英国文学史_第二册_复习资料
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英国文学史及选读1,2册复习大纲
英国文学史及选读1,2册复习大纲Part 1 The Anglo―Saxon Period（449-1066）秧格鲁-撒克逊时期1.H istorical BackgroundCelts 400B.C. Romans 50B.C. Anglo―Saxons 450A.D Norman Invasion 1066A.D. Roman empire从albion撤军，teutonic tribes(包括angles, Saxons,jutes)（条顿人or日耳曼人）陆续登陆此地2. Literature 1,pagan异教徒文学2 christian基督徒文学alliterative verse头韵诗Epic: Beowulf贝奥武甫（Denmark背景）（the hall heorot 鹿兀grendel:a monster half-human）1) Oral origin, recited in court, handed down in generations until finally it was recorded by certain poet.上下部分由pagan写，插入由christian写2) a mixture of history and legend.，england’s national epic 民国史诗Part II The Anglo-Norman Period(1066-1350)秧格鲁-诺曼时期11.H istorical BackgroundRoman conquest,接着是english conquest，最后是normanconquest。
The Norman Conquest in 1066Duke William of Normandy claimed himself William I, King of England.（the battle of hastings希斯廷战役）Kings―Barons男爵―Knights, a feudal system of hierarchy统治集团was formed2.T he languageUpper classes: French, Latin The mon people: Old EnglishThree languages co-existed in England. French became the official language used by the king and the Norman lords; Latin became the principal tongue of church affairs and in universities; and Old English was spoken only by the mon English people.3.The literatureRomance was a type of literature that was very popular2in the Middle Ages. It is about the life and adventures undertaken by a knight.It reflected the spirit of chivalry骑士制度. The content of romance: love, chivalry and religion. It involves fighting, adventures.Subject matter:Geoffrey’s His tory杰弗里《史记》，riming chronicles押韵编年史，metricalverse格律诗体，doggerel verse打油诗体1)t he Matter of France eg. Charlemagne and his peers查理曼大帝和他的骑士2)M atter of Greece and Rome eg Akexabder亚历山大大帝3)M atter of Britain tales having for their heroes Arthurand his knights of the Round Table3.m ain literatureSir Gawain and the green knight.高文爵士和绿衣骑士（arthur，gawain,green knight, morgain the fay-woman3妖精摩根, the green girdle绿腰带）Part III Geoffrey Chaucer (1340―1400)杰弗里.乔叟时期1.H istorical BackgroundHe was living at the same time as the writer of Sir Gawain. In 1350 AD, 100 Years' War between England and France.The English won, they controlled large French territory领土. The Henry VI lost it all. He is father of English poetry War of the Roses 1455-1485 AD2.W hat's middle ages like?1). The medieval society: hierarchy 等级制度social system.2). Another important thing in the medieval society is Christianity基督God-centered thinking, mind ideology 思想体系3.L ife and work of ChaucerChaucer lived between (1340-1400). His life is closely41. French 1360-1370 translate French poetry2. Italian 1372-13863.English The Canterbury tales4.The Canterbury talesHe got his stories from various sources, Greek authors, Roman authors, Italian, French, but there is no doubt about Chaucer's originality. He retells the stories in his own way.5The stories are told by a group of people on their way to and back from Canterbury. Pilgrims 朝圣者tell stories to pass the time. The journey is used as a kind of device to unite the various tales Nun修女:Her enthusiasm for grace, trying to e someone that she is not, she cannot possibly be. --Pretentiousness, pretending伪装too much Chaucer has different attitude to different characters第一句：as soon as april pierces to the root, the drought of march, and bathes each bud and shootThe significance of his writing1)it gives a prehensive广泛的picture of Chaucer’s time2)the dramatic structure3)Chaucer’s humor4)Chaucer’s contribution to the English language. Ever since the Norman Conquest the French language was the language at the court and the upper classes, and Latin was the language of the learned and the church. Chaucer6used the native language English and proved that the English language is a beautiful language. He increased the prestige 威信of the English language.5.Popular ballads大众民谣A ballad is a narrative叙述poem that tells a story. It is about particular incidents, usually dramatic. Ballets tell stories-about tragic悲剧的incidents. They are written in a special musical pattern, ballad meter-four meters, couplets（相连并押韵的两行诗）―two line in a unit or quatrain 四行诗__ ababcdcd Characteristics:1)The beginning is often abrupt突然地. No introductionof the characters and the background of the tale2)There are strong dramatic elements. A ballad deals witha single episode插曲3)the story is often told through dialogue and action4)the theme is often tragic悲剧的5)The ballad meter is used. It contains four-line stanza7节，段在英国把民谣当文学形式研究的第一人是托马斯.帕西主教Bishop Thomas Percy,他将民谣收录到《英诗辑古》Reliques of Ancient English Poetry中。
英国文学史及选读第二册
4. Features of Victorian novels In this period，the novel became the most widely read & the most vital & challenging expression of progressive thought. While sticking to the principle of faithful representation of the 18th-century realist novel, novelists in this period carried their duty forward to the criticism of the society & the defense of the mass. Although writing from different points of view & with different techniques, they shared one thing in common, that is, they were all concerned about the fate of the common people. They were angry at the inhuman social institutions, the decaying social morality as represented by the moneyworship & Utilitarianism & the widespread misery, poverty & injustice. Their truthful depiction of people’s life & bitter & strong criticism of the society had done much in awakening the public consciousness to the social problems & in the actual improvement of the society. Victorian literature, in general, truthfully represents the reality & spirit of the age. The high-spirited vitality, the down-to-earth earnestness, the good-natured humor & unbounded imagination are all unprecedented. In almost every genre it paved the way for the coming century, where its spirits, values & experiments are to witness their bumper harvest.
