英国文学与文化讲义

英国文学与文化讲义

电子科技大学外国语学院

郑怡

Contents

Unit 1 Greek Mythology (1)

Unit 2 Old English Culture and Literature (6)

Unit 3 Middle English Culture and Literature (8)

Unit 4 Renaissance Cultural Background (12)

Unit 5 Renaissance Historical Background (16)

Unit 6 Literature in the 16th Century (18)

Unit 7 17th Century Literature and Culture (23)

Unit 8 Jane Eyre (25)

Unit 1 Greek Mythology

Text A

SOURCES

What is mythology? Mythology is a form of literature that seeks to provide answers for the questions of the world. “Myth has two main functions,‖ the poet and scholar Robert Graves wrote in 1955. ―The first is to answer the sort of awkward questions that children ask, such as ?Who made the world? How will it end? Who was the first man? Where do souls go af ter death?‘…The second function of myth is to justify an existing social system and account for traditional rites and customs.‖ In ancient Greece, stories about gods and goddesses and heroes and monsters were an important part of everyday life. They explained everything from religious rituals to the weather, and they gave meaning to the world people saw around them.

In Greek mythology, there is no single original text like the Christian Bible or the Hindu Vedas that introduces all of the myths‘ characters a nd stories. Instead, the earliest Greek myths were part of an oral tradition that began in the Bronze Age, and their plots and themes unfolded gradually in the written literature of the archaic and classical periods. The poet Homer‘s 8th-century BC epics The Iliad and The Odyssey, for example, tell the story of the (mythical) Trojan War as a divine conflict as well as a human one. They do not, however, bother to introduce the gods and goddesses who are their main characters, since readers and listeners would already have been familiar with them.

Around 700 BC, the poet Hesiod‘s Theogony offered the first written cosmogony, or origin story, of Greek mythology. The Theogony tells the stor y of the universe‘s journey from nothingness (Chaos, a primeval void) to being, and details an elaborate family tree of elements, gods and goddesses who evolved from Chaos and descended from Gaia (Earth), Ouranos (Sky), Pontos (Sea) and Tartaros (the Underworld).

Later Greek writers and artists used and elaborated upon these sources in their own work. For instance, mythological figures and events appear in the 5th-century plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides and the lyric poems of Pindar. Writers such as the 2nd-century BC Greek mythographer Apollodorus of Athens and the 1st-century BC Roman historian Gaius Julius Hyginus compiled the ancient myths and legends for contemporary audiences.

1. The function of myth is ____________

A. to be an important part of the Greece‘s life.

B. to be materials for man to study ancient Greek.

C. to explain the world and give meanings to the world.

D. to be stories for children to have fun.

2. What is the source of Greek mythology?

A. It comes from a single book that introduces the myth stories.

B. It comes from the oral literature in the Bronze Age.

C. It comes from the written literature of the classical periods.

D. It comes from the great poet Homer‘s two books.

3. Which one is NOT TRUE about Hesiod‘s Theogony?

A. It offers the first written story of the Greek mythology.

B. It tells the story of the development of the universe.

C. It gives a detailed description of the divinities.

D. It describes the stories of the earth, sky, sea and the underworld.

THE OLYMPIANS

At the center of Greek mythology is the pantheon of deities who were said to live on Mount Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece. From their perch, they ruled every aspect of human life. Olympian gods and goddesses looked like men and women (though they could change themselves into animals and other things) and were–as many myths recounted–vulnerable to human foibles and passions.

The twelve main Olympians are:

_____: the king of all the gods (and father to many) and god of weather, law and fate

_____: the queen of the gods and goddess of women and marriage

_____: goddess of beauty and love

_____: god of prophesy, music and poetry and knowledge

_____: god of war

_____: goddess of hunting, animals and childbirth

_____: goddess of wisdom and defense

_____: goddess of agriculture and grain

_____: god of wine, pleasure and festivity

_____: god of fire, metalworking and sculpture

_____: god of travel, hospitality and trade and Zeus‘s personal messenger

_____: god of the sea

Text B

The Legend of Narcissus and Echo

Narcissus was walking in the woods when Echo, a mountain _______ saw him, fell deeply in love, and followed him. Narcissus sensed he was being ______ and shouted "Who's there?‖ Echo repeated "Who's there?‖ She could not ______ her identity and attempted to embrace him. He stepped away and told her to ______ him alone. She was _________ and spent the rest of her life in lonely glens until nothing but an _______ sound remained of her. Nemesis, the goddess of revenge, learned of this story and decided to _______ Narcissus. She lured him to a pool where he saw his own ______. He didn't realize it was only an/a ______ and fell in love with it. He eventually realized that his love could not be _______ and died.

Text C

Below are some famous stories / idioms in Greek mythology. Read them and MATCH them with the titles in the box.

