刘炳善《英国文学简史》完整版笔记(免费)

1、无 英国文学简史完全版 A Concise History of British Literature Chapter 1 English Literature of Anglo-Saxon Period I. Introduction 1. The historical background （1） Before the Germanic invasion （2） During the Germanic invasion a. immigration; b. Christianity; c. heptarchy. d. social classes structure: hide-hundr

2、ed; eoldermen （lord） thane - middle class （freemen） - lower class （slave or bondmen: theow）; e. social organization: clan or tribes. f. military Organization; g. Church function: spirit, civil service, education; h. economy: coins, trade, slavery; i. feasts and festival: Halloween, Easter; j. legal

3、system. 2. The Overview of the culture （1） The mixture of pagan and Christian spirit. （2） Literature: a. Poetry: two types; b. prose: two figures. II. Beowulf. 无 1. A general introduction. 2. The content. 3. The literary features. （1） the use of alliteration （2） the use of metaphors and understateme

4、nts （3） the mixture of pagan and Christian elements III. The Old English Prose 1. What is prose? 2.figures （1）The Venerable Bede （2）Alfred the Great Chapter 2 English Literature of the Late Medieval Ages I.Introduction 1. The Historical Background. （1） The year 1066: Norman Conquest. （2） The social

5、situations soon after the conquest. A. Norman nobles and serfs; B. restoration of the church. （3） The 11th century. A. the crusade and knights. B. dominance of French and Latin; （4） The 12th century. A. the centralized government; 无 B. kings and the church （Henry II and Thomas）; （5） The 13th century

6、. A. The legend of Robin Hood; B. Magna Carta （1215）; C. the beginning of the Parliament D. English and Latin: official languages （the end） （6） The 14th century. a. the House of Lords and the House of Commonsconflict between the Parliament and Kings; b. the rise of towns. c. the change of Church. d.

7、 the role of women. e. the Hundred Years Warstarting. f. the development of the trade: London. g. the Black Death. h. the Peasants Revolt1381. i. The translation of Bible by Wycliffe. （7） The 15th century. a. The Peasants Revolt （1453） b. The War of Roses between Lancaster and Yorks. c. the printing

8、-pressWilliam Caxton. d. the starting of Tudor Monarchy（1485） 无 2. The Overview of Literature. （1） the stories from the Celtic lands of Wales and Brittanygreat myths of the Middle Ages. （2） Geoffrye of MonmouthHistoria Regum BritanniaeKing Authur. （3） WaceLe Roman de Brut. （4） The romance. （5） the s

9、econd half of the 14th century: Langland, Gawin poet, Chaucer. II. Sir Gawin and Green Knight. 1. A general introduction. 2. The plot. III. William Langland. 1. Life 2. Piers the Plowman IV. Chaucer 1. Life 2. Literary Career: three periods （1） French period （2） Italian period （3） master period 3. T

10、he Canterbury Tales A. The Framework; B. The General Prologue; 无 C. The Tale Proper. 4. His Contribution. （1） He introduced from France the rhymed stanza of various types. （2） He is the first great poet who wrote in the current English language. （3） The spoken English of the time consisted of severa

11、l dialects, and Chaucer did much in making the dialect of London the standard for the modern English speech. V. Popular Ballads. VI. Thomas Malory and English Prose VII. The beginning of English Drama. 1. Miracle Plays. Miracle play or mystery play is a form of medieval drama that came from dramatiz

12、ation of the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church. It developed from the 10th to the 16th century, reaching its height in the 15th century. The simple lyric character of the early texts was enlarged by the addition of dialogue and dramatic action. Eventually the performance was moved to the churchya

13、rd and the marketplace. 2. Morality Plays. A morality play is a play enforcing a moral truth or lesson by means of the speech and action of characters which are personified abstractions figures representing vices and virtues, qualities of the human mind, or abstract conceptions in general. 无 3. Inte

14、rlude. The interlude, which grew out of the morality, was intended, as its name implies, to be used more as filler than as the main part of an entertainment. As its best it was short, witty, simple in plot, suited for the diversion of guests at a banquet, or for the relaxation of the audience betwee

15、n the divisions of a serious play. It was essentially an indoors performance, and generally of an aristocratic nature. Chapter 3 English Literature in the Renaissance I.A Historical Background II. The Overview of the Literature （1485-1660） Printing pressreadershipgrowth of middle classtrade-educatio

