罗经国版《新编英国文学简史(上)》第三章

1、2021-10-29Chaucer / rhythm & meter1I. Historical background1. The Hundred Years War between England and France (1337- 1453) cause: for the French throne result: awakening of national consciousness in England French language gradually replaced by the native tongue2.the peasant uprising of 1381 ca

2、use: the exploitation and oppression of the peasants by the feudal lords leader: spiritual leader: John Ball 2021-10-29Chaucer / rhythm & meter2Literary worksJohn Wycliff (1324? 1384): father of English prose First figure to demanded to reform the church to do away with the corruption and rotten

3、ness Translated the Bible into standard English A great contribution to English literature and English language Fix a national standard for English instead of dialects William Langland (1330? 1400) Works: The Vision of Piers Plowman Form: allegory-is a story or description in which the characters an

4、d events symbolize some deeper underlying meaning, and serve to spread moral teaching.Double meaning: Abstract qualities or ideas are personified as characters in the story2021-10-29Chaucer / rhythm & meter3Medieval Literature (continued) Chaucer (1340?1400)Chaucer: some basic factsChaucers mast

5、erpiece: The Canterbury TaleslOverview;lStructure;lTextual study:lthe opening lines of the General Prologuelthe image of the NunlScansion 韵律分析2021-10-29Chaucer / rhythm & meter4Chaucer: some basic factsFull name:lGeoffrey ChaucerBirth & death:l1340?1400 Career:lA wide range of career as cour

6、tier, soldier, diplomat, and civil servantPlace in British literature:l“father of English poetry” and one of the greatest narrative poets of EnglandlForerunner of humanismlThe first realistic writerlMaster of the English languagelThe first to be buried in the Poets Corner of Westminster Abbey2021-10

7、-29Chaucer / rhythm & meter5Literary Career1. The first period (the 1360s-about 1372) He was influenced by the French poetry of the Middle Ages and he translated works from French. Romance of the Rose/ The Book of the Duchess2. The second period (1372-1386) He was influenced by the great literar

8、y figures of early Renaissance in Italy, such as Dante.Troilus and Cryseyde the longest couplet poemThe Parliament of Fowls The House of Fame3.The third period (1386-1400) He produced his work full maturity free from any dominant foreign influence The Canterbury Tales2021-10-29Chaucer / rhythm &

9、 meter6The Canterbury Tales: an overviewThe Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written by Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century (two of them in prose, the rest in verse). The tales are told by a group of pilgrims on their way from Tabard Inn in Southwark to Canterbury to visit the shrine of

10、Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. The Canterbury Tales are written in Medieval English.2021-10-29Chaucer / rhythm & meter7Canterbury Tales: an overviewOne day in April, the poet comes to the Tabard Inn in the southern suburb of London. By nightfall, 29 pilgrims arrive at the inn and t

11、hey get ready to go to Canterbury. Harry Bailey, the host of the Tabard Inn, proposes that each pilgrim should tell two stories on the way to Canterbury and two more on the way back. The best story-teller is to be given a free supper, at the cost of all the rest. The host offers to go with them as t

12、heir judge and guide. According to the plan, there should be 120 stories, but actually 24 tales are finished.2021-10-29Chaucer / rhythm & meter8Portrait of Chaucer as a pilgrim2021-10-29Chaucer / rhythm & meter9The Canterbury Tales: its structureThe Canterbury Tales is made up of three parts

13、: The General Prologue;24 tales, two of which left unfinished;separate prologues to each tale with links, comments, quarrels, etc. in between. 2021-10-29Chaucer / rhythm & meter10Prologue Prologue provides a framework for the tales. It creates a galley of vivid characters from all walks of life,

14、 except the highest (the king and the top nobility) and the lowest (the very poor labouring folk), then assigns to each of them appropriate tales that shed light on the respective narrators distinctive personality.2021-10-29Chaucer / rhythm & meter11Textual study: General PrologueThe structure o

15、f the general prologue:lLines 1-34: an elaborate introductionlLines 35-719: portraits of pilgrimslLines 720-821: the hosts suggestion of a tale-telling contest and its acceptancelLines 822-858: the decision that the knight tell the first tale2021-10-29Chaucer / rhythm & meter12Textual study: Gen

16、eral Prologue1. What is the structure of the opening 18 lines?The opening 18 lines make up 1 sentence in the original.2. What is the imagery expressed in these lines?springs renewal and rebirth3. Which verbs describe the action of nature?piercing (2), engendering (4), inspiring (5), pricking (11) 4.

17、 What is the main idea expressed in these lines?a microcosm of 14th-century English society;5. How do you appreciate these lines?2021-10-29Chaucer / rhythm & meter13The literary forms of tales These tales cover all the major types of medieval literature romance: folk tale, beast fable, story of

18、adventure, allegorical tale, Saints life, sermon and alchemical accountThe wife of Bath light-hearted, merry, vulgar, talkative2021-10-29Chaucer / rhythm & meter14Social significanceChaucer takes the stand of the rising bourgeoisie, because he affirms men and womens right to pursue their happine

19、ss and opposes the dogma of asceticism. As a forerunner of Humanism, he praises mans energy, quick wit and love of life. At the same time, his tales expose and satire the social evils at his time.Weakness Living in a transitional period, Chaucer is not entirely devoid of medieval prejudices. There i

20、s nothing revolutionary in his writing, though he lived in a period of peasant uprising, so sometimes , he cracks a rough joke.2021-10-29Chaucer / rhythm & meter15The significance of The Canterbury Tales It gives a comprehensive picture of Chaucers timethe dramatic structure of the poem has been