Famous Idioms in Greek Myths

____________ After Prometheus' theft of the secret of fire, Zeus ordered Hephaestus to create the woman Pandora as part of the punishment for mankind. Pandora was given many seductive gifts from other Gods. For fear of additional reprisals（报复）, Prometheus warned his brother Epimetheus not to accept any gifts from Zeus, but Epimetheus did not listen, and married Pandora. Pandora had been given a large jar and instructed by Zeus to keep it closed, but she had also been given the gift of curiosity, and ultimately opened it. When she opened it, all of the evils, ills, diseases, and burdensome labor that mankind had not known previously, escaped from the jar, although Pandora was quick enough to close it again and keep one value inside: hope.

____________ Penelope waited 20 years for her husband, Odysseus, to return from the Trojan War. During his absence , she fended off suitors by promising to choose one when she finished weaving a shroud for her father-in-law. But at every night she unraveled what she had woven during the day.

____________ King Midas was granted one wish by the god Dionysus. Greedy for riches, Midas wished that everything he touched would turn to gold. He soon regretted his request. When he tried to eat, his food became inedible metal. When he embraced his daughter, she turned into a golden statue. On the instruction of Dionysus, he washed in a river and lost his touch of gold.

____________ In classical mythology, an apple thrown into a banquet of the gods and goddesses by the goddess Discord, who had not been invited. The apple had "For the Fairest" written on it. When three goddesses claimed it, the choice among them was referred to the handsome Paris, prince of Troy. Paris chose Aphrodite over Hera and Athena. The latter two had hoped to bribe him with power and victory in battle, but Aphrodite offered the love of the most beautiful woman in the world. This was Helen of Sparta, who became infamous as Helen of Troy when Paris subsequently eloped（私奔）with her. In the ensuing Trojan War, Hera and Athena were implacable enemies of Troy while Aphrodite was loyal to Paris and the Trojans.

____________ Achilles was the greatest warrior on the Greek side in the Trojan War. When he was an infant, his mother tried to make him immortal by bathing him in a magical river, but the heel by which she held him remained vulnerable. Eventually he was wounded in the heel by an arrow and died shortly thereafter.

____________The Greeks used a large, hollow horse made of wood to win the Trojan War. The

Greeks hid soldiers inside it, left it outside the gates of Troy, and set sail, apparently for Greece. The Trojans took the bait. That night the Greek army returned to Troy. The men inside the horse emerged and opened the city gates for their companions.

Text D

Choose the idioms above in the box and put them into the right places of the sentences.

1. He threw us an _________________, we soon quarreled again.

2. Psychologists say little boys who have deep affections to their mothers usually have ___________.

3. The shortage of fortitude is his ____________.

4. This question is as puzzling as ____________..

5. He is always buying you expensive clothes. I'm afraid they are __________ for you.

6. Your idol may have _________ on you.

7. Mr. Jones made a long speech at the meeting. Everyone thought it a _____________.

8. He loves himself so much that most people speak of him as a real ________.

9. John Lawrence has the ___________. Every enterprise he takes part in is highly profitable.

10. Reform is _____________; opening up the system can lead to a loss of economic and political control.

Text E The Trojan War

In the tenth and final year of the Trojan War, Chryses, a priest of Apollo, attempts to ransom his daughter from Agamemnon, commander-in-chief of the Greece, who has taken her captive while on a raid. When Agamemnon treats him roughly and refuses the ransom, Apollo is angered and brings plague on the Greece. The Greece prophet Calchas correctly identifies the cause of the problem, and he suggests giving the girl back with gifts to Apollo. Agamemnon demands that he be compensated for the loss of the girl, and Achilles, the greatest Greece warrior, objects. The two men quarrel viciously. Agamemnon says he will take back Briseis, a captive woman who was given to Achilles as a prize for valor. Horribly dishonored, Achilles returns to his ships and refuses to fight. Agamemnon has Briseis taken from Achilles, and he returns Chryses' daughter to him. Achilles asks his mother, the goddess Thetis, to prevail on Zeus, king of the gods, to bring ruin on the Greece as long as Achilles does not fight for them. Zeus is indebted to Thetis, and he grants her request.

With Achilles out of the way, Hector, champion of the Trojans, drives the Greece back to their beached ships. The Greece build fortifications, but at the urging of the chieftains Agamemnon sends and embassy to ask Achilles to return to battle. Agamemnon offers rich prizes, but Achilles refuses the offer and remains withdrawn from battle.

The Greece fortifications are breached, and many of the greatest remaining Greece warriors are wounded. Achilles beloved companion, Patroclus, begs Achilles to do something to help their fellow soldiers. He asks that he be allowed to put on Achilles' armor, so that the Trojans will think that Achilles has returned. Achilles grants the request, but warns Patroclus to return once he has driven the Trojans back from the ships. Patroclus drives the Trojans back all the way to their own city walls, but there Hector

kills him with the help of Apollo. Hector strips his armor and puts it on himself, and the Greece barely manages to save Patroclus' body from desecration.

