英国文学史及选读课件 1 History and Anthology

1、History and Anthology of British Literature,Todays Schedule,introduction What is literature? Why do we study British literature? What are we going to know in this course? Unit 1: The Anglo-Saxon Period,What is literature?,“written compositions that tell stories, dramatize situations, express emotion

2、s, and analyze and advocate拥护;提倡;主张 ideas.” Development: oral written printed,Literary genres体裁,Fiction (narrative fiction叙述虚构 ): novel, novella中篇小说, short story, myth, parable 寓言, romance, epic史诗 Poetry images, sound, figurative language Drama Poetic form daily language Nonfiction非小说类散文文学 prose散文 :

3、 news report, feature articles, text-books, historical and biographical works,Why study literature?,Help us grow Help us understand the world Clarify our own identity Improve our language competence能力,胜任,称职,What are we going to learn in this course?,Syllabus教学纲要 for this course see the contents of t

4、he textbook,Timeline时间轴 of British literature,Tribal部落的,种族的 society of the Celts凯尔特人 the Roman conquest Anglo-Saxons盎格鲁撒克逊人 the Norman诺曼底人 Conquest (the old and Medieval中世纪的 period) 2. mid-15th to early 17th c. (the Renaissance) ,Timeline of British literature,3. 17th century; 18th century (the Neoc

5、lassical period新古典主义时期 , Enlightenment, the rise of novel ) 4. 19th century (Romanticism浪漫主义 , Victorian age, Realism) 5. 20th century (Naturalism自然主义 , Modernism, Post-modernism),Outline of History of English literature,449,1485,1660,1798,1832,1901,The Middle Ages,The Renaissance,The Neoclassicism,

6、The Romanticism,The Victorian Age,The 20th Century,Unit 1 The Anglo-Saxon Period,(449 - 1066),Basic Background,1. The formation of Britain:,1. The formation of Britain:,2. Social Background:,1）The Anglo-Saxons were in the later stages of tribal society, and feudalism封建制度 assumed definite shape. 2) A

7、griculture developed and trade expanded.,3) The Anglo-Saxons were heathens异教徒 (pagans无宗教信仰者 ) upon their first arrival in England. In A. D. 597, the first missionaries传教士 led by St. Augustine came to England from Rome and converted使皈依;使改变信仰 King Ethelbert of Kent, and within a century (in 7th centur

8、y) all England was Christianized.,3. Literature:,1) Two divisions: Pagan literature: Anglo-Saxons Oral sagas英雄传奇 Christian literature: writings developed under the teaching of the monks after the introduction of Christianity基督教；基督精神 into England,2) Two poets: a. Caedmon凯德蒙(公元7世纪盎格鲁-撒克逊基督教诗人)： latter

9、 half of 7th. Century Paraphrase of the Bible b. Cynewulf 基涅武甫(盎格鲁-撒克逊诗人, 生活在公元9 世纪诺森伯里亚 或麦西亚, 其古英语诗稿于10世纪被发现, 有埃琳娜、使徒们的命运、基督升天和朱莉安娜等): 8th. Century poems on religious subjects,3). Beowulf,Beowulf - the national epic of the Anglo-Saxons,a. origin: existed in its oral form as early as the 6th century

10、 written down in the 7th or 8th century. The only existing manuscript was written by an unknown scribe(尤指古代印刷术发明之前的)抄写员 at the beginning of the 10th. Century.,epic,An extended narrative poem in elevated or dignified language, celebrating the feats of a legendary or traditional hero. 史诗：用严肃或庄重的语言写成的叙

11、事长诗，歌颂传奇中或历史上英雄的丰功伟绩,b. content: It contains 3182 lines of alliterative头韵的, 头韵体的 verse诗句,诗行;诗节 and it is the longest of the early Anglo-Saxon poems preserved.,c. a brief summary of the story: see the textbook,Beowulf: nephew of Hygelac,Hygelac: king of Geats in Jutland,Hrothgar: king of the Danes,Gr

12、endel: a monster,Its characters:,Its Plot故事情节 :,Beowulfs fight with the monster Grendel in Hrothgars hall,2) Beowulfs slaying杀死，宰杀，杀戮 of Grendels mother in her lair(野兽的)窝,穴,3) Beowulfs return in glory to his uncle, and his succession to the throne王座,御座;宝座,4) Beowulfs victory in death, fifty years la

13、ter, over the fire dragon,Its features:,The use of alliteration,The use of metaphors and understatements轻描淡写,The mixture of pagan and Christian elements,Alliteration,Alliteration is the repetition of consonants, esp. at the beginning of words or stressed syllables音节 .,Alliteration:,“Thus made their

14、mourning the men of Geatland,For their heros passing, his hearth-companions,Quoth that of all the kings of earth,Of men he was the mildest and most beloved,To his kin the kindest, keenest to praise.”,“head rhyme首韵 ”,d. significance: Beowulf towers above高于，优于 all other literary works Anglo-Saxon period chiefly because it is a powerful poem about a peoples hero written in true epic style.,Beowulf is not simply a man of great military bravery but he is forever eager to help others in