文艺复兴时期文学作品赏析(一)2012

• 1. The first period (1590-1594)----- the period of his apprenticeship in play-writing; During this period he wrote his early history plays or histories and a group of comedies. They are King Henry VI in three parts (1590-1592), Richard III (1593), Two Gentlemen of Verona (1594), and Love’s Labour Lost (1594). This is a period of experimentation. It is marked by imitation of existing plays, by the spirit of youthfulness and rich imagination, by exaggerated language and by the frequent use of rhymed couplets.
• In 1593-1594, Shakespeare published his two narrative poems, Venus and Adonis 《维纳斯和阿多 尼斯》(and The Rape of Lucrece 《露易丝受辱记 》). • In 1612 ，retired from the stage and returned to his hometown, where he bought a considerable estate and lived until his death on April 23, 1616, which was his 52nd birthday.
Remarks:
• Ben Jonson: he was not of an age, but for all time!”
Robert Greene: there is an upstart Crow, beautified with our Feathers, that with his Tiger’s heart wrapped in a Player’s hide, supposes he is as well able to bombast out a blank verse as the best of you: and being an absolute Johannes factotum, is in his own conceit the only Shake-scene in a country. 一只暴发户乌鸦靠我们的羽毛装饰自己，用演员的皮包藏起虎狼 之心，自以为装腔作势地写几句无韵诗就可以与你们中的姣姣者 媲美，他是个十足的《打杂者》，却自命为举国唯一震撼剧坛 的人物。”
• The Image of Sir John Falstaff: • One of the most brilliant creations in Shakespeare’s plays. • Fat, old, ugly, gross and guilty of many sins, like lying, taking bribes • Selfish, treacherous and cynical • A poverty-stricken and practical knight and adventurer • Falstaff is the product of a transition period when feudal ties are being dissolved and the capitalist society is not yet in birth. He is no long a feudal lord, yet he cannot become a capitalist. He is only a social parasite, moving about with a big belly, eating, drinking anerary career: • During the twenty-two years of his literary career, he produced 38 or 39 plays, 154 sonnets and two long poems. Shakespeare’s literary career may be divided into four major phrases which represent respectively his early, mature, flourishing, and late periods.
But his dissoluteness (放纵) is only skin-deep. He studies life, studies the people of his country. He is cool-headed and has a strong will. In the battle with Hotspur, he was cool-minded and full of confidence in his victory. In Henry V. Henry is represented as a model of ideal kingship. With his accession to the crown, Henry becomes another man. In the main, Henry V represents Shakespeare’s ideal of a good king and his aspiration for the national unity of England under a powerful and efficient monarchy.
• 2. The second period (1595-1600)------- mature period of “great comedies” and historical plays; The second period is a period of rapid growth and development, dating from 1595 to 1600. Such plays as Midsummer Night’s Dream (1595), Romeo and Juliet (1596), The Merchant of Venice (1597), the two parts of Henry IV (1597-1598), As You Like it (1598), Julius Caesar (1599), and Henry V (1599), were all written in this period. They show more careful and artistic work, better plot, and a marked increase in the knowledge of human nature.
• Life: • born in Stratford-on-Avon, a small town to the northwest of London. • born on the 23rd of April, 1564, in Stratford-onAvon, Warwickshire (沃里克郡艾汶河畔的斯特拉 福镇). • He got education in a local grammar school for a few years. There he picked up the “small Latin and less Greek”.
• 3. The third period (1601-1607)------- a period of gloom and depression; The third period is a period of gloom and depression, dating from 1601 to 1607. It is a period of his tragedies, such as Hamlet (1601), Othello (1604), King Lear (1605), and Macbeth (1605). • 4. The fourth period (1608-1612)------ a period of restored serenity. tragicomedies • The fourth period is a period of restored serenity, from 1608 to 1612. It is a period of calm after storm, with such plays as The Winter’s Tale (1610) and The Tempest (1611).
His Mature Historical plays: Shakespeare’s histories include 10 historical plays, 9 of which dramatize successively two centuries of English history from Richard II (13771399) to Henry VIII (1509-1547). They show the horrors of civil war, the responsibility of an efficient ruler, and the importance of legitimate succession to the throne. One of the most remarkable historical plays of Shakespeare is Henry IV. In the play, the son of Henry IV, Prince Hal (later Henry V) and Sir John Falstaff are the major characters.