英国文学史复习资料(吴伟仁版上册)
(完整word版)吴伟仁--英国文学史及选读--名词解释
①Beowulf: The national heroic epic of the English people. It has over 3,000 lines. It describes the battles between the two monsters and Beowulf, who won the battle finally and dead for the fatal wound. The poem ends with the funeral of the hero. The most striking feature in its poetical form is the use if alliteration. Other features of it are the use of metaphors(暗喻) and of understatements(含蓄).②Alliteration: In alliterative verse, certain accented(重音) words in a line begin with the same consonant sound(辅音). There are generally 4accents in a line, 3 of which show alliteration, as can be seen from the above quotation.③Romance: The most prevailing(流行的) kind of literature in feudal England was the Romance. It was a long composition, sometimes in verse(诗篇), sometimes in prose(散文), describing the life and adventures of a noble hero, usually a knight, as riding forth to seek adventures, taking part in tournament(竞赛), or fighting for his lord in battle and the swearing of oaths.④Epic: An epic is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significantly to a culture or nation. The first epics are known as primacy, or original epics.⑤Ballad: The most important department of English folk literature is the ballad which is a story told in song, usually in 4-line stanzas(诗节), with the second and fourth lines rhymed. The subjects of ballads are various in kind, as the struggle of young lovers against their feudal-minded families, the conflict between love and wealth, the cruelty of jealousy, the criticism of the civil war, and the matters and class struggle. The paramount(卓越的) important ballad is Robin Hood(《绿林好汉》).⑥Geoffrey Chaucer杰弗里.乔叟: He was an English author, poet, philosopher and diplomat. He is the founder of English poetry. He obtained a good knowledge of Latin, French and Italian. His best remembered narrative is the Canterbury Tales(《坎特伯雷故事集》), which the Prologue(序言) supplies a miniature(缩影) of the English society of Chaucer’s time. That is why Chaucer has been called “the founder of English realism”. Chaucer affirms men and women’s right to pursue their happiness on earth and opposes(反对) the dogma of asceticism(禁欲主义) preached(鼓吹) by the church. As a forerunner of humanism, he praises man’s energy, intellect, quick wit and love of life. Chaucer’s contribution to English poetry lies chiefly in the fact that he introduced from France the rhymed stanza of various types, especially the rhymed couplet of 5 accents in iambic(抑扬格) meter(the “heroic couplet”) to English poetry, instead of the old Anglo-Saxon alliterative verse.⑦【William Langland威廉.朗兰: Piers the Plowman《农夫皮尔斯》】The English Bible: The first complete English Bible was translated by John Wycliffe(约翰?威克里夫). The Authorized Version is King James Bible made in 1611. The result is a monument of English language and English literature.Renaissance: Renaissance or the birth of letters is an intellectual movement. Its two features are a thirsting curiosity for the classical literature and the keen interest in the activities of humanity. Humanism is the key-note of the Renaissance.William Caxton威廉.卡克斯顿: He is the first English printer and invented in England the profession of publisher.Thomas More托马斯.莫尔: The greatest of the English humanists was Thomas More, the author of Utopia《乌托邦》. He is also one of such “giants”(巨匠) of the Renaissance. He distinguished himself as a learned scholar, a master of Latin, a witty talker, a lover of music, an honest statesman , and a man of noble character, modest but steadfast(坚定的), to his convictions. He was a far-sighted thinker, aspired for a totally new society with happy, classless, and free from poverty and exploitation. He was one of the forerunners of modern socialist thought.Utopia: It is More’s masterpiece, written in the form of a conservation between More and Hythloday, a returned voyager. It is divided into two books. The first book contains a long discussion on the social conditions of England. In the second book is described in detail an ideal communist society, Utopia. The name “Utopia”comes from Greek words meaning “no place”and was adopted by More as the name of his ideal commonwealth.Philip Sidney菲利普.锡德尼: He is well-known as a poet and critic of poetry. His collection of love sonnets, Astrophel and Stella《爱星者与星》, was published in 1591.Edmund Spenser埃德蒙.斯宾塞(莎翁之前最杰出的英国诗人)：The poet’s poet of the period was ES who was buried beside Chaucer in Westminster Abbey. ES has held his position as a model of poetical art among the Renaissance English poets, and his influence can be traced in the works of Milton, Shelley, and Keats. ES is the first master to make that language the natural music of his poetic effusions(感情的流露). His sonnets in Amoretti, together with Sidney’s Astrophel and Stella and Shakespeare’s sonnets ,are the most famous sonnet sequences of the Elizabeth Age. 【In 1579 he wrote The Shepherd’s Calendar《牧人日记》which marked the budding(萌芽) of the Renaissance flower in the northern island of England. The faerie Queen 《仙后》is his greatest work which was dedicated to Queen Elizabeth.】Francis Bacon: He is the founder of English materialist philosophy and the founder of modern science in England. His New Instrument is called the Inductive Method of reasoning. He is also the first English essayist. To give a few, “Men fear death as children fear to go in the dark..”“Studies serve for delight.”“Reading makes a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man.”Drama: The Miracle Play圣迹剧The Morality Play道德剧寓意剧The Interlude幕间节目Christopher Marlowe克里斯托弗.马洛: The most gifted of the “university wits”was Christopher Marlowe. His best work include 3 of his plays, Tamburlaine《帖木儿大帝》(1587), The Jew of Malta《马耳岛的犹太人》(1592), and Doctor Faustus《浮士德博士》(1588). He was the greatest of the pioneers of English drama. His work paved the way for the plays of the greatest English dramatist——Shakespeare——whose achievements were the monument of the English Renaissance.