Survey and Reading of British Literature.ppt

1、Survey and Reading of British Literature,CAI Yuhui Ph. D.,Objectives of the Course,To help learners build up literary critical abilities by reading and appreciating some classical works in British literature; To help learners enhance cultural awareness by introducing the social and cultural backgrou

2、nd concerning British literature; To help learners improve language abilities in the aspect of literary criticism and research writing.,Background Information,The Britons, a tribe of Celts-the earliest inhabitants : marginalized in history but its traditions increasingly felt in modern times: colour

3、ful life patterns and optimistic manners; AngloSaxons and Jutes - new inhabitants from the north of Europe, exerting their influence on English nationality of diligence in working and melancholy manners of life;,Normans - new inhabitants and ruling class over the island, brought about a new language

4、, comparatively civilized life patterns, e.g. constitutional concepts, governmental strategies and management, and romantic attitude and manners; More variables affecting the making of national identities: location island and near the north; weather- mild; resources limited; blend of races openness.

5、,General colors of British Literature,elegant and standard in language; melancholy and ironical in style or in tone; conventional and conservative in thematic concern and in literary thoughts.,AngloSaxon Literature,AnglesAngle-landEngland Language by Angles, Saxons, Jutes (Teutonic tribes or Teutons

6、 from the north of Europe) ( 0ld)English The literature: pagan and Christian, i.e. that by Teutons brought about from the ancestors, like, Beowulf, and that of the monks, e.g. poetic paraphrase of the Bible,The Song of Beowulf,English national epic The story: Beowulf, a hero of the Geats , the aid o

7、f Hrogar, the king of the Danes, whose great hall, Heorot, plagued by the monster Grendel. Beowulf kills both Grendel and Grendels mother. Later, king of the Geats, fought a dragon and killed it but mortally wounded, dead and buried in a barrow. The theme: a revelation of primitive state of Anglo-Sa

8、xons in tribal stage, of their interactions with nature and rivals, and of their values and moralities. The artistic features: wide use of alliteration, metaphors and understatements.,English Ballads,The Robin Hood Ballads :The character of Robin Hood is manysided. Strong, brave and clever, he is at

9、 the same time tender-hearted and affectionate. He is a man with a twinkle in his eye, a man fond of a very joke and a hearty laugh. But the dominant key in his character is his hatred for the cruel oppressors and his love for the poor and downtrodden. - by LIU Binshan,Geoffrey Chaucer and The Cante

10、rbury Tales,Chaucers main contributions to English Literature: 1) the blend of three languages into the early shape of modern English; 2) application and spread of couplet as one of standard poetic forms; 3) creation of The Canterbury Tales,Background for Renaissance Literature,Historically: 1. 1485

11、 Henry VII: end of the War of Roses and unification of England, 2. 1588 victory over the Spanish Armada; 3. Puritan Revolution Culturally: 1. the Renaissance movement: worship for humanism, for learning, for science; 2. Religion Reform break with Rome and foundation of National Church; 3. publicatio

12、n of James version Bible Economically: 1. “sheep devoured men” movement; 2. rapid expansion of cities.,Great writers in this period,William Shakespeare: sonnets, tragedies, comedies; Edmund Spenser: The Faerie Queene ;Spenserian stanza and sonnets; Christopher Marlowe:The Jew of Malta ; Dr. Faustus

13、; one of the University Wits Ben Jonson: Every Man In His Humor ; Volpone, or the Fox , Comedies of Humors John Donne: A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning; The Flea; one of the leading Metaphysical poets Francis Bacon: Of Studies, essayist John Milton: Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained,Reading of Shak

14、espeare,Reading of Sonnet 18 Metrical analysis meter: iambic pentameter rhyme pattern : abab cdcd efef gg Technical analysis Alliteration Images,Thematic analysis Who is “thee” in the poem? What is “this” in the poem? What do “rough winds” stand for? What does “summers lease” imply? What does “natur

