英国文学简单整理
英国文学知识（专八人文知识必备）
英国文学知识（专八人文知识必备）英国文学知识一、中古英国文学1.Beowulf : the oldest poem in the English language and the most importantspecimen of Anglo-Saxon literature.2.Geoffrey Chaucer: he is acclaimed as the father of English Poetry and father ofEnglish fiction. His masterpiece。
The Canterbury TalesThe Romaunt of the RoseThe Legend of good WomenThe House of Fame二、文艺复兴时期时间：14世纪到17世纪中后期特点：Humanism became the keynote of English Renaissance著名作家：1.Thomas More: Utopia2.Edmund Spenser (a poet):The Faerie QueenThe Shepherd Calendar3.Christopher Marlowe( a poet and dramatist):Edward IIDr. FaustusTamburlaineThe Jew of Malta4.William Shakespeare喜剧：A Midsummer Night’s DreamAs you like itMerchant of VeniceThe Twelfth night悲剧：Romeo and JulietThe Tempest四大悲剧：Othello, Macbeth, King Lear, Hamlet主要历史剧：Henry IV, Henry V5.Francis BaconEssaysThe advancement of learning6.John DonneThe Elegies and SatiresThe Songs and Sonnets7.John Milton (poet)晚年三首长诗Paradise lost, Paradise Regained, Samson Agonistes三：新古典主义时期时间：17世纪中后期到18世纪特点：The neoclassicists held that all forms of literature were to be modeled after the classical works of the ancient Greek and Roman writers. They believed that the artistic ideals should be order, logic and restrained emotion and accuracy.著名作家：1.John Dryden: All for Love2.John Bunyan: The Pilgrim’s ProgressThe Holy WarThe life and Death of Mr. Badman3.Alexander Pope An Essay on CriticismAn Essay on ManThe Rape of the LockOdyssey4.Daniel Defoe(who is called the father of English and European novels)Robison CrusoeA journal of the Plague yearCaptain Singleton5.Jonathan SwiftGulliver’s TravelA Tale of a TubA Modest proposalThe Drapier’s letters6.Henry FieldingThe History of Tom Jones, a Foundling7.Samuel Johnson (著名词汇家，第一部英语字典的编者)A Dictionary of the English LanguageThe Vanity of Human WishesLondon8.Richard Brinsley SheridanThe school for the scandalThe Rivals9.Thomas GrayElegy Written in a country churchyardOde on the spring四：浪漫主义时期时间：18世纪中期到19世纪中期特点：Romanticism gave primary concern to passion, emotion, and natural beauty and is marked by a strong reaction and protest against the bondage of rule and custom. The Romanticism period is an age of Poetry and poets.主要作家1.William BlakeSongs of ExperienceSongs of InnocencePoetical SketchesThe marriage of heaven and hell 2.William WordsworthLyrical BalladsTo the CuckooMy Heart leaps up3.Samuel Taylor Coleridge Kubla Khan 忽必烈汗三巨头1.George Gordon ByronCainDon JuanChilde Harold’s Pilgrimage2.Percy Bysshe ShelleyOde to the West WindOde to the Skylark Prometheus unboundedThe Necessity of Atheism Queen Mab3.John KeatsOde to AutumnOde to a nightingaleOde on a Grecian um 希腊古瓷颂Isabella以下各位不太重要：1.Charles LambTales from ShakespeareEssays of Elia2.Mary ShelleyFrankenstein3.Robert SoutheyJoan of Arc 圣女贞德小说家Jane AustinEmmaSense and SensibilityPride and PrejudiceMansfield ParkPersuasion五、VICTORIA PERIOD时间：维多利亚1837年继位，1901年去世。
英国文学-各时期知识点梳理提纲
英国文学1.中古时期的英国文学Ballad(民谣):(1) Ballad is a story in poetic form to be sung or recited. (2) Ballads were passed down from generation to generation. (3) Robin Hood is a famous ballad singing the goods of Robin Hood. Coleridge’s The Rime of Ancient Marine is a 19th century English ballad.Epic（史诗）:(1) Epic, in poetry, refers to a long work dealing with the actions of gods and heroes. (2) Beowulf is the greatest national epic of the Anglo-Saxons. John Milton wrote three great epics：Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained and Samson Agonists.Romance（罗曼文学/骑士文学）:(1) Romance is a popular literary form in the medieval England. (2) It sings knightly adventures or other heroic deeds. (3) Chivalry (such as bravery, honor, generosity, loyalty and kindness to the weak and poor) is the spirit of romance.Alliteration（押头韵）:(1) Alliteration means a repetition of initial sounds of several words in aline or group. (2) Alliteration is a traditional poetic device in English literature. (3) Robert Frost’s poem Acquainted with the Night is a case in point: “ I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet”.Beowulf《贝奥武甫》:(1)Beowulf , a typical example of Old English poetry, is regarded as the greatest national epic of the Anglo-Saxons. (2) The epic describes the heroic deeds of Scandinavian hero, Beowulf, in fighting against the monster Grendel, his revengeful mother, and a fire-breathing dragon. (3) The poem conveys a hope that the righteous will triumph over the evil.Geoffrey Chaucer（乔叟）:(1) He is regarded as the father of English poetry. (2) The Canterbury Tales is his masterpiece. (3) He presents, for the first time in English literature, a comprehensive realistic picture of medieval English society and created a whole gallery of vivid characters from all walks of life. (4) Chaucer introduced from France rhymed stanzas of various types (heroic couplet) into English poetry to replace the Old English alliterative verse.(5) It was Chaucer who made London dialect the foundation for modern English speech. (6) His characterization is vivid.His major works: The Canterbury Tales 《坎特伯雷故事集》, Troilus and Criseyde《特罗勒斯和科丽西德》, The Romaunt of the Rose 《玫瑰罗曼史》, The House of Fame《声誉之堂》.Brief description of The Canterbury Tales: (1) The Canterbury Tales is Chaucer’s monumental success. (2) It is a collection of stories told b y a group of pilgrims on their way to Canterbury. (3) It was influenced by Boccaccio(薄伽丘)’s Decameron（《十日谈》）. (4) In the poem Chaucer presents, for the first time in English literature, a comprehensive realistic picture of the medieval society and creates a whole gallery of vivid characters from all walks of life. (5) The poem shows Chaucer’s humanism and anticipates a new era to come.William Langland (威廉•兰格伦):(1) Piers Plowman（《农夫皮尔斯》）is a poem that gives a picture of the life in feudal England. (2) It is a protest against the then social injustice.2.文艺复兴时期的英国文学Renaissance(文艺复兴):(1) the word “Renaissance” means “rebirth”. It meant the reintroduction into Western Europe of the full cultural heritage of Greece and Rome. (2) The essence of Renaissance is humanism. Attitudes and feelings which had been characteristic of the 14th and 15th centuries persisted well down into the era of Humanism and Reformation. (3) The real mainstream ofthe English Renaissance is the Elizabethan drama with William Shakespeare being the leading dramatist.Humanism(人文主义):(1)Humanismis the essence of Renaissance. (2) It emphasizes the dignity of human beings and the importance of present life. Humanists voiced their beliefs that man was the center of universe and man did not only have the right to enjoy the beauty of the present life, but had the ability to perfect himself and to perform wonders.Spenserian stanza(斯宾塞诗节):（1）Spenserian stanza is the creation of Edmund Spenser .(2) It refers to a stanza of nine lines, with the first eight lines in iambic pentameter and the last line in iambic hexameter(六步音)，rhyming ababbcbcc. (3) Spenser’s The Faerie Queene was written in this kind of stanza.Conceit(奇特的比喻):(1) Conceit is a far-fetched simile or metaphor, a literary conceit occurs when the speaker compares two highly dissimilar things. (2) Conceit is extensively employed in John Donne’s poetry.Metaphysical poetry(玄学派诗歌):(1) Metaphysical Poetry is commonly used to name the name of the work of the 17th-century writers who wrote under the influence of John Donne.