative power by any other product of that epoch. Francis Bacon <1561-1626>, the first important English essayist, is best known for his essays which greatly influenced the development of this literary form. He was also the founder of modern science in England. His writings paved the way for the use of scientific method. Thus, he is undoubtedly one of the resentatives of the English Renaissance.新古典主义时期本章简介<> What we now call the neoclassical period is the one in English literature between the return of the Stuarts to the English throne in 1660 and the full assertion of Romanticism which came with the publication of Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge in 1798. The English society of the neoclassical period was a turbulent one. Of the great political and social events there were the Restoration of King Charles II in 1660, the Great Plague of 1665 which took 70,000 lives in London alone, the Great London Fire which destroyed a large part of the city, leaving two-thirds of the population homeless, the Glorious Revolution in which King James Il was replaced by his Protestant daughter Mary and her Dutch husband William, Duke of Orange, in 1689, and so on. There was constant strife between the monarch and the parliament, between the two big parties -- the Tories and the Whigs -- over the control of the parliament and government, between opposing religious sects such as the Roman Catholicism, the Anglican Church and the Dissenters, between the ruling class and the laboring poor, etc. In short, it was an age full of conflicts and divergence of values. The eighteenth century saw the fast development of England as a nation. Abroad, a vast expansion of British colonies in North America, India, the West Indies, and a continuous increase of colonial wealth and trade provided England with a market for which the small-scale handproduction methods of the home industry were hardly adequate. This created not only a steady demand for British goods but also standardized goods. And at home in the country, Acts of Enclosure were putting more land into fewer privileged rich landowners and forcing thousands of small farmers and tenants off land to become wage earners in industrial towns. This coming together of free labor from the home and free capital gathered or plundered from the colonies was the essence of the Industrial Revolution. So, towards the middle of the eighteenth century, England had become the first powerful capitalist country in the world. It had become the work-shop of the world, her manufactured goods flooding foreign markets far and near. Along with the fast economic development, the British bourgeois or middle class also grew rapidly. It was the major force of the Revolution and was mainly composed of city people: traders, merchants, manufacturers, and other adventurers such as slave traders and colonists. As the Industrial Revolution went on, more and more people joined the rank of this class. Marx once pointed out that the bourgeois class of the eighteenth-century England was a revolutionary class then and quite different from the feudal aristocratic class. They were people who had known poverty and hardship, and most of them had obtained their sent social status through hard work. They believed in self-restraint, self-reliance and hard work. To work, to economize and to accumulate wealth constituted the whole meaning of their life. This aspect of social life is best found in the realistic novels of the century. The eighteenth-century England is also known as the Age of Enlightenment or the Age of Reason. The Enlightenment Movement was a progressive intellectual movement which flourished in France and swept through the whole Western Europe at the time. The movement was a furtherance of the Renaissance of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Its purpose was to enlighten the whole world with the light of modern philosophical and artistic ideas. The enlighteners celebrated reason or rationality, equality and science. They held that rationality or reason should be the only, the final cause of any human thought and activities. They called for a reference to order, reason and rules. They believed that when reason served as the yardstick for the measurement of all human activities and relations, every superstition, injustice and opssion was to yield place to "eternal truth," "eternal justice" and "natural equality." The belief provided theory for the French Revolution of 1789 and the American War of Independence in 1776. At the same time, the enlighteners advocated universal education. They believed that human beings were limited, dualistic, imperfect, and yet capable of rationality and perfection through education. If the masses were well educated, they thought, there would be great chance for a democratic and equal human society. As a matter of fact, literature at the time, heavily didactic and moralizing, became a very popular means of public education. Famous among the great enlighteners in England were those great writers like John Dryden, Alexander Pope, Joseph Addison and Sir Richard Steele, the two pioneers of familiar essays, Jonathan Swift, Daniel Defoe, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Henry Fielding and Samuel Johnson. In the field of literature, the Enlightenment Movement brought about a revival of interest in the old classical works. This tendency is known as neoclassicism. According to the neoclassicists, all forms of literature were to be modeled after the classical works of the ancient Greek and Roman writers <Homer, Virgil, Horace, Ovid, etc.