英国文学辅导纲要

1、英国文学辅导纲要Chapter One English Literature before Renaissance主要内容：1. Beowulf 2. Sir Gawain and the Green Knights 3. William Langland: Piers the Plowman4. Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales5. Ballads 6. Sir Thomas Malory: Le Morte dArthur重点掌握：1. Beowulf is a national epic of England.2. His visit to Italy play

2、ed an important part in Chaucers writing.3. Geoffrey Chaucer，the “father of English poetry” and one of the greatest narrative poets of England, was born in London about 1340.4. Sir Gawain and Green Knight employs the form of romance.5. Chaucer translated various works of French authors; The Romance

3、of the Rose.6. Chaucer is called the founder of English realism because he portrays all the classes of English feudal society except nobles and serfs.7. The characters in the Canterbury Tales can be divided into the following groups: rural dwellers, church members, tradesmen.8. Chaucer introduced fr

4、om France and Italy the rhymed stanzas of various forms to English poetry; Chaucer is called the father of English poetry and the first poet who wrote in current English language;9. Piers the Plowman is similar in form to the work written by Langland.10. Beowulf was brought by Anglo-Saxon people fro

5、m the Continent to England.11. A ballad is written in 4-line stanza with the second and fourth lines rhymes. Most of English ballads were collected in the 18th century.12. Pardoner in The Canterbury Tales sold the relics of the dead saints to earn money.13. In the 14th century, the two most importan

6、t writers are Chaucer and Langland. 14. Today Chaucer is acclaimed not only as “the father of English poetry” but also as “the father of English fiction”. His masterpiece is The Canterbury Tales.15. The Canterbury Tales opens with a general Prologue where are told of a company of pilgrims that gathe

7、red at Tabard Inn in Southwark, a suburb of London.16. William Langlands Piers the Plowman is written in the form of a dream vision.Chapter Two English Literature in the Renaissance主要内容:1. What is humanism? 2. English Renaissance is a period of poetry and drama3. Sir Thomas Wyatt 4. Earl of Surrey 5

8、. Sir Philip Sidney6. Edmund Spenser: The Faerie Queene, The Shepherds Calendar 7. Thomas More: Utopia8. Francis Bacon9. Christopher Marlowe- Tamburlaine the Great; The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, The Jew of Malta 10. Marlowes contribution to English drama11. William Shakespeare 1）要知道莎士比亚的所有

9、主要作品的名字，基本内容，主要人物的性格特征及人物之间的关系，他的戏剧创作的三个阶段的特点。2）要知道莎士比亚十四行诗的特点，重点诗歌是Sonnet 1812. Ben Jonson: Volpone, To Celia; humor.重点掌握:1. first made blank verse the principal instrument of English drama is Marlowe. The most gifted of the University Wits ，The recurrent theme of Marlowe s play is the praise of in

10、dividualism. 2. Tamburlaine takes its subject matter from Chinese history.3. Surrey wrote the first English blank verse.4. The Elizabethan literature had a marked unity and the feeling of patriotism and devotion to the queen.5. The title “poets poet” is given to Spencer. The Faerie Queene. The theme

11、 can be expressed by Naturalism, Puritanism and nationalism. The writer who is remarkable for the music and images in the poetry6. English drama originated from church.7. Shakespeare was born in April 1564 and died in 1616.8. Romeo and Juliet ，tragedy ，belongs to Shakespeares plays of the 2nd period

12、.9. Romeo is a passionate, extreme, excitable and moody young man, while Juliet is an innocent girl.10. “To be or not to be, that is a question” is a line from Hamlet. 11. The third period of Shakespeares literature career is one of gloom and depression combined with masterly workmanship. Measure fo

13、r Measure, Othello, and Alls Well That Ends Well are produced in this period.12. “Shall I compare thee to a summers day?” is the beginning line of Sonnet 18.13. “Humor” according to Ben Jonson means temperament.14. The “dark comedy” refers to those written by Jonson in his third period of dramatic c

14、areer.15. Thomas More wrote his famous prose work Utopia.16. The 16th century in England was a period of breaking up of feudal relations and the establishing of the foundations of capitalism.17. In 1642, the civil war broke out in England. The royalists were defeated by the parliament army led by Cr

15、omwell. In 1649, Charles I was sentenced to death, and English was declared to be a commonwealth.18. The Renaissance, which began in the 14th century in Italy, was a great cultural and ideological movement that swept the whole of Europe. All in all, chief characteristic of the Renaissance literature

16、 is the expression of secular values with men instead of God as the center of the universe.19. Bacon is praised by Marx as “the progenitor of English Materialism”.20. In Elizabethan period, Bacon wrote more than fifty excellent essays, which made him one of the best essayists in English literature.