Achilles goes berserk with grief and rage. Thetis warns him that if he kills Hector, he will die soon afterward. Achilles accepts his own life as the price for revenge. He reconciles himself to Agamemnon, receives new armor, via his mother, forged by the smith of the gods, Hephaestus. He charges into battle, slaughtering Trojans left and right, routing the Trojan army almost single-handedly. He meets Hector, chases him around the city, and kills him easily. He then drags the body from the back of his chariot, running laps around the city of Troy so that the Trojans can watch as their champion's body is horribly desecrated.

Achilles returns to the Greece camp, where he holds magnificent funeral games for Patroclus. He continues to abuse Hector's corpse. Zeus sends Thetis to tell Achilles that he must accept the ransom that Priam, king of Troy and father of Hector, will offer in exchange for Hector's body. Priam himself comes to see Achilles, the man who has slaughtered so many of his sons, and Achilles suddenly is reminded of his own father who, as Priam has, will outlive his most beloved son. He understands what he has done, and his rage and grief give way to compassion. He returns the body and offers a cease-fire so that the Trojans can bury Hector. With the word of Achilles as their guarantee, the Trojans take eleven days to give Hector a proper mourning and funeral. As the epic ends, the future is clear: Achilles will not live to see the fall of Troy, but the city is doomed nonetheless. All but a handful of her people will be slaughtered, and the city will be wiped off the face of the earth.

1) Achilles VS Agamemnon

A: Achilles‘ Wrath: a. Reason___________________ B. Result ________________________

B. Achilles‘ Reconciliation: a. Reason ___________ B. Result ______________________

2) Achilles VS Hector A: Who is winning? ________ B. the outcome of the War _________

Text F Selective reading from Iliad

1) Priam begs Achilles to return the body of Hector:

Think, oh Achilles, semblance of the Gods!

On thy own father full of days like me,

And trembling on the gloomy verge of life.

Some neighbor chief, it may be, even now

Oppresses him, and there is none at hand,

No friend to suocor him in his distress.

Yet, doubtless, hearing that Achilles lives,

He still rejoices, hoping, day by day,

That one day he shall see the face again

Of his own son from distant Troy return'd.

But me no comfort cheers, whose bravest sons,

So late the flower of Ilium, all are slain.

When Greece came hither, I had fifty sons;

Nineteen were children of one bed, the rest

Born of my concubines. A numerous house!

But fiery Mars hath thinn'd it. One I had,

One, more than all my sons the strength of Troy,

Whom standing for his country thou hast slain—

Hector—his body to redeem I come

Into Achaia's fleet, bringing, myself,

Ransom inestimable to thy tent.

Reverence the Gods, Achilles! recollect

Thy father; for his sake compassion show

To me more pitiable still, who draw

Home to my lips (humiliation yet

Unseen on earth) his hand who slew my son.

Unit 2 Old English Culture and Literature

Text A

The Ancient Celts

Read the following paragraphs and choose title for each paragraph.

1 ________ The Iron Age Celts lived in Britain several hundreds years before the birth of Jesus Christ. The early Celts didn't leave books behind because they didn't read and write. But luckily, the Greeks and Romans did write about the Iron Age Celts. They tell us that the Celts lived in tribes; they wore gold and loved to fight and drink wine.

2 ________The name Iron Age comes from the Celts' discovery and use of iron.The Celtic craftsmen loved symmetrical designs and patterns. They were especially fond of a three-legged (triskeles) shape. They also liked to use animal shapes and faces in their patterns.

3 ________Iron Age Celts lived in houses. Usually, large families lived in a roundhouse. The walls were made of daub (straw, mud and tail) and the roof of straw.The Celts would light a fire in the middle of the roundhouse for cooking and heating.

4 ________The Iron Age Celts' clothes might have looked like the tartan we see in Scotland and Ireland today. The Celts used berries and plants to dye the wool different colors. The Celts' clothes showed their status and importance within the tribe. If you were an important member of the tribe, you would wear a neck torc of gold, silver or iron, decorated with patterns. Ordinary men would wear a tunic with a belt, a cloak and trousers. Women wore dresses fastened with brooches.

5 ________The Romans say that the Celts lost their tempers and quarreled often. When they fought, they were naked. It‘s believed that women would fight as well. Their main weapons were the sword and spear. Although the Celts were proud, brave and skilled fighters, they were rather undisciplined. That‘s why in the end they were defeated by the Romans.

6 ________Archaeologists believe that the Iron Age Celts had many gods and goddesses and that the Celts worshipped their gods through sacrifice, either valuable objects, animals, or even humans to

their gods.

Text B

Anglo-Saxon England

Beginning in the 400s AD, tribes from the North, known as the Angles, the Saxons, and the Jutes moved into the islands of Britain. Some accounts called these people settlers; other accounts called them invaders. Whatever they were called, they came to England to stay.

People know the events of that time from the Angle-Saxon Chronicle, the only written history surviving from that period. The chronicle tells of battles and invasions and all types of changes over the years of the early Middle Ages.