> and those of the contemporary French ones. They believed that the artistic ideals should be order, logic, restrained emotion and accuracy, and that literature should be judged in terms of its service to humanity. This belief led them to seek proportion, unity, harmony and grace in literary exssions, in an effort to delight, instruct and correct human beings, primarily as social animals. Thus a polite, urbane, witty, and intellectual art developed.Neoclassicists had some fixed laws and rules for almost every genre of literature. Prose should be cise, direct, smooth and flexible. Poetry should be lyrical, epical, didactic, satiric or dramatic, and each class should be guided by its own principles. Drama should be written in the Heroic Couplets <iambic pentameter rhymed in two lines>; the three unities of time, space and action should be strictly observed; regularity in construction should be adhered to, and type characters rather than individuals should be resented. In the last few decades of the 18th century, however, the neoclassical emphasis upon reason, intellect, wit and form was rebelled against or challenged by the sentimentalists, and was, in due time, gradually replaced by Romanticism. But it had a lasting wholesome influence upon English literature. The poetic techniques and certain classical graces such as order, good form, unified structure, clarity and conciseness of language developed in this period have become a permanent heritage. The neoclassical period witnessed the flourish of English poetry in the classical style from Restoration to about the second half of the century, climaxing with John Dryden, Alexander Pope and the last standard-bearer of the school, Samuel Johnson. Much attention was given to the wit, form and art of poetry. Mock epic, romance, satire and epigram were popular forms adopted by poets of the time. Besides the elegant poetic structure and diction, the neoclassical poetry was also noted for its seriousness and earnestness in tone and constant didacticism. The mid-century was, however, dominated by a newly rising literary form -- the modern English novel, which, contrary to the traditional romance of aristocrats, gives a realistic sentation of life of the common English people. This -- the most significant phenomenon in the history of the development of English literature in the eighteenth century -- is a natural product of the Industrial Revolution and a symbol of the growing importance and strength of the English middle class. Among the pioneers were Daniel Defoe, Samuel Richardson, Henry Fielding, Laurence Sterne, Tobias George Smollett, and Oliver Goldsmith. And from the middle part to the end of the century there was also an apparent shift of interest from the classic literary tradition to originality and imagination, from society to individual, and from the didactic to the confessional, inspirational and prophetic. Gothic novels -- mostly stories of mystery and horror which take place in some haunted or dilapidated Middle Age castles -- were turned out profusely by both male and female writers; works such as The Castle of Otranto <1765> by Horace Walpole, The Mysteries of Udolpho <1794> and The Italian <1797> by Mrs. Ann Radcliffe, The Champion of Virtue, a Gothic Story <1777> by Clara Reeve, and The Monk <1796> by M.G. Lewis became very popular. Eulogizing or lamenting lyrics by nature poets like James Thomson, William Collins, and William Cowper, and by such sentimentalists as the "GraveyardSchool" were widely read. The romantic poems of the Scottish peasant poet, Robert Burnsand William Blake also joined in, paving the way for the flourish of Romanticism early the century. In the theatrical world, Richard Brinsley Sheridan was the leading figure among a host of playwrights. And of the witty and satiric prose, those written by Jonathan Swift are especially worth studying, his A Modest Proposal being generally regarded as the best model of satire, not only of the period but also in the whole English literary history.