英国文学第一册.doc

Roman Conquest 55 B.C.Julius Caesar Roman Britain: Britannia (a Roman province) 410 A.D.-withdrew Influence: Roman mood of life (Turkish bath; castles; fortressed; roads)The Anglo-Saxon periodEnglish Conquest About 449 A.D.Angles, Saxons, Jutes (Teutonic tribes) Resistance: Celtic king Arthur at Camelot; kingdom of Wessex Influence: ancestors of the present English people; a transition from tribal society to feudalism Name its central partEngland (Angla-land) or Anglia Language: old Englishthe foundation of English language and literaturePS: BritishBritons (by Celts) English (by Angles)Literature:Two divisions: Pagan and ChristianPagan: the Anglo-Saxons poetry in the form of oral sagasChristian: the writings developed under teaching of the monks Meant a new language: the literary monkthe culture and literary resources of the Latin language.Anglo-Saxon poets: Caedmona poetic Paraphrase of the Bible Cynewulfon religious subjects (The Christ) Unknown scribesthe great epic (The Song of Beowulf); poems (Widsith, The Travellers Song; Seafarer)The Song of Beowulf The oldest poem in the English language The oldest surviving epic in the English language The only existing manuscript was written at the beginning of the 10th century and was not discovered until 1705. It reflects events which took place on the Continent at the beginning of the 6th century. The whole epic consists of 3128 lines and is to be divided into two parts with an interpolation (an addition made by the Christian who copied The Song). The whole song is essentially pagan in spirit and matter. A pagan poem of all advanced pagan civilization; present an all-round picture of the tribal societyThe subject matter This poem of 3128 lines describes the deeds of the Tuetonic (Scandinavia) hero Beowulf. Hrothgar (king); Heorot (mead hall); Grendel (monster); Grendels mother; dragon Alliteration (head rhyme); kenning (metaphor); understatement The use of the strong stress and consonants; each line is divided into two halves, and each half has two heavy stresses Partly historical and partly legendaryThe Anglo-Norman Period Roman Conquest:1066William, Duke of Normandy, defeated the Anglo-Saxons at the battle of Hastings.Influence: Feudal system was established; FrenchPS: Black DeathThe literature: The bright, romantic tales of love and adventurethe strength and somberness of Anglo-Saxon poetry English literature is a combination of French and Saxon elements. Absorbed the French vocabulary, became the English languageThe new literature: Geoffreys Historycontains the native Celtic legends of Arthur The work of the French writersmade the Arthurian legends popular Riming Chronicleshistory in doggerel verse (Laysmons Brut) Metrical Romances or tales in verseThree classes: Matter of France: tales about Charlemagne (Chanson de Roland) Matter of Greece and Rome: tales about Alexander and about the fall of Troy Matter of Britain: tales about their heroes Arthur and his knights of the Round TableCycles of Arthurian romances:Gawain, Launcelot, Merlin, the Quest of the Holy Grail, the Death of ArthurGeoffrey ChaucerBiography: “father of English poetry” One of the greatest narrative poets of England Served in a variety of occupations: soldier, ambassador, courtier, office holder, legislator The first to be buried in the Poets Corner of Westminster AbbeySocial environment: The second half of the 14th century, feudal system begun to crumble 1381, a famous peasant uprising led by Wat Tyler and John Ball The glory of the Catholic Church was on the waneLiterature:Works: He translated various works of French authors: Romance of the Rose Longer poems in the form of vision so favored in the Middle Age: The Legend of Good Women; The House of Fame; The parliament of Fowls Long narrative poem Troilus and Cressie based upon Boccaccios poem FilostratoFeatures: His allegories and symbols are tinged with realistic images. His poem marks a new step in the authors progress to maturity and is distinguished for its profound delineation of character and truthful description of human relation. He greatly contributed to the founding of the English literary language, the basis of which was formed by the London dialect.Three periods: The period of French influence (1359-1372) The period of Italian influence (1372-1386)Chaucers own creativeness shows itself through borrowed themes The period of English influence (1386-1400)The Canterbury Tales Chaucers masterpiece is The Canterbury Tales. Give a picture of contemporary English life Only 24 tales were written of which 2 are left unfinished Heroic couplets On their way to Canterbury, Pilgrims gathered at Tabard Inn. The “jolly innkeeper”, Harry Baily, proposed that each pilgrim should tell two tales on the way to Canterbury and two more on the way back. The Prologue is a splendid masterpiece of realistic portrayal, the first of its kind in the history of English literature. It provides a framework for the tales and it comprises a group of vivid pictures of various medieval figures. The Knight; the Pardoner; Nuns Priest; the Wife of Bath In The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer created a strikingly brilliant and picturesque panorama of his time and his country. Free-thinking; believes in the right of man to earthly happinessPopular BalladsThe 15th century has been traditionally described as the barren age in English literature. But it is the spring tide of English ballads. Ballads are anonymous narrative songs that have been persevered by oral transmission. English ballads were probably composed during the 500yaers period from 1300 to 1700, few of them were printed before the 18th century and some not until the 19th. Songs and ballads