The most famous leader of this time was Alfred the Great. Alfred lived in Wessex, which was in the southern part of England. Since he had three elder brothers, he did not expect to grow up to be king. That all changed when all three of his elder brothers died. Alfred became king of Wessex in 871. he was a good leader who made his kingdom stronger. He created a system of defenses, called burhs, across the country. He built up a fleet of ships to fight off invaders. He reorganized the military so that his men had time to fight and time to farm. Alfred‘s efforts protects his people from Viking invaders and allowed Wessex to grow. Eventually the rulers of Wessex would rule all of England.

Alfred also made other improvements. He instituted a code of laws for his people. He encouraged learning and translated several important books into his Saxon language. This was the beginning of the language we call English today. Two important pieces of literature from this time are the Angle-Saxon Chronicle and Beowulf. Beowulf is a long poem about a fictional hero named Beowulf. It was composed in the 8th century by an unknown storyteller and written down much later by unknown scribes. In the story, Prince Beowulf comes to Denmark to help the king get rid of a monster called Grendel. After defeating Grendel, Beowulf has to fight Grendel‘s mother and then a terrible dragon.

Both Angle-Saxon Chronicle and Beowulf were written in the language that later became known as Old English. Old English was the first of several versions of the English language. Old English looks like a foreign language today. People who speak English today cannot read Old English unless they study it like a foreign language. It even has some letter that we no longer use. Nevertheless, it is the beginning of English.

Basic facts check-up:

1. All of the following, except for _____, were tribes from the north who moved into England in the 400s AD.

A. Angles

B. Saxons

C. Jutes

D. Celts

2. The Angle-Saxon Chronicle is a ______.

A. poem about a hero named Beowulf

B. newspaper

C. historical record

D. novel

3. Alfred the Great was king of _______.

A. Wessex

B. Great Britain

C. the North

D. none of the above

4. Which happened first in the life of Alfred the Great?

A. He created a code of laws

B. He protected his people from Viking attacks.

C. His brothers died.

D. He became king.

5. For most people, Old English would be ______.

A. easy to read

B. easy to speak

C. a little difficult

D. unreadable

Text C

Anglo-Saxon English

The English language begins with the phrase ?________!‘ as the Romans leave Britain and a lot of Germanic tribes started _____, tribes such as the Angles and the Saxons, who together gave us the term Anglo-Saxon, and the Jutes –who didn‘t.

The Romans left some very _____ roads behind, but not much of their Latin language. The Anglo-Saxon vocab was much more useful as it was mainly words for _____ everyday things like ?house‘, ?woman‘, ?loaf‘ and ?werewolf‘.

Four of our days of the week (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday) were named ________ Anglo-Saxon gods. They didn‘t bother with Saturday, Sunday and Monday as they had all gone off for a long _______.

While they were away, Christian ________ stole in, bringing with them leaflets about jumble sales and more Latin. Christianity was a hit with the locals and made them much happier to ______ funky new words like ?martyr‘, ?bishop‘ and ?font‘.

Along came the Vikings, with their _______ words like ?drag‘, ?ransack‘, ?thrust‘ and ?die‘. They may have raped and pillaged but they were also i nto ?give‘ and ?take‘ – two of around 2000 words they gave English, as well as the phrase ?watch out for that man with the ________ axe.

Unit 3 Middle English Culture and Literature

Text A

The Norman Conquest

The year was 1066 AD. The Middle Ages had already been going on for 600 years. During the 600 years, many battles had been fought, land had frequently changed hands, and rulers had often been replaced by new rulers all over Europe. Parts of Europe had begun to settle into large kingdoms, much like the countries of Europe today. Other parts were still disorganized with no central government.

England was one of those places. Each section was ruled by its own duke, and a central government was just beginning to develop, which meant that if England was attacked, it had no organized way to fight back.

And that is exactly what happened in 1066. It is a complicated story full of actions, promises, and lies.

It started back in 1035, in the Viking settlement of Normandy in France. There, William, a seven-year-old boy, was crowned king. For the first few years, William‘s great uncle ruled in his place, but William, like other boys of his time, grew up fast. At the age of 15, he was knighted. By the age of 20, he wa not only ruling on his own, but also waging wars against his enemies. He often had to defend himself against uprisings within his kingdom. He fought off invaders from other lands. Soon, William was experienced and ruthless military leader.

Then, in 1064, he was visited by an English duke, Harold of Wessex. Some reports say that Harold was sent there as a messenger by the king of England. Other reports say that the visit was an accidnt, when his ship was blown off course. The question of what really happened during this visit will become important soon.

The next big event occurred in 1065, when Edward, king of England, died. Harold returned to England and claimed the throne for himself. William also claimed the throne, saying that it had been promised to him in a message sent to him by King Edward in 1064. A third claim to the throne was also

made by a Norweigian ruler named Hardrada.

In England, the council of roral advisors, called the Witan, met. They heard that King Edward‘s dying words had been, ―Into Harold‘s hands I commit my kingdom,‖and they decided that Harold was the rightful heir to the throne.