英国文学史及选读2复习大纲2
《英国文学史及选读》第二册复习提纲Part VII. THE ROMANTIC PERIODIntroduction●Historical BackgroundThe political & social factors that gave rise to the Romantic Movement were the three revolutions –the American Revolution, the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution.●Intellectual backgroundThe shift in literature from emphasis on reason to instinct & emotion was intellectually prepared for by a number of thinkers in the later half of the 18th century. Representative thinkers are Rousseau, Edmund Burke and Thomas Paine.●Term – Romanticism（1）Romanticism is a literary trend fighting against the idea of Enlightenment. It prevailed in England during the period of 1798—1832. It begins with the publication of Lyrical Ballads by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge and ends with Sir Walter Scott’s death.（2）Romanticism actually constitutes a change of direction from attention to the outer world of social civilization to the inner world of the human spirit.（3）In essence, it designates a literary & philosophical theory, which tends to see the individual as the very center of all life & all experience.（4）It also places the individual at the center of art, making literature most valuable as an expression of his or her unique feelings & particular attitudes, & valuing its a ccuracy in portraying the individual’s experiences.●Term – Lake Poets or The LakersIn English literature it refers to such romantic poets as William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey who lived in the Lake District.●Term—Gothic NovelIt is a type of romance very popular in the 18th century and at the beginning of the 19th century. It emphasizes things which are grotesque, violent, mysterious, supernatural, desolate and horrifying. It was applied by Horace Walpole to his novel The Castle of Otranto. It has exerted a great influence over the writers of the Romantic period with its description of the dark, 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 Shelley are typical Gothic romance.●Romantic Authors in England（1）The glory of the age is in the poetry of Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley, Keats and Southy. （2）Of its prose works, those of Scott alone have attained very wide reading（3）The essays of Charles Lamb（4）The novels of Jane Austen and historical novels of Walter ScottWilliam Wordsworth (1770-1850)“. . . poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility…” (“Preface”) 所有的好诗都是炽烈情感的自然涌流，而这种情感又是经过在宁静中追忆的.——quotation from William Wordsworth.●Major works from William WordsworthLyrical Ballads抒情歌谣集（I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud我好似一朵孤独的流云；Composed upon Westminster Bridge写于威斯敏斯特桥上）Lucy Poems露西组诗(She Dwett Among the Untrodden Ways她走在人迹罕至的路边；To the Cuckoo杜鹃颂;The Solitary Reape r孤寂的割麦女);The Excursio n远足The Prelude序曲●Analysis of William Wordsworth’s works（1）She Dwett Among the Untrodden Ways is one of his famous Lucy Poems, in which the lover tells that she lived unknown and died unknown.（2）Composed upon Westminster Bridge describes a vivid picture of a beautiful morning in London. （3）The Solitary Reaper describes vividly and sympathetically a young peasant girl working in the fields and singing as she works and shows that the gir l’s singing deeply moved the traveler and kept lingering in his heart.（4）I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud is perhaps the most anthologized poem in English literature, and one that takes us to the core of Wordsworth’s poetic belief.●FormThis poem contains four six-lined stanzas of iambic tetrametre(四步抑扬格), with a rhyme scheme of ababcc in each stanza.●ThemeThe theme of this poem is the serene beauty of nature through vivid description of daffodils and the poet’s respect for nature.●ContentFirst Stanza–It shows a harmonious picture. The image of “cloud” gives us the impression of the poet’s pride and loftiness. But on seeing numerous daffodils, the poet descends from above to below.Second Stanza– In this stanza, the poet draws an analogy between stars and daffodils to emphasize the great number. “Star” in this stanza echoes with “cloud” in the previous stanza.Third Stanza–The poet draws an analogy between waves of water and waves of daffodils. The description of the scenery ends in the second line. Following that, the poet shifts his emphasis from scenery to emotion. Fourth Stanza –The glee of daffodils turns into happiness of the poet. As a result, the beauty of nature becomes the beauty of mind. The last two lines explain why daffodils had brought great wealth to me, because they had brought fresh inspiration, greater creativity and new capacity for imagination. New life has been brought to him by the memory.●Brief comment on William Wordsworth（1）He is the leading figure of English Romantic poetry, and he is regarded as a “worshipper of nature”. （2）His Lyrical Ballads, written with Coleridge, marked the beginning of Romanticism in English poetry.（3）He defined poetry as “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility.”（4）He was one of the “Lake Poets”.George Gordon Byron (1788-1824)Introduction●George Gordon Byron was as famous in his lifetime for his personality cult as for his poetry. He created the concept of the “Byronic hero”—a proud, mysterious rebel figure of noble origin. Byron’s influence on European poetry, music, novel, opera, and painting has been immense. He was the most renowned English language poet of his day.●Term – Byronic HeroThis is a concept created by George Gordon Byron. It refers to a proud, mysterious rebel figure of noble origin. With immense superiority in his passions and powers, this figure would carry on his shoulders the burden of righting all the wrongs in a corrupted 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.●Term – LyricLyric is a short poem wherein the poet expresses an emotion or illustrates some life principle. Lyric often concerns love. “My love is like a red, red rose” is Robert Burn’s well-known lyric.●Major worksHours of Idliness1807English Bords and Scottish Reviewers1809Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage1812The Giaour 1813The Corsair1814Lara1814Manfred1817Cain 1821Don Juan (1819-1824)●Famous selected poems in our textbook:When We Two Parted;She Walks in Beauty;The Isles of Greece taken from Don Juan●Analysis of Byron’s works（1）Don Juan, Byron’s masterpiece, is regarded as the great poem of the Romantic Age. It is a poem based on a traditional Spanish legend of a great lover and seducer of women.（2）When We Two Parted is a lyric poem of usual love between man and woman. The poem is alternately rhymed to show the poet’s mental pain of love mingled with hate. The metrical movement of this poem is basically a combination of iambic and anapaestic (抑抑扬格) feet, with a rhyme scheme ababcdcd.（3）She Walks in Beauty is one of B’s early love lyrics.●Background knowledge – On June 11, 1814, B attended a party where he for the first time net hisyoung cousin, Lady Wilmot Horton, who was dressed in a black mourning gown. B was so struck by her beauty that, on returning home, he wrote this poem in a single night.●Theme – This lyric poem is a compliment to a lady and to celebrate the beauty of the woman.●Form – The poem contains three stanzas of iambic tetrameter, with a rhyme scheme ababab.（4）The Isles of Greece is taken from Don Juan, Canto III, which is sung by a Greek singer at the wedding of Don Juan and Haidee. In the early 19th century, Greece was under the rule of Turk. Bycontrasting the freedom of ancient Greece and the present enslavement, the poet appealed to people to struggle for liberty.●Comments on Byron（1）Byron is the most excellent representative of English Romanticism. He was one of the most influential poets of his time.（2）He created the concept of the “Byronic hero”—a proud, mysterious rebel figure of noble origin. （3）His poems are favorites of the British workers & the laboring people of other countries. He opposed oppression & slavery, & had an ardent love for liberty. He praised the people’s revolutionary struggles in his works.（4）He was the most renowned English language poet of his day.Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1827)Introduction●Shelley is one of the leading Romantic poets, an intense and original lyrical poet in the English language. Shelley drew no essential distinction between poetry and politics, and his work reflected the radical ideas and revolutionary optimism of the era.●Term – OdeIt is a dignified and elaborately structured lyric poem of some length, praising and glorifying an individual, commemorating an event, or describing nature intellectually rather than emotionally. Originally they were songs performed to the accompaniment of a music instrument. John Keats wrote great odes. His Ode on a Grecian Urn is a case in point.