(2) With a rebellious spirit, the metaphysical poets tried to break away from the conventional fashion of the Elizabethan love poetry. (3)The diction is simple as compared with that of the Elizabethan or the neoclassical periods, and echoes the words and cadences of common speech. (4) The imagery is drawn from actual life.Sonnet(十四行诗):（1）Sonnet is one of the most conventional and influential forms of poetry in Europe. (2) A sonnet is a lyric consisting of 14 lines, usually in iambic pentameter, restricted to a definite rhyme scheme. (3) Shakespeare’s sonnets are well-known.Blank verse (无韵体诗):（1）Blank verse is verse written in unrhymed iambic pentameter. (2) It is the verse form used in some of the greatest English poetry, including that of William Shakespeare and John Milton.Meter（格律）:(1) The word “meter” is derived from the Greek word “metron”, meaning“measure”. (2) In English when applied to poetry, it refers to the regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables. (3) The analysis of meter is called scansion (格律分析).Allegory(寓言) :（1）Allegory is a story told to explain or teach something, especially a long and complicated story with an underlying meaning different from the surface meaning of the story itself. (2) Allegorical novels use extended metaphors to convey moral meanings or attack certain social evils. Characters in these novels often stand for different values such as virtue and vice. (3) Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress,Golding’s Lord of the Flies and Melville’s Moby Dick are three examples of this kind.Stanza(诗节):（1）Stanza is a group of lines of poetry, usually four or more, arranged according to a fixed plan. (2) The stanza is the unit of structure in a poem and poets do not vary the unit within a poem.University Wits（大学才子）:（1）University Wits refer to a group of scholars during the Elizabeth Age who graduated from either Oxford or Cambridge. They came toLondon with the ambition to become professional writers. Some of them later became famous poets and playwrights. They were called “university wits”. (2) Thomas Greene, Thomas Kyd, John Lily and Christopher Marlow were among them. (3) They paved the ways, to some degree, for the coming of Shakespeare.Foreshadowing（预兆）:(1) Foreshadowing, in drama, means a method used to build suspense by providing hints of what is to come. (2) In Shakespeare’s Romeo andJuliet, Romeo’s expression of fear in Act 1, scene 4 foreshadows the catastrophe to come:I fear too early; for my mind misgivesSome consequence yet hanging in the stars…Soliloquy(独白):(1) Soliloquy, in drama, means a moment when a character is alone and speaks his or her thoughts aloud. (2) In the lines “To be, or not to be, that is the question”, which begins the famous soliloquy from Act 3, Scene 1 of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. In this soliloquy Hamlet questions whether or not life is worth living, and speaks of the reasons why he does not end his life.Narrative Poem(叙述诗):（1）A Narrative Poem refers to a poem that tells a story.(2) It may consist of a series of incidents, as in Homer’s The Iliad and The Odysseus, and John Milton’s Paradise Lost.3.启蒙主义时期的英国文学Literary TermsThe Enlightenment Movement（启蒙运动）(1)Enlightenment Movement was a progressive intellectual movement which flourished in France and swept through Western Europe in the 18th century. (2) The movement was a furtherance of the Renaissance from 14th century to the mid-17th century.(3) Its purpose was to enlighten the whole world with the light of modern philosophical and artistic ideas. (4) It celebrated reason or rationality, equally and science. It advocated universal education. Literature at the time became a very popular means of public education. (5) Famous among the great enlighteners in England were those great writers like John Dryden, Alexander Pope, Joseph Addison and Sir Richard Steele, the two pioneers of familiar essays, Johnathan Swift, Richard Bringsley Sheridan, Daniel Defoe, Henry Fielding and Samuel Johnson,etc.Neoclassicism（新古典主义）(1)In the field of literature, the Enlightenment Movement brought abouta revival of interest in the old classical works. (2) This tendency is known as neoclassicism. The neoclassicists held that forms of literature were to be modeled after the classical works of the ancient Greek and Roman writers such as Homer and Vigil and those of the contemporary French ones. (3) They believed that the artistic ideals should be order, logic, restrained emotion and accuracy, and that literature should be judged in terms of its service to humanity.The Graveyard School（墓地派诗歌）(1)The Graveyard School refers to a school of poets of the 18th century whose poems are mostly devoted to a sentimental lamentation or meditation on life, past and present, with death and graveyard as themes.(2) Thomas Gray is considered to be the leading figure of this school and his Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard is its most representative work. The Heroic Couplet（英雄对偶句）The Heroic Couplet means a pair of lines of a type once in English poetry, in other words, it means iambic pentameter rhymed in two lines.Elegy（挽歌）(1)Elegy has typically been used to refer to reflective poems that lament the loss of something or someone. (2) In Memoriam by Alfred Tennyson is a famous elegy.Satire（讽刺）(1)Satire means a kind of writing that holds up to ridicule or contempt the weakness and wrongdoings of individuals, groups, institutions, or humanity in general. (2) The aim of satirists is to set a moral standard for society , and they attempt to persuade the reader to see their point of view through the force of laughter. (3) Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels is a great satire of the then English society from different aspects.Sentimentalism（感伤主义）(1)Sentimentalism is a pejorative term to describe false or superficial emotion, assumed feeling, self-regarding postures of grief and pain. (2) In literature it denotes overmuch use of pathetic effects and attempts to arouse feeling by “pathetic” indulgence. (3) The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith is a case in point.Didactic( 说教的）(1)Didactic literature is said to be didactic if it is deliberately teaches some moral lesson. The use of literature for such teaching is one of its traditional justifications. (2) Most modern literary works during the Enlightenment period tended to be didactic.Farce（闹剧/滑稽剧）Farce refers to a play full of ridiculous happenings, absurd actions, and unreal situations, meant to be very funny.Aside（旁白）(1)Aside refers to words spoken by an actor which the other actors are supposed not to hear. (2) An actor’s asides are usually spoken to the audience. (3) Hamlet’s very first line is an aside.Denouement（戏剧结局）Denouement, pronounced Dee-noo-ma, is that part of a drama which follows the climax and leads to the resolution.Name of the WriterAlexander Pope（亚历山大.蒲柏）(1)He is a representative of the Enlightenment and the greatest poet of the Neoclassical period.(2)He is the first to introduce rationalism to England. He strongly advocated neoclassicism, emphasizing that literary works should be judged by classical rules of order , reason, logic, restrained emotion, good taste and decorum.Works An Essay on Criticism 《论批评》(1) An Essay on Criticism is his masterpiece. It is a didactic poemwritten in heroic couples.(2) It consists of 744 lines and is divided into three parts.(3) It sums up the art of poetry as upheld and practiced by theancientslikeAristotle, and the 18th century European classicists.(4) Pope first laments the dearth of true taste in poetic criticism of hisdayand calls on people to turn to the old Greek and Romanwriters for guidance.(5) It helped spread neoclassicist tradition in England.The Rage of the Lock 《夺发记》The Dunciad《群愚史诗》John Dryden（约翰.德莱顿）(1)He is called “the father of English Criticism”.(2)An Essay of Dramatic Poesy is his masterpiece.Works An Essay of Dramatic Poesy 《论戏剧诗歌》(1) An Essay of Dramatic Poesy is John Dryden’s best work.(2) In it he discusses the works of the great playwrights of Greece and Rome, the English Renaissance, and contemporary France.(3) He was call ed “the father of English Criticism”.All for Love 《一切为了爱》Alexander’s Feast 《亚历山大的宴会》Thomas Gray （托马斯.格雷）He is the leading figure of the Graveyard School.Works Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard 《墓畔哀歌》(1) Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard is the most representative workof the Graveyard School.(2)In this poem, Gray reflects on death, the sorrows of life, and themysteries of human life with a touch of his personal melancholy.