William did not agree. Neither did Hardrada. Both men planned attacks on England. Tostig, the brother of King Harold, joined the fight on the side of Hardrada.

Tostig and Hardrada attacked first. This gave William time to build up his war power. He gathered thousands and thousands of troops. Some were archers, skilled with bows and arrows, and some were cavalry, skilled horseback fighters. William also built up his fleet of ships. By August of 1066, he was ready with 700 sailing ships. The ships carried everything that he would need for an invasion --- soldiers and weapons, materials to build a fort, thousands of horses, and provisions for a long campaign.

They landed in England, at Pevensey, and marched to Hastings. There they built their fort and continued to plan their attack. When Harold heard of their arrival, he rushed his troops to meet them. Harold set up his headquarters six miles from William‘s. he chose a location that was protected by swamps and trees. The two sides edged closer and closer to each other. Battle lines bagan to form. On October 14th, 1066, William‘s troops, now only a few hundred yards away from Harold‘s, attacked with a barrage of arrows. Harold‘s men defended themselves by raising a wall of shields. William‘s troops continued to attack from both sides. They attacked from horseback and continued their bow and arrow assaults. Harold‘s infantry, armed with fearsome battle-axes, were still no match for Normans. His troops, hemmed in on all sides, had no place to go. By evening, William‘s warriors were victorious. Harold‘s forces had suffered heavy losses, and his remaining troops were forced to retreat.

After the Battle of Hastings, William advanced across England, conquering more and more lands as he went. Finally, he had fought his way to London. There, William‘s victory was made official. On Christmas, 1066, William was crowned King of England.

William brought a new culture and many changes; he made England a unified Kingdom. He bacame known as William the Conqueror.

Text B

Middle English

1066. True to his name, William the Conqueror invades England, bringing new _______ from across the channel, like the French language, the Doomsday Book and the duty-free Galois's multipack. French was "de rigueur" for all ______ business, with words like "judge", "jury", "evidence" and "justice" coming in and giving John Grisham's career a kick-start. Latin was still used "ad nauseam" in ______, but the common man spoke English, able to _______ only by speaking more slowly and loudly until the others understood him. Words like "cow", "sheep" and "swine" come from the English-speaking _____. While the "a la carte" versions "beef", "mutton" and "pork" come from the French-speaking _____, beginning a long-running trend for restaurants having completely indecipherable menus.

All in all, the English _____ about 10,000 new words from the Normans, though they still couldn't grasp the rules of cheek kissing. The "bon-ami" all ended when the English nation took their new ______ lingo of "armies", "navies" and "soldiers" and began the Hundred Years' War against France. It actually lasted 116 years but by that point, no one could _____ any higher in French and English took over as the language of _____.

Text C

The Canterbury Tales

1）Introduction

Read the following paragraph and put the words and phrases into the right places.

The Canterbury Tales tells a group of pilgrims traveling on horseback to the shrine of Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. ______ by Geoffery Chaucer in the year between 1387-1400, the book has a general prologue and 24 tales are connected by ―links‖. The work was left _____ upon the death of the poet in 1400.

The general prologue is considered the best part of the whole work. In it the poet tells how, one day in April, he comes to the Tabbard Inn in the southern ______ of London. He meets a group of 29 pilgrims who are from _______ and who are going to Thomas Becket‘s tomb at Canterbury. Chaucer is invited to join them on their journey. The _____ of the inn, Harry Bailey, also agrees to join them. In order to help them _______ on the journey, the host suggests that each pilgrim should tell two stories on the _____ trip and another two on the way back, and whoever gives the best tale is to be ______ a free supper at the cost of all the rest upon their return to the inn. The host will also be a _____. According to this plan, there should have been a total of 120 tales, but Chaucer only _____ to write 24 tales. The pilgrims do not even reach Canterbury.

2）Selected Reading

THE WIFE OF BATH (from Prologue)

There was a housewife come from Bath, or near,

Who? sad to say? was deaf in either ear.

At making cloth she had so great a bent

She bettered those of Ypres and even of Ghent.

In all the parish there was no goodwife

Should offering make before her, on my life;

And if one did, indeed, so wroth was she

It put her out of all her charity.

Her kerchiefs were of finest weave and ground;

I dare swear that they weighed a full ten pound

Which, of a Sunday, she wore on her head.

Her hose were of the choicest scarlet red,

Close gartered, and her shoes were soft and new.

Bold was her face, and fair, and red of hue.

She'd been respectable throughout her life,

With five churched husbands bringing joy and strife,

Not counting other company in youth;

But thereof there's no need to speak, in truth.

Three times she'd journeyed to Jerusalem;

And many a foreign stream she'd had to stem;

At Rome she'd been, and she'd been in Boulogne,

In Spain at Santiago, and at Cologne.

She could tell much of wandering by the way:

Gap?toothed was she, it is no lie to say.

