17th century讲稿

PartⅤ The 17th Century----The Period of Revolution and RestorationⅠ.Historical Background1. The Clashes Between the King and Parliament (Reasons)During the Tudor Dynasty (1485-1603) the English bourgeoisie lived in harmony with the Crown. They had many interests in common, such as in the struggle against Spain, against the Roman Catholic Church, against noble houses and their civil wars.However, when all the internal and external enemies had been crushed, the bourgeoisie stopped to depend upon the protection of the monarchy. At the same time the Crown tried to consolidate（巩固）its position before it was too late.Actually speaking, there had already been some conflicts between the Queen and Parliament during the last years of the reign. And there were more and more quarrels of James I and Charles I with their parliaments.Their major clashes were over monopolies（垄断）. The monarchy attempted to control commercial activities in the interests of the court. The king’s favorites became the monopoly holders of some merchandises, such as butter, salt, beer, and so on, and then no one could sell them without buying the permission of them. This caused great inconvenience to the common merchants and a sharp rise in prices.At last, the parliament couldn’t bear it and declared that monopolies were illegal without its agreement. Charles I became outrageous and finally dismissed the parliament in 1629. He ruled the country with an absolute government, and severe persecutions（迫害）hit the capitalist class greatly. Thus arose the demand for a new government on the part of the English bourgeoisie.All the above reasons finally caused the outburst of the English Revolution between the capitalist class and the king.2. The Outburst of the English Revolution 1642-1649 (process 1)The capitalist class is mainly the opposition leaders in Parliament, which are supported by merchants, the craftsmen and apprentices in the city, and the peasants who are against enclosure movement in the countryside. While around the king were the conservative noble class, the big landlords, and the monopolists. A civil war called English Revolution broke out in 1642 and lasted till 1649.The famous opposition leader Oliver Cromwell organized the New Model Army and achieved the decisive victory in Naseby in 1645. The war soon ended and Charles was captured. But he escaped and the civil war broke out again until the King was recaptured and beheaded in 1649. Thus, Monarchy was abolished, and England was declared a commonwealth(共和国), i.e.a republic.3. The Bourgeois（资产阶级）Dictatorship（独裁）and the Restoration (process 2)As soon as the victory was won, there appeared a split（断裂）within the revolutionary camp. The big bourgeoisie (Presbyterians长老派) in the parliament struggled with the middle bourgeoisie (Independents独立派) , and then the bourgeoisie as a whole broke with the common people.Cromwell ruled the whole country with bourgeois dictatorship. Therefore, the big capitalist class gradually lost the support of the common people. After the death of Cromwell, no one could protect the English Commonwealth, so the Parliament had to compromise with the feudal power. They recalled CharlesⅡto England in 1660. Then started the Restoration period.4. The Glorious Revolution (result)（光荣革命）After CharlesⅡcame back to the king’s power, a white terror quickly covered the country. Many Republicans were put to death. But compared to the king’s reaction, the big bourgeoisie was more afraid of the people’s revolution.Only when JamesⅡthreatened to restore the old absolute monarchy that the bourgeoisie expelled him and invited William（詹姆士二世的女婿）from Holland to be King of England, in 1688. This was the so-called “Glorious Revolution”----“glorious” because it was bloodless and there was no revival of the revolutionary demands.After the glorious revolution, there brought to England a constitutional monarchy(立宪制), within which the king’s power was greatly restricted.The revolution meant 3 things: the supremacy of Parliament, the beginning of modern England, and the final triumph of the principle of political liberty for which the Puritan had fought and suffered hardship for a hundred years.** Marx pointed out, “Cromwell and the English people had borrowed speech, passions and illusions from the Old Testament for their revolution.” That is why the English Revolution was sometimes called the Puritan（淸教的）Revolution.Puritanism holds the view of thrift, hard work and unceasing labour in the earthly life, but one can not enjoy the fruits of labor. Men are born to suffer the hardships and only by suffering these, they can go to the paradise after they die. They also insist that capital should be accumulated by the wealthy class, while the poor’s task is to labor all the time.With these beliefs, the puritans opposed the corruption of the old church, closed down the London theatres in 1642, for it’s a place to enjoy the worldly pleasure.