15、es changing course stand for? What does “Death” symbolize for? There are three “fairs” in the poem and do they refer to the same thing? If not, what for respectively in concrete?,Reading of Hamlet, an excerpt,Paraphrases: To live or not to live is the question Im wondering about. Is it nobler to bea

16、r the attacks of the cruelty of fortune than to stand up to fight against the endless troubles in order to end them? To die means to sleep, and there would be no more. In that case, we can end the heart-ache and endless natural disasters we are born to have and also the completion of all troubles in

17、 our life we earnestly wish for. To die is like a sleep. In the sleep, we may have a dream and then have a dilemma because what kind of dream we may have will hinder us.,Paraphrases continued because in the death-like sleep we have no idea about what kind of dream we may have when we have shaken off

18、 human sufferings. There must be some reason that explains the misfortune of such a long life; if he may end his life only with a knife, who would like to bear the whips and scorns of life, the oppressors wrong deeds, the proud mans insult, the pains of rejected love, the insult from officials, the

19、kicks that a man of merit receives patiently from the unworthy men? Who would like to bear the burdens and to suffer under a weary life if not because they are afraid of the situation after death?,Paraphrase continued That world is unknown to us and from which no traveler has ever returned. Just bec

20、ause of this, it puzzles our will and makes us rather bear those pains we have than fly to the other world we know nothing about. Just because of this, it puzzles our will and makes us rather bear those pains we have than fly to the other world we know nothing about. This reflection does make us hes

21、itant and in that case our resolution would be withered, the direction (would be) changed, and the determination (would be) shaken.,Character analysis of Hamlet on the monologue Personality analysis hesitant in determination and action thoughtful in mind sensitive in feeling melancholy in mood Conce

22、ptual analysis believe in present life than that after life very perceptive at the cruelty and hardships of the life or the society,Reading of Romeo and Juliet,Background information Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young “star-cro

23、ssd lovers whose untimely deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeares most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with Hamlet, is one of his most frequently performed plays. Today, the title characters are regarded as archetypal young lovers.,Inserted sonnet in Sc

24、ene 5, Act I Romeo: ( to Juliet ) If I profane with my unworthiest hand, This holy shrine, the gentle pain is this: My lips, two blushing pilgrims hands to touch, And palm to palm is holy palmers kiss. Juliet: Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much, Which mannerly devotion show in this, For s

25、aints have hands that pilgrims hands do touch, And palm to palm is holy palmers kiss.,Romeo: Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too? Juliet: Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer. Romeo: O then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do, They pray: grant thou, lest faith turn to despair. Ju

26、liet: Saints do not move, though grant for prayers sake, Romeo: Then move not, while my prayers effect take.,Internal conflict analysis: Internal conflict with Romeo:,Terms,Shakespeare four great tragedies Shakespeares tragedies are often regarded as his greatest accomplishments, while his four trag

27、edies stand out as the masterpieces. The four great tragedies are Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth. Hamlet, a drama of murder and revenge, reveals the conflict between feudalism and humanism. Othello, a tragedy of credulity, depicts a conflict between an upright man and a pure woman with a tre

28、acherous villain and his tricks. King Lear, a tragedy of vanity, hypocrisy and flattery, discloses the serious struggle for property and fame. Macbeth, a tragedy of wild ambition, depicts the struggle for the crown among the noble and the royal.,John Donne and Metaphysical Poetry,Criticism on John D

29、onne and Metaphysical Poetry John Donnes importance is “chiefly because he started more or less a new school of poetry, the metaphysical school, which had a number of followers and which had its influence even upon some of the Cavalier poets.” A History of English Literature Chen Jia,He can perceive

30、 beauty, but at the very moment of that perception he sees the corpse, the cerement cloths, the skeleton. He knows passion, but he can mock at the physical body through which passion is transmitted. This restlessness brings his mind and his body very close to each other. His thought is ever at the s

31、ervice of his passions; his passions enter into his thought. Contraries exist in his mind, but they are ever moving one into the other. A Short History of English Literature - Ifor Evance,Reading of The Flea,Paraphrase ( for reference ) Look! This is a flea. Look at the flea. How little is that whic

