English prose.doc

起源人物及作品：Montaignes “Essais”(1580) 法国蒙田的随笔集特点：conversational tone，intimate approachRenaissance period (immature)幼年期人物：Bacon 作品：collection of brief prose writings.(1597)时期特点：（1）quotations, examples, and figures of speech（2）Bacons are almost purely expositive and with moral purposeRevolution period（mature）成熟期背景：（1）The 17th century was a period of revolution and restoration, the time of turmoil. （2）Much of the prose was devoted to political and religious controversies.人物：John Dryden（always placed himself on the winning side）作品：“An Essay of Dramatic Poesy”（establishing his position as the leading critic of the day）特点：clarified，precise, concise，flexibleThe Enlightenment period (highest achievement)鼎盛期背景：In England, 18th century marked the beginning of the modern era.人物及作品：Addison “The Spectator” Steele “The Tatler”Swift pamphlets on Ireland (He is a master satirist, and his irony is deadly.)Samuel Johnson “Dictionary” (marked the end of English writers reliance on the patronage of noblemen for support)意义：(1) The English essay had completely established itself as a literary genre. (2) Using it as a form of character sketching and story-telling.The 19th century (the popularity and diversity)背景：（1）periodicals（期刊）increased（2）modern magazines sprang up （they were instrumental to the rapid development of essays） 人物：Lamb, Hazlitt, Hunt, De Quincy意义：（1）They made the informal essay a pliable vehicle for expressing the writers own personality.（2）They brought the familiar essay( informal essay/personal essay) into English literature.Informal Essay定义：1. The informal essay is written mainly for enjoyment.2. A good informal essay has a relaxed style but retains a strong structure.3. The informal essay tends to be more personal than the formal.4. The informal essay is personal, intimate, relaxed, conversational, and frequently humorous.代表人物：Jonathan Swift, Charles Lamb, William Hazlitt, Thomas De Quincey, Mark Twain, James Thurber, E. B. White.Formal Essay特点：dogmatic, impersonal, systematic, and expository. 代表人物：Joseph Addison, Samuel Johnson, Matthew Arnold, John Stuart Mill, J. H. Newman, Walter Pater, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry David Thoreau.发展：In the latter half of the 20th century, the formal essay has become more diversified in subject and less stately in tone and language, and the sharp division between the two forms has tended to disappear.The Development of American EssayThe Earliest Period1. most closely connected with current affairs (political affairs ) 2. Thomas Jefferson “The Declaration of Independence” 3. Thomas Paine “Common Sense” “The American Crisis” The Significant Period1. the New England Transcendentalism (American Renaissance; separation from the influence of British tradition) 2. Ralph Waldo Emerson “Nature” “American Scholar” Thoreau “Walden” (Life in the woods)The Modern Period1. diversified in style and topics Jonathan Swift (1667-1745)Life：1. born in Dublin, Ireland2. graduated from Trinity College, Dublin, in 1686 and then went to England to try his luck3. secretary to Sir William Temple, a diplomat and a writer 4. In 1695 was ordained任命为牧师 in the Church of Ireland (Anglican英国国教会), Dublin. 5. In 1710 Swift tried to open a political career among Whigs but changed his party and took over the Tory journal The Examiner. 6. With the accession of George I, the Tories lost political power. Swift withdrew to Ireland. 7. had remarked to the poet Edward Young when they were gazing at the withered crown of a tree: I shall be like that tree, I shall die from the top.”8. became insane in his last yearsWorks：1. The Battle of the Books (1697) exploring the merits of the ancients and the moderns in literature.2. The Tale of a Tub (1704) a religious satire. 3. Gullivers Travels (1726) Gulliver In LilliputA Modest Proposal (1729)Content: The narrator with grotesque怪异的 logic recommends that Irish poverty can be solved by the breeding up their infants as food for the rich. Swift defended ordinary Irish people against Englands economic oppression. It is a savage indictment控告 both of the exploitive剥削的 English and of the exploited Irish. Importance:1. The foremost prose satirist in English language.2. Swift spoke for the country as a whole.3. Swift lived in an Ireland which was a colony, politically, militarily, and economically dependent upon England. 4. Swift was enraged at the passivity of the Irish people.5. A Modest Proposal, is at once a disgusted parody of Swifts own serious proposals6. The entire story is told from an ironic point of view.Swiftian Style1. the use of irony 2. Simple, clear, and vigorous. 3. His satire is masked by an outward gravity庄严4. an apparent calmness conceals his bitter irony.态度冷峻，文笔辛辣5. Use of exact figures6. He said, “Proper words in proper places, makes the true definition of a style”. Irony and sarcasm and satireIrony：The speakers meaning is far from the usual meaning of the wordsSarcasm：When the irony is found, in a somewhat sour statement tinged with mockerySatire：Systematic use of irony or sarcasmSamuel Johnson (1709-1784)Life & Career1. English poet, essayist, critic, lexicographer2. Johnsons literary reputation is partly dependent on James Boswells (1740-1795) biography The Life of Samuel Johnson. 3. born in LichfeldA Dictionary of the English LanguageBackground1. In 1741, some booksellers asked Johnson to compile a dictionary on the English language. It took him eight years to finish this enormous work, and in 1755 his “Dictionary” was published.2. Lord Chesterfield refused to support Johnson while he was at work on his dictionary; the only assistance he had given him was 10.3. When Chesterfield knew the Dictionary was near completion he flattered himself it would be dedicated to him. Johnson was disgusted at this presumption, and wrote this famous letter. Importance1. This letter was the writers declaration of independence, signifying the opening of a new era in the development of literature2. This letter was the writers declaration of independence, signifying the opening of a new era in the development of literatureStyle1. The use of parallelism三联排比的结构被两次运用2. The use of irony and sarcasm3. The use of hyperbole 4. The ornate, rhythmic