were widespread among the populace of England and Scotland. They were created and preserved by the people, termed “Popular Ballads”. Be devoted to historical events The age-long struggle between the Scots and the English is reflected in the “border ballads”. Bishop Thomas Percy was among the first to take a literary interest in ballads Discovery of a 17th century manuscript which had been copied down among a great welter of Middle English verse Public in his Reliques of Ancient English PoetryRobin Hood BalladsRobin Hood is a partly historical and partly legendary character.The first mention of Robin Hood in literature is in Langlands The Vision of Piers, the PlowmanThe History of Great Britain, in Latin, 1521Robin Hood, a Saxon by birth, was an outlaw, a robber, robbed only the rich and never molested the poor and needy.Robin Hoods character: strong, brave, clever, tender-hearted, affectionate, hatred for the cruel oppressors, love for the poor and downtroddenThe ballads of Robin Hood gained great popularity in the second half of the 14th century. (at the time of the poors struggle)PS: humorous balladsGet Up and Bar the DoorThe RenaissanceHistorical background: The 16th century in English was a period of the breaking up of feudal relations and the establishing of the foundations of capitalism. The ReformationHenry (reigned 1509-1547) broke off with the Pope and proclaimed himself head of the Church of Englandfurthered the strengthening of English monarchy The old English aristocracy having been exterminated in the course of the War of the Roses (1455-1485, the House of Lancaster VS the House of York) New classthe class of bourgeoisie Absolute monarchy in England reached its summit during the reign of Queen Elisabeth (reigned 1558-1603) The progress of bourgeois economy made England a powerful state and enabled her in 1588 to inflict a defeat on the Spanish Invincible Armada (the triumph of the rising bourgeoisie over the declining old feudalism). The aggravation of the contradiction between the wealth of the ruling classes and the poverty of the peopleuprising of the peasantry (1549, in Norfolk, Robert Ket)Literature From the first half of the 16th century, the English Renaissance began to develop into a flowering of literature and then England became “a nest of singing birds”.Renaissance“rebirth”: a revival of classical (Greek and Roman) arts and sciences after the dark ages of medieval obscurantism. The works of classical authors were translated into English. Propagation of classical learning and art Humanists held their chief interest in manhis environment and doings and bravely fought for the emancipation of man from the tyranny of the church and religious dogmasEnglish Renaissance Period was an age of poetry and drama.Prose:Thomas MoreUtopia: gave a profound and truthful picture of the peoples sufferings and put forward his ideal of a future happy society.Francis BaconLyrical poems: In the first half of the 16th centuryThomas Wyattthe first to introduce the sonnet into English literatureHenry Howard; Earl of Surrey In the second half of the 16th century lyrical poetry became widespread in England.Philip Sidney; Thomas CampionEdmund Spenser (the poets poet)The Fairy QueenNovel: Dealing with court life and gallantryJohn LylyEupheus: gave rise to the term “euphuism”, designating an affected style of court speechThomas Loge Realistic tendenciesdevoted to the everyday life of the lower classesThomas Deloney; Thomas NasheDrama: the epoch of Renaissance witnessed a particular development of English dramaChristopher Marlowe (the most gifted of the “university wits”)made blank verse the principal vehicle of expression in dramaRobert GreenGeorge Green, the Pinner of WakefieldWilliam Shakespeare (1564.4.231616.4.23) The greatest of all English authors One of the first founders of realism: a masterhand at realistic portrayal of human characters and relationsWorks:Four tragedies: Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, MacbethFour humors:Two narrative poems: Venus and Adonis, LucreceHistorical play: King Henry ,(only one ideal king),;Richard , Shakespeares plays are poetical dramas. A great number of important dialogues and soliloquies in his plays assume the form of poetry. The principal idea of Shakespeares historical plays is the necessity for national unity under one king. Shakespeares Sonnet is made up of three quatrains with different rhymes, followed by a couplet. The rhyme scheme is abab cdcd efef gg.HamletThe summit of Shakespeares artIt was England which the great writer described in his playExpression of Shakespeares humanism and his criticism of contemporary life.The Merchant of VeniceFrancis BaconThe founder of English materialist philosophyThe founder of modern science in EnglandThe first English essayistNoble birth; received a knighthood; the head of the legal system of England; made a peerWorks:Three classes: the philosophical, the literary, the professional works Philosophical works: Advancement of Learning (in English); Novum Organum (in Latin); De Augmentis (in Latin) Literary works: EssaysGeneral subjectOf Truth; Of DeathQuestions of individual behaviorOf Revenge; Of FriendshipProblems of statesmanshipOf the True Greatness of Kingdoms and EstatesProfessional worksTreaties entitled Maxims of the Law; Reading on the Statute of UsesEssaysModeled upon a French work by montaigne (Essais, 1580)The final edition of fifty-eight essays appeared in 1625Writing style of essaysdirectness, terseness, forcefulness Bacons essays are noted for their clearness, brevity and force of expression. Bacons chief concern is to express his thought with clearness and in as few words as possible. Bacons sentences are