17、The New Instrument, Essays, The New Atlantics are wrote by Francis Bacon.21. “Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May.And summers lease has all too short a date.”22. “When in disgrace with fortune and mens eyes” is the beginning line of Sonnet 29.23. “Sometimes too hot the eye of heaven shines,

18、 and often is his gold complexion dimmed.”24. Shakespeare produced 37 plays and 160 sonnets.25. Portia is beautiful, cultured, courteous, and kind-hearted. 26. Sonnet is a poem of 14 lines Iambic pentameter. It mainly has two types: one is Petrarchan - two quatrains plus a “sestet” (6 line unit) - o

19、ften abba abba cdecde. The other is Shakespearean - three quatrains plus a couplet - often abab cdcd efef gg.27. English Renaissance: The first period is called the beginning of the Renaissance. It started in 1516 and came to an end in 1578. The second period is known as the flowering time of the Re

20、naissance. It was from 1578 to 1625. The third period between 1625 and 1660 is the epilogue of the Renaissance.28. Shakespeares four periods of career: 1) Pre-1594 it is a period of apprenticeship. For example, The Comedy of Errors 2)1594-1600 The second period showed more growth in style. The histo

21、ries of this period are Shakespeares best His comedies mature in this period as well, portraying more characterization in their subjects than previously. For example, Midsummer Nights Dream 3)1600-1608 The third period marks the great tragedies, and the principal works which would earn the Bard his

22、fame in later centuries. For example, Hamlet 4) After 1608 The fourth period encompasses romantic tragicomedy. Shakespeare at the end of his career seemed preoccupied with themes of redemption. For example, the Tempest29. Shakespeares main tragedies were written during the period of gloom and depres

23、sion which dated from 1600 to 1607. His main tragedies are: “Hamlet”, “Othello”, “King Lear”, and “Macbeth”. A Midsummer Nights Dream（仲夏夜之夢）As You Like It（皆大歡喜）Twelfth Night（第十二夜）The Merchant of Venice30. The theme of Sonnet 18: It is the Eternity of this beauty. In admiring the eternal beauty of hi

24、s friend, Shakespeare is actually singing the eternal beauty of human being. This reflects Shakespeares ideal of the humanism.Chapter Three English Literature in the Seventeenth Century主要内容:1. Historical background: the Glorious Revolution and the Restoration period2. John Milton：Paradise Lost, Sams

25、on Agonistes3. John Bunyan：Pilgrims Progress4. Metaphysical Poets5. Andrew Marvell: To His Coy Mistress6. Cavalier Poets 7. John Donne: representative of Metaphysical Poets8. John Dryden (他的贡献)重点掌握: 1. New literary forms that came into vogue during the Puritan Revolution period are heroic couplet, o

26、de, satire and pamphlet.2. One of the characteristics of the English bourgeois revolution was that it was carried out under the cloak of religion.3. John Milton Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained, and Samson Agonistes after blindness. nicknamed “the lady of Christs” because he was as handsome as a lad

27、y.4. John Milton was the greatest English poet after Shakespeare. born in a Roman Catholic family and both his parents were understanding parents.5. Milton is a great stylist. He is famous for his grand style for its dignity and polish , which is the result of his life-ling classical biblical study6

28、. Satan is a character with a strong desire for freedom. Satan tempts Eve to eat an apple from the forbidden tree.7. The “mighty line” refers to the poem of Milton.8. The one who translated Homers epics into English is Chapman.9. Metaphysical Poetry is characterized by fantastically mysticism.10. He

29、rrick belongs to the Cavaliers school.11. “Conceit” is a term applied in particular to the metaphysical school.12. Bunyans style is marked by dignity and simplicity.13. It is in The Pilgrims Progress that Christian and Faithful are trapped and chosen as the lord.14. The book carried by Christian is