(3) The poet compares the common folk with the great ones, wonderingwhat the commons could have achieved if they had had the chance.Herehe reveals his sympathy for the poor and the unknown, but mocksthegreat ones who despise the poor and bring havoc on them.4.浪漫主义时期的英国文学Romanticism（浪漫主义）(1)In the middle 18th century, a new literary movement called Romanticism came to Europe and then to England. (2) It is characterizedby a strong protest against the bondage of neoclassicism, which emphasized reason, order and elegant wit. Instead , romanticism gaveprimary concern to passion, emotion, and natural beauty. (3) In thehistory of literature, romanticism is generally regarded as the thought thatdesignates a literary and philosophical theory which tends to see theindividual as the very center of all life and all experience. (4) The EnglishRomantic Period is an age of poetry. Major romantic poets include Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelly and Keats. Romanticism prevailedin England from 1798 to 1837.Lyric( 抒情诗 )(1)Lyric is a short poem wherein the poet expresses an emotion orillustrates some life principle. (2) Lyric often concerns love. “My love is like a red, red rose” is Robert Burns well-known lyric.Byronic Hero( 拜伦式英雄 )(1)Byronic Hero refers to a profound, mysterious rebel figure of noble origin. (2) With immense superiority in his passions and powers, this Byronic hero would carry on his shoulders the burden of righting all the wrongs in a corrupt society, and would rise single-handedly against any kind of tyrannical rules either in government, in religion or in moral principles with unconquerable wills and inexhaustible energies.(3) Byron’s chief contribution to the English literature is the creation of “Byronic hero”.Terza Rima( 三行诗 )(1)Terza Rima is an Italian verse that consists of a series of three line stanzas in which the middle line of each stanza rhymes with the first and third lines of the following stanza with the rhyming scheme a b a, b c b, c d c, d e d, etc.(2) Shelly’s Ode to the West Wind is a case in point.Ottava Rima( 八行诗 )(1)Ottava Rima is a form of eight-line iambic stanza rhyming a b a b a bc c.(2) Byron’s Don Juan and William Butlter’s Sailing to Byzantium are outstanding examples.Canto( 诗章 )(1)Canto is a section of division of a long poem.(2) The most famous cantos in literature are those that make up Dante’s Division Comedy, a 14th century epic. In English poetry Alexander Pope’s The Rage of the Lock and Byron’s Don Juan are divided into cantos.Gothic Novel( 哥特式小说 )(1)Gothic Novel is a type of romance very popular late in the 18th century and at the beginning of the 19th century.(2) Gothic novel empathizes things which are grotesque, violent, mysterious, supernatural, desolate and horrifying.(3) Gothic originally means in the sense of “medieval, not classical” was applied by Horac e Walpole to his novel The Castle of Otranto, a Gothic story, published in 1765.(4) With its description of the dark and irrational side of human nature, Gothic novel has exerted a great influence over the writers of the Romantic period. Works like The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe and Frankenstein by Mary Shelly are typical Gothic romance.High Comedy(正统喜剧 )High Comedy is a comedy that deals with a polite society and depends more on witty dialogue and well-drawn characters than on comic situations.Ode (颂歌)(1)Ode is a dignified and elaborately structured lyric of some length,praising and glorifying an individual, commemorating an event, or describing nature intellectually rather than emotionally.(2)John Keats wrote great odes. His Ode on a Grecian Urn is a case inpoint.Lake Poets(湖畔派诗人)In English literature Lake Poets refer to such romantic poets as William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey who lived in the Lake District. They came to be known as the Lake School or “Lakes”.William Blake (威廉布莱克)(1)He is one of major English Romantic poets in the 19th century.(2)The distinctive feature of his poetry is the symbolism in wide range.(3)He is famous for his two volumes of poems: Songs of Innocence andSongs of Experience.(4)Chil dhood is central to Blake’s concern in these two volumes of poems. Works: Songs of Innocence《天真之歌》Songs of Innocence is a lovely volume of poems, presenting a happy and innocent world, though not without its evils and sufferings.Songs of Experience 《经验之歌》Songs of Experience presents a different world, a world ofmisery,poverty, disease, war and repression with amelancholy tone.The Tiger《老虎》The Tiger is also a famous poem by Blake. Lamb in the poem is a symbol of peace and purity whereas tiger a symbol of dreadand violence.Poetical Sketches《素描诗集》Robert Burns （罗伯特彭斯）（1）H e is the greatest Scottish poet in the late 18th century.（2）I n his poetry he glorifies a natural man—a healthy, joyous and clever Scotch peasant.（3）H e wrote in Scottish dialect, drawing his inspiration from the treasury of Scottish folklore.（4）H is poetry is rich in such qualities as love, humor, pathos and love of nature. All these qualities suggest the coming of EnglishRomanticism.Works：A Red , Red Rose《一朵红红的玫瑰》My Heart’s in the Highland《我的心在高原》Auld Lang Syne《友谊地久天长》Mary Shelly (玛丽雪莱)She was the wife of Percy Bysshe ShelleyWork: Frankenstein《弗兰克肯斯坦》Frankenstein is a Gothic novel.Walter Scott(沃尔特司各特)（1）H e is the creator and a master of the historical novel. His historical novel is his chief contribution to English literature.（2）H is historical novels concern the history of Scotland, English history and the history of European countries.Works: Waverley《威弗利》The Black Dwarf《黑侏儒》Rob Roy《罗伯罗伊》Old Mortality《清教徒》Ivanhoe 《艾凡赫》(1)Ivanhoe is Scott’s masterpiece.(2)It is a novel of English subjectcovering the days after the Norman Conquest.5.维多利亚时期的英国文学Critical Realism(批判现实主义)（1）C ritical Realism is a term applied to the realistic fiction in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.（2）I t means the tendency of writers and intellectuals in the period between 1875 and 1920 to apply the methods of realistic fiction tothe criticism of society and the examination of social issues. （3）R ealist writers were all concerned about the fate of the common people and described what was faithful to reality.（4）C harles Dickens is the most important critical realist.Dramatic Monologue(戏剧独白)（1）D ramatic Monologue，in literature, refers to the occurrence of a single speaker saying something to a silent audience.（2）R obert Browning’s My Last Duchess is a typical example in which the duke, speaking to a non-responding audience, revealsnot only the reasons for his disapproval of the behavior of hisformer duchess, but some tyrannical and merciless aspects of hisown personality as well.Psychological novel（心理小说）（1）P sychological novel refers to a kind of novel that dwells on acomplex psychological development and presents much of thenarration through the inner workings of the character’s mind.（2）T hackeray’s characterization of Rebecca Sharp is very much psychological.Point of View（叙述角度）（1）P oint of View can be divided by the narrator’s relationship with the character, represented by the grammatical person: the first-person narrative, the third-person narrative, and omniscientnarrator.（2）I n the first-person narrative, the narrator appears in the novel as “I”or “me”. In the third-person narrative, the narrator does notactually appear and all the characters are referred to as “he” or“they”. If the speaker knows everything including the actions,motives and thoughts of all the characters, the speaker is referredto as omniscient.Plot（情节）(1)Plot refersto the structure of a story.(2)The plot of a literary work includes the rising action, the climax, thefalling action and the resolution. It has a protagonist who is opposed by an antagonist, creating what is called conflict.Flashback (倒叙)（1）F lashback refers to an event which took place prior to the beginning of a story or play.