浪漫主义时期本章简介<> The movement which we call Romanticism is something not so easy to define, especially concerning its characteristics or dates. For it is a broad movement that affected the whole of Europe <and America>. However, English Romanticism, as a historical phase of literature, is generally said to have begun in 1798 with the publication of Wordsworth and Coleridge's LyricalBallads and to have ended in 1832 with Sir Walter Scott's death and the passage of the first Reform Bill in the Parliament. However, these dates are arbitrary and, to some extent, conventional, for a new current of literature, in fact, had started long before the publication of the Lyrical Ballads. In the works of the sentimental writers, we note a new interest in literatures and legends other than those of Greece and' Rome. It was in effect a revolt of the English imagination against the neoclassical reason which vailed from the days of Pope to those of Johnson. And some of the great imaginative writings in English literature sprang from the confrontation of radicals and conservatives at the close of the 18th century, as the history in England started to move with a new urgency. This urgency was provoked by two important revolutions: the French Revolution of 1789-1794 and the English Industrial Revolution which happened more slowly, but with astonishing consequences. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a French philosopher, was one of the leading thinkers in the second half of the 18th century. In 1762 he published two books that electrified Europe -- Du Contrat Social and Emile, in which he explored new ideas about Nature, Society and Education. These ideas of Rousseau's provided necessary guiding principles for the French Revolution, for they inspired an implacable resentment against the tyrannical rule in France and an immense hope for the future. In 1789 there broke out the epoch-making French Revolution. The news of the Revolution, especially the Declaration of Rights of Man and the storming of Bastille, aroused great sympathy and enthusiasm in the English liberals and radicals. Patriotic clubs and societies multiplied in England, all claiming Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. Then, in October, 1790, Edmund Burke published his Reflections on the Revolution in France. Burke's pamphlet was designed as a crusade against the sad of such radical innovations and the overthrow of the established privileges he saw enshrined in the church, the hereditary power of the monarchy and the greater landed families. By pouring scorn on the feverish violence of rebellion and prophesying mob-rule and military dictatorship in France, Burke raised the most authoritative voice in Britain in denouncing the Revolution. Burke's Reflections provoked many replies from the radical writers who argued for the rights of the people to fight against tyranny and to overthrow any government of opssion; but none was so effective as Thomas Paine's Declaration of Rights of Man <1791-1792>. Paine knew what he was talking about: he had been in France during the Revolution, and demonstrated conclusively that by 1789 France was so enmeshed in opssion and misery that nothing short of revolution could set her free. William Godwin, who exerted a great influence on Wordsworth, Shelley and other poets, wrote passionately against the injustices of the economic system and the opssion of the poor in his Inquiry Concerning Political Justice <1793>. Fighting against Burke's conservative ideas was also William Cobbet whom Marx once extolled as "an instinctive defender of the masses of the people against the encroachment of the bourgeoisie." If law and government appeared to some contemporaries as one system of injustice, conventional gender roles were another, for women had long been regarded as inferior to men. After the Declaration of Rights of Man was released, Mary Wollstonecraft urged the equal rights for women in her A Vindication of the Rights of Woman <1792>, thus setting out the earliest exposition of feminism based on a comhensive system of ethics. But later when Jacobeans took over power in France and started to push a policy of violent terror at home and aggressive expansion abroad, most of the English sympathizers dropped their support. And the English government even waged wars against France till the fall of Napoleon in 1815. During this period, England itself had experienced profound economic and social changes. The primarily agricultural society had been replaced by a modern industrialized one. The biggest social change in Englishhistory was the transfer of large masses of the population from the countryside to the towns. The prosperous peasant farmers had long been considered the solid base of English society; but by the 19th century they had largely disappeared. As a result of the Enclosures and the agricultural mechanization, the peasants were driven out of their land: some emigrated to the colonies; some sank to the level of farm laborers; and many others drifted to the industrial towns where there was a growing demand for labor. But the new industrial