【His plays show the spirit of the rising bourgeoisie, its eager curiosity for knowledge, its towering pride, its insatiable(不知足的) appetite for power won by military, might, knowledge, or gold. The theme of his plays is the praise of individuality freed from the restraints of medieval dogmas and law, and the conviction of the boundless possibility of human efforts in conquering the universe. The heroes in his plays are merely individualists, their individualistic ambition often brings ruin to the world and sometimes to themselves.】William Shakespeare: Shakespeare is one of the founders of realism in world literature. His dramatic creation often used the method of adaptation（改革）. Shakespeare long experience with the stage and his intimate knowledge of dramatic art thus acquired make him a master hand for playwriting. Shakespeare was skilled in many poetic forms: the song, the sonnet, the couplet, and the dramatic blank verse. He was especially at home with the blank verse. Shakespeare was a great master of the English language. Shakespeare has been universally acknowledged to be the summit of the English Renaissance, and one of the greatest writers over the world.①The great comedies: A Midsummer Might’s Dream, The Merchant of Venice, As You Like It, Twelfth Night.②The great tragedies: Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth.The Merchant of Venice: 威尼斯富商安东尼奥Antonio为了成全好友巴萨尼奥Bassanio的婚事，向犹太人高利贷者夏洛克Shylock借债。
吴伟仁的英国文学史及选读
History and Anthology of English LiteraturePart One The Anglo-Saxon PeriodBeowulfQuestions:1.The earliest literature falls into two divisions ___________,and_______________.2.Christianity brings England not only __________ and___________but also thewealth of a new language.3.Who is Beowulf? And What is Beowulf?4.How did Beowulf come into being?5.Who is Grendel? And what is the result of Grendel‟s fight with Beowulf?6.How did the Jutes hold the funeral for him?Key points of this part:The most important work of old English literature is Beowulf------- the national epic of the English people. It is of Germanic heritage, perhaps the greatest Germanic epic and contains evidently pre-Christian elements existing at first in an oral tradition, the poem was passed from mouth to mouth for generations before it was written down. The manuscript preserved today was written in the Wessex tongue about 1000A.D., consisting altogether of 3183 lines.There are three episodes related to the career of Beowulf:1.the fight with the monster, Grendel.2.The fight with Grendel‟s mother, a still more frightful she-monster.3.The moral combat with the fire Dragon.The significance lies in the vivid portrayal of a great national hero, who is brave, courageous, selfless, and ever helpful to his people.There are three important features::1.Alliteration (words beginning with the same consonant sound). This ischaracteristic of all old English verse.2.Metaphors and understatements. There are many compound words used in thepoem to serve as indirect metaphors that are sometimes very picturesque. , e.g.“riging-giver”is used for King; “hearth-companions “for his attendant warriors;“Whale‟s road” for the sea; “spear-fighter” for soldier etc. And as understatement we can see: “not troublesome”for welcome; “need not praise”for a right to condemn. This quality is often regarded as characteristic of the English people and their language.3.Mixture of pagan and Christian elements: the observing of omen, cremation,blood-revenge, and the praise of worldly glory.All these woven into the poem.Part Two The Anglo-Norman Period (1066---1350)Questions:1.When and led by whom did England begin to receive French civilization andlanguage?2.What are the chief features of the literature in this period?3.What are the three types of the stories in this period?4.Who is the green knight? Why did he cut Gawain three times and why didGawain feel shame?5.Did Gawain win the game of exchanging blows?6.Why did the green knight offer the green girdle as a free gift to Gawainfinally?Medieval Literature Anglo-Norman PeriodThere are a few occurrences of historic events that should be kept in mind:1)The Establishment of the Feudal System2)The 1381 peasant Uprising------Watt Tyler of Kent: 100000 people marched onLondon, destroyed manor-houses, burnt court paper--- records of their bondage and demanded the abolition of serf slavery and a general pardon.3)The Launching of the Crusades: a series of wars between Christians and Muslimsthat lasted for 170 years.4)The Signing of the Magna Carter in 1215 by which King John was forced torecognize the rights of the powerful barons.5)The War with France or the Hundred Years‟ War (1337-1453)Sir Gawain and the Green KnightOne important story in the Arthurian legend has been refined in detail in a famous medieval poem. Little is know about its author except he was a contemporary of Chaucer and probably a Christian priest. The poem was composed towards the end of the 14th century (about 1375) as an evident effort to extol Sir Gawain and his knightly virtues of loyalty, valor, rectitude, and integrity.Sir Gawain is an upright knight, ever ready to uphold the ideals of King Arthur‟s court. One Christmas, as the story goes, a knight all in green appears at court and challenges the king to cut off his head on the condition that he comes to meet him in one year‟s time. Sir Gawain stands out for his lord and beheads the weird visitor.The Green Knight takes up his head and leaves. When the appointed time comes, Sir Gawain sets off to meet him. He comes to a castle and is well received by its lord and lady. The lord invites Sir Gawain to go hunting with him, but the knight prefers to stay at home. The two agree to share in the evening whatever they may have won during the day. This goes on for three days. On the first day the lord ofthe castle hunts for a deer, while Sir Gawain is under the lady‟s siege to kiss her. The lord is happy to give half of his trophy in the evening to Sir Gawain in return for his brief kiss on his cheek. The second day ends with the lord giving half a boar for another brief kiss. When the third evening comes, the lord gets three kisses for half of his fox‟s skin, Sir Gawain having withheld the girdle that the lady has forced on him for his safety. Then the day comes to meet the Green Knight, who turns out to be the lord of the castle. Sir Gawain shrinks a little but soon recovers his valor to face the blow. But the Green Knight only cuts a scratch on his neck, saying that he would not even have done that to him had he shared the girdle with him in honesty. They become good friends. Sir Gawain goes back to the king‟s court.Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a 4-part work of 2,530 lines in 101 sections. Part one(11.1-490) deals with the beheading; part two(11.491-1125)tells of the long and arduous trip Gawain makes to the castle; part three(11.1126-1996) relates the three days he spends in a bargain with the lord; and part four(11.1997-2530) wraps up his trip with his final encounter with the Green Knight and the anti-climatic revelation of the moral of the story. In structural terms the narrative is well conceived and neatly knit into an organic unity. The different parts and sections interlock and the threads are pulled together to offer a sense of finality. There is also a fine psychological element that enriches the plot and adds to the characterization. Sir Gawain is not presented as a rigid heroic type but as a human being with his worries and fears. The description of the change of seasons appears in a long portion of the second part of the poem, serves in fact as a means of externalizing the complex inner world of the man going to his death. In addition, Sir Gawain‟s hiding of the girdle, which the lady says can protect him form harm, is a nice tour de force to throw the man‟s fear into relief. There is then the three days‟ bargaining, which reveals the nature of the temptations that put Sir Gawain‟s integrity into a strenuous test—the lady‟s progressive advances to him. To the intensity of the lady‟s offensive, the hunting serves as an apt foil—deer (timidity). The boar (the wild and aggressive), and the fox (the cunning).The characterization of Sir Gawain is very interesting to note. His portrait is vivid and fully rounded. There is in him a stranger medley of conflicting qualities that makes him perfectly human. Alongside the best of all human virtues, there is also an indication of traits not altogether admirable. He hesitates in face of possible danger as Roland in C hanson de Roland does not. He meditates as Roland does not. He is just a little short of an ideal hero. The effect of allowing readers to see all the aspects of his personality is achieved by a subtly imbedded irony, a good-natured satirical edge, against chivalry.Sir Gawain and the Green Knight shares quite a few basic features with Old English poems like Beowulf. In line structure and the use of devices such as alliteration, it is notably similar. As it was written in the north Midland dialect, it is less approachable than Chaucer‟s London dialect. Usually, a modern translation is dispensable.Part IIIGeoffreyChaucer (1340----1400)Warming-up activity for pre-readingI.Fill in the blanks:1.Geoffrey Chaucer, the “________” and one of the greatest narrative poetsof England, was born in London in about 1340.2.Chaucer‟s masterpiece is ___, one of the most famous works in allliterature.3.The ________ provides a frame work for the tales in The Canterbury Tales ,and it comprises group of vivid pictures of various medieval figures.4.Chaucer created in The Canterbury Tales a strikingly brilliant andpicturesque panorama of ______.5.The Canterbury Tales opens with a general “Prologue” where we are toldof a company of pilgrims that gathered at ____Inn in Southwark, a suburb of London.6.Despite the enormous plan, The Canterbury Tales in fact contains a general“Prologue” and only ____ tales, of which two are left unfinished.II.Choose the best answer:1.Who is the “father of English poetry”and one of the greatest narrativepoets of England?a) Christopher Marlow b) Geoffrey Chaucer c) W.Shakespeare2. When he died, Chaucer was buried in ____the Poet‟s Cornera) Westminster Abbey b) Normandy c) CanterburyIII. Question for consideration:1.What is the social significance of The Canterbury Tales?The English which was used from about 1100---1500 is called Middle English, and the greatest poet of the time was Geoffrey Chaucer.Geoffrey Chaucer is the greatest writer of the middle ages. Although he was born a commoner, a merchant family, he did not live as a commoner; and although he was accepted by the aristocracy, he must always have been conscious of the fact that he did not really belong to that society of which birth alone could make one a true member. Chaucer characteristically regarded life in terms of aristocratic ideals, but he never lost the ability of regarding life as a purely practical matter. The art of being at once involved in and detached from a given situation is peculiarly Chaucer‟s.The influence of Renaissance was already felt in the field of English literature when Chaucer was learning from the great Italian writers like Petrarch and Boccaccio in the last part of the 14th century. Chaucer affirmed man‟s right to pursue earthly happiness and opposed asceticism; he praised man‟s energy, intellect, quick wit and love of life; he expose and satirized the social vices, including religious abuses. It thus can be said the though essentially still a medieval writer, Chaucer bore ；[ ‘；marks of humanism and participated a new era to come.From his birth to his death, Chaucer dealt continually with all sorts of people, the highest and the lowest, and his observant mind made the most of this ever-present opportunity. His wide range of reading gave himplots and ideas, but his experience gave him models of characters. In hisworks, Chaucer explores the theme of the individual‟s relation to the society in which he lives; he portrays clashes of characters‟ temperaments and their conflicts over material interests, he also shows the comic and ironic effects obtainable from the class distinctions felt by the newly emerged bourgeoisie as in the case of the Wife