short, pointed, incisive and often of balanced structure. Many of them have become wise old sayings.The 17th CenturyThe Period of Revolution And RestorationHistorical background During the Tudor dynasty (1485-1603) the English bourgeoisie lived in harmony with the Crown. When absolute monarchy impeded the future development of capitalism in England, the contradictions between the feudal system and the bourgeoisie had reached its peak. Elizabeth died in 1603 and Jamescame to the thronea succession that marks the change from a united England to a divided England. The puritans offered another theory of divine rightthe divine right of the individual conscience. There were religious division and confusion and a long bitter struggle between the peoples Parliament and the Throne (the King). In 1642, a civil war broke out in England. In 1649 Charles was beheaded. England became a commonwealth under the leadership of Oliver Cromwell. In 1653 Oliver Cromwell imposed a military directorship on the country. The Revolution period is also called the Puritan Age. After the death of Cromwell, the Parliament recalled Charles to England in 1660; then followed the period of Restoration. In 1688, the bourgeoisie invited Prince William of Orange (husband of the Jamess daughter Mary) to the England throne. This was the so-called “Glorious Revolution”. The revolution meant three things: 1) the supremacy of Parliament; 2) the beginning of modern England; 3) the final triumph of the principle of political liberty.Literary characteristics About the beginning of the 17th century appeared a school of poets called “metaphysical” poets by Samuel Johnson, the 18th century writer.John Donne; George Herbert (VS the Cavalier poets)The Revolution Period: Gloom age During the civil war and the common wealth, there were two leaders in England, Cromwell, the man of action, and John Milton, the man of thought, in whom the indomitable Puritan spirit finds its noblest expression.The Restoration Period: The society broke away from the restraints of Puritanism. The French influence is most marked in the Drama.rimed couplets; the unities; a more regular construction; the presentation of tryes. The comedies are coarse in language and their view of the relations between men and women is immoral and dishonest. Restoration created a literature of its own, that was often witty and clever, but on the whole immoral and cynical. John Dryden, critic, poet and playwright was the most distinguished literary figure of that time.The literature of the middle and later periods of the 17th century reached the peak in the poetry of John Milton and in the prose writing of John Bunyan, and also in the plays and literary criticism of John Dryden. John Donne The most famous preacher of his time After the death of his wife in 1617 he fell more and more under the shadow of a terrible spiritual gloom.Literature: Frankness; penetrating realism; cynicism Serious love-poemsA Valediction: Forbidding Mourning A poet of peculiar “conceits”, having his own way of reasoning and comparison This fashion of conceitful writing, its imaginative exuberance has its parallels in baroque architecture and painting. Work: Song and Sonnets (The Relic); Death be not ProudReligious poems and sermons: Reach astounding heights of subtlety and intensity The searchings of soul and the horrified fascination with he contemplated the process of dissolution and the awful event of deathProse:Involuted and ornate, cumulative and CiceronianJohn Milton In the Revolution Period John Milton towers over his age as William Shakespeare towers over the Elizabethan Age and as Chaucer towers over the Medieval Period. During the civil war and the common wealth, there were two leaders in England, Cromwell, the man of action, and John Milton, the man of thought.Shorter poems: L Allegrodescribing happiness Il Penserosodescribing meditation Lycidaspraising a dear Cambridge friend who had been drowned Comuspresenting a masque or playPrincipal pamphlets: dedicated to the peoples liberties Areopagitica/ Speech for the Liberty of Unlicensed Printinga bold attack on the censorship of the press Eikonoklastesjustified the execution of Charles Defense for the English Peoplea defense of the Commonwealth and Revolution Second Defense for the English PeopleIn his blindness: Paradise Lost Paradise Regained Samson AgonistesParadise Lost1) Presents the authors view in an allegoric religious form Basic ideathe exposure of reactionary forces of his time and passionate appeal for freedom2) Epic in 12 books In blank verse It is based on the biblical legend of the imaginary progenitors of the human raceAdam and Eve; God; Satan How Satan rebelled against God and how Adam and Eve were driven out of EdenJohn BunyanJohn Milton and John Bunyan represent the extreme of English life in the 17th century.Paradise Lost and The Pilgrims Progress stand for the mighty Puritan spirit.An open-air preacher, most popular preacher in England Imprisonment in Bedford jailThe Pilgrims ProgressOne of the most popular pieces of Christian writing produced during the Puritan Age.1) Probably written in prison; not published till long after his release The publication in 1678 made him the most popular writer2) Written in the old-fashioned, medieval form of allegory and dream In terse, idiomatic prose Characters are living men and women A journey in 10 stagesa vivid picture of the difficulties and triumphs of the Christian lifeThe 18th CenturyThe Age of Enlightenment in EnglandHistory Background The Revolution of 1688, which banished the last of the Stuart kings and called William of Orange (husband of king Jamess daughter Mary) to the throne. They divided into hostile parties: the