Upon an ambler easily she sat,

Well wimpled, aye, and over all a hat

As broad as is a buckler or a targe;

A rug was tucked around her buttocks large,

And on her feet a pair of sharpened spurs.

In company well could she laugh her slurs.

The remedies of love she knew, perchance,

For of that art she'd learned the old, old dance.

Text E

英国早期文学概况

英国最初的文学同其他国家最初的文学一样，不是书面的，而是口头的。故事与传说口头流传，并在讲述中不断得到加工、扩展，最后才有写本。而且由于科技的不发达，很多自然现象和神秘事物没有合理的解释，所以在一定史实基础上的传说，传奇就广为流传开来。英国文学包括：史诗、骑士浪漫诗(Romance)、民间通俗文学。

公元五世纪中叶，盎格鲁、撒克逊、朱特三个日耳曼部落开始从丹麦以及现在的荷兰一带地区迁入不列颠。盎格鲁-撒克逊时代给我们留下的古英语文学作品中，最重要的一部是《贝奥武甫》（Boewulf），它被认为是英国的民族史诗。当时，不列颠正处于从中世纪异教社会向以基督教文化为主导的新型社会过渡的时期。因此，《贝奥武甫》也反映了七、八世纪不列颠的生活风貌，呈现出新旧生活方式的混合，兼有氏族时期的英雄主义和封建时期的理想，体现了非基督教日耳曼文化和基督教文化两种不同的传统。

公元1066年，居住在法国北部的诺曼底人在威廉公爵率领下越过英吉利海峡，征服英格兰。诺曼底人占领英格兰后，封建等级制度得以加强和完备，法国文化占据主导地位，法语成为宫廷和上层贵族社会的语言。这一时期风行一时的文学形式是浪漫传奇，流传最广的是关于亚瑟王和圆桌骑士的故事。《高文爵士和绿衣骑士》（Sir Gawain and the Green Knight , 1375-1400）以亚瑟王和他的骑士为题材，歌颂勇敢、忠贞、美德，是中古英语传奇最精美的作品之一。传奇文学专门描写高贵的骑士所经历的冒险生活和浪漫爱情，而骑士精神也是作品意在颂扬的。

14世纪以后，英国资本主义工商业发展较快，市民阶级兴起，英语逐渐恢复了它的声誉，社会各阶层普遍使用英语，为优秀英语文学作品的产生提供了条件。·乔叟（Geoffrey Chaucer, 1343-1400）的出现标志着以本土文学为主流的英国书面文学历史的开始。《坎特伯雷故事》（The Canterbury Tales）以一群香客从伦敦出发去坎特伯雷朝圣为线索，通过对香客的生动描绘和他们沿途讲述的故事，勾勒出一幅中世纪英国社会千姿百态生活风貌的图画。乔叟首创英雄诗行，即五步抑扬格双韵体，对英诗韵律作出了很大贡献，被誉为“英国诗歌之父”。乔叟的文笔精练优美，流畅自然，他的创作实践将英语提升到一个较高的文学水平，推动了英语作为英国统一的民族语言的进程。

Unit 4 Renaissance Cultural Background

Text A

Humanism

Beginning in the late 1300s, a group of scholars centered in the Italian city-state of Florence began to look to the past for _______. These scholars were later called humanists because they stressed human ________ instead of spiritualism. The humanists studied the classics – the works of the ancient Greeks and Romans. In the works of the classics, Renaissance scholars found a way of thinking similar to their own time. They believed this _______ had not been explored since the fall of Greece and Rome.

The humanists recreated classical styles in art, literature, and architecture. Humanists believed that by studying the classics, they could better ________ people and the world. The humanists believed in reason. Reason is the ability to think logically. The scholars promoted the _________ of nature, they sought to be clear and articulate in their speaking and writing, and they promoted the responsibility every citizen has to his or her _______. In 1459, Battista Guarino wrote, "To each species of creature has been allotted a peculiar and instinctive gift. To horses galloping, to birds flying, comes naturally. To man only is given the desire to _____." The Renaissance humanists valued human experience and believed in the ______ and worth of the individual.

The humanists emphasized the importance of human _____ instead of religious beliefs. Renaissance humanists were often devout Christians, but their promotion of secular, or non-religious values, often put them ________ the church. Today we refer to the study of literature, philosophy and art as the humanities. The civilizations of Greece and Rome ended long ago, but those civilizations continue to influence us through the humanities.

Text B

One day I wrote her name upon the strand,

But came the waves and washed it away:

Agane I wrote it with a second hand,

But came the tyde, and made my paynes his pray.

“Vayne man,‖ sayd she, ―that doest in vaine assay,

A mortal thing so to immortalize,

For I my selves shall lyke to this decay,

And eek my name bee wyped out lykewize.‖

“Not so,‖ quod I, ―let baser things devize,

To dy in dust, but you shall live by fame:

My verse your vertues rare shall eternize,

And in the heavens wryte your glorious name.