of Bath who is depicted as the new bourgeois wife asserting her independence. In short, Chaucer develops his characterization to a higher artistic level by presenting characters with both typical qualities and individual disposition.Chaucer dominated the works of his 15th-century English followers and the so-called Scottish Chaucerians For the Renaissance, he was the English Homer. Edmund Spenser paid tribute to him as his master; many Shakespeare‟s plays show thorough assimilation as Chaucer‟s comic spirit.Today, Chaucer‟reputation has been securely established as one of the best English poets for his wisdom, humor, and humanity.The Canterbury Tales total altogether about 17000 lines, about half of Chaucer‟s literary productionChaucer‟s best-known work The Canterbury Tales was written in the last 14 years of the poet‟s life. According to his original plan, the poem was to be a collection of something like a hundred and twenty tales, but it was not completed upon his death, and contains ,as we have it now, a general Prologue and only twenty-four tales, of which two are left unfinished. The poem as a whole gives a vivid and comprehensive picture of the social conditions of fourteenth-century England.The general Prologue, serves as a general introduction to the collection of tales. It first tells how the poet, preparing to go on a pilgrimage shrine of St. Thomas a Becket at Canterbury, meets at the Tabard Inn in a London suburb twenty-nine other pilgrims bent on the same mission. Then he gives leisurely descriptions of the pilgrims one after another, revealing not only their outward appearances and professions but also their ways of life and their diverse tastes and humors. At the close of the Prologue, the host of the inn suggests to the pilgrims to entertain themselves on the journey to and from Canterbury by telling stories to one another, and the suggestion being accepted by all, the host offers to accompany them on their pilgrimage. Then the next day, after the drawing of lots the knight is the first of the pilgrims to tell a story. The twenty-nine pilgrims, representing almost all the classes and social groups of the poet‟s day ( with the only exceptions of the royalty and top nobility and the poorest laboring folk), are portrayed very effectively by the poet with much humor and satire.Part IV. The Renaissance of English literatureSupplemental material for the RenaissanceThe Renaissance marks a transition from the medieval to the modern world. Generally, it refers to the period between the 14th and mid-17th centuries. It first started in Italy, with the flowering of painting, sculpture and literature. From Italy the movement went to embrace the rest of Europe. The Renaissance, which means rebirth or revival, is actually a movement stimulated by a series of historical events, such as the recovery of ancient Roman and Greek culture, the new discoveries in geography and astrology, the religious reformation and the economic expansion. The Renaissance, therefore, in essence, is a historical period in which the European humanist thinkers and scholars made attempts to get rid of those old feudalist ideas in medieval Europe, to introduce new ideas that expressed the interests of the rising bourgeoisie, and to recover the purity of the early church from the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church. English Renaissance is perhaps England‟s Golden Age, especially in literature. Among the literary giants were Shakespeare, Spenser, Ben Jonson, Philip Sidney, Christopher Marlow, Bacon and John Donne.Humanism is the essence of the Renaissance. It sprang from the endeavor to restore a medieval reverence for the antique authors and is frequently taken as the beginning of the Renaissance on its conscious, intellectual side, for the Greek and Roman civilization was based on such a conception that man is the measure of all things.English Renaissancemay be conveniently divided into three distinc stages: 1) Oxford Reformers by Thomas More and his Utopia 2) Elizabethan Age covers up roughly the second half of the 16th century,in poetry, Sidney and Spenser to Shakespeare and Ben Jonson and John Donne; in Drama, from the influence of church drama and folkdrama, By Marlowe, to the more mature comedies and the early tragedies of Shakepeare .Thomas More1478-1535More, the son of a judge of the king‟s Bench, first studied the classics at Oxford and then went to the Inns of Court. He began his career as a lawyer and became member of parliament when he was only 22. He offended Henry VII by speaking in parliament against the king‟s demands for subsidies. He retired to a monastery but left it after finding ignorance and hypocrisy in monastic life. When Henry VIII came to the throne, More returned to active life and was successively published his Under Shriff of Londen, Master of Request etc.Thomas More is the greatest humanistic leader of early 16th century. His masterpiece is Utopia tells the story of More meeting a traveller, who has discovered …Utopia‟which means …nowhere land coming from two Greek words signigying no place. In Utopia, the private ownership of property has been abolished. All citizens are politically equal. Everybody takes part in labour.The products of the society are distributed according to the needs of each citizen.The book at once became popular was translated into English from Latin.Main idea of the book, The miseries of the English people arising out of thepractice of the enclosure of land are vividly painted in particular, and the existence of private proverty is pointed out as the source of all social evils.Edmund Spenser(1552-1599)He was born in London and received a good education at Cambridge. He left Cambridge in 1576 and went to the north of England, where he fell in love and recorded his laments over the loss of Rosalind in love in The Shepheardes Calender He died “for want of bread”. He was buried beside his master Chaucer in Westminster Abbey.His masterpiece is The Faerie Queene, a great poem of its age. According to his own explanation, his principal