30、supposed to be Bible.15. The Revolution Period is also called the Puritan age, because the English Revolution was carried out under a religious cloak.16. The Revolution period produced one of the most important poets in English literature, whose name is Milton.17. Milton is the great writer of the s

31、eventeenth century, and one of the giants of English literature.18. Milton is the glorious pioneer to introduce blank verse into non-dramatic poetry.19. Samson Agonistes is a poetical drama. It deals with the story of Samson from the Book of Judges in the Old Testament.20. The most striking similari

32、ties between Milton and Samson Agonistes are their blindness and unhappy marriage.21. Metaphysical poetry is a kind of realistic, often ironic and witty, verse combing intellectual ingenuity and psychological insight written partly in reaction to the conventions of Elizabethan love poetry by such se

33、venteenth-century poets as John Donne, George Herbert, Richard Crashaw, Thomas Traherne, and Andrew Marvell. One of its hallmarks is the metaphysical conceit, a particularly arresting and ingenious type of metaphor.22. Dryden is called “time server”. Dryens contribution to England literature: A. he

34、established the heroic couplet as one of the principal English verse forms B. he clarified the English prose C. he raised the English literary criticism to a new levelChapter Four English Literature in the Eighteenth Century主要内容:1. Literary background: Enlightenment2. Neo-classicism 3. Alexander Pop

35、e：An Essay On Criticism; The Rape of the Lock4. Richard Steele and Joseph Addison; The Spectator 5. Samuel Johnson：Dictionary of the English Language6. irony7. Jonathan Swift：“A Modest Proposal”； The Gullivers Travels8. Realism9. Daniel Defoe：Robinson Crusoe10. Henry Fielding：Realism; Tom Jones 11.

36、Sentimentalism12. Samuel Richardson：Pamela13. Goldsmith： The Vicar of Wakefield14. Thomas Gray：Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard15. Richard Sheridan重点掌握:1. People in 18th century believed in reason and their watchword was “common sense”.2. Mr. Spectator stands for the ideas of the 18th century.3

37、. The Spectator was published in the early 18th century.4. In 1704, Defoe founded the periodicals “the Review”. Defoe is best known for his novels about the adventure5. Swift wrote Gullivers Travels and “A Modest Proposal”. Swift is known as a pioneer novelist of English and also a prolific writer o

38、f books and pamphlets on variety of subjects.6. The first place visited by Gulliver in Gulliver s Travels is Lilliput.7. The figure of speech used in “A Modest Proposal” is called irony.8. Apology for Poetry is a criticism.9. Pope was a poet, critic and a translator. The Rape of the Lock gives an ac

39、count of an anecdote of the court.10. The greatest achievement in the 18th century England in literature was poetry. The main literary stream of the 18th century was realism.11. The main theme of Letter to Lord Chesterfield is anger.12. Richardson was noted as story-telling, letter writer and a mora

40、lizer. English psycho-analytical novel.13. In the 18th century, satire was much used in writing; English literature of this age produced some excellent satirists, such as Defoe.14. Fielding was considered as “father of English Novel”.15. Sentimentalism found its representative writers in the field o

41、f poetry, such as Young and Gray, but it manifested itself chiefly in the novels of Sterne and Goldsmith.16. There appeared two groups of English enlighteners. One is the moderate group; the other is the radical.17. Joseph Andrews is Fieldings first novel. He wrote the novel with the intention of ri

42、diculing Richardsons novel Pamela.18. Steele and Addison created newspaper: The Talter and The Spectator.19. The Preface to Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge served as the manifesto of Romanticism.20. In 1843 Wordsworth was made Poet Laureate.21. The Neo-classicism saw its decline in Johns

43、on.22. Enlightenment is an intellectual movement in Europe in 18th century. It was an expression of the struggle of the bourgeoisie against feudalism. The enlighteners fought against class inequality, stagnation, prejudices and other feudal survivals. It was so called because it considered the chief

44、 means for the betterment of the society was the “enlightenment” or “education” of the people.23. Neo-classicism: It was initiated by Dryden, culminated in Pope and continued by Johnson. Neo-classicists modeled themselves on classical, ancient Greek and Latin authors. They wanted to achieve perfect