●Term -- Terza RimaIt 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 aba, bcb, cdc, ded, etc.. It appeared first in Dante’s The Divine Comedy. Besides, Shelley’s Ode to the West Wind is a case in point.●Major WorksThe Necessity of Atheism《无神论的必要性》Adonais《阿多尼斯》Queen Mab 1813《麦布女王》The Revolt of Islam 1818《伊斯兰的反叛》Prometheus Unbound 1820《解放了的普罗米修斯》A Defence of Poetry《诗辩》●Famous selected poems in our textbook:A Song: Men of EnglandOde to the West WindOzymandiasTo a SkylarkThe Cloud●Analysis of Shelley’s works（1） A Song: Men of England is one of Shelley’s greatest political lyrics. It is not only a war cry callingupon all working people to rise up against their political oppressors, but an address to them pointing out the intolerable injustice of economic exploitation. The poet warns the working people that if they should give up their struggle, they would be digging graves for themselves with their own hands.（2）Ode to the West Wind is one of the most popular and best-known of Shelley's lyrics. Main Idea–Shelley eulogized the powerful west wind & expressed his eagerness to enjoy the boundless freedom from the reality. “West Wind”— in the poem symbolizes both destroyer of the old and preserver of the new. It destroys leaves/things/thoughts/ideas that are dead; it preserves new life or seeds that represent new life or new birth. Form—This ode consists of five stanzas, each a stanza formed of four units of terza rima (三行诗节) completed by a couplet. Famous lines—”Wild Spirit, which art moving everywhere;/ Destroyer and Preserver; hear, O hear!” and “I fall upon the thorns of life!” and “If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?”（3）Prometheus Unbound is Shelley’s greatest poetic drama. The drama celebrates man’s victory over tyranny and oppression.（4）Queen Mab is a revolutionary poem condemning tyranny and exploitation and the unjust war waged by the rich to plunder wealth.John Keats (1795-1821)●Romantic poets comparedWordsworth: beauty in simplicityColeridge: beauty in the extraordinary and supernaturalByron: beauty in power and satireShelley: exquisite beautyKeats: sensuous beauty(给人以美的享受的).On John Keats’ tomb are carved, according to his own request, the words: “Here lies one whose name was writ in water.” (此地长眠者，声名水上书)●John Keats is one of the major English Romantists in the 19th century. He wrote best odes in Englishliterature. He sought to express beauty in all of his poems. His leading principle is “Beauty is truth, truth beauty”. His poetry is distinguished by sensuousness and the perfection of the form. His ability to appeal to the senses through language is virtually unrivaled.●Major Works“““““●Analysis of Keats’ works（1）Ode on an Grecian Urn shows the contrast between the permanence of art and the transience of human passion. Form—Each stanza is 10 lines long, metered in a relatively precise iambic pentameter,and divided into a two part rhyme scheme: the first 7 lines of each stanza follow an ABABCDE rhyme and the last 3 lines of which are variable. The famous line from this ode is “Beauty is truth, truth beauty” and “Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard/ Are sweeter”.（2）On First Looking into Chapman’s Hom er is a Petrarchan or Italian sonnet with a rhyme scheme of abba abba cdc dcd. The octet (eight lines) describes Keats's reading experience before reading Chapman's translation and the sestet (six lines) contrasts his experience of reading it.（3）Ode to a Nightingale expresses the contrast between the happy world of natural loveliness and human world of agony.Walter Scott (1771—1832)●Walter Scott, a Scottish novelist and poet, is the father of the historical novel. His historical novel ishis chief contribution to English literature. His historical novels concern the history of Scotland, English history and the history of European countries. His language is difficult with Scottish dialect.●Major Works of Walter ScottPoems1802, Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border,《苏格兰边区歌谣集》1805, The Lay of the Last Minstrel,《最末一个行吟诗人》1808, Marmion《玛密恩》1810, The Lady of the Lake《湖上夫人》NovelsOf Scottish historyWaverley 《威弗利》1814Guy Mannering 《盖曼纳合》1815Old Morality 《清教徒》1816Rob Roy 1817 《罗布·罗伊》, the best of the groupThe Heart of Midlothian 1818《弥德洛西恩的心》Of the English historyIvanhoe《艾凡赫》1820, is Scott’s masterpiece. It is a novel of English subject covering the days after the Norman Conquest.Kenilworth, 《肯纳尔沃思堡》1821The Fortunes of Nigel, 《尼格尔的家产》1822Woodstock 《皇家猎宫》Peveril of the Peak 《贝弗利尔·皮克》1823Of the European countriesQuentin Durward 《昆丁·达沃德》1823Talisman 《惊军英雄记》1825Count Robert of Paris《巴黎的罗伯特伯爵》1832St. Ronan’s Wells《圣·罗南之泉》, the only one, dealing with his contemporary life●Features of Scott’s Novels（1）Scott has an outstanding gift of vivifying the past.（2）In his novels, historical events are closely interwoven with the fates of individuals.（3）In his historical novels, he concerns both the lives and deeds of the higher class and that of the ordinary people.（4）He is a romantic while a Tory, a conservative in politics.Jane Austen (1775-1817)Introduction●She was a woman novelist of the 18th century, thought she lived mainly in the 19th century for herworks show clearly her firm belief in the predominance of reason over passion, the sense of responsibility, good manners and clear-sighted judgment over the Romantic tendencies of emotion and individuality.●Six NovelsEmma《爱玛》Persuasion《劝导》Mansfield Park《曼斯菲尔德庄园》Northanger Abbey《诺桑觉寺》Pride and Prejudice《傲慢与偏见》Sense and Sensibility《理智与情感》●Analysis of Pride and PrejudicePride & Prejudice which was originally drafted as First Impressions, mainly tells of the love story between a rich, proud young man Darcy and the beautiful and intelligent Elizabeth Bennet. In this novel, Darcy stands for Pride and Elizabeth represents Prejudice. In the end false pride is humbled and prejudice dissolved.Main Characters—Mr. Bennet and Mrs. Bennet with their daughters of Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Catherine and Lydia, besides there are Charles Bingley and Fitzwilliam Darcy.Major Themes— Pride and prejudiceLove and marriageFamilyFamous quotations from Chapter 1①“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife”. ——Opening sentence from Pride and PrejudiceExplanations of the opening sentence—P & P begins with one of her most famous uses of irony. The first sentence takes a local attitude, to be exemplified in Mrs. Bennet, about the need of well-to-do men to marry, and transforms it, tongue-in-cheek, into a self-evident fact “universally acknowledged.”②“What is his name?”“Bingley.”“Is he married or single?”“Oh! single, my dear, to be sure! A single man of large fortune; four or five thousand a year. What a fine thing for our girls!”“How so? how can it affect them?”“My dear Mr. Bennet,” replied his wife, “how can you be so tiresome! You must know that I am thinking of his marrying one of them.”——Conversations between Mr. and Mrs BennetExplanations of this conversation—The conversation tells us that Mrs. Bennet is eager to marry one of his daughters to the mentioned young man, but her husband does not care much.●Jane Austen’s contribution to English literature（1）Jane Austen is one of the most important Romantic novelists in English literature. She creates six influential novels such as Sense and Sensibility, Emma, Pride and Prejudice.（2）Her main literary concern is about human beings in their personal relationships. She makes trivial daily life as important as the concerns about human belief and career and salient social events. This is what make her important in English literature.(3%)（3）Jane Austen has brought the English novel, as an art of form, to its maturity because of her sensitivity to universal patterns of human behavior and her accurate portrayal of human individuals. （4）She describes the world from a woman’s point of view, and depicts a group of authentic and common women.Charles Lamb (1775-1834)●Romantic prose writers（1）The early 19th century is remarkable for the development of a new and valuable type of critical prose writing.（2）The leaders in this new and important development are William Hazlitt, Leigh Hunt, De Quincy and Charles Lamb.（3）These prose writers were much influenced by the French Revolution in politics and by the Romantic Movement in literature.（4）They freely expressed their own personality in their writings.（5）The best representative of these writers is Charles Lamb.