16、n for laypeople-centralization of power-intellectual life-exploration-new impetus and direction of literature. Humanism-study of the literature of classical antiquity and reformed education. Literary style-modeled on the ancients. The effect of humanism-the dissemination of the cultivated, clear, an

17、d sensible attitude of its classically educated adherents. 1. poetry The first tendency by Sidney and Spenser: ornate, florid, highly figured style. The second tendency by Donne: metaphysical stylecomplexity and ingenuity. 无 The third tendency by Johnson: reactionClassically pure and restrained styl

18、e. The fourth tendency by Milton: central Christian and Biblical tradition. 2. Drama a. the native tradition and classical examples. b. the drama stands highest in popular estimation: Marlowe Shakespeare Jonson. 3. Prose a. translation of Bible; b. More; c. Bacon. II. English poetry. 1. Sir Thomas W

19、yatt and Henry Howard （courtly makers） （1） Wyatt: introducing sonnets. （2） Howard: introducing sonnets and writing the first blank verse. 2. Sir Philip Sidneypoet, critic, prose writer （1） Life: a. English gentleman; b. brilliant and fascinating personality; c. courtier. （2） works a. Arcadia: pastor

20、al romance; 无 b. Astrophel and Stella （ 108 ） : sonnet sequence to Penelope Dvereuxplatonic devotion. Petrarchan conceits and original feelings-moving to creativenessbuilding of a narrative story; theme-love originality-act of writing. c. Defense of Poesy: an apology for imaginative literaturebeginn

21、ing of literary criticism. 3. Edmund Spenser （1 ） life: Cambridge - Sidneys friend - Areopagus Ireland - Westminster Abbey. （2） works a. The Shepherds Calendar: the budding of English poetry in Renaissance. b. Amoretti and Epithalamion: sonnet sequence c. Faerie Queen: l The general endA romantic an

22、d allegorical epicsteps to virtue. l 12 books and 12 virtues: Holiness, temperance, justice and courtesy. l Two-level function: part of the story and part of allegory （symbolic meaning） l Many allusions to classical writers. L Themes: puritanism, nationalism, humanism and Renaissance Neoclassicisma

23、Christian humanist. （3） Spenserian Stanza. III. English Prose 无 1. Thomas More （1） Life: Renaissance man, scholar, statesman, theorist, prose writer, diplomat, patron of arts a. learned Greek at Canterbury College, Oxford; b. studies law at Lincoln Inn; c. Lord Chancellor; d. beheaded. （2） Utopia: t

24、he first English science fiction. Written in Latin, two parts, the secondplace of nowhere. A philosophical mariner （Raphael Hythloday） tells his voyages in which he discovers a land-Utopia. a. The part one is organized as dialogue with mariner depicting his philosophy. b. The part two is a descripti

25、on of the island kingdom where gold and silver are worn by criminal, religious freedom is total and no one owns anything. c. the nature of the book: attacking the chief political and social evils of his time. d. the book and the Republic: an attempt to describe the Republic in a new way, but it poss

26、esses an modern character and the resemblance is in externals. e. it played a key role in the Humanist awakening of the 16th century which moved away from the Medieval otherworldliness towards Renaissance secularism. 无 f. the Utopia （3） the significance. a. it was the first champion of national idea

27、s and national languages; it created a national prose, equally adapted to handling scientific and artistic material. b. a elegant Latin scholar and the father of English prose: he composed works in English, translated from Latin into English biography, wrote History of Richard III. 2. Francis Bacon:

28、 writer, philosopher and statesman （1） life: Cambridge - humanism in Paris knighted - Lord Chancellor bribery - focusing on philosophy and literature. （2） philosophical ideas: advancement of sciencepeople: servants and interpreters of naturemethod: a child before naturefacts and observations: experi

29、mental. （3） Essays: 57. a. he was a master of numerous and varied styles. b. his method is to weigh and balance maters, indicating the ideal course of action and the practical one, pointing out the advantages and disadvantages of each, but leaving the reader to make the final decisions. （arguments）

30、IV. English Drama 1. A general survey. （1） Everyman marks the beginning of modern drama. 无 （2） two influences. a. the classics: classical in form and English in content; b. native or popular drama. （3） the University Wits. 2. Christopher Marlowe: greatest playwright before Shakespeare and most gifte

