新编英国文学选读(Lecture_2_Chaucer).ppt

1、A portrait of Chaucer,A portrait of Chaucer,A cover of Chaucers work,Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote The droghte of March hath perced to the roote, And bathed every veyne in swich licour, Of which vertu engendred is the flour; What Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth Inspired hath in every h

2、olt and heeth The tender croppes, and the yonge sonne Hath in the Ram his halve cours yronne, And smale foweles maken melodye, That slepen al the nyght with open ye (So priketh hem nature in hir corages); Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages (General Prologue 1-12),当四月用它甜美的雨水 彻底驱走了三月的干旱， 并用浆汁滋润

3、每根经脉， 任凭其力量使花苞绽放； 当春风用它芬芳的气息 令树林和灌木发出绿芽， 还有绿苗，那初春的太阳 已走完白羊座的一半路程， 小鸟们整天不停地鸣叫， 连晚上睡觉都张着眼睛 （大自然就这样使它们发情）； 这时人们便渴望去朝圣 （总引112）（沈弘译，参见乔叟何以被誉为“英语诗歌之父”？，外国文学评论2009第3期。,When the sweet showers of April fall and shoot Down through the drought of March to pierce the root 1 Bathing every vein in liquid power 2

4、From which there springs the engendering of the flower 3,1 The gentle spring rain penetrates the very roots of the plants.,2 The water of the spring rain moistens every rib of the leaves and endows the plants with its power.,3 With the water of the spring rain flowers begin to blossom.,the young sun

5、 / His half-course in the sign of the Ram has run: The sun is young because it has run only half way through the Ram, which is the first sign of the Zodiac. The sun runs through the sign of the Ram annually, from March 21st to April 21st.,For the zodiac signs, see the following picture.,黄道十二宫视觉图,白羊座

6、 金牛座 双子座 巨蟹座 狮子座 处女座 天秤座 天蝎座 射手座 摩羯座 水瓶座 双鱼座,Aries / Ram Taurus Gemini Cancer Leo Virgo Libra Scorpio Sagittarius Capricorn Aquarius Pisces,What are the symbolic meanings of pilgrimage in April?,Ram implies the coming of spring, closely related to birth and new life. April is a season for rebirth or

7、 new life. All this has a clear reference to the purpose of pilgrims who are doing their homage to a holy place. The pilgrims do their journey to holy places, which implies an act of purifying soul and consequently getting a rebirth.So, the time setting in the poem has a symbolic meaning.,To Chaucer

8、, to praise noble deeds and expose evil deeds are the two effective means of purifying human soul. So, the stories in The Canterbury Tales mainly aim for praise and for condemnation. In terms of religious themes, Chaucer is connected with the Medieval Ages.,According to Christianity, mans first fall

9、 in the Garden of Eden caused death to man, which means that mans body is exposed to sickness. In another way, original sin (breaking the covenant with God) caused man to deteriorate into a patient, waiting for Gods curing. This motif can be found in many western literary works.,How to understand th

10、e statement of “giving help to them when they were sick”? (p.31),Pilgrims to Canterbury,Another picture of the pilgrims for Chaucers Canterbury Tales,“He was as lusty as the month of May” implies the authors satire on the Knights son, for the word “lusty” is somewhat linked with seven deadly sins: p

11、ride, lust (excessive sexual appetites), sloth (idleness), gluttony (over-indulgence), wrath (anger), envy (jealousy), and greed (avarice). Lust and love are two different things; while a genuine, selfless love can represent the highest degree of development and feeling of community with others in a

12、 human relationship, lust can be described as the excessive desire for sexual release. The other person can be therefore seen as a “means to an end” for the fulfillment of the subjects desires, and becomes thus objectified in the process. （补充材料）,seven holy virtues: humility, chastity (purity of soul

13、), diligence (zeal/initiative), temperance (self-restraint), forgiveness, kindness (admiration), charity (giving),“By St. Loy!” was the worst oath she would say. Here is a good example of Chaucers gentle satire. A nun should not swear, but Chaucer defends her by saying that she does not swear by God

14、, and her greatest oath is “By St. Loy,” who was a well known French goldsmith in the 6th century.,Madam Eglantine (多花蔷薇；玫瑰) : The name is romantic, often used in romance, but some scholars proved that it was a common name in Chaucers time.,she sang a service, with a fine / intoning through her nose

15、: The prioress sings the divine words with a nasal sound so as to be pleasing to the opposite sex. But in Chaucers time it was not improper for a nun to sing hymns in the way she does. This satirically implies that the Nun was following fashion of her time.,Nor dipped her fingers in the sauce too de

16、ep: She never dipped her fingers in the sauce too deep. From the context, it can be known that she wanted to avoid gluttony so as to keep a slender figure.,Chaucers original text for the last two lines “On which there first was graven a crowned A, / And lower, Amor vincit omnia.” is “On which ther w

17、as first writen a crowned A, / And after, Amor vincit omnia.” That is, an A with an ornamental crown on it, and lower, written the Latin phrase meaning “love conquers all.” The Latin phrase is a much debated sentence: is it divine love or secular love?,Chaucer is the father of English literature, and started a great tradition for English literature: he initiated the realistic tradition in English literature; he initiated the tradition of irony and satire in Engl