32、h you denied me (my love, compared with the flea ). It sucked me first, and now it sucks you. And in this flea two drops of our blood are mingled. You know that this ( the mixture of our blood ) cannot be regarded as a sin, or a shame, or loss of virginity. The flea, however, enjoys happiness before

33、 it succeeded in obtaining promise. And it swells with one blood over-supplied or eaten from us two. Oh, this is more than we would do.,Oh, stop! Please spare three lives in one flea, from which we are almost more than married, indeed. So this flea is the mixture of you and me, and this is our marri

34、age bed and this room is our marriage church. Even though your parents feel resentful about and you are unwilling to our meet, we met and hid in this black room with living things, and your habit makes you likely to kill me because in the flea there is my blood. Please do not do that and that would

35、add to your suicide, and that is a disrespect for the sacred and would be three sins in killing three lives.,How cruel you are in killing the flea in such a sudden move sine you have purpled your nail in the blood of an innocent flea? In what respect could this flea be killed except that it sucked a

36、 drop of blood from you? You say in such a triumph tone, however, that you and I now are not found any weaker of life at all because of the loss of blood. It is true that we know our fears would be false. If so, its just the same honor for you if you accept my love, and it will waste nothing at all

37、just as the fleas death wastes nothing of your life.,Analysis of the conceit What is a conceit? A conceit is an extended metaphor with a complex logic that governs a poetic passage or entire poem. Major features of metaphysical conceits: 1. seemingly dissimilar but essentially similar to each other

38、in implications hidden in the comparison; 2. an idea, or a concept or even a striking truth implied in some unusual or fanciful images.,Metaphysical Poetry (as a term) This is a term applied to a group of seventeenth century poets, such as John Donne, George Herbert, Andrew Marvell and so on. They s

39、hared some features in writing, for example, they favored using conceits, hyperboles and overstatements, they also liked to develop some peculiar themes, but didnt like to be restrained by strict rhythm.,English Literature in Neo-Classicism(1660-1798),Background information Historical background 1.

40、The Restoration (1660) 2. The Glorious Revolution ( 1688 ) 3. The rise of the industrialization 4. Rapid expansion of territory and economical boom,Cultural background The Enlightenment : The Age of Reason - proportion, unity, harmony and grace. Prosperities in printing, publications and the rise of

41、 modern fiction. The rise and independence of intellects.,Literary achievements: John Dryden (1631-1700 ):father of prose and criticism-An Essay On Dramatic Poesy John Bunyan ( 1628-1688 ): The Pilgrims Progress William Congreve ( 1670-1728 ) :The Way of the World , one of Comedy of Manners playwrig

42、hts Joseph Addison ( 1672-1719) and Richard Steele ( 1672-1729 ) :The Tatler ; The Spectator Daniel Defoe ( 16601731):Robinson Crusoe ,the first English novel, Moll Flanders, picaresque novel Alexander Pope (1688-1744 ): An Essay On Criticism, famous as one of the leading enlightenment theorists tog

43、ether with S. Johnson Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) :Gullivers Travels Samuel Richardson ( 1689-1761 ) : Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded , one of the epistolary novels,Henry Fielding ( 1707-1754) :The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling Laurence Sterne (17131768 ):Tristram Shandy, Sentimental Journey which is

44、 taken as the start of sentimentalism Samuel Johnson (17091784):A Letter to Lord Chesterfield, one of the giant enlightenment theorists, editor of The Dictionary of the English Language Richard Brinsley Sheridan ( 17511816 ): The School for Scandal,masterpiece of Comedy of Manners Thomas Gray ( 1716

45、1771 ): An Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard, remembered as a top of the Graveyard Poets or School William Blake ( 1757-1827 ): London, Tiger Horace Walpole (1717-1797):The Castle of Otranto, one of the representative Gothic novels Robert Burns (17591796 ): A Red, Red Rose, My Hearts in the High