towns were no better than jungles, where the law was "the survival of the fittest." The workers were herded into factories arid overcrowded streets, and reduced to the level of commodities, valued only according to the fluctuating demand for their labor. Women and children were treated no differently in this respect from the men. With the British Industrial Revolution coming into its full swing, the capitalist class came to dominate not only the means of production, but also trade and world market. Though England had increased its wealth by several times, it was only the rich who owned this wealth; the majority of the people were still poor, or even poorer. After the Napoleonic War, the English people suffered severe economic dessions. While the price of food rose rocket high, the workers' wages went sharply down; sixteen hours' labor a day could hardly pay for the daily bread. This cruel economic exploitation caused large-scale workers' disturbances in England; the desperation of the workers exssed itself in the popular outbreaks of machine-breaking known as the Luddite riots. The climax of popular agitation and government brutality came in August 1819 at St. Peter's Field, Manchester, where a huge but orderly group of peaceful protesters were charged by mounted troops who killed nine and wounded hundreds more. This was the notorious "Peterloo Massacre'' which roused indignation even among the upper class. However, the workers' strong demands for reform, for their own political and economic rights did not die down. The industrial bourgeoisie made use of this struggle to fight for its own sumacy in political power against the landed aristocrats. In 1832, the Reform Bill was enacted, which brought the industrial capitalists into power; but the workers who played the major role in the fight got nothing. Consequently, there arose sharp conflicts between capital and labor. The Romantic Movement, whether in England, Germany or France, exssed a more or less negative attitude toward the existing social and political conditions that came with industrialization and the growing importance of the bourgeoisie. The Romantics, who were deeply immersed in the most violent phase of the transition from a decadent feudal to a capitalist economy, saw both the corruption and injustice of the feudal societies and the fundamental inhumanity of the economic, social and political forces of capitalism. They felt that the society denied people their essential human needs. So under the influence of the leading romantic thinkers like Kant and the Post-Kantians, they demonstrated a strong reaction against the dominant modes of thinking of the 18th century writers and philosophers. Where their decessors saw man as a social animal, the Romantics saw him essentially as an individual in the solitary state. Where the Augustans emphasized those features that men have in common, the Romantics emphasized the special qualities of each individual's mind. Thus, we can say that Romanticism actually constitutes a change of direction from attention to the outer world of social civilization to the inner world of the human spirit. In essence it designates a literary and philosophical theory which tends to see the individual as the very center of all life and all experience. It also places the individual at the center of art, making literature most valuable as an exssion of his or her unique feelings and particular attitudes, and valuing its accuracy in portraying the individual's experiences. The Romantic period is an age of poetry. Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley and Keats are the major Romantic poets. They started a rebellion against the neoclassical literature, which。
需要掌握的重点:英美文学发展史及代表作家的简要介绍和作品选读。
英美两国文学各个历史时代的主要历史背景、文学文化思潮、文学流派、社会政治、经济、文化等对文学发展的影响,主要作家的文学生涯,创作思想,艺术特色及其代表作品的主题结构、人物刻画、语言风格、思想意义等。
Part one English LiteratureAn Introduction to Old and Medieval English Literature1. Social Background: (paragraph one)early inhabitants: Celtsthree conquests greatly affected English literatureRomans conquestsAnglo-Saxons: Germanic language and cultureNorman: Mediterranean civilizationSupplementary material:Anglo-Saxon is a general term that refers to the Germanic settlers who came to Britain during the 5th and 6th centuries. "Anglo Saxon" also refers to the language spoken at the time in England, which is now called Old English, and to the culture of the era, which has long attracted popular and scholarly attention.Anglo-Saxon language is the basis of Modern EnglishThe Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy, who became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating the then king Harold II of England. By early 1071, William had secured control of most of England, although rebellions and resistance continued to approximately 1088.The Norman conquest was a pivotal event in English history. Itlargely removed the native ruling