intention is to present through “ historical poem”the example of a perfect gentleman: “to fashion gentleman or noble person in virtuous and gentle discipline.” He speaks of 12 virtues of the private gentleman, and plans 12 books, each one with a different hero distinguished for one of the private virtues. The hero of heroes, who possesses all of virtues, is Arthur , and he is to play a role in each of the 12 major adventures, which has its own individual hero. Another character contributing to the unity of the work is Gloriana, the Fairy Queen. It is from her court and at her bidding that each of the heroes sets out on his particular adventure. Prince Arthur‟s great mission is his search forthe Fairy Queen, with whom he has fallen in love through a love vision. The Faerie Queene is full of adventur4es and marvels, dragons, witches, enchanted trees giants and the like.It is also an allegory.Five main qualities of Spenser‟s poetry should be mentioned; 1) a perfect melody;2) a rare sense of beauty; 3) a splendid imagination; 4) a lofty moral purity and seriousness; and 5) a dedicated idealism. It is Spenser‟s idealism, his love of beauty, and his exquisite melody that make him known as “the poets’ poet.”Example from his The Faerie QueeneA Gentle Knight was pricking on the plaine,Ycladd in mightie armes and silver shield,Wherein old dints of deepe wounds did remaine,The cruel markes of many a bloudy fielde;Yet armes till that time did he never wield:His angry steede did chide his forming bitt,As much disdayning to the curbe to yied;Full jolly knight he seemed, and fairy did sitt,As one for knightly giusts and fierce encounters fitt.And the last thing for us to keep in our mind is The SpenserianStanza which was invented by the poet himself, meaning a stanza of nine lines, with the first eight lines in iambic pentameter and the last nine line in iambic hexameter, rhyming abab bcbccChristopher MarloweBorn in 1564-1593, he was the son of a Canterbury shoemaker. Scholarships took him first to the King‟s School, and then Cambridge. During his stay at Cambridge, his career as a man of letters got started. His play, Tamburlaine, written before he left Cambridge, turned out to be a sweeping success on the stage. When he came to London in 1584, his soul was surging with the ideals of the Renaissance, which later found expression in Dr. Faustus On May 30, 1593, Marlowe was killed in a quarrel over a tavern bill in Deptford.As the most gifted of the “University Wits”, Marlowe composed six plays within his short lifetime. Among them the most important are : Tamburlaine, Dr. Faustus , The Jew of Malta and Edward II.Dr. Faustus is a play based on the German legend of a magician aspiring for knowledge and finally meeting his tragic end as a result of selling his soul to the Devil. The play‟s dominant moral is human rather than religious. It celebrates the human passion for knowledge, power and happiness; it also reveals man‟s frustration in realizing the high aspirations in a hostile moral order. And the confinement to time is the cruelest fact of man‟s condition.His greatest achievement lies in that he perfected the blank verse and made it the chief instrument of English drama.Another achievement is his creation of the Renaissance hero for English drama. Such a hero is always individualistic and full of ambition, facing bravely the challenge from both gods and men. He embodies Marlowe‟s humanistic ideal of human dignity and capacity. Different from the tragic hero in medieval plays, who seeks the way to heaven through salvation and God‟swill, he is against conventional morality and contrives to obtain heaven on earth through his own efforts. With the endless aspiration fro power, knowledge, and glory, the hero interprets the true Renaissance spirit.Example from Dr. Faustus:METH. Now, Faustus, what wouldst thou have me do?Faustus: I charge thee wait on me whilst I liveTo do whatever Faustus shall command,Be it be make the moon drop from her sphereOr the Ocean to overwhelm the world.METH. I am a servant to great LuciferAnd may not follow thee without his leave:No more than he commands must we performBen Jonson (1573-1637)He was the last great Elizabethan and probably the first poet laureate(1616) and the first literary dictator in English history. And also he was regarded as Shakespeare‟s formidable rival and most well-known successor. He was a soldier, an actor, a playwright, poet, scholar, critic, man of letters, and head of a literary group. Around him was clustered a group of literary figures called “sons of Ben”. Ben Jonson was a man of wisdom. He could always make himself victorious in allmatters. As a soldier in Flanders, he fought singled-handed with an enemy soldier and killed this man. As a person who was to be hanged for killing a fellow-actor, he got himself free by proving he could read and write. He came out of jail though he insulted the King‟s home country Scotland. He had literary wars with other playwrights. He rode out the trouble when he was much suspected after the Gunpowder Plot. He grew more and more mature as he grew older. And he was so respected by his contemporary literary figures and the whole society that he became the uncrowned king of literature in London, the king‟s pensioned poet.After his death he was buried in the Poets‟ Corner of Westminster Abbey.Achievements: Every Man in His Humour his first comedy Volpone or the Fox(1606) 2nd comedySong to Celia: Drink to me only with thine eyes,And I will pledge with mine;Or leave a kiss but in the cup,And I‟ll not look for mine.The thirst that from the soul doth riseDoth ask a drink divine;But might I of Jove‟s nectar sup,I would not change for thine.I sent thee late a rosy wreath,Not so much honouring theeAs giving it a hope that thereIt could not wither‟d be;But thou thereon didst only br5eatheAnd sent‟st it back to me;Since when it grows, and smells, I swear,Not of itself but thee!This famous poem is written in ballad metre: that is, in alternate 8-syllable and 6-syllable lines of iambic meters and with alternate