46、lands , Scottish national poet,Reading of J. Swift,Story September 7, 1710 July 2, 1715 Despite his earlier intention of remaining at home, Gulliver returns to sea as a captain. On this voyage he is forced to find new additions to his crew who he believes to have turned the rest of the crew against

47、him. His crew then mutiny or rebel and after keeping him contained for some time resolve to leave him on the first piece of land they come across and continue on as pirates. He is abandoned in a landing boat and comes first upon a race of (apparently) hideous deformed creatures to which he conceives

48、 a violent antipathy or dislike. Shortly thereafter he meets a horse and comes to understand that the horses (in their language Houyhnhnm or the perfection of nature) are the rulers and the deformed creatures (Yahoos) are human beings in their base form.,Gulliver becomes a member of the horses house

49、hold, and comes to both admire and emulate the Houyhnhnms and their lifestyle, rejecting humans as merely Yahoos endowed with some semblance of reason which they only use to exacerbate and add to the vices Nature gave them. However, an Assembly of the Houyhnhnms rules that Gulliver, a Yahoo with som

50、e semblance of reason, is a danger to their civilization and he is expelled. He is then rescued, against his will, by a Portuguese ship, and is surprised to see that Captain Pedro de Mendez, a Yahoo, is a wise, courteous and generous person. He returns to his home in England. However, he is unable t

51、o reconcile himself to living among Yahoos; he becomes a recluse or hermit, remaining in his house, largely avoiding his family and his wife, and spending several hours a day speaking with the horses in his stables.,Artistic analysis of sarcasm or satirical devices A. to compare human beings to Yaho

52、os, the most greedy, disgustful, dirty and corrupted animals in the world，but former even in many aspects are less capable, for instance, less energy, slower, and so on; B. to contrast human beings with Houyhnhnms by exposing human beings corruption of morality, and lack of virtue, while Houyhnhnms

53、virtue and ration; C. to specifically and closely illustrate some examples of semblances between human beings and Yahoos to achieve the effects of sarcasm.,Thematic analysis 1. Through the comparison with Houyhnhnms and Yahoos, human beings are the least able and rational but more disgustful, greedy

54、, corrupted creatures, for example, (omitted); 2. Through the descriptions of the semblances between human beings and Yahoos, the latter functions as a mirror reflecting human beings nature, like, avarice or greed, corruption, dirt, deception, hypocrisy and so on.,Reading of William Blake,Brief intr

55、oduction: life and works Reading of The Tyger Paraphrase Questions for understanding and analysis: What picture do you have of the tiger in your mind after reading through the poem? What is the general impression on the picture of the tiger in your mind? Lovely, terrible, fearful, powerful, or mixed

56、 with all mentioned?,Rhetorically speaking, what is the general inclination of the diction, derogative, commendatory, or neutral? Why does the poet use so many interrogative sentences? There is slight difference, only two words different, exactly speaking, between the first and the last stanza, how

57、much does the difference count? Who might be “he” in the poem? What is the implication of the Lamb? What is the symbol of the tiger?,Analysis of the tiger as an image of symbol: a symbol of destructive force a symbol of supernatural force a symbol of rebellious force a symbol of strength, energy, fe

58、rocity and symmetry Discussion on the multiplicity of the implications of the tyger.,Terms,Gothic novel is applied to a certain kind of novel which became very popular in the second half of the 18th century. Most of Gothic novels were tales of mystery and horror, intended to chill the spine and curd

59、le the blood. They contained a strong element of the supernatural and traditional haunted house props, and they are often set in medieval castles with secret passages and winding stairways and stupefying atmosphere of doom and gloom. The main figures and the works of the novel are: Horace Walpole (The Castle of Otranto, 1765), Mrs. Ann Radcliffe (The Mysteries of Udolpho, 1794 ) and Clara Reeve (The Champion of Virtue, a Gothic Story, 1777 ). Gothic novel had some and long influence on both English and American literature.,Sentimentalism is appl