●Major literary worksFirst PeriodJohn Woodvil《约翰·伍德维尔》1802Mr. H 《H君》1806Second PeriodTales from Shakespeare 《莎士比亚故事集》1807 cooperated with his sisterSpecimens of English Dramatic Poets Contemporary with Shakespeare《莎士比亚同时代英国戏剧诗人之范作》1808Third Perid—series of essaysEssays of Elia 《伊利亚随笔集》1823Last Essays of Elia《后随笔集》1833Part VIII. The Victorian Age●Age DivisionThe Victorian Age can be roughly divided into 3 periods:The Early Period (1832-1848): a time of social unrest.The Middle Period (1848-1870): a period of economic prosperity & religious controversy.The Last Period (1870-1901): a period of decay of Victorian values.●Features of Victorian novels（1）The plot is unfolded against a social background, which is broader than what it had been in previous novels.（2）The cause-effect sequence is much more striking than in previous novels.（3）Most of the Victorian novels first published in serial form, that is, by installment, before they were fully published in a single book.（4）The Victorian novels were tainted by the spirit of Puritanism of the Victorian age.（5）The Victorian novels were characterized by their moral purpose. Many writers wrote novels with a purpose to edify readers & to bring about reforms.●Victorian PoetsAlthough the novel was the predominating genre of literature in the Victorian age, it does not follow that there were no prominent poets after the deaths of major Romantic poets.In fact, poets like Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892), Robert Browning (1812-1889), Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861), & Matthew Arnold (1822-1888)were important in the sense not only that they wrote highly lyrical poems as the Romaticists did, but also that they in their poetry reflected the spiritual search which was characteristic of the age.●Terms—Critical RealismCritical Realism is a term applied to the realistic fiction in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It means the tendency of writers and intellectuals in the period between 1875 and 1920 to apply the method of realistic fiction to the criticism of society and the examination of social issues. Charles Dickens is the most important critical realist who applies this method.●Terms—Dramatic MonologueDramatic Monologue, in literature, refers to the occurrence of a single speaker saying something to a silent audience. Robert Browning’s My Last Duchess is a typical example in which the duke, speaking to a non-responding audience, reveals not only the reasons for his disapproval of the behavior of his former duchess, but some tyrannical and merciless aspects of his own personality as well.Charles Dickens (1812-1870)“He was a sympathizer to the poor, the suffering, and the oppressed; and by his death, one of England's greatest writers is lost to the world.”——The Epitaph of Charles Dickens●Charles Dickens is one of the greatest critical realist writers of the Victorian Age. His works areintended to expose and criticize all the poverty, injustice, hypocrisy and corruptness of the 19th century England, particularly London. All his works are characterized by a mingling of humor and pathos.●Major worksThe First Period1836 Sketches by Boz 《博兹随笔》1837 The Pickwick Papers 《匹克威克外传》1837-1838 Oliver Twist 《雾都孤儿》criticizes the dehumanizing workhouse system and the dark, criminal underworld life.1838-1839 Nicholas Nickleby 《尼古拉斯.尼科尔贝》1840 The Old Curiosity Shop 《老古玩店》The Second Period1842 American Notes 《美国札记》1843 Martin Chuzzlewit 《马丁.瞿述传》1843 A Christmas Carol 《圣诞欢歌》（圣诞故事集）1844 The Chimes 《钟声》（圣诞故事集）1846 Dombey and Son 《董贝父子》1849 David Copperfield 《大卫.科波菲尔》is about the debtor’s prison.The Third Period1852 Bleak House 《荒凉山庄》attacks the legal system and practices that aim at devouring every penny of the clients.1853 Hard Times 《艰难时世》lashes the Utilitarian principle that rules over the English education system and destroys young hearts and minds.1854 Little Dorrit 《小杜丽》1859 A Tale of Two Cities 《双城记》1860 Great Expectations 《远大前程》expose the overwhelming social environment which brings moral degeneration and destruction to people.1864 Our Mutual Friend 《我们共同的朋友》●The characteristics of Charles Dickens’ works（1）As a novelist, Charles Dickens was first remembered for his sketches of characters and exaggeration. As a master of characterization, Dickens was skillful in drawing vivid caricatural sketches by exaggerating some peculiarities.（2）Dickens is well known as a humorist as well as a satirist. He sometimes employs humor to enlivena scene or lighten a character by making it (him or her) eccentric or laughable.（3）Dickens loved complicated and fascinating plot in his novels. He is also skillful at creating suspense and mystery to make the story fascinating. A plot formula in his novel is the happy ending. （4）As the greatest representative of English critical realism, Dickens made his novel the instrument of morality and justice. Each of his novels reveals a specific social problem.William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863)●William Makepeace Thackeray is one of the most important writers of the English critical realism.Through his masterpiece Vanity Fair, Thackeray sharply exposes the vices of his society: hypocrisy, money-worship, and moral degradation.●Major worksThe Book of Snobs1846-47《势利人脸谱》《势利者集》Vanity Fair1847-48《名利场》The History of Pendennis1849-50《彭登尼斯》The Newcomes 1853-55《纽克姆一家》The History of Henny Esmond 《亨利•埃斯蒙德》1852The Virginians《弗吉尼亚人》1859●The Analysis of V anity FairGeneral Introduction—Vanity Fair is Thackeray's masterpiece. It was published in 1847-48 in monthly installments.The title— was taken from Bunyan's “Pilgrim's Progress”.The sub-title —of the book, “A Novel Without a Hero”, suggests the fact that writer ' s intention was not to portray individuals, but the bourgeois and aristocratic society as a whole.Main idea—In this novel Thackeray describes the life of the ruling classes of England in the early decades of the 19th century, and attacks the social relationship of the bourgeois world by satirizing the individuals in the different strata of the upper society. It is a world where money grubbing is the main motive for all members of the ruling classes.The heroin—is Rebecca Sharp who is a perfect embodiment of the spirit of Vanity Fair as her only aspiration in life is to gain wealth and position by any means fair or foul. Sharp is charming and pretty, but she is ambitious. Driven by her ambition, she has become a merciless social climber. As her name suggests, Becky Sharp is determined to carve out a place for herself in Vanity Fair. She succeeds in establishing herself in Vanity Fair at the cost of lives of two men and the alienation of all her friends and family. But she enjoys the battle.●The characteristics of Thackeray’s novels（1）Thackeray is one of the greatest critical realists of the 19th-century Europe .（2）Thackeray is a satirist. He is noted for realistic depiction, the ironic and sarcastic tone and constant comment and criticism.（3）Thackeray is a moralist. His aim is to produce a moral impression in all his novels.（4）He is good at describing the life of the upper class, which he is familiar with.●The theme of Vanity Fair.（1）Vanity Fair describes the life of the upper society of England in the early 19th century, and exposes the craftiness, snobbishness and vanity of the ruling classes.（2）Life is portrayed in this novel as a vanity fair where everything can be sold and bought, and money-grubbing was the main motive for the members of the upper classes.（3）Becky Sharp is a perfect example of this money-grubbing instinct. She is a subtle embodiment of duplicity, ambition and selfishness.（4）When we discuss the theme of the novel, disillusionment is the key word. At the end of the novel, nobody is happy.George Eliot (1819-1880) — Mary Ann Evans“It was really George Eliot who started it all. It was she started putting action inside.”-- D.H. Lawrence’ evaluation on George Eliot●Eliot’s Major WorksNovelsRemarkable ones：Adam Bede, 1859 《亚当.比德》---rural lifeThe Mill on the Floss, 1860《弗洛斯河上的磨房》--moral problemsSilas Marner, 1861《织工马南》 - psychological studies of charactersOthers:Romola, 1863 《罗慕拉》 --problems of religion &moralityFelix Holt, the Radical, 1866《费力可斯.霍尔特》Middlemarch, 1871–72《米德尔马契》Daniel Deronda, 1876《丹尼尔.德龙达》●The characteristics of Eliot’s literary worksShe wrote about rural life influenced by the industrial revolution.She shows a particular concern for the destiny of women.She leads in the direction of both the naturalistic and psychological novel.She shows the interest in the interior life of human beings, moral problems and strains.Religion is concerned in her novels.Bronte Sisters●The story of the three Bronte sisters, Charlotte (1816-1855), Emily (1818-1848), Anne (1820-1849),all literary, all talented and all dying young, is one of the saddest pages in the history of English literature.They were the daughters of a poor clergyman in the little village of Haworth, Yorkshire, in northern England.Charlotte Bronte (1816-1855)●She is one of the three Bronte sisters. Her works are all about the struggle of an individual consciousnesstowards self-realization, about some lonely and neglected young women with a fierce longing for love, understanding and a full, happy life. Al her heroines’ highest joy arises from some sacrifice of self or some human weakness overcome.●Major works“The Professor” (1846, 1857) 《教师》“Jane Eyre” (1847) 《简·爱》“Shirley” (1849)《雪莉》“Villette”(1853) 《维莱特》●The Analysis of Jane Eyre（1）Jane Eyre is Charlotte’s masterpiece, and also one of the most popular and important novels of the Victorian Age.（2）It is noted for its sharp criticism of the existing society, e.g. the religious hypocrisy of charity institutions such as Lowood School.（3）It traces the passionate love between Jane Eyre and Rochester.（4）The success of the novel is also due to its introduction to the English novel the first governess heroine, Jane Eyre.（5）Jane Eyre is an orphan child with a fiery spirit and a longing to love and be loved, a poor, plain,。