（2）F lashback is used in Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights. In Hemingway’s The Snow of Kilamanjaro the protagonist, Harry Street, has been injured on a hunt in Africa. Dying, his mind becomes preoccupied with incidents in his past. In a flashback Street remember one of his wartime comrades dying painfully on barded wire on a battlefield in Spain.Allusion(典故/暗指)（1）A llusion means a reference to a person, a place, an event, or a literary work that a writer expects the reader to recognize andrespond to.（2）A n allusion may be drawn from history, geography, literature, or religion.（3）T hacker’s Vanity Fair serves as a literary example. The name of the novel is borrowed from the famous scene in John Bunyan’ ThePilgrim’s Progress.Protagonist and Antagonist(正面人物与反面人物)（1）I n a literary work Protagonist refers to the hero or central character who is often hindered by some opposing force either human or animal (Antagonist)in accomplishing his or her objective.（2）F or example, Captain Ahab is the protagonist in Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick whereas the white whale (Moby-Dick) is the antagonist.Charles Dickens(查尔斯狄更斯)（1）H e is one of the greatest critical realist writers of the Victorian Age. （2）H is works are intended to expose and criticize all the poverty, injustice, hypocrisy and corruptness of the 19th-century England, particularly London.（3）A ll his works are characterized by a mingling of humor and pathos Works:Oliver Twist《雾都孤儿》Oliver Twist criticizes the dehumanizing workhouse system and the dark, criminal underworld life.David Copperfield《大卫科波菲尔》David Copperfield is about the debtor’s prison.Dombey and son《董贝父子》Dombey and son exposes the money-worship that dominates people’s life, corrupts the young and brings tragedy to Mr.Domby’s family.Bleak House《荒凉山庄》Bleak House attacks the legal system and practices that aim at devouring every penny of the clients.Hard Times《艰难时世》Hard Times lashes the Utilitarian principle that rules over the English education system and destroys young hearts and minds.Great Expectations《远大前程》Our Mutual Friends 《我们共同的朋友》Great Expectations and Our Mutual Friends expose the overwhelming social environment which brings moral degeneration and destruction to people.A Tale of Two City 《双城记》The Old Curiosity Shop 《老古玩店》Little Dorrit《小杜丽》The Pickwick Papers Great ExpectationsOur Mutual FriendsRobert Stevenson Treasure Island《金银岛》（罗伯特﹒史蒂文森） Kidnapped 《诱拐》6.现代时期的英国文学Modernism （现代主义）(1)Modernism is an international movement in literature and arts, especially in literary criticism, which began in the late 19 century and flourished until 1950s.(2)Modernism takes the irrational philosophy and the theory of psycho-analysis as theoretical case.（3）The modernist writers concentrate more on the private and subjunctive than on the public and objective, mainly concerned with the inner of an individual.(4)James Joyce, T. S. Eliot, Virgina Woolf and William Faulkner are prominent modernist writers.Dadaism（达达主义）Dadaism refers to a western European artistic and literary movement (1916---1923) that sought the discovery of authentic reality through the abolition of traditional, cultural and aesthetic forms by a technique of comic derision in which irrationality, chance, and intuition were the guiding principles.Stream of Consciousness（意识流）(1)Stream of Consciousness has something to do with a method of storytelling in which the author tells the story through the freely flowing thoughts and associations of one of the characters. It is used to depict the mental and emotional reactions of characters to external events, rather than the events themselves.(2) Among English writers, James Joyce and Virgina Woolf are two major advocates of this technique.The Theater of Absurd（荒诞派戏剧）(1)The Theater of Absurd is a kind of drama that explains an existential ideology and presents a view of absurdity of the human condition by the abandoning of usual or rational devices and the use of nonrealistic form.(2)The most original playwright of the Theater of Absurd is Samuel Beckett, who wrote about human beings living a meaningless life in an alien, decaying world. His play, Waiting for Godot, is regarded as the most famous and influential play of the Theater of Absurd.。
英国文学 笔记整理
【Chapter 1】The Anglo-Saxon Period (450 - 1066)1.Norman Conquest ，10662.Beowulf has 3183 lines, 两个国家：the Danes, the Geats形式：alliterative verse / head rhyme 头韵【Chapter 3】The Age of Chaucer (1350-1400)1.Historical backgroundChaucer and William Langland and the writer of Sir Gawain were contemporaries.But he deserves a period of his own.Two historical events which their influence can be detected in the writings of Chaucer andLangland: The Hundred Years’ War from the reign of Edward III (1327-1377) to the reign of Henry VI (1421-1471), or from 1337-1453; the peasant uprising of 1381, the reign of King Richard II.The French language was gradually replaced by the native tongue.William Langland and another writer John Wycliff expressed people’s hatred for the church and the government.2.John Wycliff 约翰·威克里夫One of the first figures who demanded to reform the church.Translated the Bible into standard English. Fixed a national standard for English prose to replace various dialects. Father of English prose.3.William Langland威廉·兰格伦作品：Piers Plowman《农夫皮尔斯》, or The Vision of Piers Plowman, another alliterative poem besides Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Giving a realistic picture of the 14th century England.The form of allegory, a story or description in which the characters and events symbolize some deeper underlying meaning, and serve to spread moral teaching. An allegory has a double meaning. A primary or surface meaning, and a secondary meaning, or underlying meaning. In an allegory, abstract qualities or ideas, such as patience, purity or truth, are personified as characters in the story.4.Geoffrey Chaucer 乔叟Died on Oct 25, 1400, buried in the Poet’s Corner in Westminster Abbey.Works divided into 3 periods, corresponding to the 3 periods of his life.(1) 1360-1372, wrote under the influence of the French literature, even translated French poems himself. Poem The Book of the Duchess, much of conventional romance elements in it.(2) 1372-1386, under the influence of the Italian literature. Troilus and Cryseyde, adapted from a long poem by Boccaccio（薄伽丘）, the writer of The Decameron《十日谈》. The Parliament of Fowls and The House of Fame.(3) the last 15 years of his life. The Canterbury Tales between 1387 and 1400. A general prologue and 24 tales that are connected by “links”.（本该有120个故事，只完成了24个）The Canterbury Tales is written in London dialectThere are 31 people in total （算上乔叟和店主）The prologue and most of the tales are written in heroic couplet（英雄双韵体）, i.e. ,a pair of rhyming iambic pentameter（五音步抑扬格）lines.The significance of The Canterbury Tales:(1)A comprehensive picture of Chaucer’s time. They represent the whole range of 14th century society except the very top and the very bottom. All persons connected with the church are drown with touches of gentle irony and mild satire, with the exception of the poor parson. It should be noted that each character is not only a typical representative of the class to which he or she belongs, but also has an individual character of his or her own.(2)The dramatic structure of the poem has been highly commended by critics. This kind of a collection of tales put together was not rare in history. For example, Boccacio’s The Decameron. But in The Decameron stories are loosely connected and there is no relation between the story and the story teller. In The Canterbury Tales, stories are cleverly woven together by links between the stories. Most of the stories are related to the personalities of the tellers.(3)Chaucer’s humour: Humour is a characteristic feature of the English literature. Although he was associated with proud and important personages at court he must always have been conscious of the fact that he did not belong to that society. This explains his gentle satire and mild irony. But his satire can be the bitterest in the portrayal of the pardoner and the summoner.