Where whenas death shall all the world subdew,

Our love shall live, and later life renew.‖

Text C

Text C Biblical account of David and Goliath The account of the battle between David and Goliath is told in Samuel《撒母耳记》, chapter 17. Saul and the Israelites are facing the Philistines near the Valley of Elah. Twice a day for 40 days, Goliath, the

champion of the Philistines, comes out between the lines and challenges the Israelites to send out a champion of their own to decide the outcome in single combat, but Saul and all the Israelites are afraid. David, bringing food for his elder brothers, hears that Saul has promised to reward any man who defeats Goliath, and accepts the challenge. Saul reluctantly agrees and offers his armor, which David declines, taking only his sling and five stones from a brook.

David and Goliath confront each other, Goliath with his armor and shield, David with his staff and sling. "The Philistine cursed David by his gods." but David replies: "This day Jehovah will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down; and I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that God saves not with sword and spear; for the battle is God‘s, and he will give you into our hand."

David hurls a stone from his sling with all his might and hits Goliath in the center of his forehead, Goliath falls on his face to the ground, and David cuts off his head. The Philistines flee and are pursued by the Israelites. David puts the armor of Goliath in his own tent and takes the head to Jerusalem, and Saul sends Abner to bring the boy to him. The king asks whose son he is, and David answers, "I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite."

Mark the following statements TURE or FALSE.

1. The Israelites and the Philistines confront each other for 80 days.

2. David takes an armor and his sling to fight against Goliath.

3. David relies on the faith to God to win Goliath.

4. Goliath is hit in the center of his forehead and falls down.

5. David cuts down the head of Goliath.

Text D

Genesis (selected)

The Beginning

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

3 And God said, ―Let there be light,‖ and there was light.

4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.

5 God called the light ―day,‖ and the darkness he called ―night.‖ And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

6 And God said, ―Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.‖

7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so.

8 God called the vault ―sky.‖ And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.

9 And God said, ―Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.‖ And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground ―land,‖ and the gathered waters he called ―seas.‖ And God saw that it was good.11 Then God said, ―Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fr uit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.‖ And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.

14 And God said, ―Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.‖ And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to

govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.

20 And God said, ―Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.‖ 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, ―Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.‖ 23 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.

24 And God said, ―Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.‖ And it was so.

25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

26 Then God said, ―Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.‖

27 So God created mankind in his own image,

in the image of God he created them;

male and female he created them.

28 God blessed them and said to them, ―Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.‖

29 Then God said, ―I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give eve ry green plant for food.‖ And it was so.

31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

The Eden

2 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. 2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.

3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.

5 Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground,

6 but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground.

7 Then the Lord God formed a man[c] from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

8 Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed.

9 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

10 A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters.

11 The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold.

12 (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin[d] and onyx are also there.) 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush.[e] 14 The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.

16 And the Lord God commanded the man, ―You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.‖

18 The Lord God said, ―It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.‖

19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. But for Adam no suitable helper was found. 21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man‘s ribs[g] and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib[h] he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. 23 The man said,

“This is now bone of my bones

and flesh of my flesh;

she shall be called ?woman,‘

for she was taken out of man.‖

24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. 25 Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

The Fall

3Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said

to the woman, ―Did God really say, ?You must not eat from any tree in the garden‘?‖ 2 The woman said to the serpent, ―We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ?You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.‘‖ 4 ―Yo u will not certainly die,‖ the serpent said to the woman. 5 ―For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.‖ 6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, ―Where are you?‖ 10 He answered, ―I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.‖ 11 And he said, ―Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?‖ 12 The man said, ―The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.‖

13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, ―What is this you have done?‖

The woman said, ―The serpent deceived me,and I ate.‖

14 So the Lord God said to the serpent, ―Because you have do ne this,

―Cursed are you above all livestock

and all wild animals!

You will crawl on your belly

and you will eat dust

all the days of your life.

15 And I will put enmity

between you and the woman,

and between your offspring[a] and hers;

he will crush[b] your head,

and you will strike his heel.‖

16 To the woman he said,

―I will make your pains in childbearing very severe;

with painful labor you will give birth to children.

Your desire will be for your husband,

and he will rule over you.‖

17 To Adam he said, ―Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ?You must not eat from it,‘

―Cursed is the ground because of you;

through painful toil you will eat food from it

all the days of your life.

18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,

and you will eat the plants of the field.

19 By the sweat of your brow

you will eat your food

until you return to the ground,

since from it you were taken;

for dust you are

and to dust you will return.‖

20 Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.

21 The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. 22 And the Lord God said, ―The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.‖23 So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken.24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side[e] of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

Unit 5 Renaissance Historical Background

Text A

Fun Facts about the Tudor Age

Which one do you think is TURE?

1. Girls could marry at the age of 12, boys at the age of 14! They still had to live with their parents until

they were 16 though.

2. Nine out of ten people died before they were 40. There was so much disease and they had no idea

how to cure any of them or how to be hygienic.