rhymes.Philip Sidney (1554-1586)He was very popular poet in his own time. He was educated at Oxford.Achievements: Apologie for Poetrie(1595) defends the noble nature of poetry and its moral value against Puritan criticism and elevates poetry as the supreme form of art that heps enrich and make nature.A good number of Sidney‟s poems appear in Arcadia(1593), his pastoral prose romance.108 sonnets and 11 songs establish his fame in English literature.King James’ Bible : containing the 2 main divisions of the Old Testament and the New one, first written in the Hebrew, Greek languages in the regions adjoining the eastern part of Mediterranean Sea by many writers of varied countries , and then translated into the modern English by 47 scholars‟ work.W. Shakespeare (1564-1616)I. Background knowledge about his education and life.He has been said to have the “Midas‟touch.”Whatever he happened to do turned out to be a great success. He excelled in the literary field characteristic of the age of English Renaissance---- poetry and drama.III.Questions concerning his works:1.What are the periods of Shakespeare‟s plays?2.When did Shakespeare write his main comedies? What did he tell us in theircomedies?3.When were Shakespeare‟s main tragedies written? What did he write in thetragedies/4.What do Shakespeare‟s historical plays reflect?5.What are the main features of Shakespeare?6.What …s the main idea of The merchant of Venice?7.What …s the theme of Hamlet?8.What do you learn about Romeo and Juliet?9.What‟s your opinion of the heroines in Shakespeare‟s works?IV.An analysis of some of Shakespeare‟s plays1.Shakespeare, as a child of English Renaissance, best exemplifies thezeitgeist of his time. All the best features of the age find adequateexpression in his works. These include the sense of individual worth,the feeling of freedom in thought and action, the ambition and thedynamic aggressiveness, the plentitude of talent and the excesses ofenergy, the pioneering spirit of adventure and the desire foraccomplishment, the daring to conquer and the exuberance to inventand innovate, the self-assurance, the vision, the insight, theperspicacity and , on top of these all, the emotional abandon withwhich Renaissance inspires all its writers.The most famous speech in Hamlet is the prince‟s soliloquy,” To be, or not to be.‟ Said to be the most famous soliloquy in the history of the theater, it discusses the attitude of a Renaissance humanist toward life and death. The speech comes a critical juncture in the drama when the truth about Claudius‟ murder is about to be confined with the staging of a play within the play. While waiting for the moment to come, his sense of anxiety drives Hamlet to think seriously about the existentialist condition of man. Is it worth it dying in the fight with evil? Or is ir better to settle for the passive accestance of the second best, i.e. to ignore evil and endure the pain and live on? He may die in his effort to remove evil and avenge the blood of his father. Death may be the way out of all the suffering of life, but is death the end of all? Is‟nt there more anguish and sorrow in the next world? Hamlet realizes that, though thought guides action, excessive thinking makes people cowardly and jeopardizes the chances of success of great undertakings. This self-warning portrays the Renaissance humanists as both men of thought and action. Instead of talking about suicide and evading commitment as some critics think, Hamlet is in fact spurring himself to action. This speech is vehement criticism of the ills of the time---its oppression and its variousother forms of injustices. What strike the audience most is the density of thought and the poetry of the language.Macbeth, or The Tragedy of Macbeth, another famous tragedy, has also received a good deal of critical attention over the centuries. It is based on the story of regicide that is said to have occurred in ancient Scottish history. Shakespeare got the subject from his reading of Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1577). As Shakespeare tells the story, Macbeth, having vanquished a rebellion and a foreign invasion, becomes ambitious enough to replace the weak King Duncan, his cousin. Encouraged by his wife Lady Macbeth, he murders the visiting monarch, and puts himself on the throne. He kills his fellow general Banquo in order to forestall a prophecy that Banquo‟s descendants may become future kings, and he removes many others to consolidate his power, thus alienating himself from his courtiers and people.Macbeth is now so anxious and high-strung that he cannot sleep well any more. Neither can his wife who, harassed by her guilt, sleepwalks, fast loses her sanity, and finally takes her own life. In the meantime, the English forces are invited in to help remove Macbeth and restore rule and order.Macbeth fights bravely, but dies.The characterization of Macbeth and his wife merits special analysis. Macbeth begins as a man of integrity, a pillar of his country, enjoying admiration and popularity. In view of a weakling king on the throne, he may have harbored an ambition of his own, but he would not have descended so low as to achieve his ends by killing his king, had he nit had Lady Macbeth to persuade him into doing it. He submits to her coercion, and oversteps the line between good and evil.That is when endless self-torment begins to prick his conscience so that he experiences sleepless nights and begins to admire the dead Duncan in his grave. The witches may be seen as an externalization of the complexity of his inner world. The first time the witches appear is when Macbeth is returning to a triumphant hero‟s welcome after his victories. The three women predict that he will be the king, but add that his companion‟s children will also be kings. This is in fact an objectification of Macbeth‟s hidden ambition and fear, that he wants to be the king but feels the threat from his fellow general---Banquo. The other occasion on which the witches surface is when they are sought by Macbeth. Their advice to him can again