(4)Chaucer’s contribution to the English language: Ever since the Norman conquest, the French language was the language of the court and the upper classes, and Latin was the language of the learned and the church. Chaucer wrote in the London dialect of his day, which he handled dexterously. He proved that the English language is a beautiful language and can be easily handled to express different moods. In so doing, Chaucer greatly increased the prestige of the English language.【Chapter 4】The Fifteenth Century (1400-1550)Historical events:1.The Hundred Year’s War2.The War of the Roses (1455-1485)The War of the Roses, or the Thirty Years’ War, was a series of civil wars fought between the two great families, both of which claimed the right to the English throne.The House of Lancaster →red rose The House of York →white rose3.The discovery of America and the new sea routes4.Reformation of the ChurchPopular BalladsIn the field of literature, folk literature, especially ballads, became an important feature in the 15th century. A ballad is a narration poem that tells a story.★Basic characteristics:1.The beginning is often abrupt.2.There are strong dramatic elements.3.The story is often told through dialogue and action.4.The theme is often tragic, though there are a number of comic ballads.5.※It contains four-line stanzas. The odd numbered lines have four feet each and the even numbered lines have three feet each. Rhymes fall on the even numbered lines. And there is often a refrain at the end of each stanza.Of special significance are the Robin Hood Ballads.Sir Thomas MalorySir Thomas Malory, the author of The Death of Arthur（亚瑟王之死），was important in the fact that it was he who finally compiled together the stories of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table which were scattered in a number of French romances and made great contribution to the development of English prose.It is interesting to note that Robin Hood and King Arthur were both revived at a time when the medieval spirit of chivalry was dying fast and the feudal order was rapidly becoming a thing of the past.Early English PlaysIn ancient Greece and Rome, drama was one of the most popular forms of entertainment. But the Roman Catholic Church prohibited dramatic performances. It was not until the 9th and the 10th centuries that the Catholic Church allowed some of dramatic performance to be used as part of religious services. For example, on Christmas the clergymen would put on a liturgy（礼拜仪式）of the birth of Christ. By the 14th century, the liturgy had developed into mystery plays and miracle plays.mystery plays →based on stories from the Biblemiracle plays →based on the lives of Christian saints【Chapter 5】The English Renaissance (1550-1642)HumanismRenaissance began in the 14th century in Italy and later spread to France, Spain, the Netherlands, and England. It’s ideal was humanism. Renaissance is a French word which means “rebirth” in English.★★★1.With the spreading of the Greek and Roman culture, there appeared a number of humanist scholars who took great interest in the welfare of human beings.2.According to them, it was against human nature to sacrifice the happiness of his life for an after life.3.They argued that man should be given full freedom to enrich their intellectual and emotional life.4.In religion, they demanded the reformation of the church.5.In art and literature, instead of singing praise to God, they sang in praise of man and of the pursuit of happiness in this life.6.Humanism shattered the shackles of spiritual bondage of man’s mind by the Roman Catholic Church and opened his eyes to “a brave new world” in front of him.Edmund SpenserSpenser’s first important work is The Shephearde’s Calender（牧羊人日记）, a pastoral poem in 12 parts, one foreach month of the year.His major achievement, The Faerie Queen, is an unfinished allegorical romance. According to Spenser’s original plan there should be 12 books, each telling the adventures of one of the 12 knights despatched by the Faerie Queen, Gloria, who represents Glory and Queen Elizabeth in particular. However, Spenser only completed 6 of the books, in which the six virtues of Truth, Temperance, Friendship, Justice, Chastity, and Coutesy are presented.Spenserian stanza:九行一节，前八行均为五音步抑扬格，第九行为六个音节The seven deadly sins: Pride（傲慢）,Wrath（暴怒）,Sloth（懒惰）,Greed（贪婪）,Envy（嫉妒）,Gluttony（暴食）, Lust（淫欲）Christopher MarloweChristopher Marlowe was the most prominent of the University Wits.His first play Tamburlaine the Great (1587)（帖木儿大帝）is about the story of Timur the Tartar(1336-1405). The central figure Tamburlaine represents the Renaissance desire for infinite power and authority. He is not only ruthlessly cruel and brutal in punishing his enemies, but also violently passionate in love.The Tragic History of Doctor Faustus (1592)（浮士德博士的悲剧）,adapted from a popular old German legend, is sort of companion to Tamburlaine in reflecting the Renaissance desire for infinite knowledge. Tired with the scholastic study of the four subjects of Medieval knowledge, that is , Theology, Philosophy, Medicine, and Law, Dr.Faustus turns to magic book and signs a contract with the devil Mephistopheles. He sells his soul to the devil on the condition that the latter will satisfy every demand of his for a period of 24 years.As a dramatist, Marlowe has limitations. His plot construction is loose and his characters are merely embodiments （具体化）of ideas. But Marlowe is the only dramatist of the time who is ever compared with Shakespeare.Ben Jonson coined the phrase “Marlowe’s magic lines”. The blank verse（无韵诗）, i.e. , unrhymed iambic pentameter, used in his dramas, was the chief verse form used by Shakespeare.William ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare wrote 37 plays in all during his life.Shakespeare’s writing career may be roughly divided into four stages.1.The early years were years of his apprenticeship, dating from 1592 to 1594.2.The second period is a period of rapid growth and development, dating from 1595 to 1600.3.The third period is a period of gloom and depression, dating from 1601 to 1608.4.The fourth period is a period of restored serenity, from 1608 to 1612.★★★Shakespeare’s achievements:1.Shakespeare represented the trend of history in giving voice to the desires and aspirations of the people.2.Shakespeare’s humanism: More important than his historical sense of his time, Shakespeare in his plays reflects the spirit of his age.3.Shakespeare’s characterization: Shakespeare was most successful in his characterization. In his plays, he described a great number of characters, ranging from kings to crowns, rascals, and grave-diggers; from lunatics to ghosts; from lovers to man-haters.4.Shakespeare’s originality: Shakespeare drew most of his materials from sources that were known to his audience. But his plays are original because he instilled into the old materials a new spirit that gives new life to his plays.5.Shakespeare as a great poet: Shakespeare was not only a great dramatist, but also a great poet. Apart from his sonnets and long poems, his dramas are poetry.6.Shakespeare as a master of the English language: It is estimated that he had a command of about 15,000 words. He was especially successful in handling the different meanings of the same word, or words having the same sound but different meanings.A sonnet （十四行诗）is a poem of 14 lines, usually in iambic pentameter with various rhyming schemes. Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets altogether in number. The 154 sonnets fall into two groups, divided at sonnet 126. The first group was addressed to a Mr. W. H.. The second group was addressed to a dark lady.The metrical form（韵律形式）of Shakespeare’s sonnets is different from that of Petrarach’s（彼特拉克）. Italian Sonnet British SonnetOctave前八行abba abba （提出问题） 3 quatrains（四行诗）abab cdcd efefSestet 后六行cde cde （作出回答） a couplet（双行诗）gg【Chapter 6】The Seventeenth Century (1603-1688)Francis BaconThough Bacon was Shakespeare’s contemporary, he is generally regarded as the chief figure in English prose in the first half of the 17th century and his essays began the long tradition of the English essay in the history of English literature.As a philosopher, Bacon is praised by Marx as “the progenitor of English materialism”（英国唯物主义的始祖）. because he stressed the importance of experience, or experiment, which is in direct opposition to the superstitution and scholasticism of the Middle Ages.Bacon’s 58 essays were publisher in 1625. They are the author’s reflections an comments, mostly on rather abstract subjects, such as “Of Truth”, “Of Friendship”, and “Of Riches”. They are known for their conciseness, brevity, simplicity, and forcefulness.Metaphysical Poets and Cavalier PoetsDuring the reign of Charles I, there were two schools of poets, metaphysical poets（玄学派诗人）and cavalier poets （骑士派诗人）.The main themes of the metaphysical poets are love, death, and religion. The chief representative of this school was John Donne.The cavaliers were royalists, whose poetry was marked by courtliness, urbanity, and polish. The chief representative of the cavaliers was Ben Jonson, who besides being a poet, was also a playwright.John Donne作品：Songs and Sonnets, a collection of his 55 love lyrics, was published after his death in 1633.Donne’s love lyrics may be classified into two groups. The poems of one group takes a negative attitude towards love, and those of the other group take a positive attitude towards love.John MiltonThe revolutionary enthusiasm of the bourgeois revolution（资产阶级革命）and the bitter hatred for the despotic ruler is best known in the works of John Milton.In 1665, after seven years’arduous labour in darkness, he finished Paradise Lost, which gave vent to his indignation against Charles II. The story of the epic is based on Genesis. The central theme of the poem deals with the Christian story of “ the fall of man ”. Evidently, the poet intended to write it as a epic and imitated the style of Homer’s epic.Milton’s purpose for writing Paradise Lost, as he puts it very clearly at the beginning of the poem, is to “assert eternal Providence and justify the ways of God to man.”There can hardly be any doubt that Milton’s own sentiments in the days of the Restoration are expressed in the powerful first speech made by Satan excerpted here. But it should be made clear that Milton as a Puritan did not have the least intention of making God a real tyrant to be hated and revenged upon. The rebellions speech by Satan was an outpouring of the poet’s personal hatred for the restored monarch at the time. On the whole, the characters o Satan and his followers are condemned in the epic.In the love between Adam and Eve, Milton voices his enthusiasm for humanistic elements.Characteristics of Milton’s style:1.The blank verse, i.e. , the unrhymed lines of iambic pentameter, is used throughout the epic and is characterized by its employment of long and involved sentences, which run on many lines with a variety of pauses, and achieving sometimes an oratorical and sometimes an elaborately logical effect. This richness of poetical style has frequently been called “Miltonic Style”.ton’s style is also commonly said to be Latinate. Milton uses more elaborate patterns drawn from Latin. He is very fond of using inversion.3.Another characteristic of his style is the use of allusions to other works, especially the classic works.John BunyanAs Milton was the chief Puritan poet, so Bunyan was the chief puritan writer of prose.The Pilgrim’s Progress is written in the old fashioned medieval form of allegory and drama. The book opens with the author’s dream in which he sees a man “ with a book in his hand, and a great burden upon his back”. The man is Christian the Pilgrim, the book is the Bible, and the burden on his back is the weight of worldly cares and concerns. It tells how Christian starts his pilgrimage from his home to the Kingdom of Heaven, and of his experiences and adventures on his journey.The book’s most significant aspect is its satire, which without doubt is directed at the ruling classes. Especially well known is the description of the Vanity Fair. The punishment of Christian and Faithful for disdaining things in the Vanity Fair may have its significance in alluding to Bunyan’s repeated arrests and imprisonment for preaching. After all, like Milton, Bunyan in his book is preaching his religious views. He satirizes his society which is full of vices that violate the teaching of the Christian religion. However, his Puritanism weakens the effect of his social satire by exhorting his readers to endure poverty with patience in order to seek the “ Celestial City ”. Besides, the use of allegory in most of his works makes his satirical pictures less direct and more difficult to see. His books are more often read as religions books than as piercing exposures of social evils.Bunyan is known for his simple and lively prose style. Everyday idiomatic expressions and biblical language enables him to narrate his story and reveal his ideas directly and in a straightforward way.【Chapter 7】The Eighteenth Century (1688-1798)Neo-classicism★★★The characteristics of neo-classicism:1.People emphasized reason rather than emotion, form rather than content.2.As reason was stressed, most of the writings of the age were didactic and satirical.3.As elegance, correctness, appropriateness and restraint were preferred, the poet found closed couplet the only possible verse form for serious work.4.It is almost exclusively a “ town ” poetry, catering to the interests of the “ society ” in great cities.5.It is entirely wanting in all those elements that are related with the “ romantic ”.Daniel DefoeDaniel Defoe is known as a pioneer novelist of England, and also a prolific writer of books and pamphlets on a great variety of subjects.He never stopped his creative activities until at the age of 60, with the publication of Robinson Crusoe, a long imaginative literary masterpiece, he was finally recognized as a major English novelist. Robinson Crusoe is based on a real accident.In Moll Flanders, Defoe introduces, for the first time, a lowly woman as the subject of literature.Jonathan SwiftThe Battle of Books is a satire on the controversy among literary people concerning the values of the ancients and moderns.A Tale of the Tab is a satire on the various churches of his time.A Modest Proposal is a more bitter satire on the policy of the English government towards the Irish people.Swift’s masterpiece is Gulliver’s Travels. The book contains four parts that deal with the four voyages of its hero to strange places. The form of travel literature was popular in his time as there were many books of voyage and travel. Among them were Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe.Alexander Pope。
英国文学知识(完整)
英国文学知识上海新东方王海国一．古英语时期（Old English Literature 公元499—1066年）英国文学开山之作：头韵体诗歌（alliteration）《贝奥武甫》（Beowulf）琴涅武甫（Cynewulf）：Christ；《朱莉安娜》（Juliana）和《埃琳娜》（Elene）；《圣徒们的命运》（The Fates of the Apostles）阿尔弗雷德大帝（King Alfred）：《盎格鲁—撒克逊编年史》（Anglo-Saxon Chronicle），被誉为“英国散文之父”（Father of English Prose）二．中古英语时期（Medieval English Literature 公元1066年—15世纪）头韵体诗歌：《高文爵士和绿衣骑士》（Sir Gawain and the Green Knight）英国名谣：《罗宾汉名谣集》（The Robin Hood Ballads）威廉·兰格伦（William Langland）：《农夫皮尔斯的幻想》（piers the Plowman）杰弗里·乔叟（Geoffrey Chaucer）：英国中世纪最伟大的诗人，享有“英国诗歌之父”的美誉（Father of English Poetry）。
the first great poet who wrote in the English language，who making the dialect of London the standard for the modern English speech.代表作：八音节（octosyllabic）英雄双韵体（heroic couplet）诗歌《坎特布雷故事集》（The Canterbury Tales）。
托马斯·马洛礼（Sir Thomas Malory）：英国15世纪优秀的散文家，代表作为《亚瑟王之死》（Le Morte D’Arthur）三．文艺复兴时期（Renaissance 15世纪末—17世纪）托马斯·莫尔（Thomas More）：伟大的人文主义者，代表作：《乌托邦》（Utopia）托马斯·怀特（Thomas Wyatt）和亨利·霍华德（Henry Howard）的十四行诗（Sonnet）。
英国文学——精选推荐
英国⽂学源远流长，经历了长期、复杂的发展演变过程。
在这个过程中，⽂学本体以外的各种现实的、历史的、政治的、⽂化的⼒量对⽂学发⽣着影响，⽂学内部遵循⾃⾝规律，历经盎格鲁-撒克逊、⽂艺复兴、新古典主义、浪漫主义、现实主义、现代主义等不同历史阶段。
下⾯对英国⽂学的发展过程作⼀概述。
⼀、中世纪⽂学（约5世纪-1485） 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。
公元5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》（Beowulf），它被认为是英国的民族史诗。
《贝奥武甫》讲述主⼈公贝尔武甫斩妖除魔、与⽕龙搏⽃的故事，具有神话传奇⾊彩。