英国文学通史第2卷
英国文学通史第2卷《英国文学通史第2卷》是一部关于英国文学的著作，主要介绍了从古英语时期到20世纪末的英国文学发展历程。
这本书详细阐述了各个时期的文学流派、代表作家及其作品，以及英国文学在整个发展过程中的主题变迁、风格演变等方面的内容。
本书旨在为广大读者提供一个全面、系统的英国文学学习参考资料。
以下是这本书的各个时期的部分代表作品和作家：1.古英语时期（约450-1100年）：- 代表作品：《贝奥武甫》（Beowulf）- 代表作家：无名氏2.诺斯曼时期（1100-1500年）：- 代表作品：《尼伯龙根之歌》（The Nibelungenlied）- 代表作家：未知3.文艺复兴时期（1500-1660年）：- 代表作品：莎士比亚的《哈姆雷特》（Hamlet）、约翰·凯奇的《乌托邦》（Utopia）- 代表作家：威廉·莎士比亚（William Shakespeare）、托马斯·莫尔（Thomas More）4.17世纪文学（1660-1700年）：- 代表作品：约翰·弥尔顿的《失乐园》（Paradise Lost）、约翰·班扬的《天路历程》（Pilgrim's Progress）- 代表作家：约翰·弥尔顿（John Milton）、约翰·班扬（John Buny an）5.18世纪文学（1700-1800年）：- 代表作品：丹尼尔·笛福的《鲁滨逊漂流记》（Robinson Crusoe）、简·奥斯汀的《傲慢与偏见》（Pride and Prejudice）- 代表作家：丹尼尔·笛福（Daniel Defoe）、简·奥斯汀（Jane Aust en）6.19世纪文学（1800-1900年）：- 代表作品：查尔斯·狄更斯的《雾都孤儿》（Oliver Twist）、夏洛蒂·勃朗特的《简·爱》（Jane Eyre）- 代表作家：查尔斯·狄更斯（Charles Dickens）、夏洛蒂·勃朗特（C harlotte Brontë）7.20世纪文学（1900-2000年）：- 代表作品：乔治·奥威尔的《1984》、弗吉尼亚·伍尔夫的《达洛维夫人》（Mrs. Dalloway）- 代表作家：乔治·奥威尔（George Orwell）、弗吉尼亚·伍尔夫（V irginia Woolf）。
英国文学史复习材料
Old and Medieval English Literature1.How to define the period of Old English Literature?English literature begins with the Anglo-Saxon settlement in England at about 450 and ends at 1066, the year of Norman Conquest of England of Old English literature, a few relics are still preserved. All of them are poems, or songs by the Anglo-Saxon scop or gleeman (minstrels) who sang of the heroic deeds of old time.2.What does Old English Poetry include?Old English poetry includes two groups: the religious group and the secular one. The former is mainly on biblical themes. For example, Genesis A, Genesis B and Exodus are poems based on the Old Testament, while the latter shows the harshness of circumstance and the sadness of the human lot. A typical example is England’s national epic Beowulf.3.What is the plot and theme of England’s national epic Beowulf?Beowulf, nephew of the king of the Geats, hears that Hrothgar, a Danish king, is in great trouble. The kingdom of the king is harassed by a monster called Grendel. He at once sails there, grapples with the monster, and wounds in fatally. Then comes Grendel’s mother, a she-monster, in revenge of her son. Beowulf follows her to her under water cave and kills her with a giant sword. With these honors won, he returns to his homeland and reigns as its king for 50 years. Then a fire-breathing dragon comes out of its den and kills many people. Though old now, Beowulf still kills its single-handedly. But he, too, is fatally wound and later dies. 4.What is epic?Epic is an extended narrative poem in elevated or dignified language, like Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey.It usually celebrates the feats of one or more legendary or traditional heroes. The action is simple but full of magnificence. Today, some long narrative works, like novels that reveal an age and its people are also called epic.5.How to define the Medieval Period in English literature?The Medieval period in English literature starts at 1066, the year of Norman Conquest, and ends at about the 15th century. The early part of the period, i.e. from 1066 to the mid-14th century, English literature flourishes with the appearance of writers like Geoffrey Chaucer, William Langland, John Gower, and others.pared with Old English literature, what are the characteristics of Medieval EnglishLiterature?In comparison with Old English literature, Medieval English literature deals with a wider range of subjects. It is uttered by more voices and in greater diversity of styles, tones and genres. And it is deeply influenced by the principles of the medieval Christian doctrine, which are primarily concerned with the issue of personal salvation. Romance become a popular literary form, indicating the age to be a chivalric rather than heroic one.7.What is the miracle play?The miracle play, he medieval dramatization of a Biblical story (e.g., Cain and Abel) or of a sain t’s life, was chiefly popular from the twelfth through the fifteenth centuries. The term is sometimes limited to plays on saint’s lives. The Biblical plays are then called mystery plays.8.Why is Chaucer regarded as ―the Father of English Poetry‖?Originally, Old English poems are mainly alliterative verses with few variations. Chaucer introduced from France the rhymed stanzas of various types to English poetry to replace it. In The Romaunt of the Rose, he first introduced to English the octosyllabic couplet. In TheLegend of Good Women, he used for the first time in English heroic couplet. And in his masterpiece, The Canterbury Tales, he employed heroic couplet with true ease and charm for the first time in the history of English literature.Besides this, though he drew influence from French, Italian and Latin models, he is the first great poet who wrote in the current English language. His production of so much excellent poetry was an important factor in establishing English as the literary language of the country.And he made the dialect of London the foundation for Modern English speech. Small wonder latter day writer, John Drydon would call him ―the Father of the English Poetry‖.9.What is Heroic Couplet?Heroic couplet is rhyming couplet of iambic pentameter, often containing a complete thought.There is a fairly heavy pause a the end of the first line and a still heavier one at the end of the second. Commonly there is a parallel or an antithesis within a line, or between the two lines. It is called heroic because in England, especially in the 18th century, it was much used for heroic (epic) poems.10.What is Chaucer’s literary achievement?(1) First of all, he presented a comprehensive realistic picture of his age and created awhole gallery of vivid characters in his works, especially in The Canterbury Tales.(2) He anticipated a new era, the Renaissance. In his works, the spirit of Renaissance can bealready seen.(3) He developed his characterization to a higher level by presenting characters with bothtypical qualities and individual dispositions.(4) And he greatly contributed to the maturing of English prosody by adopting differentrhyming skills. Drydon called him ―Father of English poetry‖.11.What is popular ballad?Ballad is originally a song intended as the accompaniment to a dance. In the modern sense, a ballad is just a simple spirited poem in short stanzas in which some popular story is graphically narrated. The English popular ballad flourished from the 12th century to the 15th century, reflecting the life of the people then. And the most remarkable ones are the Robin Hood ballads. These are ballads about an outlawed hero who lives in the forest with his men, robs the rich and help the poor. Major collections of these ballads did not begin until the 18th century and the most creditable among them are Thomas Percy’s Relics of Ancient English Poetry, Walter Scott’s Minstrels of the Scottish Border, etc.12.How would you define the term Renaissance?This term refers to a great bourgeois cultural movement in Europe which began in the 14th century and continued to the mid-17th century. It first started from Italy and then spread all over Europe. Originally, the term means ―rebirth‖ or ―revival‖. And the movement seems to be a rebirth or revival of ancient Greek and Roman culture, caused by a series of historical events, such as 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 tried to get rid of those old feudalistic ideas in Medieval Europe, to introduce new ideas that express the interests of the rising bourgeoisie, and to recover the purity of the early church form the corruption of the Roman catholic church.13.How to define the term Humanist?Humanism is a system of beliefs upheld by writers and artists of the Renaissance period in fighting against medieval asceticism. It states that man is godly, that man is able to