be construed as a mirror for Macbeth‟s inner soul: his fear lest Banquo‟s son should invite English intervention but at the same time he feels a dubious, qualified self-confidence. He represents the effect of sin and guilt upon the moral fiber of man: he ends with the tragic vision of human existence: Life is a tale/ Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,/ Signifying nothing.”The Merchant of Venice is another of Shakespeare‟s popular plays. As the story goes, young Bassanio, who needs money to win the hand of the rich young heiress—Portia, comes to Antonio, a merchant of Venice, for help.Antonio, as he has no ready cash, goes to Shylock, the Jewish usurer, who has been at odds with Antonio because of the competition and recail discrimination he has suffered at his hands. The Jew decides to loan the money but asks him to sign a bond which demands a pound of flesh from him in case he fails to pay in time. With the money Bassanio wins Portia, but Antonio is in trouble.。
吴伟仁《英国文学史及选读》模拟试题及详解（一）【圣才出品】
吴伟仁《英国⽂学史及选读》模拟试题及详解（⼀）【圣才出品】第⼆部分模拟试题吴伟仁《英国⽂学史及选读》模拟试题及详解（⼀）I. Fill in the blanks1. The fifteenth century has been traditionally described as the barren age in English literature. But it is the spring tide of English _______.【答案】ballads【解析】⼗五世纪英国歌谣开始兴起。
2. _______ is the representative among the writers of aestheticism and decadence. The Picture of Dorian Gray is a typical decadent novel written by him.【答案】Oscar Wilde【解析】奥斯卡·王尔德（Oscar Wilde）是19世纪末英国唯美派剧作家、诗⼈、⼩说家和⽂学批评家。
《道林·格雷的画像》（The Picture of Dorian Gray）是王尔德最出⾊的作品，最为详细地阐述了他的颓废主义思想。
3. Thomas Hardy’s novel _______tells a story about a poor villager’s love affairs with a married school mistress named Sue.【答案】Jude the Obscure【解析】《⽆名的裘德》讲述的是⼀个穷村妇爱上了⼀个已婚⼥教师的故事。
4. Cordelia is a character in ______.【答案】King Lear【解析】Cordelia是莎⼠⽐亚著名悲剧《李尔王》中的李尔王最⼩的⼥⼉。
吴伟仁《英国文学史及选读》(重排版)笔记和考研真题详解-丹尼尔
第10章丹尼尔•笛福10.1复习笔记I.Background Knowledge(背景知识)(1)After the“Glorious Revolution”,England became a constitutional monarchy and power passedfrom the King to the Parliament and the cabinet ministers.The power struggle between the liberal Whigs and the conservative Tories at times dominated the literature of the age.(2)The Industrial Revolution started and transformed the socioeconomic texture of Britain,intensifying the contradictions between the rich and the poor.(3)The rapid development of social life including the popularity of public coffee-houses andprivate clubs was typical of all English cities.(4)The Enlightenment started in the18th century,which fought against feudalism,emphasizedreason,and believed in human beings’innate kindness.（1）1688年光荣革命后，英国从此成为君主立宪制国家，权力由国王转向议会和内阁大臣。
两党之间的争权夺势不时主导着18世纪文学。
（2）工业革命兴起，彻底改变了英国的社会经济结构，加剧了贫富矛盾。
吴伟仁《英国文学史及选读》（重排版）笔记和考研真题详解-弗吉尼亚·伍尔芙【圣才出品】
吴伟仁《英国文学史及选读》（重排版）笔记和考研真题详解-弗吉尼亚·伍尔芙【圣才出品】第39章弗吉尼亚·伍尔芙39.1复习笔记Virginia Woolf(1882-1941)(弗吉尼亚·伍尔夫)1.Life(生平)Virginia Woolf was the daughter of Sir Leslie Stephen,the biographer,critic and editor of the Dictionary of National Biography.She was educated at home and in frequent contact with her father’s literary and political friends.After his father’s death in1904,she settled with her families in Bloomsbury,where she was a member of the Bloomsbury Group.In1912Virginia married Leonard Woolf,a journalist,essayist and political thinker.Together they founded the Hogarth Press in1917.From childhood she suffered from fits of nervous breakdown.Her husband encouraged her to write novels.Her house in London was bombed by Nazi planes during the Second World War.She fell into a spiritual depression and became ill again.In1941,after completing her last novel,Between the Acts,she drowned herself in a river for fear that she would lose her mind and became a burden to her husband.弗吉尼亚·伍尔芙是莱斯利·斯蒂芬爵士之女。
吴伟仁《英国文学史及选读》笔记和考研真题详解-第7章浪漫主义时期【圣才出品】
吴伟仁《英国⽂学史及选读》笔记和考研真题详解-第7章浪漫主义时期【圣才出品】第7章浪漫主义时期7.1 复习笔记I. Background Knowledge（背景知识）At the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, romanticism appeared in England as a new trend in literature. It rose and grew under the impetus of the Industrial Revolution and French Revolution.Romanticism prevailed in England during the period 1798-1832. The co-authored book Lyrical Ballads published in 1798 by the poets William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge marked the beginning of romanticism, while the death of Walter Scott in 1832 declared the ending of it.18世纪末19世纪初，在英国⼯业⾰命和法国⼤⾰命的影响下，浪漫主义成为⼀种新的⽂学思潮应运⽽⽣。
1798年华兹华斯和柯勒律治共同编写的《抒情歌谣集》标志浪漫主义时期的开始，1832年沃尔特·司各特的去世则宣告浪漫主义时期的结束。
II. Literary Features of the Eighteenth Century（⼗⼋世纪⽂学特征）1. The Romantic Period is one of poetical revival. It is a period of poetry. Emotion, imagination and intuition of humankind are what the romanticists emphasize in their works. The general feature of the works of the romanticists is the dissatisfaction with the bourgeois society. They pay more attention to thespiritual and emotional life of man. Nature plays an important role in their works.2. Romantic poets are generally divided into two groups: the elder generation, or the escapist romanticists (Wordsworth, Coleridge and Southey, who also known as Lake Poets), and the younger generation, or the active romanticists (Byran, Shelley and Keats). The elder generation reflected the merry of old England. Frightened by the coming of industrialism and the nightmare towns, they were turning to nature for protection. The younger generation expressed the aspirations of the classes created by capitalism and held out an ideal of a future society free from oppression and exploitation.3. Romantic prose of the time was represented by Lamb, Hazlitt, De Quincey andHunt.4. The only great novelist in this period was Walter Scott, whose historical novelscombined a romance atmosphere with a realistic depiction of historical background and common people’s life. Scott marked the transition from romanticism to the period of realism.1. 浪漫主义时期是诗歌复兴时期。
吴伟仁《英国文学史及选读》配套题库【章节题库（含名校考研真题）-第三章杰弗里
吴伟仁《英国⽂学史及选读》配套题库【章节题库（含名校考研真题）-第三章杰弗⾥第三章杰弗⾥·乔叟填空题1. Geoffrey Chaucer’s famous work ______ contains 20-odd stories unified by a fictitious pilgrimage.（天津外国语2008研）【答案】The Canterbury Tales【解析】乔叟的代表作是《坎特伯雷故事集》，其中涵盖了20个完整的、虚构出来的朝圣之旅的故事。