这部作品取材于⽇⽿曼民间传说，随盎格鲁-撒克逊⼈⼊侵传⼊今天的英国，现在我们所看到的诗是8世纪初由英格兰诗⼈写定的，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7、8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，是英国封建社会发展到成熟阶段⼀种社会理想的体现。
英国文学简史 笔记整理
长篇小说：The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews,and of His Friend Mr Abraham Adams约瑟·安德鲁传;The Life of Mr Jonathan Wild the Great大伟人江奈生·魏尔德传;The History of Tom Jones,a Foundling汤姆·琼斯;Amelia阿美利亚
Christopher Marlowe克里斯托夫。马洛
Tamburlaine铁木耳大帝Dr.Faustus浮士德的悲剧The Jew of Malta马耳他的犹太人The Passionate Shepherd多情的牧羊人致情人
William Shakespeare莎士比亚1564-1616
The Tempest暴风风雨;The Two Gentlemen of Veronaz维罗纳二绅士;The Mercy Wives of Windsor温莎的风流妇人;Measure for Measure恶有恶报;The Comedy of Errors错中错;Much Ado about Nothing无事自扰;Love’s Labour’s Lost空爱一场;A Midsummer Night’s Dream仲夏夜之梦;The Merchant of Venice威尼斯商人;As You Like It如愿;The Taming of the Shrew驯悍记;All’s Well That Ends Well皆大欢喜;Twelfth Night第十二夜;The Winter’s Tale冬天的故事;The Lifeand Death of King John/Richard the Second/Henry the Fifth/Richard the Third约翰王/理查二世/亨利五世/理查三世;The First/Second Part of King Henry the Fourth亨利四世（上、下）;The First/Second/Third Part of King Henry the Sixth亨利六世（上、中、下）;The Life of King Henry the Eighth亨利八世；Troilus and Cressida脱爱勒斯与克莱西达;The Tragedy of Coriolanus考利欧雷诺斯;Titus Andronicus泰特斯·安庄尼克斯;Romeo and Julet罗密欧与朱丽叶；Timon of Athens雅典的泰门;The Life and Death of Julius Caesar;朱利阿斯·凯撒；The Tragedy of Macbeth麦克白;The Tragedy of Hamlet哈姆雷特/王子复仇记;King Lear李尔王;Othello奥塞罗;Antony and Cleopatra安东尼与克利欧佩特拉;Cymbeline辛白林;Pericles波里克利斯;Venus and Adonis维诺斯·阿都尼斯;Lucrece露克利斯;The Sonnets十四行诗
英国文学知识点整理
英国文学知识点整理不同的分类，会有交叉。
有交叉，才能理解，才能清晰，才能快速记忆，这才是真正的笔记。
(一)各个时期的文学创作术语中世纪文学时期Medieval Literature英雄双韵体the heroic couplet【特点】两行两行押韵，也被称作五步抑扬格iambic pentameter【创始人】杰弗里·乔叟Geoffrey Chaucer文艺复兴时期Renaissance十四行诗sonnet【特点】1韵律：一行隔一行押韵一节中的最后一行又与下一节的第一行押韵第四节只有两行独自押韵，一共十四行。
例一：abab bcbc cdcd ee例二：abab bcbc efef gg 2行数：十四行【创始人】威廉·莎士比亚William Shakespeare斯宾塞诗体Spenserian【特点】1韵律：韵律复杂，具有音乐性2行数：每节九行【创始人】埃德蒙·斯宾塞Edmund Spenser 素体诗blank verse没有押韵道德剧Morality Play神秘剧Mystery Play奇迹剧Miracle Play抑扬格四音步iambic tetrameter书信体意识流stream of consciousness(二)各种荣誉称谓"之父"称号Title作家主要作品时代流派英国诗歌之父Father of English Poetry杰弗里·乔叟Geoffrey Chaucer坎特伯雷故事集The Canterbury TalesMedieval Literature 十四世纪英国小说之父Father of English Novels丹尼尔·笛福Daniel Defoe鲁宾逊漂流记The Life and Strange Surprising Adventures of Robinson CrusoeEnlightenment 18世纪Realistic西欧历史小说之父The Father of Western European Historical Novel沃尔特·司各特Walter Scott密得洛西恩监狱The Heart of MidlothianRealistic Literature十九世纪Romanticism桂冠诗人Poet Laureate约翰·德莱顿John Dryden阿尔弗雷德·丁尼生Alfred Tennyson【作品】记忆方式伊诺克·阿登。
英国文学知识点总结
英国⽂学知识点总结Part One Early and Medieval English literature& Masterpiece: “The Song of Beowulf ”1. Significance:The national epic of the English people;A folk legend brought to England by Anglo-Saxons from Northern Europe;Passed from mouth to mouth for hundreds of years before written down in the 10th century;The most important and representative work of the Old English (the Anglo-Saxon )literature.2. Characters:Beowulf: nephew of Hygelac Hygelac: king of Geats in Jutland Hrothgar: king of the Danes Grendel: a monster3. Plot:(1) Beowulf’s fight with the monster Grendel in Hrothgar’s hall(2) Beowulf’s slaying of Grendel’s mother in her lair(3) Beowulf’s return to his u ncle, and his succession to the throne.(4) Beowulf’s victory in death, fifty years later, over the fire dragon4. Features:i. Position: The national epic and the first long poem in English .ii. Rhyme: The poem is written in alliterative verse in a line, with 4 accents in a line , three of which show alliteration( beginning with the same consonant sound )iii. Rhetorics: A figurative language is used , which is called “kenning” or metaphor .iv. Structure: It is written in inverted order with two parts in a line (as pause)& The Medieval English LiteratureI. Romance : (in prose or verse form)a.Subject matter (题材，话题，论题)（See the definition）：The life and adventures of a noble hero , generally a knightb. Theme (主题)（See the definition）：The loyalty to the king and lord .c. Three romance cycles (传奇故事系列)The Matter of France (about Charlemagne and his peers )The Matter of Rome (about Alexander the Great )The Matter of Britain(about the adventures of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table) d. The class nature of Romance :It’s written for the upper classChivalry （骑⼠精神）is represented to show the quality of the knight : courage , honor , courtesy , loyalty and devotion to the helpless , the weakand women .e. Masterpiece :“Sir Gawin and the Green Knight” 《⾼⽂爵⼠和绿⾐骑⼠》in alliterative verse .* Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400)1. Position: i.“The father of English poetry”ii. The founder of English realism (by Gorky)iii. The forerunner of humanism .2. Contribution:i.He introduced the “heroic couplet”(the rhymed couplet of iambic pentameter抑扬格五⾳步)ii. He is the first great poet who wrote in the current English language .iii. He did much in making the dialect of London the foundation for modern English speech .3. Literary Creation:Influenced by：Dante (1265-1321): “The Divine Comedy”Petrarch (1307-1374) : “Sonnets”Boccaccio (1313-1375): “Decameron”4. Masterpiece : “The Canterbury Tales”i. Significance :a. A comprehensive picture of Chaucer's time a splendid realistic portrayal .b. An artistic corridor of people from all walks of life in the medieval England :a) the gentle class: knight , squire , monk prioress (⼥修道院的院长), the oxford scholar .b) the burgher class : tradesman , carpenter , weaver , the Wife of Bath , lawyerc. Realism and Humanism is revealed :The praise of man’s energy quick wit and love of life .The equal right of man and woman to pursue their happiness on earth and the opposition of the dogma of asceticism.ii. Features:a. Structural features :a) A prologue and 24 tales b) All the tales are closely knitted by interspersing them with the talk ,the quarrels , opinions of the pilgrims and especially the judgment of the innkeeper .b. Literary features :Heroic couplet : a pair of rhyming iambic pentameter lines .Tone : gentle satire and mild irony .& The English Ballads (Popular Ballads)1. Literary Features :i. English folk literature in feudal society .ii. In song , usually in 4-line stanza , with the 2nd and 4th lines rhymed .iii. iambic trimeter / tetrameter 抑扬格三⾳步/四⾳步2. Themes :i. The struggle of young lovers against their feudal families.ii. The conflict between love and wealth.iii. The cruel effect of jealousy.iv. The border wars between England and Scotland.v. The matters of class struggle.3. Masterpieces:1) Robin Hood Ballads : gathered into a collection called “The Geste of Robin Hood”2) “Ro bin Hood and Allan –a –Dale” “Get up and Bar the Door”“Sir Patrick Spans”Robin HoodStatus: a yeoman forced to be an outlaw/fugitiveDeeds: Greenwood of Sherwood Forest near Nottingham in the center of EnglandHunting the King’s deer, robbing from the r ich and distributing among the poorFriends and followers: the Merry Men (Little John, Friar Tuck, Will Scarlet, and the romantic minstrel Alan-a-Dale)His enemy: the Sheriff of NottinghamHis wife: Maid Marian4. Linguistic characteristics:RomanceIt uses narrative verse or prose to sing knightly adventures or other heroic deeds is a popular literary form in the medieval period. It has developed the characteristic medieval motifs of the quest, the test, the meeting with the evil giant and the encounter with the beautiful beloved.The hero is usually the knight, who sets out on a journey to accomplish some missions. There is often mysteries and fantasies in romance.Romantic love is an important part of the plot in romance. Characterization is standardized, while the structure is loose and episodic, the language is simple and straightforward.The importance of the romance itself can be seen as a means of showing medieval aristocratic men and women in relation to their idealized view of the world.Questions for consideration:1. The features of the medieval English literature ?2. The significance of The Canterbury Tales ?3. The literary features of English ballads ?4. The differences between romance and balladPart II The English Renaissance&Literary influence of the Bible on English language:Household words from Bible:root of all evil万恶之源clear as crystal极其明⽩a thorn in the flesh眼中钉，⾁中刺to cast pearls before swine明珠投暗a labor of love 不计较报酬的⼯作eye for eye , tooth for tooth 以眼还眼，以⽛还⽛The Development of Literaturei. The Beginning of the English Renaissancea. Geoffrey Chaucer（1340-1400）The forerunner of English Renaissanceb.William Caxton introducing printing to England in 1476 bringing a multitude of classical works .