21、 highly commended by critics stories are cleverly woven together by links between the stories stories are related to the personalities of the tellersChaucers humour Chaucer “the smyler with the knyf under the cloke”Chaucers contribution to the English language He wrote in the London dialect to prove

22、 that English language is a beautiful language and can be handled to express different moods Thus increased the prestige of eh English language.2021-10-29Chaucer / rhythm & meter16Contribution Chaucer greatly contributes to the founding of the English literary language. His language now is calle

23、d Middle English. He is the first great poet who wrote in the English language. He did much in making the dialect of London the standard for the modern English speech.Chaucer introduced heroic couplet from France to English poetry, instead of alliterative verse. In The Legend of Good Women, he used

24、for the first time in English heroic couplet. In The Romance of the Rose, he first introduced to the English the octosyllabic couplet.2021-10-29Chaucer / rhythm & meter17Couplets: couplets are two lines of verse, usually connected by a rhyme. Poets in the 18thC,in particular used couplets freque

25、ntly. Heroic couplet: couplets in iambic pentameter e.g. Her eyes are wild, her head is bore,The sun has burnt her coal-black hair.Her eye-brow have a rusty stain,And she came from far over the main. -Wordsworth: The Mad Mother2021-10-29Chaucer / rhythm & meter18Home work1. What are the artistic

26、 features and significances of The Canterbury Tales?2021-10-29Chaucer / rhythm & meter19Scansion 韵律分析Scansion is the process of measuring斟酌 verse, identifying its prevailing meter 韵律、格律 and rhythm 节奏, and accounting for deviations 偏转 from the metrical pattern. In scanning a poem, we try to deter

27、mine its dominant rhythm and meter, and to account for variations from the norm 常规.2021-10-29Chaucer / rhythm & meter20The form of a poemNumber of lines2. A few verse forms 2021-10-29Chaucer / rhythm & meter21The form of a poemNumber of linesA stanza or poem with1 line: monostich 2 lines: co

28、uplet3 lines: tercet / triplet 4 lines: quatrain5 lines: limerick 6 lines: hexastich7 lines: heptastich8 lines: octave2021-10-29Chaucer / rhythm & meter22The form of a poem2. A few verse forms: sonnet 十四行诗 blank verse 无韵诗 / 素体诗 free verse 自由体诗 heroic couplet 英雄偶句体诗 doggerel 打油诗 Triolet 八行两韵诗2021

29、-10-29Chaucer / rhythm & meter23Rhythm 1. Definition: the regular recurrence of the accent or stress in a poem 2. How do we mark the rhythm of a poem?We use for a stressed syllable and an unstressed syllable.For example: Shall I compare thee to a summers day?2021-10-29Chaucer / rhythm & mete

30、r24Meter Definition: the number of foot in a poetic lineTypes of meter:1) iambic抑扬格的：an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable;for example: As soon as April pierces to the root The drought of March, and bathes each bud and shoot 2021-10-29Chaucer / rhythm & meter25Types of meterIamb

31、抑扬格Trochee扬抑格Anapest抑抑扬格Dactyl扬抑抑格2021-10-29Chaucer / rhythm & meter26Types of meterIamb 抑扬格：an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable;iambic抑扬格的for example: As soon as April pierces to the root The drought of March, and bathes each bud and shoot2021-10-29Chaucer / rhythm & mete

32、r27Types of meter2. Trochee 扬抑格：a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable;trochaic扬抑格的for example: Whan that April with his shoures soote2021-10-29Chaucer / rhythm & meter28Types of meter3. Anapest抑抑扬格：two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed syllable anapestic:抑抑扬格的4. Dactyl

33、扬抑抑格：a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables dactylic:扬抑抑格的2021-10-29Chaucer / rhythm & meter29Foot 音步 Definition The basic unit of measurement in a line of poetry. In scansion, a foot represents one instance of a metrical pattern and is shown either between or to the right or l

34、eft of vertical lines, as in the following: whose woodsthese are I think I know2021-10-29Chaucer / rhythm & meter30Foot 2. Below is a list of classifications: monometer: one foot 单音步 dimeter: two feet 两音步 trimeter: three feet 三音步 tetrameter： four feet 四音步 pentameter： five feet 五音步 hexameter： six

35、 feet 六音步 heptameter： seven feet 七音步 octameter： eight feet 八音步2021-10-29Chaucer / rhythm & meter31Foot The meter in a poem is classified according both to its pattern and the number of feet to the line.The following line is one of iambic pentameter As soon as April pierces to the root The follow

36、ing line is one of trochaic tetrameter: Whan that April with his shoures soote 2021-10-29Chaucer / rhythm & meter32Rhyme 1. Definition: the matching of final vowel and consonant sounds in two or more words.2. How do we record the rhyme scheme of a poem? We use a, b, c, We use the same letter to

37、mark the lines with the same rhyme. 3. What is the rhyme scheme of The Canterbury Tales?2021-10-29Chaucer / rhythm & meter33Heroic coupletDefinition:lines of iambic pentameter rhymed in pairs: aa, bb, cc, and so on. This verse form was introduced into English poetry by Chaucer, and has been in c

38、onstant use ever since. for example:As soon as April pierces to the rootThe drought of March, and bathes each bud and shootthrough every vein of sap with gentle showersfrom whose engendering liquor spring the flowers;Romances, as a chief writing style in England at that age, demonstrate the chivalrous duties of a knight, like seeking for adventu