find truth, goodness and beauty, and that man is in control of the present life rather than being controlled by God. Briefly, humanism puts man at the center of their beliefs and takes man to be the measure of every thing while the former asceticism puts God at the center of their beliefs and takes personal salvation to be the most important thing on the earth for man.14.What are the main characteristics of humanist writings?Humanist writings affirm the value of man and repudiate the absolute control of man by God.They call for man’s freedom in thinking, praise man’s worldly aspirations, and denunciate the feudalistic control of man’s thought. They state that man has a right for earthly happiness and that asceticism is against human nature. In them, reason and science are put into a very high place while mysticism is thrown away. They are mostly realistic in essence.15.What is bland verse?This term, which was first brought into England by Surrey, is used to name the unrhymed iambic pentameter line in poetry.16.What is sonnet?Sonnet is a type of poem consisting of one single fourteen-line stanza. It was perfected by the Italian poet in the 13th century and introduced into England in the early 16th century.English sonnets in terms of structure, largely fall into two classes: the Petarchian or Italian form and the Shakespearian or English form. The form divides its fourteen lines of iambic pentameters into two parts: one octet and one sestet; while the latter consists of three quatrains and a final couplet. The three quatrains develop the poem’s subject consistently and the couplet condenses the emotion into an epigram.17.Why is Edmund Spencer regarded as ―the poet’s poet‖?Edmund Spencer (1552～1599) is the author of Faerie Queene, creator of the Spencerian stanza and one of the greatest figures of the Renaissance period in England. His poetry usually enjoys five qualities : (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 just his idealism, his love of beauty, and his exquisite melody that make him known as “the poet’s poet.18.What is the Spencerian stanza?A Spencerian stanza is one that consists of eight five-foot iambic lines, followed by aniambic line of six feet, rhyming ababbcbcc. It is so named because it was Spencer that first used this form in his masterpiece Faerie Queene.19.What is the dominant theme in Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus?Dr. Faustus is a play based on the German legend of a magician. The hero, Dr. Faustus, aspires for knowledge and in order to get it, sells his soul to the devil. He experiences a lot of strange things and finally meets his tragic end.The play’s dominant moral is 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.20.What is Marlowe’s literary achievement?Marlowe’s greatest achievement lies in that he perfected the blank verse and made it the principal medium of English. It is Marlowe who brought vitality and grandeur into the blankverse with his ―mighty lines‖, which carry strong emotions.Marlowe’s second achievement is his creation of the Renaissance heroes for the English drama. Both Tumburlaine and Dr. Faustus, characterized by endless aspiration for power, knowledge and glory, are typical in possessing the true Renaissance spirit.Owing to the above, though Marlowe is not strong in dramatic construction, and his women characters are somehow pale, he is still regarded as an eminent pioneer of the English drama.21.Roughly speaking, Shakespeare’s literary career can be divided into four periods. What are thefour periods? And what are the major works in each period?Shakespeare’s dramatic works can be divided into four periods: The first period of Shakespear e’s drama career was one of apprenticeship, characterized by histories, and comedies, including Henry VI, Richard III, The Comedy of Errors, The Two Gentlemen of Eerona, The Taming of the Shrew, and Love’s Labour’s Lost.In the second period, Shakespeare’s style and approach became highly individualized. By constructing a complex pattern between different characters and between appearance and reality, Shakespeare made subtle comments on a variety of human foibles. However, optimism still prevails in most of the works.Shakespeare’s third period includes his greatest tragedies and his so-called dark comedies.His optimism waned in this period and strong touch of pessimism marked most of his works, which revealed the society to be an evil one. The famous four tragedies were all written in this period, which include Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth.The last period of Shakespeare’s work includes his principal romantic tragicomedies.22.What is the theme of The Merchant of Venice?The traditional theme of the play is to praise the friendship between Antonio and Bassanio, to idealize Portia as a heroine of great beauty, wit and loyalty, and to expose the insatiable greed and brutality of the Jew.But modern critics tend to view it from another aspect. Many people today regard the play as a satire of the Christian’s hypocrisy and their false standards of friendship and love, their cunning ways of pursuing worldliness and their unreasoning prejudice against Jews, here represented by Shylock.23.What are the common characteristics shown in the four great tragedies of Shakespeare?Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies are: Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth. They have some characteristics in common.(1) Each portrays some noble hero, who faces the injustice of human life and is caught in adifficult situation. His fate is closely connected with the fate of the whole nation.(2) Each hero has his weakness of nature. Hamlet, the melancholic scholar-prince, faces thedilemma between action and mind. Othello’s inner weakness is mad use of by the outside evil force. The old King Lear, who is unwilling to totally give up his power, makes himself suffer from treachery and infidelity. And Macbeth’s lust for power stirs up his ambition and leads him to incessant crimes.(3) The whole play is usually centered about the hero. All characters and incidents serve butto set him off.(4) And along with the portrayal of the weakness and bias of the hero, the sharp conflictsbetween the individual and the evil forces in the society is also revealed.24.How to analyze the complicated character of Hamlet?Without a knowledge of his character, Hamlet’s story would hardly be intelligible. Hamlet is neither a frail and weak-minded youth nor a thought-sick dreamer. Though he is deprived of his right to the throne, he is still loved and respected by everyone. Though a scholar, he is also fearless and impetuous in action. We see him rushing after the Ghost, killing Polonious, dealing with Claudious’agents, boarding the pirate, leaping into the grave and at last executing his revenge. A mere scholar can never do such things.Hamlet is humanist, a man who is free from medieval prejudices and superstitions. He has an unbounded love for the world rather for heaven. He cherishes a profound reverence for man and a firm belief in man’s power over destiny. Such a delight in nature and man is characteristic of the humanists of the Renaissance.His intellectual genious is outstanding. He is a close observer of man and manners. His quick perception drives him to penetrate below the surface of things and question what others take for granted. So he is forever unmasking his world.From these we may know that Hamlet is not a mere scholar, simply meditative by nature.On the country, Hamlet is a man of genius, highly complicated and educated, a man of profound perception and sparkling wit. He is a scholar, soldier, and statesman all combined.His image reflects the versatility of the men of the Renaissance.And it is just because he is blessed with such a profound perception that he, through his personal wrongs, perceives something rotten in the state affairs and his sense of personal wrongs grows to a disgust for world in which such crimes prevail. He seems to understand that his mere revenge upon his uncle would in on way solve the problems that trouble and upset him. This, and this only, is the cause of his profound melancholy and his delay in action.So Hamlet’s melancholy expresses, in a way, the crisis of humanism at the end of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th century.25.Why is it said that Shakespeare’s heroines are ―the daughters of the Renaissance‖?In Shakespeare’s plays, he shows an equalitarian attitude toward women. His heroines no longer cling about the neck of a father or a husband, unable to defend themselves. Instead, they are of a new type. They are witty, bold, loving, optimistic and faithful. They are happy and make the others happy. They carry their destinies with them and in speaking and thinking as well as in feeling are men’s equals or even superiors. Though there are moments of weariness and frailty, their courage never fails them in times of danger. And with every pang of affection and anxiety they only grow stronger and more capable of coping with the situation. In the ideal women of his plays, the heart and head sway away equal. This is best exemplified in the character of Portia, heroine of The Merchant of Venice. She is beautiful, prudent, resourceful and witty. She chooses her own husband and is capable of rising to an emergency. She is independent in character and takes her own path of life. In a word, Shakespeare’s heroines are the masters of their own fates and in them, the influence of the Renaissance can also be seen. Some people even call them ―daughters of the Renaissance‖.Their splendor is unprecedented in the English history and it is not until the modern age that women characters again obtain equal position with men.26.What is Shakespeare’s literary achievement?