& c. Thomas More (1478-1535) The first humanist in EnglandI. IntroductionGreat thinker and humanist in the RenaissanceII. Masterpiece: “Utopia”Utopia, from two Greek words meaning “nowhere”, is an island discovered on a voyage to the newly discovered Americas. It is an description of the ideal communist society and ideal commonwealth, where property is held in common and there is no poverty.Practical basis for the communist society:From everyone according to his capacities ,to everyone according to his need”各尽所能，按需分配)B. Different Genres and their representatives: essay, poetry, dramaa. essayist: Francis Baconb.poets:Thomas Wyatt, HenryHoward,Sir Philip Sidney, Edmund Spenser, William Shakespearec. dramatists/playwrights: Christopher Marlowe, William Shakespeare, Ben Jonson&1. Francis BaconA. Position and Contribution:He is the first great essayist . He is the founder of English materialist philosophy （唯物主义哲学）He is the founder of modern science in England .Inductive Method of Reasoning (归纳法) was stated in his essay “New Instrument”He represents the intellectual energy of the age .B. Masterpiece:a. “Advancement of Learning”《科学的进展》b. “New Instrument” 新⼯具c. “Essays” 《随笔集》Subjects : love truth , friendship , parents and children , beauties , studies , riches , youth and ages , death etc .Features : clearness ,brevity and force of expression .C. Wise Sayings:“Knowledge is power”“Men fear death, as chi ldren fear to go in the dark; and as that natural fear in children is increased with tales, so is the other.“⼈们惧伯死亡，正如孩童惧于⿊暗中⾏路：孩童⼼中的恐惧感随着听到的童话故事的增多⽽增长，⼈们对死亡的惧怕亦是如此。
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Chapter One Old English Literature (5-11th )literature: BeowulfMajor plot: two major events; Beowulf slays the monster Grendel and its mother, becomes king of the GeatFeatureNational epic alliterationThemea folk legend brought to England by Anglo-saxons from their continental homes.Reflect the feature of tribal society in ancient times.Chapter Two Medieval English Literature(11-15th )Works:Sir Gawain and the Green KnightThe Romaunt of the rose“The Canterbury TalesWritters:Geoffrey ChaucerFeature：innovations in poetic vocabularyhumorlanguagevivid and exactChapter Three Literature of Renaissance and ReformaitonWriter and works1.Edmund SpenserThe Shepherd’s CalendarThe Faerie QueeneStyle: allegory written in Spenserian2. Francis BaconFamous for his EssaysOf StudiesWriting Features: His essays which were an introduction to Bacon’s worldly-wise philosophy, have won popularity for their clearness, brevity and force of expression.3. William ShakespeareWorks:Romeo and JulietThe Merchant of VeniceHamletChapter Four Literature of Revolution and Restoration(17th )Writters and worksJohn Milton’s Paradise LostJohn Bunyan Pilgrim’s ProgressFeature:language is chiefly plain and colloquial and quite modern in comparison with that of the writers of the Renaissance. His language is clear, vivid, natural, homely (朴实的), fluent, musical and powerful.Chapter Five Literature of Enlightenment(18th ) and classicismDaniel Defoe’s masterpiece is Adventures of Robinson CrouseJonathan Swift’s masterpiece is Gulliver's Travels.Thomas Gray Elegy Written in a Country ChurchyardChapter Six Literature of Romanticism in England (the first half of 19th )Robert Burns A Red, Red Rose《一红的玫瑰》Auld Lang Syne《友谊地久William Wordsworth I Wandered Lonely as a CloudSamuel Taylor ColeridgeThe Rime of the Ancient Mariner 古舟子咏George G. Byron (1788-1824)Don Juan 唐璜Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822)Prometheus Unbound 《解放了的普罗米修斯》Ode to the West Wind 《西风颂》John Keats (1795-1821)“ Ode on a Grecian Urn” 1819 希腊古瓮颂“To Autumn” 秋颂“ Ode to a Nightingale” 1819Chapter Seven Literature of Critical Realism (1837-1901) the Victorian AgeCharles Dickens (1812-70)David Copperfield 1848 masterpieceOliver Twist雾都孤儿1838Charlotte Bronte (1816-1855)Jane Eyre:Chapter Twentieth Century Literature The Transition from 19th to the 20th Centuryin English Literature(1900-1945)Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) Under the Greenwood Tree 《绿荫下》(1872);Oscar Wilde Wilde(1854 ---1900)The Picture of Dorian Gray 《道林•格雷的画像》George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)作品一Jonathan Swift’s masterpiece is Gulliver's Travels.Gulliver shipwrecks in Lilliput where the tallest people were six inches high. In his account of the two parties in the country, distinguished by the use of high and low heels, Swift satirizes the Tories and the Whigs in England.（Jonathan Swift RadicalDemocrats Gulliver's Travels irony exaggeration, contrast, irony）二Oliver TwistThe standard pattern in his novels is the basic conflict between money on the one hand, and love on the othereflect the nature of Victorian urban society with all its conflicts and disharmoniesHis novels are multifarious ([mʌltiˈfeəriəs]多种的，各式各样的), digressive（枝节的离题的）, humorous and fluid. His novels are urban ficiton of a new era, of which the plots are rarelytight-knit.1.Dickens took a popular art form, the comic novel, and gave it a distinctive wit, energy andvariety. Comedy in his novels consists of laughing at characters trapped in difficult situations.三William Shakespeare Hamlet .Structure: A. His plays usu. have more than one plot. Through contrast and parallel, the major and minor plots are woven into an organic whole.B. the device of a play within the play also plays an important part.4. Language: Shakespeare is a master of the English language, with a large vocabulary of 16000 English words. More important are the figurative speeches such as analogy and metaphor.5. Style: realistic style. The reader may be impressed by the typical speech modes —the question in Hamlet, the ambiguities in Macbeth, the exclamations and very simple but also very basic questions in King Lear.6. Theme：Living in the historical period of the transition from feudalism to capitalism, he paintsa panorama of the decline of the old feudal nobility and the rise of new bourgeoisie.四William Wordsworth I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,（ English Romantic poet）五Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) Ode to the West Wind Theme: Shelly’s faith in the victory of man’s struggle against tyranny and depressionEvery stanza is a sonnet.Every stanza consists of 3 terzarima（三行诗隔句押韵法）+ couplet.The rhythmical pattern is aba bcbcdcdedee.Terzarima is poetry written in three-line stanzas (or “tercets”) linked by end-rhymes patterned aba, bcb, cdc, ded, efe, etc.Theme Revolutionary spirit. Wish to destroy the old and build up a new7地下铁道2.In a Station of the Metro ˈˈˈˈˈˈˈThe apparition of these faces in the crowd; Petals on a wet, black bough.Apparition:This poem by Ezra Pound is perhaps the most famous of the imagist poems. Pound used it as an example of what he meant by imagism in his introduction to the first collection of his friends’ poems. It is a description of people in the Paris subway on a rainy, dark night.Four Great comediesThe Merchant of VeniceA Midsummer Night’s DreamAs you Like itTwelfth NightShakespeare’s four great tragediesHamletOthelloKing LearMacbethBeowulfBeowulf: The legendary hero of an anonymous Old English epic poem believed to have been composed in the early eighth century. written down in the tenth century. The first major poem in a European vernacular（本国语，地方语）language;Major plot: two major events; Beowulf slays the monster Grendel and its mother, becomes king of the Geats（耶阿特人，瑞典南部的斯堪的纳维亚人，6世纪是瑞典人所征服。