class, replacing it with aforeign, French-speaking monarchy, aristocracy, and clericalhierarchy. This, in turn, brought about a transformation of theEnglish language and the culture of England in a new era.2. Old English LiteratureExtends from 450 to 1066Old English poems (paragraph two)2.1religious group: biblical themeExample: The Dream of the RoodSupplementary materialThe Dream of the Rood is one of the earliest Christian poems in the corpus of Old English literature. Like most Old English poetry, it is written in alliterative verse. Rood is from the Old English rod "pole", specifically "crucifix 十字架". Preserved in the 10th century, the poem may be considerably older, even one of the oldest works of Old English literature.2.2secular group: national epic poemexample: Beowulf:national epic of the Anglo-Saxons(paragraph twoand three)epic: An epic (from the Ancient Greek) is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation.3. Medieval English Literature3.1. Background: Norman Conquestthree important changes in society:3.2. Medieval period: 1066 ~ Mid-14th century3.3three greatest poets3.3.1John Gower: romance3.3.2William Langland: realistic3.3.3Chaucer3.3.3.1LifeGeoffrey Chaucer (c. 1343 – 25 October 1400), known as the Father of English literature,is widely considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages. Among his many works, which include The Book of the Duchess, the House of Fame, the Legend of Good Women and Troilus and Criseyde, he is best loved today for The Canterbury Tales. Chaucer is a crucial figure in developing the legitimacy of the vernacular方言, Middle English, at a time when the dominant literary languages in England were French and Latin.3.3.3.2theme of his works: man’s right, humanism3.3.3.3important works3.3.3.4contribution to English literature: Father of English literature stanza, octosyllabic couplet, heroic couplet, first modern novel3.3.3.5the Canterbury TalesThe Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer at the end of the 14th century. The tales (mostly in verse, although some are in prose) are told aspart of a story-telling contest by a group of pilgrims as they travel together on a journey from Southwark to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. The Canterbury Tales was Chaucer's magnum opus. He uses the tales and the descriptions of the characters to paint an ironic and critical portrait of English society at the time, and particularly of the Church. It is sometimes argued that the greatest contribution that this work made to English literature was in popularizing the literary use of the vernacular, English, rather than French or Latin.3.3.3.6 the heroic couplet 英雄史诗式两行诗(每句有五音步十音节,互相押韵)A heroic couplet is a traditional form for English poetry, commonly used for epic and narrative poetry; it refers to poems constructed from a sequence of rhyming pairs of iambic pentameter lines. Use of the heroic couplet was first pioneered by Geoffrey Chaucer in the Legend of Good Women and the Canterbury Tales.Chaucer is also widely credited with first extensive use of iambic pentameter.A frequently-cited example:O could I flow like thee, and make thy streamMy great example, as it is my theme!Though deep yet clear, though gentle yet not dull;Strong without rage, without o'erflowing full.3.4popular folk literature3.4.1Feature: lack of originality; medieval Christian doctrine withpersonal salvation3.4.2Romance: the main literature form of Middle AgeLiteral term: As a literary genre of high culture (高雅文化), romance or chivalric romance(中世纪骑士故事)is a style of heroic prose and verse narrative that was popular in the aristocratic circles of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a knight errant(周游)portrayed as having heroic qualities, who goes on a quest. Originally, romance literature was written in Old French, Anglo-Norman, later, in English and German. Form: narrative verse or proseTheme: knightly adventures or heroic deeds; romantic loveStructure and languageChapter 1 The Renaissance Period1.Synopsis1.1RenaissanceTime span: extends from 14th century to mid-17th centuryOrigin:ItalyField:painting,sculpture and literatureSocial Background:Bourgeoisie is rising; get rid of feudalist ideas; recover the purity of clear church,Renaissance in essence: humanism1.2Renaissance in England1.2.1 Before Renaissance came to England: domestic unrest Example: the War of RosesThe Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars for the throne of England fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: the houses of Lancaster and York (the "red" and the "white" rose, respectively). They were fought in several sporadic(零星的) episodes between 1455 and 1485 The final victory went to a relatively remote Lancastrian claimant, Henry Tudor, who defeated the last Yorkist king Richard III and married Edward IV's daughter Elizabeth of York to unite the two houses. The House of Tudor