3. Baths were not considered healthy, so Tudors just covered up the awful smell with strong perfume.

4. Toilets were called ―privies‖ and were not very private at all. They were often just a piece of wood

over a hole in the ground and might have room for up to 6 people to go at the same time.

5. Open sewers ran in the streets and passed many of the diseases on.

6. An average person drank about 8 pints of weak beer a day, which had very little alcohol and even

children drank; it was safer than the water. It was called ―small beer‖.

7. They knew that sugar rotted their teeth, and since sugar was so expensive, women used to

deliberately black their teeth out to look rotten, because it showed they could afford to buy sugar. 8. A popular ―cure‖ for illness was bloodletting. People believed that illness was caused by too much

blood in the body. So they would cut a slit and let some of the blood out. Sounds like you‘d feel worse after that.

9. Water came from village pumps, and they got the water from the local stream, which was most likely

full of sewage from the town. No wonder they got so ill.

Text B

The Religious Reformation in England (1517-1563) The English Reformation started in the reign of Henry VIII. The English Reformation was to have far-reaching consequences in Tudor England. Henry VIII decided to rid himself of his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, after she had failed to produce a male heir to the throne. He had already decided who his next wife would be --- Anne Boleyn. By 1527, Catherine was considered too old to have anymore children.

However, a divorce was not a simple issue. In fact, it was a very complicated one. Henry VIII was a Roman Catholic, and the head of the church was the Pope based in Rome. The Roman Catholic faith believed in marriage for life. It did not recognize, let alone support, divorce. This put Henry VIII in a different position. If he went ahead and announced that as King of England he was allowing himself a divorce, the Pope could excommunicate him. This meant that under Catholic Church law, your soul could never get to Heaven. To someone living at the time of Henry, this was a threat which the Catholic Church used to keep people under its control.

Another approach Henry used was to make a special appeal to the Pope so that the Pope would agree to Henry‘s request for a divorce purely because Henry was King of England, but it would not affect the way the Catholic Church banned divorce for others. The Pope refused to grant Henry this and by 1533 his anger was such that he ordered the Archbishop of Canterbury to grant him a divorce so that he could marry Anne Boleyn. The Archbishop granted Henry his divorce---against the wish of the Pope. This event effectively led to England breaking away from the Roman Catholic Church based in Rome. Henry placed himself as head of the church and in that sense, in his eyes, his divorce was perfectly legal.

How did the people of England react to this? In fact, the vast bulk of the population was very angry at the way the Roman Catholic Church had used them as a source of money. To get married you had to pay; to get a child baptized you had to pay; you even had to pay the Church to bury someone on their land. Therefore, the Catholic Church was very wealthy while many poor remained just that poor. Henry sensed the Catholic Church‘s unpopularity and therefore used this to his advantage. Henry was made Supreme Head of the Church by a series of laws in 1534. The country was still Catholic but the Pope‘s power had been ended.

To reform means to change. This is why this event is called the English Reformation as it did change the way the church was run throughout England. However, the death of Henry in 1547 did not see an end of the religious problems of England.

Text C

Elizabeth I

Mark the following statements TURE or FALSE.

1. Elizabeth I is the most famous among all England‘s kings and queens.

2. She was imperious, conning, sexy, ruthless and male.

3. She was supremely successful as a queen.

4. On the 7th, November, 1558, Elizabeth became the queen of England.

5. As a princess, Elizabeth had the right to succession.

6. Elizabeth never got to know her mother.

7. Elizabeth can speak five different languages and also studied history and philosophy.

8. On June 26th, 1544, Henry VIII announced Elizabeth was the third one to the succession.

Unit 6 Literature in the 16th Century

--- Hamlet

Text A

Comments on Shakespeare’s Characters

Shakespeare is above all writers, at least above all modern writers, the poet of ______ ; the poet that holds up to his readers a faithful ______ of manners and of life. His characters are not ______ by the customs of particular places, unpracticed by the rest of the world; by the _________ of studies or professions, which can operate but upon small numbers; or by the accidents of transient fashions or _________ opinions: they are the genuine progeny of common humanity, such as the world will always supply, and observation will always find. His persons act and speak by the influence of those general ________ and principles by which all minds are ________, and the whole system of life is continued in motion. In the writings of other poets a character is too often an individual; in those of Shakespeare it is commonly a _________.

Text B

Read the five paragraphs about the story of the play and put them into the right order.

Hamlet

1Hamlet then confronts Gertrude with his disgust at her actions. During their confrontation, Hamlet seems to mistake the eavesdropping Polonius for a rat and kills him. He also has a vision of the Ghost, who reminds him of his purpose. Gertrude sees all this and concludes that Hamlet truly is mad. Upon hearing this, Claudius arranges for Hamlet's friends to take him to England, where he is to be executed. Hamlet, however, realizes what's going on, turns the tables on his friends, escapes, and returns to Denmark. There, he learns that Ophelia, driven mad by his abandonment and the death of her father, has killed herself. As he watches the returned Laertes mourn his sister, Hamlet is moved to confront him, and