31、d of the Wits. （1） Life: first interested in classical poetrythen in drama. （2） Major works a. Tamburlaine; b. The Jew of Malta; c. The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus. （3） The significance of his plays. V. William Shakespeare 1. Life （1） 1564, Stratford-on-Avon; （2） Grammar School; （3） Queen vis

32、it to Castle; （4） marriage to Anne Hathaway; （5） London, the Globe Theatre: small part and proprietor; （6） the 1st Folio, Quarto; （7） Retired, sonHamlet; H. 1616. 2. Dramatic career 无 3. Major plays-men-centered. （1） Romeo and Juliettragic love and fate （2） The Merchant of Venice. Good over evil. An

33、ti-Semitism. （3） Henry IV. National unity. Falstaff. （4） Julius Caesar Republicanism vs. dictatorship. （5） Hamlet Revenge Good/evil. （6） Othello Diabolic character jealousy gap between appearance and reality. （7） King Lear Filial ingratitude （8） Macbeth Ambition vs. fate. （9） Antony and Cleopatra. 无

34、 Passion vs. reason （10） The Tempest Reconciliation; reality and illusion. 3. Non-dramatic poetry （1） Venus and Adonis; The Rape of Lucrece. （2） Sonnets: a. theme: fair, true, kind. b. two major parts: a handsome young man of noble birth; a lady in dark complexion. c. the form: three quatrains and a

35、 couplet. d. the rhyme scheme: abab, cdcd, efef, gg. VI. Ben Jonson 1. life: poet, dramatist, a Latin and Greek scholar, the literary king （Sons of Ben） 2.contribution: （1） the idea of humor. （2） an advocate of classical drama and a forerunner of classicism in English literature. 3. Major plays （1）

36、Everyone in His Humorhumor; three unities. （2） Volpone the Fox Chapter 4 English Literature of the 17th Century I.A Historical 无 Background II. The Overview of the Literature （1640-1688） 1. The revolution period （1） The metaphysical poets; （2） The Cavalier poets. （3） Milton: the literary and philoso

37、phical heritage of the Renaissance merged with Protestant political and moral conviction 2. The restoration period. （1） The restoration of Charles II ushered in a literature characterized by reason, moderation, good taste, deft management, and simplicity. （school of Ben Jonson） （2） The ideals of imp

38、artial investigation and scientific experimentation promoted by the newly founded Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge （1662） were influential in the development of clear and simple prose as an instrument of rational communication. （3） The great philosophical and political treatis

39、es of the time emphasize rationalism. （4） The restoration drama. （5） The Age of Dryden. III. John Milton 1. Life: educated at Cambridgevisiting the continentinvolved into the revolutionpersecutedwriting epics. 无 2. Literary career. （1） The 1st period was up to 1641, during which time he is to be see

40、n chiefly as a son of the humanists and Elizabethans, although his Puritanism is not absent. LAllegre and IL Pens eroso （1632） are his early masterpieces, in which we find Milton a true offspring of the Renaissance, a scholar of exquisite taste and rare culture. Next came Comus, a masque. The greate

41、st of early creations was Lycidas, a pastoral elegy on the death of a college mate, Edward King. （2） The second period is from 1641 to 1654, when the Puritan was in such complete ascendancy that he wrote almost no poetry. In 1641, he began a long period of pamphleteering for the puritan cause. For s

42、ome 15 years, the Puritan in him alone ruled his writing. He sacrificed his poetic ambition to the call of the liberty for which Puritans were fighting. （3） The third period is from 1655 to 1671, when humanist and Puritan have been fused into an exalted entity. This period is the greatest in his lit

43、erary life, epics and some famous sonnets. The three long poems are the fruit of the long contest within Milton of Renaissance tradition and his Puritan faith. They form the greatest accomplishments of any English poet except Shakespeare. In Milton alone, it would seem, Puritanism could not extingui

44、sh the lover of beauty. In these works we find humanism and Puritanism merged in magnificence. 3. Major Works 无 （1） Paradise Lost a. the plot. b. characters. c. theme: justify the ways of God to man. （2） Paradise Regained. （3） Samson Agonistes. 4. Features of Miltons works. （1） Milton is one of the