subsequently ruled England and Wales for 117 years.The name "Wars of the Roses" refers to the badges associatedwith the two royal houses, the White Rose of York and the Red Rose of Lancaster. It is not thought to have been used during the time of the wars. Rather, it came into common use in the nineteenth century after the publication of Anne of Geierstein by Sir Walter Scott.1.2.2 The beginning of Renaissance in EnglandThe reign of Henry VIIIHenry VIII (28 June 1491 –28 January 1547) was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. Henry was the second monarch of the House of Tudor, succeeding his father, Henry VII.Besides his six marriages, Henry VIII is known for his role in the separation of the Church of England from the Catholic Church. Henry's struggles with Rome led to the separation of the Church of England from papal authority and establishing himself as the Supreme Head of the Church of England. Yet he remained a believer in core Catholic theological teachings, even after his excommunication from the Catholic Church.His desire to provide England with a male heir—which stemmed partly from personal vanity and partly because he believed a daughter would be unable to consolidate the Tudor Dynasty and the fragile peace that existed following the Wars ofthe Roses—led to the two things that Henry is remembered for: his wives, and the English Reformation that made England a mostly Protestant nation. In later life he became morbidly(病态的) obese and his health suffered; his public image is frequently depicted as one of a lustful, egotistical, harsh and insecure king.1.3The Essence of Renaissance—humanismEnglish humanist: Thomas More, Christopher Marlow and William Shakespeare1.4Religious Reformation1.4.1Martin Luther1.4.2Religious reformation in EnglandThe English Reformation started in the reign of Henry VIII. The English Reformation was to have far reaching consequences in Tudor England. Henry VIII decided to rid himself of his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, after she had failed to produce a male heir to the throne. He had already decided who his next wife would be - Anne Boleyn. By 1527, Catherine was considered too old to have anymore children. However, a divorce was not a simple issue. Henry VIII was a Roman Catholic and the head of this church was the pope based in Rome.The Roman Catholic faith believed in marriage for life. It did not recognise, let alone support, divorce. The Roman Catholic Church simply did not allow it.This put Henry VIII in a difficult position. If he went ahead and announced that as king of England he was allowing himself a divorce, the pope could excommunicate (逐出教会) him.Another approach Henry used was to make a special appeal to the pope so that he might get a special "Papal Dispensation(豁免)". This meant that the pope would agree to Henry’s request for a divorce purely because Henry was king of England but that it would not affect the way the Catholic Church banned divorce for others. The pope refused to grant Henry this and by 1533 his anger was such that he ordered the Archbishop of Canterbury to grant him a divorce so that he could marry Anne Boleyn.This event effectively leads to England breaking away from the Roman Catholic Church based in Rome. Henry placed himself as head of the church and in that sense, in his eyes, his divorce was perfectly legal. In 1533, few were brave enough to tell him otherwise!1.5English Renaissance1.5.1first period: poems affected by Italy1.5.2mainstream: Elizabethan dramafamous dramatists: Christopher Marlowe, William Shakespeare andBen Johnson2.Representatives2.1Edmund SpenserMasterpiece: The Faerie QueeneThe Faerie Queene is an incomplete English epic poem by Edmund Spenser. The Faerie Queene is notable for its form: it was the first work written in Spenserian stanza and is one of the longest poems in the English language.It is an allegorical work, written in praise of Queen Elizabeth I. In a completely allegorical context, the poem follows several knights in an examination of several virtues. As it was published in 1596, the epic presented the following virtues:Book I: HolinessBook II: TemperanceBook III: ChastityBook IV: FriendshipBook V: JusticeBook VI: CourtesyFive qualities of his poetry:Spenserian stanza:2.2Christopher MarloweUniversity wits:“大学才子派”是指16世纪80年代英国出现的一批受过大学教育的剧作家。
《英美文学选读》应考指导一、教材说明《英美文学选读》是全国高等教育自学考试英语专业本科段的必修课程,也是广大考生比较头疼的课程。
教材大体可以分为两个大的部分,文学发展史和作家介绍及作品选读。
让考生头疼的事情是课本信息量太大,考纲要求的内容较多,学习的时候理不出头绪,也不便记忆。
事实上,文学课有着相当强的逻辑性和系统性,只要我们把握住这一点,这门课程并不难学,也不难考过。
二、考情分析2009年,本门课程的考试大纲做了一些调整,这种调整在某种程度上减轻和考生的复习负担,但也同时考察的内容更细,更全。
(一)关于考核要求的调整考核要求中每章概述内容不作调整;“该时期的重要作家”只包含对考核知识点中保留的重要作家的相关内容的考核。
(二)大纲调整后的特点(1)新大纲更加突出了英美各个文学时期的时代特点。
如:文艺复兴时期的戏剧和诗史,浪漫主义时期的诗歌等。
从这个意义上讲,命题的重点突出了。
(2)新大纲中考核的作家,都是每一个文学时期文学潮流的最具代表性的作家,都是对该时期文学的发展起到决定作用的作家。
从这个意义上讲,命题的焦点集中了。
(3)新大纲中所保留的作家的作品大多是广大考生耳熟能详的作品,从这个意义上讲,考试的难度降低了。