(1) Shakespeare is one of the founders of realism in world literature.(2) Shakespeare is amazingly prolific. Within 22 years, he produced 37 plays, 154 sonnets,and 2 long poems.(3) Shakespeare was skilled in may poetic forms, the song, the sonnet, the couplet, and thedramatic blank verse.(4)Shakespeare has been universally acknowledged to be the summit of the EnglishRenaissance, and one of the greatest writers the world over.27.Who is Bacon and what are the three classes of his works?Francis Bacon (1561～1626), a representative of the English Renaissance, is a well-known philosopher, scientist, and essayist. He lays the foundation for modern science with his insistence on scientific way of thinking, and fresh observation rather than authority as a basis for obtaining knowledge. His Essays is the first example of that genre in English literature, which has been recognized as an important landmark in the development of the English prose.And some phrases have even entered the English literary tradition.His works can be divided into three groups. The most important works of his first group, the philosophical ones, include The Advancement of Learning(1605), written in English;Novum Organum (1620), an enlarged Latin version of the Advancement of Learning, etc. his literary works are in the second group, among which the most famous is his Essays. And the third group is his professional works, including mainly Maxims of Law and The Learned Reading Upon the Statue of Uses.28.What is the characteristics of Bacon’s Essays?Bacon’s essays are famous for their brevity, compactness and powerfulness. The neatness, preciseness, the gravity, and the weightiness are the essential qualities of his writings.The theme of the essays vary, including his personal opinions on friendship, love, old age, beauty, public performance, etc. the essays are well arranged and enriched by Biblical allusions, metaphors and cadence. So the reasoning is very persuasive.29.How would you define ―Metaphysical Poetry‖?‖Metaphysical Poetry‖ is commonly used to name the works of the 17th century poets who wrote under the influence of John Donne (1575～1631), leader of the school, Andrew Marvell, George Herbert, Richard Crashaw, and Henry Vaughan. With a rebellious spirit, the metaphysical poets tried to break away from the conventional fashion of Elizabethan love poetry. The diction is simple as compared with that of the Elizabethan or the Neoclassic periods, and echoes the words and cadences of common speech. The imagery is drawn from actual life. The form is frequently that of an argument with the poet’s beloved with God, or with himself.30.What is the social and background of John Milton’s writings?Milton lives in the 17th century, a century of revolution and restoration in the English history.During the Tudor dynasty (1485～1603), the crown seemed to be able to win the support of the English bourgeoisie. But at the end of Elizabethan’s reign, clashes between the two appeared and under Charles I, the situation became worse as he insisted upon absolute monarch and paid no attention to the people’s cries. A civil war broke out in the 1642 and lasted till 1649. the revolutionary camp won and England became a Republic. Later, the revolutionaries split up and Cromwell, leader of the big bourgeoisie, put down the middle bourgeoisie and declared dictatorship. After his death, parliament recalled Charles II to England in 1660. the Restoration ushered in a period of white terror to the country. Many Republicans were killed. Then, afraid of another revolution, the big bourgeoisie, expelled Charles II and invited William, Prince of Orange, from Holland, to be king of England in1688. this was called ―Glorious Revolution‖, glorious because it was bloodless and there was no revival of the revolutionary demands.31.Who is Milton? What are his major works? And what is the social significance of his writings?John Milton, the greatest 17th century English poet and writer of political pamphlets, serves as the representative writer of the English revolutionary camp. During the Revolution, he used hi pen as the weapon in fighting against the king and the Catholic Church. His representative works in this period are Defense of the English People (1650), Second Defense of the English People (1652), and Areopagitica (1644)。
英国文学复习资料2
Medieval RomanceRomance, which uses narrative verse or prose to sing knightly adventures or other heroic deeds is a popular literary form in the Middle Ages.The hero:the knight, who sets out on a journey to accomplish some goal—to protect the church and the poor, to attack infidelity, to rescue a maiden, to meet a challenge, or to obey a knightly command.The code of manners and morals: chivalry (loyalty) The Class Nature of the Romanceposed for the noble, of the noble, and mostly by the poets patronized by the noble2.The theme: loyalty to King and lord3.Audience: people of the court or of the castle, had nothing to do with the common people.Essential Features of the Romancea. Lacking general resemblance to truth or realityb. Exaggerating the vices of human nature and idealizes the virtuesc. Containing perilous adventures remote from ordinary lifed. Laying emphasis on supreme devotion to a fair ladye. Central character: knight, noble birth, skilled in the use of weapons, commonly described as riding forth to seek adventures, taking part in tournaments, or fighting for his lord in battlef. Devoting to the church and the kingRomance Cycles1.“matters of Britain”: adventures of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table (most important)2. “matters of France”: Emperor Charlemagne and his peers3. “matters of Rome”: Alexander the Great and so forth The English BalladsRomance and Ballads:1.Written vs. Oral2.For the upper classes vs. for lower classes Characteristics of Ballads1.Mainly the literature of the peasants2.Created collectively and revised constantly3.In various English and Scottish dialects4.Kinds of ballads: historical, legendary, fantastical, lyrical and humorous5.of the English common people in the feudal society(an outlook of English common people in feudal society)Subjects of Ballads1.The struggle of young lovers against their feudal-minded families2. The conflict between love and wealth3. The cruelty of jealous4. The criticism of the civil war5. The matters of class struggleThe Robin Hood Ballads1.The Origin of The Robin Hood Balladsa. perpetual struggles of the peasants against the landlordsb. against the local officials and against the King’s judges 2. The Character of Robin Hooda. Hatred for the cruel oppressors and love for the poor and downtroddenb. Reverence for the King (intermediary)SignificanceThe Robin Hood Ballad:showing the fighting spirit , indomitable courage and revolutionary energy of English peasantryWilliam Langland威廉·兰格伦1.The Middle Ages was full of darkness, and there were not many great works, known as barrenness.2. But there was a popular literature named Piers thePlowman《农夫皮尔斯》which was written by William Langland.Piers the Plowman sets forth a series of wonderful dreams, showing a picture of feudal England.1. The Exposure of the Ruling Classes2. The Story of the Cats and Rats3. The Marriage of Lady Meed(贿赂夫人)4. The Condition of the Peasants5. The Search for Truth:Piers, teaches them: Labor can guide the Pilgrimages to the right way to the Truth. Peasants are the nearest to the truth and salvation6.The Class Nature of Piers:Piers is a representative of the most oppressed section of the peasantry.He shows the conservatism of his political attitude.He has no intention of upsetting the feudal society, just setting it on a proper course.7. Social SignificanceThe poem is a classic of popular