Ⅱ. Literature of the Revolution PeriodUnder the unpeaceful social circumstances, English literature of this revolution and restoration period was very much concerned with the tremendous social upheavals of the time.The main representatives are the “Four Johns”: John Milton, John Bunyan, John Donne, and John Dryden.1. Literary Characteristics:Revolution Period: （革命）1) The Puritan influence in general tended to suppress literary art. ( close the London theatre;give up medieval standards of chivalry and the impossible love and romance; refuse sonnets and love poetry of the previous period)2) The disagreement of the accepted literary criteria between the government and the churchpushed the literary development into a gloomy age. Few famous writers produced.3) Main representatives of this period are: the leader of “Metaphysical” poets John Donne; the puritan poet John Milton, and a poor tinker John Bunyan.Restoration Period:（复辟）In general, literature of this period is immoral and cynical.There appeared a sudden breaking up in literature with the old standards. Many writers were driven out of England with Charles, and some returned with great influence of France. Therefore, the French influence is very obvious in the drama:a) Strict couples r eplace blank verse, and regular construction is used.b) Besides, comedies become popular, but the comedies are coarse in language, reflecting mainly the betrayal and dishonesty between men and women. They serves the noble class.c) In this period, John Dryden is the most distinguished literary figure.2. John Milton (1608–1674)Milton was regarded as a revolutionary humanist as well as a great progressive poet of the 17th century. He was political in both his life and his art. He was a master of the blank verse.1)His Life and WorkEarly Period:John Milton was born in London in 1608. His father, a scrivener, was a Puritan and a lover of music and literature. From boyhood Milton was a hard-working student and was very talented.He was taught by private tutoring in the evening as well as by school education in the day. At 15, he was sent to Christ’s College, Cambridge, where he acquired good knowledge of Latin. He was frequently chosen to deliver speeches before the students. In some of his speeches, he condemn strongly the subjects and methods studied at the college, and said the result is to “make you a more finished fool.”His first important work On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity was written in Cambridge.Milton received his Master’s degree in 1632. After leaving Cambridge he decided not to bea clergyman of the English Church, since he saw the tyranny of the church, he returned tohis father’s country house at Horton, and devoted himself 6 years to private study of science, theology, and music. From these studies, he finally chose being a poet as his lifelong career.The twin lyrical poems L’Allegro and Il Penseroso were completed during his years at Horton. Besides this, he also wrote Lycidas, an elegy in the memory of his drowned friend Edward King; and Comus, a masque in blank verse.Middle Period:When Milton finally settled poet as his career, he decided to see more of the world and then began to go traveling on the continent. He traveled through France, Switzerland and Italy, where he met many famous people, such as Galileo, and witnessed the corruption of Roman Catholic Church.While when he was in Italy, news came to him that clashes were coming up between the king and the people, and the revolution may occur. Hearing this, he decided to come back to his country to serve the people with his pen.He wrote a series of pamphlets dedicated to the people’s liberties. The major ones are:1) Areopagitica, or Speech for the liberty Unlicensed Printing (1614): an appeal for thefreedom of the press, and became a weapon in the later democratic revolutionary struggles;2) Eikonoklastes (1649): a pamphlet in which the author justified the execution of CharlesI ( just after the English revolution);3) Defense for the English People(1650):It was written in Latin, insisting the superpower of people and fighting against the divine right of kings, which defended the Commonwealth and Revolution. (After the establishment of the Commonwealth, Milton became Lain Secretary to the Council of Foreign Affairs, translating the letters from other governments and answering them in Latin, and he also replied to all the criticisms and arguments against the government of Cromwell.)Quotations: “Our king made not us, but we him. Nature has given fathers to us all, but we ourselves appointed our own king; so that the people is not for the king, but the king for them.” Because of the hard work day and night, Milton’s eyes began to fall. He refused to follow doctor’s advice of rest, and never ceased writing. As a result, he became totally blind.However, his blindness did not stop his work. He still devoted all his time to work.Later Period：Then came the restoration period. After CharlesⅡcame into power, many puritans were put to trials and death. At this critical moment, Milton stood up for the fruits of revolution. He published a powerful pamphlet The Ready and Easy Way to Establish a Free Commonwealth.But later for the sake of safety, Milton was forced to seek for hid in a house of his friend. But he finally was arrested and imprisoned. His books were burned by the hangmen. And his house was destroyed.Later, he was saved from prison partly because of his blindness. From then on, he lived in the outskirts of London in great poverty.During the poor later years, Milton came back to his previous dream of a poet. He worked for 7 years on his greatest epic Paradise Lost(1665), Which tells how Satan rebelled against God and how Adam and Eve were driven out of Eden. The success of Paradise Lost was immediate and great, but he only received ten pounds from the publisher.After this, he composed another epic Paradise Regained and published it in 1671.Samson Agonistes ended Milton’s writing life. The character of Samson, the champion of Israel, like Milton himself, suffered in his last days in blindness.In Milton’s last years he suffered more and more from gout, and died of it in 1674.2) Selected Readings of Paradise Lost (P144.)Paradise Lost is Milton’s masterpiece. It is