45、very few truly great English writers who is also a prominent figure in politics, and who is both a great poet and an important prose writer. The two most essential things to be remembered about him are his Puritanism and his republicanism. （2） Milton wrote many different types of poetry. He is espec

46、ially a great master of blank verse. He learned much from Shakespeare and first used blank verse in non-dramatic works. （3） Milton is a great stylist. He is famous for his grand style noted for its dignity and polish, which is the result of his life-long classical and biblical study. （4） Milton has

47、always been admired for his sublimity of thought and majesty of expression. IV.John Bunyan 1. Life: （1） puritan age; 无 （2） poor family; （3） parliamentary army; （4） Baptist society, preacher; （5） prison, writing the book. 2. The Pilgrim Progress （1） The allegory in dream form. （2） the plot. （3） the t

48、heme. V. Metaphysical Poets and Cavalier Poets. 1. Metaphysical Poets The term metaphysical poetry is commonly used to designate the works of the 17th century writers who wrote under the influence of John Donne. Pressured by the harsh, uncomfortable and curious age, the metaphysical poets sought to

49、shatter myths and replace them with new philosophies, new sciences, new words and new poetry. They tried to break away from the conventional fashion of Elizabethan love poetry, and favoured in poetry for a more colloquial language and tone, a tightness of expression and the single-minded working out

50、 of a theme or argument. 2. Cavalier Poets The other group prevailing in this period was that of Cavalier poets. They were often courtiers who stood on the side of the king, and called themselves sons of Ben Jonson. The Cavalier poets wrote light poetry, 无 polished and elegant, amorous and gay, but

51、often superficial. Most of their verses were short songs, pretty madrigals, love fancies characterized by lightness of heart and of morals. Cavalier poems have the limpidity of the Elizabethan lyric without its imaginative flights. They are lighter and neater but less fresh than the Elizabethans. VI

52、. John Dryden. 1. Life: （1） the representative of classicism in the Restoration. （2） poet, dramatist, critic, prose writer, satirist. （3） changeable in attitude. （4） Literary careerfour decades. （5） Poet Laureate 2. His influences. （1） He established the heroic couplet as the fashion for satiric, di

53、dactic, and descriptive poetry. （2） He developed a direct and concise prose style. （3） He developed the art of literary criticism in his essays and in the numerous prefaces to his poems. Chapter 5 English Literature of the 18th Century I. Introduction 1. The Historical Background. 2. The literary ov

54、erview. 无 （1） The Enlightenment. （2） The rise of English novels. When the literary historian seeks to assign to each age its favourite form of literature, he finds no difficulty in dealing with our own time. As the Middle Ages delighted in long romantic narrative poems, the Elizabethans in drama, th

55、e Englishman of the reigns of Anne and the early Georges in didactic and satirical verse, so the public of our day is enamored of the novel. Almost all types of literary production continue to appear, but whether we judge from the lists of publishers, the statistics of public libraries, or general c

56、onversation, we find abundant evidence of the enormous preponderance of this kind of literary entertainment in popular favor. （3） Neo-classicism: a revival in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries of classical standards of order, balance, and harmony in literature. John Dryden and Alexander Pope

57、were major exponents of the neo-classical school. （4） Satiric literature. （5） Sentimentalism II. Neo-classicism. （a general description） 1. Alexander Pope （1）Life: a. Catholic family; 无 b. ill health; c. taught himself by reading and translating; d. friend of Addison, Steele and Swift. （2）three grou

58、ps of poems: e. An Essay on Criticism （manifesto of neo-classicism）; f. The Rape of Lock; g. Translation of two epics. （3）His contribution: h. the heroic coupletfinish, elegance, wit, pointedness; i. satire. （4） weakness: lack of imagination. 2. Addison and Steele （1） Richard Steele: poet, playwrigh

59、t, essayist, publisher of newspaper. （2） Joseph Addison: studies at Oxford, secretary of state, created a literary periodical Spectator （with Steele, 1711） （3） Spectator Club. （4） The significance of their essays. a. Their writings in The Tatler, and The Spectator provide a new code of social morali

60、ty for the rising bourgeoisie. b. They give a true picture of the social life of England in the 18th century. c. In their hands, the English essay completely established itself as a 无 literary genre. Using it as a form of character sketching and story telling, they ushered in the dawn of the modern