三、复习方法(一)概述:考试大纲调整以后,可命题的作家的数量减少了,但命题的深度会增加;同时,由于作家数量的减少,这也意味着在每一章的概述部分和作品选读部分的命题点会增多。
(二)每章概述部分的复习重点在对这部分的复习中,重点关注每一个文学时期的界定以及其标志性事件;另外每一个文学时期的时代特点和突出文学成就也是考查的重点,还有本时期同时存在的文学流派的特点也是重点内容。
(三)每章重点作家的复习重点作家的文学史上的地位和贡献;作家的代表作以及代表作的中心大意和所反映的社会现实;作家的写作风格和写作特点也是命题的重点。
(四)每章作品选读的复习重点作品选读前面的斜体字部分的简介和概括;作品中的名句;作品选读中的注释部分,小说作品中的人物关系。
在对新考纲解读完了之后,剩下的事情就是大家去听后面的串讲,认真学习,通过考试!Part One: English LiteratureAn Introduction to Old and Medieval English LiteratureI Understanding and application: (理解应用)1. England’s inhabitants are Celts. And it is conquered by Romans, Anglo Saxons and Normans. The Anglo-Saxons brought the Germanic language and culture to England, while Normans brought the Mediterranean civilization, including Greek culture, Rome law and the Christian religion. It is the cultural influence o f these two conquests that provided the source for the rise and growth of English literature.2. The old English literature extends from about 450 to 1066, the year of the Norm3. The old English poetry that has survived can be divided into two groups: The religious group and the secular one4. Beowulf: a typical example of Old English poetry is regarded as the national epic of the Anglo-Saxons. It is an example of the mingling of nature myths and heroic legends.5. After the Norman’s conquest, three languages co-existed in England. French is the official language that is used by king and the Norman lords. Latin is the principal tongue of church affairs and in universities. Old English was spoken only by the common English people.6. In the second half of 14th century, English literature started to flourish with the appearance of writers like Geoffrey Chaucer, William Langland, John Gower, and othersII Recite: (识记再现)1. Romance:①It uses narrative verse or prose to sing knightly adventures or other heroic deeds is a popular literary form in the medieval period.②It has developed the characteristic medieval motifs of the quest, the test, the meeting with the evil giant and the encounter with the beautiful beloved.③The hero is usually the knight, who sets out on a journey to accomplish some missions. There are often mysteries and fantasies in romance.④Romantic love is an important part of the plot in romance.Characterization is standardized, While the structure is loose and episodic, the language is simple and straightforward.⑤The importance of the romance itself can be seen as a means of showing medieval aristocratic men and women in relation to their idealized view of the world.2. Heroic couplet: ()Heroic couplet is a rhymed couplet of iambic pentameter. It is Chaucer who used it for the first time in English in his work The Legend of Good Woman.3. The theme of Beowulf:The poem presents a vivid picture of how the primitive people wage heroic struggles against the hostile forces of the natural world under a wise and mighty leader. The poem is an example of the mingling of the nature myths and heroic legends.4. The Wife of Bath in The Canterbury Tales:The Wife of Bath is depicted as the new bourgeois wife asserting her independence. Chaucer develops his characterization to a higher artistic level by presenting characters with both typical qualities and individual dispositions.5. Chaucer’s achievement:①He presented a comprehensive rea listic picture of his age and created a whole gallery of vivid characters in his works, especially in The Canterbury Tales.②He anticipated a new ear, the Renaissance, to come under the influence of the Italian writers.③He developed his characterization to a higher level by presenting characters with both typical qualities and individual dispositions.④He greatly contributed to the maturing of English poetry. Today, Chaucer’s reputation has been securely established as one of the best English poets for his wisdom, humor and humanity.6. “The Father of English poetry”:Originally, Old English poems are mainly alliterative verses with few variations.①Chaucer introduced from France the rhymed stanzas of various types to English poetry to replace it.②In The Romaunt of the Rose (玫瑰传奇), he first introduced to the English the octosyllabic couplet (八音节对偶句).③In The Legend of Good Women, he used for the first time in English heroic couplet.④And in his masterpiece, The Canterbury Tales, he employed heroic c ouplet with true ease and charm for the first time in the history of English literature.⑤His art made him one of the greatest poets in English; John Dryden called him “the father of English poetry”.【例题】The work that presented, for the first time in English literature, a comprehensive realistic picture of the medieval English society and created a whole gallery of vivid characters from all walks of life is most likely ______________. (0704)A. William Langland’s Piers PlowmanB. Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury TalesC. John Gower’s Confession AmantisD. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight【答案】B【解析】(P4.para.2)本题考查的是中世纪时期几位诗人作品的创作主题和创作范围。