（乔叟在去世前只完成了全书的总引和20个完整的故事，另有4个故事的残⽚。
）2. ______ is generally considered to be Chaucer’s masterpiece. （国际关系学院2007研）【答案】The Canterbury Tales【解析】《坎特伯雷故事集》被公认为是乔叟的代表作。
3. The English great writer Geoffrey Chaucer was born in 1343 and died in 1400. His most important work is ______, a long poem made up of a general introduction and 24 stories. （南开⼤学2007研）【答案】The Canterbury Tales【解析】乔叟的代表作是《坎特伯雷故事集》，是⼀⾸由⼀篇序⾔和24个故事（其中22个诗体和两个散⽂体）组成的长诗。
4. The most magnificent prose work of the 15th century is Le Morte D’ Arthur concerning with _______ legend.【答案】Arthurian【解析】15世纪左右公认的集⼤成作品为《亚瑟王之死》，是关于亚瑟王的传奇故事。
吴伟仁《英国文学史及选读》(重排版)-章节题库(第一~三章)【圣才出品】
第二部分章节题库第一章中古时期一、填空题1. ______ is the oldest poem in the English language, and also the oldest surviving epic in the English language.【答案】Beowulf【解析】《贝奥武夫》讲述了斯堪的纳维亚的英雄贝奥武夫的英勇事迹。
是迄今为止发现的英国盎格鲁-撒克逊时期最古老、最长的一部较完整的文学作品，也是欧洲最早的方言史诗。
2. Today Chaucer is acclaimed not only as “the father of English poetry”but also as “the father of English fiction”. His masterpiece is ______.【答案】The Canterbury Tales【解析】乔叟的代表作是《坎特伯雷故事集》。
3. ______ is the “father of English poetry”and one of the greatest narrative poets of England, whose masterpiece The Canterbury Tales is one of the most famous works in all literature.【答案】Geoffrey Chaucer【解析】杰弗里·乔叟于1340年出生于伦敦，他是英语诗歌的创始者。
他逝于1400年，葬于威斯敏斯特教堂，也被称作“诗人角”。
4. In “The Canterbury Tales”, Chaucer employed the writing _____ with true ease and charm for the first time in the history of English literature.【答案】heroic couplet【解析】杰弗里·乔叟（1340—1400）英国小说家、诗人，被誉为“英国诗歌之父”，代表作品《坎特伯雷故事集》，大部分采用的是英雄双韵体。
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英国文学史复习资料（上册）★《贝奥武夫》Beowulf 它体现的是英雄叙事长诗，完成于公元九世纪。
全诗长3183行，以斯堪的纳维亚（Sc andinavia）的英雄贝奥武夫（Beowulf）的英勇事迹构成主要内容。
勇士贝奥武甫与怪物格伦德尔搏斗，使其断臂而死。
怪物之母为子复仇，又被他追踪杀死。
后来他做了国王。
一次火龙来犯，他挺身斩龙，伤重而死，人民为他举行了隆重的葬礼。
本诗以西撒克斯（Wessex）方言写成，押头韵而不押尾韵，用双字隐喻而不用明喻。
是现存古英语文学中最古老的作品，是流传至今的欧洲最完整的一部史诗，也是欧洲最早的方言史诗。
在语言学方面也是相当珍贵的文献。
（安格鲁-撒克逊时期）★《高文爵士与绿衣骑士》Sir Gaw ain and the Green Knight是英语韵文浪漫诗的杰出代表。
全诗共2529行，作者不详，创作于诺曼时期向新时代过渡的14世纪它的题材属于亚瑟王和圆桌骑士的传说系列。
作品以巨大的艺术表现力反映了骑士制度的理想，是中世纪封建贵族文化的精髓。
在艺术上，此诗语言优美含蓄，情节完整紧凑，人物性格细腻丰满，诗中对大自然的精确而富于魅力的描写尤为引人注目，代表了中古英格兰北部头韵体诗歌艺术的最高成就。
（安格鲁-罗马时期）★杰弗雷·乔叟(Geoffrey Chauc er,约1343～1400）率先采用伦敦方言写作，并创作“英雄双行体”，对英国民族语言和文学的发展影响极大，故被誉为“英国诗歌之父”。
代表作《坎特伯雷故事集》Canterbury Tales,描写一群香客（pilgrim）聚集在伦敦一家小旅店里，准备去坎特伯雷城朝圣。
店主人建议香客们在往返途中各讲两个故事，看谁讲的最好。
故事集包括了23个故事，其中最精彩的故事有：骑士讲的爱情悲剧故事、巴斯妇讲的骑士的故事、卖赎罪券者讲的劝世寓言故事、教士讲的动物寓言故事、商人讲的家庭纠纷的故事、农民讲的感人的爱情和慷慨义气行为的故事。
作品广泛地反映了资本主义萌芽时期的英国社会生活，揭露了教会的腐败、教士的贪婪和伪善，谴责了扼杀人性的禁欲主义，肯定了世俗的爱情生活。
《坎特伯雷故事集》的艺术成就很高，远远超过了以前同时代的英国文学作品，是英国文学史上现实主义的第一部典范。
作品将幽默和讽刺结合，喜剧色彩浓厚，其中大多数故事用双韵诗体写成，对后来的英国文学产生了影响。
乔叟用富有生命力的伦敦方言进行创作，也为英国文学语言奠定了基础。
（杰弗雷·乔叟时期）★莎士比亚（W. William Shakespeare；1564～1616）英国文艺复兴时期伟大的剧作家、诗人，欧洲文艺复兴时期人文主义文学的集大成者。
莎士比亚的代表作有四大悲剧：《哈姆雷特》(英：Hamlet)、《奥赛罗》（英：Othello)、《李尔王》（英：King Lear）、《麦克白》（英：Mac Beth）。
著名喜剧：《仲夏夜之梦》《威尼斯商人》《第十二夜》《皆大欢喜》（《As you like it》）。
历史剧：《亨利四世》《亨利五世》《查理二世》等。
还写过154首十四行诗，二首长诗。
本·琼森称他为“时代的灵魂”，马克思称他和古希腊的埃斯库罗斯为“人类最伟大的戏剧天才”。
1616年4月23日病逝，出生日期与逝世日期恰好相同。
莎士比亚和意大利著名数学家、物理学家、天文学家和哲学家、近代实验科学的先驱者伽利略同一年出生。
被人们尊称为“莎翁”。
（文艺复兴时期）★弗兰西斯·培根（Franc is Bac on ，1561—1626）是英国哲学家、思想家、作家和科学家。
被马克思称为“英国唯物主义和整个现代实验科学的真正始祖”。
他在逻辑学、美学、教育学方面也提出许多思想。
著有《新工具》《论说随笔文集》等。
（文艺复兴时期）★约翰·多恩（John Donne（1572 - 1631）英国诗人、教士。
1572年生于伦敦的一个富商之家，1631 年3月31日卒于伦敦。
信仰罗马天主教。
早年曾参加埃塞克斯伯爵对西班牙的海上远征军，后成为女王大臣托马斯·埃格尔顿爵士的秘书。
1615年改信英国国教，后出任教职，成为当时著名的布道者，1621年起被任命为伦敦圣保罗大教堂的教长。
代表作《歌》Song、《死亡，不要骄傲》Death be not proud、离别辞：节哀A Valediction：Forbidding Mourning。
（资产阶级革命和王政复辟时期）★约翰·弥尔顿（John Milton,1608～1674）英国诗人、政论家，民主斗士，是清教徒文学的代表，他的一生都在为资产阶级民主运动而奋斗，代表作《失乐园》Paradise Lost 是《荷马史诗》、《神曲》并称为西方三大诗歌。
另外写有《复乐园》Paradise Regained 和《力士参孙》Samson Agonistes。
（资产阶级革命和王政复辟时期）★约翰·班扬(John Bunyan，1628—1688)是和莎士比亚齐名的、同属英国文艺复兴后期的著名作家。
他出身贫寒，16岁便应征参加了一场集宗教和政治于一体的双重战争，后来又经历了历时多年的生活和信仰危机。
代表作为《天路历程》The Pilgrim’s Progress、《浮华集市》Vanity fair。
（资产阶级革命和王政复辟时期）★丹尼尔·笛福(Daniel Defoe，1660～1731)，英国小说家，英国18世纪启蒙时期现实主义小说的奠基人，被誉为“英国小说之父”。
代表作《鲁宾孙漂流记》Robinson Crusoe。
（18世纪英国启蒙运动时期）★江奈生·斯威夫特（Jonathan Sw ift ，1667-1745）是18世纪英国著名文学家、讽刺作家、政治家，被高尔基誉为“世界伟大文学创造者”其代表作品是寓言小说《格列佛游记》Guiliver’s Travels，其他作品有《桶的故事》The Tale of a Tub、《书的战争》The Battle of the Books，另有大量的政论和讽刺诗以抨击英国殖民主义政策，受到读者热烈欢迎。
（18世纪英国启蒙运动时期）★约瑟夫·艾迪生（Joseph Addison，1672年5月1日~1719年6月17日）英国散文家、诗人、剧作家以及政治家。
艾迪生的名字在文学史上常常与他的好朋友理查德·斯蒂尔（Richard Steele）一起被提起，两人最重要的贡献是创办两份著名的杂志《闲谈者》（Tattler）与《旁观者》（Spectator）。
作品《战役》（The Campaign），《乡村礼拜日》（Sir Roger at church）、《法庭上的罗杰绅士》（Sir Roger at the Assizes）。
（18世纪英国启蒙运动时期）★亨利·菲尔丁（Henry Fielding，1707-1754）18世纪最杰出的英国小说家，英国现代小说之父，戏剧家。
代表作品《汤姆·琼斯》Tom Jones对后世影响极大.《约瑟夫·安德鲁传》Joseph Andrews是菲尔丁出版的第一部小说，而他写作的第一本小说是《大伟人江奈生·魏尔德传》The History of Jonathan Wild the Great（1743 ）。
魏尔德是18世纪声名狼籍的罪犯首领，有“伟人”的称号，最后被处以绞刑。
18世纪早期便出现关于他的谣曲、虚构性对话、小传和小册子，其中就有笛福写的小传。
（18世纪英国启蒙运动时期）★托马斯·格雷(Thomas Gray，1716—1771 ),是英国新古典主义后期的重要诗人，“墓畔派”的代表人物。
其代表作《墓园挽歌》Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard，对乡村一处墓地的描写，表达对下层默默无闻的人民的深切同情。
对他们纯朴善良品质的赞扬，为他们没有机会施展天赋和才华而惋惜，同时也表现了对权贵、人间虚荣的蔑视和嘲讽，对大人物傲慢奢侈生活的谴责。
（18世纪英国启蒙运动时期）★奥利弗·哥德史密斯（Oliver Goldsmith, 1730 - 1774)，十八世纪著名的英国剧作家。
他生于一个爱尔兰家庭，早年毕业于都柏林圣三一学院(Trinity College)及于爱丁堡就读医科，不过他并不是一个成功的医生。
1756年，哥德史密斯定居伦敦，并展开其创作事业。
不论是诗歌、小说、文章还是剧本，葛史密的写作格风格均是以嘻笑怒骂的形式，藉以讽刺时弊。
他最著名的两出喜剧是《善性之人》(The Good-Natuser Man, 1768)及《屈身求爱》(She Stoops to Conquer, 1773)，《威克菲尔德的牧师》（The Vicar of Wakefield）他的戏剧以莎士比亚闹剧式的传统结构，企图重建他所谓的「畅笑」喜剧("laughing" comedy)，致力打破当时英国舞台盛行的感伤主义，以提高公众的品味。
哥德史密斯於1774年在伦敦去世，后人均会把他跟另一位著名英国喜剧家谢里丹(Ric hard Brinsley Sheridan)相提并论。
（18世纪英国启蒙运动时期）★谢里丹(Richard Brinsley Sheridan 1751－1816):18世纪英国最有成就的喜剧家。
最有名的作品是《造谣学校》（The School for Sc andal）。
（18世纪英国启蒙运动时期）★威廉·布莱克（William Blake，1757~1827）是十八世纪英国感伤主义诗歌的开路人，第一位重要的浪漫主义诗人。
主要诗作有诗集《天真之歌》（Song of Innoc enc e）、《经验之歌》（The songs of experience）等。
早期作品简洁明快，中后期作品趋向玄妙晦涩，充满神秘色彩。
（18世纪英国启蒙运动时期）★罗伯特·彭斯(Robert Burns,1759-1796)苏格兰农民诗人，在英国文学史上占有特殊重要的地位。
他复活并丰富了苏格兰民歌；他的诗歌富有音乐性，可以歌唱。
彭斯生于苏格兰民族面临被异族征服的时代，因此，他的诗歌充满了激进的民主、自由的思想。
诗人生活在破产的农村，和贫苦的农民血肉相连。
他的诗歌歌颂了故国家乡的秀美，抒写了劳动者纯朴的友谊和爱情。
代表作《我的心呀在高原》（My Heart’s in the Highlands ）、《约翰安徒生，我爱》（John Anderson, My Jo）、《一朵红红的玫瑰》（A Red ,Red Rose）、《致小鼠》（To a Mouse）。