45、form in literature. They general tended to look at social and political life critically. They emphasize on intellect rather than imagination. They observed fixed laws and rules in literary creation. Poets preferred heroic couplet. In drama, they adhered to three unities, time, place and action. They

46、 emphasized on the didactic function of literature.24. Robinson Crusoe: He has marvelous capacity for work; He has boundless energy and persistence in overcoming obstacles; He is the most practical and exact; He is religious and mindful of his own profit; He is the representation of early English bo

47、urgeoisie.25. Characters in Joseph Andrews: The characters are grouped into two groups: 1) represented by coachman, lady, gentleman, lawyer, surgeon, middle or upper class who are rich and well educated. But they are snobbish, selfish and coward; 2) represented by Joseph Andrews who is from lower cl

48、ass but sympathetic, selfless, warmhearted and kind.26. Steele and Addison s contributions to English literature: Their writings afford a new code of social morality for the risings bourgeoisie. They give a true picture of social life of England in the 18th century. In the hands of Addison and Steel

49、e, the English essay had completely established itself as a literary genre.27. Mr. Spectator stands for the type of a new culture. He is profoundly learned. He was traveled in many countries in search of knowledge. He spent his life in observing his contemporaries. He was the ideal spokesman of the

50、bourgeoisie.28. Tom Jones: He is a handsome young man, frank, open, kind, and quick-tempered. He is never an indifferent spectator of the misery or unhappiness of anyone. Good hearted as he is, he is far from being a model character. He lives by impulse, not by reason. Even a good man may commit mis

51、takes and be easily led astray, but by virtue of his innate goodness, he is not corrupted and eventually overcomes his weakness.29. Fielding s contribution to the English realism: He sets up the theory of realism in literary creation. He imitates the nature and the real life. His center of working p

52、hilosophy is common earthly man. He reveals human nature through conversations.Chapter Five English Literature of the Romantic Age主要内容:1. Historical background: Industrial Revolution & French Revolution2. Pre-romanticism3. Robert Burns: Auld Lang Syne, “A Red, Red Rose”4. William Blake: Songs of Exp

53、erience, Songs of Innocence5. Romanticism6. lake poets7. Wordsworth: Lyrical Ballads, The Prelude8. Samuel Taylor Coleridge: Kubla Khan, The Rime of Ancient Marine9. Southey10. George Gordon Byron: Don Juan, Childe Harolds Pilgrimage11. Percy Bysshe Shelley: Prometheus Unbound, A Defence of Poetry12

54、. John Keats: “Ode to a Nightingale”13. Walter Scott: Rob Roy, Ivanhoe14. Jane Austen: Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Sense and Sensibility, Mansfield Park15. Charles Lamb: Essays of Elia16. William Hazlitt重点掌握:1. In the 18th century English literature, the representative poets of Pre-romanticism were B

55、lake and Burns.2. “The poet of the peasants” is a title given to Burns.3. William Blake was a poet as well as an engraver.4. William Blakes first book of poem was Songs of Innocence.5. Blake is often regarded as a symbolist and mystic.6. William Blakes later poems are mysterious and hard to understa

56、nd.7. Robert Burns is famous by his poetry written in Scottish dialect.8. Burns poems are largely based on imitation and revision of folk ballads of his motherland.9. The first gothic novel is Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole.10. The impetus of the Romantic Movement includes the French Revolution

57、 and the Industrial Revolution.11. The ideals of French Revolution are liberty, democracy, and equality.12. Neo-classicism means restraint, thus it is unfit for the requirement of French Revolution, which aroused the age of Romantic Revival复兴to unfetter spirit of humankind.13. The poetry of Romantic

58、ism is characterized by sympathy for the French Revolution.14. The Romantic Age began with the publication of The Lyrical Ballads which was written by Wordsworth and Coleridge.15. Romanticism extended from 1798 when Lyrical Ballads was published and in 1832 when Scott died.16. Romanticism shares the common features of imagination, intuition, natural sentiment.17. “The Lake Poets” include Wordsworth, Coleridge, Southey.18. Wordsworths poe