a long epic taken from the Old Testament. The whole epic was divided into 12 books. The theme is the “Fall of Man”.Story:Satan and other angels rebel against God, but they are defeated and driven from Heaven into Hell. However, Satan refused to accept his failure, vowing that “all was not lost”. Even amidst the great fire of Hell, Satan is determined to fight back. He assumes the shape of a snake and comes to the Garden of Eden, a paradise where Adam and Eve live.The poem goes on to tell how Satan took revenge by tempting Adam and Eve, the first human beings created by God, to eat fruit from the tree of knowledge against God’s instructions. For their disobedience, Adam and Eve were driven out of Paradise. They were sorry for what they had done and prayed to God. In the last book they were given the hope for redemption. The poem ended with Adam and Eve walking away from Paradise, hand in hand, and the gates of Eden were closed behind them.3. John Bunyan (1628-1688)1) Life: a)Bunyan was the son of a poor tinker and was born in the little village of Elstow.b) He had a sensitive imagination and the religious fanaticism of the time made a greatimpression on his brain.c) At 17, he enlisted in the Parliamentary army, and served during the decisive battle ofNaseby in 1645.d) Bunyan was a preacher all his life, and during the restoration period, he was put intoprison for 12 years for his refusal to give up preaching.e) It is said that he completed his masterpiece The Pilgrim’s Progress in prison ofBedford.2) His Work of The Pilgrim’s ProgressThe book is the most successful religious allegory in the English language.It tells of the spiritual pilgrimage of Christian, who flies from the City of Destruction, meets with the dangers and temptations during his journey, overcame them and finally came to the Delectable Mountains and the Celestial City.The purpose of the story is to urge people to abide Christian doctrines and seek salvationthrough struggle with their own weakness and all kinds of social evils. It is not only about something spiritual but also bears much relevance to the time. Its predominant metaphor - life as a journey - is simple and familiar. It gives such a faithful picture of the English bourgeoisie in this book.Besides, a rich imagination and a natural talent for storytelling also contribute to the success of the work which is at once entertaining and morally instructive.4. John Donne(1572?-1631) & His Metaphysical PoetryAbout the beginning of the 17th century appeared a school of poets called “Metaphysicals”by Samual Johnson, a writer of 18th century. The works of the Metaphysical poets show quite different ideas and feelings. Among them, John Donne is the founder of the Metaphysical school of poetry.1) Donne’s Life ExperienceJohn Donne lived and wrote during the succeeding reigns of Queen Elizabeth, James I, and Charles I.His early life was passed in dissipation, and much filled with secret love-making, elopement and imprisonment. He was ambitious, and once fell in love with the niece of the Lord Keeper. They secretly married and eloped. But finally they are found and Donne was put into prison for a time by his angry father-in-law.Later he entered the church in 1615, rose rapidly to be Dean of St. Paul’s, and became the most famous preacher of his time.Since the death of his wife in 1617, he experienced the later years in more and more spiritual gloom.2) Donne’s Literary CareerCorresponding to his life experience, John Donne’s poems can be divided into 2 categories: the youthful love lyrics, famous for his Songs and Sonnets(consisting of more than 50 poems); and the later sacred verses, including Holy Sonnets.3) Features of John Donne’s Poetrya) Parts of John Donne’s poetry are written in classical forms such as satires, elegies, andepistles, which show classical smoothness. Parts of his poetry are written in various lyrical forms. He gives nearly every theme a peculiar stanza form instead of applying the traditional unchangeable sonnets. (form)b) The most striking feature of Donne’s poems is frankness and realism. The next iscynicism. (Song as an example. P134 He satires the unfaithfulness of women for love in this poem.) (content1)c) Donne is a poet of peculiar conceits, having his own way of reasoning and comparison.He usually emphasizes his thought by fantastic metaphors and extravagant hyperboles.Sometimes the conceits are so strange that it’s hard to associate the subjects he describes.(For instance, he compares love as a spider, which drops into the wine of life, turns it to poison; or love is like eating fish, the fork and knife become the mighty power, and our heart is just the fish waiting for being killed.) It is somewhat likeeuphuism in prose, appeared in Italy and Spain also. (content 2)e.g. Donne once asks his mistress not to kill a flea because“ It sucked me first, and now sucks thee,And in this flea, our two bloods mingled be;This flea is you and I, and thisOur marriage bed, and marriage temple is;”d) In Donne’s poetry, sensuality is mixed with philosophy, passion with ration, andcontrary things are moving from one to the other. (content 3)4) Definition of “Metaphysical Poets”Metaphysical Poets refer to a group of religious poets in the first half of the 17th century whose works were characterized by the application of peculiar images, colloquial expressions, strange conceits, as well as imaginary paradoxes and metaphors to explore the relationship between the individual, his God and the universe.5) Selected Reading of “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” (See Textbook P135)。