A Brief Introduction of English Literature.doc

A Brief Introduction of English Literature1. Literature before the 20th century in England: Part One: The Anglo-Saxon Period (449-1066) Beowulf Part Two: The Anglo-Norman Period (1066-1350) Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Part Three: Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400) The Canterbury Tales Popular Ballads Robin Hood and Allin DalePart Four: Renaissance (Humanism) 16th Century William Shakespeare HamletThe Merchant of VeniceSonnet 18, 19, 106Francis BaconOf truthOf Studies Part Five: 17th Century Revolution and Restoration John Donne Song A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning Sonnet: Death be not proud John Milton “Paradise Lost” “Paradise Regained” Sonnet: On His Blindness Sonnet: On his Deceased WifeJohn Bunyan The Pilgrims ProgressPart Five: The Age of Enlightenment 18th CenturyRationalism Pope Neo-classicism Realism Daniel Defoe Robinson Crusoe Jonathan Swift Gullivers TravelsA Modest Proposal Henry Fielding Tom Jones Richard Brinsley Sheridan The School for Scandal William Black London The Tiger The Chimney Sweeper Robert Burns My Hearts in the Highlands John Anderson, My Jo A Red, Red Rose To a Mouse19th Century Romantic PeriodWilliam WordsworthS.T. ColeridgeByronShelleyScottVictorian PeriodCharles DickensThe BronteesBroaning 2. A New Age a. Victorian Age Social stability, industrial progress, advances in Science and philosophy, a splendid body of literature, supremacy of the world. b. 1920s England Snobbish class structure, hypocritical. c. 1920s Literature Writers paid little attention to the reforming the structure of the society, instead they turned inward to study the human mind, the individual response to modern life, and wanted to create a new kind of realism to overcome the influence of romanticism by showing the true thoughts and feelings of the people.a. In poetryW.B. YeatsT.S Eliot (imprecise language, sentimental emotions)b. In novel Bloomslerry Group: lived near London, during and after WWI, a group pf persons, lived around Bloomslerry in London, including writers, critic philosophers, among them were: Virginia Wolf, E.M. Foster, etc, regarded as the most authorized group in literature in England. James Joyce“ Stream of consciousness”D.H. Laurence changed traditional way of thinking and feeling of relation of human being.d. 1930s, back to write about social problem. Socialist poets ( on political and social problems)James Joyce (1882-1941) Revolutionized the methods of deleting characters and developing the plot in modern version,Point of view:1. lyric form (1st stage of literature)2. narrative form3. dramatic formWorks:Dublinese (1914)A Portrait of the Artist as A Young Man (1916)Ulisses (most important 1922)Finnegans Wake （1939）Katherine MansfieldDifference between 3 woman writers:Emily Bronte: has questioned death;Virginia Woolf: life;Katherine Mansfield: everyday contingence and suffering.Style:1). Interior monologue2). Focus on internal psychological conflicts3). Prose style, poetic style4). Subtle observation.The Effect of W.W.II on English Literature-Break up of old orders in England.1. no shocking effect, fewer people died than in W. W. I.2. peoples relation changed3. the end of British Empire-Literature after the war1. not original, influential, energetic as between 2 wars.(lost originality, influence and energy)2. main trends:hopeless, maladjust -1. angry, 2. curiosity about reason for existing, 3. bitter(black) humor.1950s appeared “Angry Young Men”, rebellious, hostile to highbrow.George Orwell, novelist, bridged the gap between early expressed pessimism. Animal Farm 1984 Anglo-Saxons Periodl Epic (Heroic Poetry)It is, originally, an oral narrative poem, majestic both in theme and style. It deals with legendary or historical events of national or universal significance, involving action of broad sweep and grandeur.Features:1. the introduction of supernatural forces that shape the action2. conflicts in the form of battles or other physical combat3. stylistic conventions such as an invocation to the Muse, a formal statement of the theme, long lists of the protagonists involved, and set speeches couched in elevated language,4. Epic are not merely entertaining stories of legendary or historical heroes; they summarize and express the nature or ideals of an entire nation at a significant or crucial period of its history. Examples: the ancient Greek epics by the poet Homer, the Iliad and the Odyssey.Characteristics of the hero of an epic: national rather than individual, the heroic deeds serves to gratify a sense of a national pride.At other times epics may synthesize the ideals of a great religious or cultural movement. The Divine Comedy by the Italian poet Dante expresses the faith of medieval Christianity, The Faerie Queene by the English poet Edmund Spenser represents the spirit of Renaissance in England and like Paradise Lost by the English poet John Milton represents the ideals of Christian humanism.l AlliterationA repeated initial consonant to successive words, In Old English verse, any vowel alliterates with any other, and alliteration is not an unusual or expressive phenomenon but a regular recurring structural feature of the verse, occurring on the first and third, and often on the first, second, and third, primary-stressed syllables of the four-stressed line. Try to remember the kind of September When grass was green and grain was yellowTry to remember the kind of September When you were a callow fellowIn later English verse tradition, alliteration becomes expressive in a variety of ways. Spencer uses it decoratively, or to link adjective and noun, verb and object, as in the line: “ much daunted with that dirt, her sense was dased”. In the 18th and 19th centuries it becomes even less systematic and more musical.l What is the theme of Beowulf?It centers the narration of the exploits of the heroic figure Beowulf, mainly about his three major adventures. It reflects a life of fights and feasting, of ceremony, of brilliant gold and sudden arkness（等级）. Here is a world of sacred obligations, feud and vengeance with heroic figures who are proud of their birth and their physical strength. But beyond this, the forces of fate seem to control mans destiny with mysterious omnipotence, while evil itself is both primordial and powerful. However, thematically, 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 nature myths and heroic legends. For those interested in symbols, the simplest interpretation of the myths in the poem is to regard Beowulfs successive fights against the three monsters as the overcoming of the hostile forces of nature by mans indomitable will and perseverance. For instance, the battle between Beowulf and the dragon symbolically represents that phase of Winter Dragon in order to rescue the treasures of earth, that is, the golden corn and ruddy fruits. Having given them back to men, Beowulf himself dies of the Winters breath.*What is heroic ideal of Beowulf?Essentially an aristocratic poem concerned with the heroic ideal of kings and kingship in North Europe.Strength and courage are basic virtues for both kings and his warriors. The hero-king strove to do better than any one else the things that are vitally important to the happy life of his people. The king should protect his people and show gentleness and generosity to his warriors. And in return, his warriors should show absolute obedience and loyalty to the king. By praising Beowulfs wisdom, strength and courage, and by glorifying his death for his people, the poem presents the heroic ideal of a king and his good relations to his warriors and people.l What is the structure of Beowulf? The poem can be divided into three parts:Part I: The fight against GrendelPart II: The fight against Grendels motherPart III: The fight against the DragonB is an oral poem and for centuries the bards sing it to the people. As it is very long, the bard could only sing a part of the story each night. Usually, he would sing one adventure on the first night about the battle with Grendel. Then on the second night, he would continue and sing about Beowulfs fight against Grendels mother. However, there might be some new listeners. So before he came to the second adventure, he would give a short summery about what he sang the night before. And on the third night, he would give a longer summery about what happened on the first two nights. There is also a prelude to invent an allusion to the real story, and to serve as a contrast or comparison to the main story. The poem begins with the funeral of a king and rounds up with that of another.* Whats the style of Beowulf?B tower