literature throughout the 14th and the 15th century.It played an important role in the Rising of 1381 and the calls of John Ball.Artistic Features1) Piers the Plowman is written in the form of a dream vision. The author tells his story under the guise of havingdreamed it.2) The poem is an allegory(讽喻，寓言) which relates truth through symbolism, a realistic picture of medieval England.3) It is a book written for the common people and it expresses the social discontent of the poor.4) It praises the equality of men before God and the dignity of labor.5) The book offers readers with vivid sketches of London life of the 14th century, in alliteration.6) The artistic merits may be shown by its portraits of the Seven Deadly Sins: Pride, Lechery(色鬼), Envy, Wrath, Avarice(贪婪，贪心) , Sloth(懒惰)and Glutton (贪食者). Geoffrey ChaucerPosition in British literature1. “father of English poetry” and one of the greatest narrative poets of England.2. The founder of English Realism (definition)3. Forerunner of humanism.literary career1.French Period (1360-1372):The Romance of the Rose (《玫瑰罗曼史》) is a translation from a French poem.2.Italian Period (1372-1386) :The House of Fame (《声誉殿堂》，Troilus and Criseyde (《特罗伊拉斯和克莱西德》，The Legend of Good Women (《贞妇传奇》.3.English period (1385~1400):The Canterbury Tales（《坎特伯雷故事》）(Original English)The Canterbury Tales1. Chaucer’s master piece2. One of monumental works in English literature Structure:1. The General Prologue2. 24 tales3. Separate prologues to each tale with links, comments, quarrels, etc. in between 1. Forerunner of HumanismIn the last part of the 14th century, when Chaucer was learning from the great Italian writers, the influence of Renaissance was already felt in the field of English literature. Chaucer affirms men’s and women’s right to pursueearthly happiness and opposed asceticism (avoiding physical pleasures and comforts). He praises man’s energy, intellect, quick wit and love of life and he exposes and satirizes the social vices, including the corruption of the Church. In this sense, his works bear the marks of humanism, and his poetry shows a path to the literature of English Renaissance.2. The first realistic writerOld English literature is mainly about heroic behavior, whether of religious color or pagan color and portrays the image of the idealized hero. Middle English romance mainly concerns the knight and makes wide use of the improbable, often of the supernatural. Though in this period, Piers, the Plowman reflects the religious and social issues of his days, it is written in the form of dream vision. While, Chaucer, for the first time in English literature, presents to the readers a comprehensive realistic picture of the English society of his time and describes a series of vivid characters from all walks of life in The Canterbury Tales. 3. Father of English poetry (called by John Dryden)Chaucer introduces from France the rhymed stanzas of various types to English poetry to replace the old English allit erative verse. He’s the first to use the rhymed couplet of iambic pentameter, which is to be called the heroic couplet. Thus, he lays the foundation of the English tonic-syllabic verse.4. Master of the English languageIn his writing, Chaucer’s heroic cou plet draws certain conventions and themes from French, Italian and Latin models, but he is the first great poet who wrote in the current English. His production of so much excellent poetry is an important factor in establishing English as theliterary language of the country. Chaucer uses London dialect in his writings and he contributes to making it the foundation for modern English speech.3. The Renaissance English Literature教学目的：1．了解文艺复兴及人文思想的内涵；2．了解文艺复兴英国文学的发展概况；3．掌握这一时期诗歌、戏剧及散文的特征及代表作家及作品。
英国文学史2
汉诺威王朝Hanover 1714~1917
Historical Events
The Plantagenet Dynasty
The House of Lancaster The House of York
The Wars of the Roses (1455-1485) The Tudor Dynasty (Henry VII) A Centralized New Monarchy
4
Exercise
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
罗马人占领时期:前55年~公元410年 盎格鲁-撒克逊时期与丹麦统治时期 公元449年~1066年 诺曼底王朝Norman 1066~1154 金雀花王朝Plantagenet 1154~1399 兰卡斯特王朝Lancaster 1399~1461 约克王朝York 1461~1485 都铎王朝Tudor 1485~1603 斯图亚特王朝Stuart 1603~1714
Summery
Humanism
1.Nature: a literary and philosophical system of thought which attempt to place the affairs of mankind at the center of its concerns.
2.Source: based on a new reading of Greek and Roman
rhymed, introduced to England from Italy by Sir Thomas Wyatt and
Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey.
2. Philip Sidney a. life: well-known as a poet and critic of poetry. He is Spencer’s friend. Spencer wrote Shepherd’s Calendar to dedicate to him. b. his collection of love sonnets: Astrophel and Stella
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British LiteratureThe Romantic Period(1798-1832) Age of Revolution. (social and economicrevolutions.)一. Time Span:extends from the l ate 18th century to the third decade of the 19th century.from the publication of Lyrical Ballads《抒情歌谣集》by Wordsworth and Coleridge, second edition o by Wordsworth serves as the manifesto of Romanticism, in 1798, to the death Walter Scott in 18322,closely linked to the following social and intellectual events or figures:1. The Industrial Revolution.2. American Revolution3. The French Revolution4. Lyrical Ballads 《抒情歌谣集》5. Jean Jacque Rousseau (1712 –1778).6. Edmund Burke & Thomas Paine(two great thinkers and writers )二,Romanticism and its features1,Definition: Romanticism 浪漫主义Romanticism, as a literary movement during most of the 19th century, appeared as a revolt against the bondage of neoclassicism which emphasized reason, order and “elegant wit”, Romanticism put emphasis on passion, emotion, imagination, intuition and natural beauty. and inspired many English writers and the desire for p ersonal freedom and individual rights encouraged a more daring and imaginative approach to both life and literature.2,characteristics: (1) an emphasis on feeling, imagination, intuition and all in all an subjectivism. (2) a love for nature (3) a belief in individuality and freedom (4) a glorification of the commonplace (5) an interest in the past, the unusual, the unfamiliar, the bizarre or the picturesque (6) a feeling of loneliness三,Literary development in this period1,emphasis on feelings, intuition, imagination and individuality brought about the flourish of poetryThis is an age of poetryWilliam Blake, and Robert Burns were the two notable forerunners of romantic poetry. works of William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, George Gordon Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley and J ohn Keats represented the highest achievements in romantic poetry.gained full momentum with the publication of Lyrical Ballads2,The period is also a great age of prose. Charles Lamb, William Hazlitt, Thomas De Quincey and Leigh Hunt.3,The only great romantic novelist of this period was Walter Scott, whose historical novels combined a romantic atmosphere with a realistic description of historical backgro und and common people’s life. Scott marked the transition from romanticism to the period of realism which followed it.作家William Wordsworth (1770 –1850) (p212-217) Romantic Period威廉伍兹沃斯I. His fame Poet Laureate（桂冠诗人）: Poet officially appointed by the Royal Household in Britain to write poems for state occasions.III. His Works 1. Lyrical Ballads (p.213-214) 2. Poems on Nature and Country life (p.214) 3. His Sonnet4. His Longer Poems (p.217)Comments on Wordsworth(1)Wordsworth is the representative of the first generation of Romantic poets, who expressed the deepest aspirations for English Romanticism.(2)Wordsworth’s poetry is distinguished by the simplicity and purity of his language.(3)His theory and practice in poetical creation started from a dissatisfaction with reality and tradition in society and in literature(4)Nearly all of his good poetry was written during the first decade of his literary careerPercy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) (p.232-243) Romantic Period雪莱II. His Major Works1. His longer poetical works include: Queen Mab《麦布女王》, The Revolt of Islam 《伊斯兰的反叛》; Prometheus Unbound《解放了的普鲁米修斯》, The Masque of Anarchy 《专制者的假面舞会》2. His Short Lyrics on Nature and love (240-243) Shelley’s short poems on nature and love form an important part of his literary output.Comments on Shelley1，Shelley is one of the leading romantic poets, an intense and original lyrical poet in English language.,2，Like Blake, he has a reputation as a difficult poet, his poetry is full of complex images andclassical and mythological allusions.3，His style abounds in personification and metaphor and other figures of speech which make his description vivid and moving.4，Shelley is a revolutionary and idealist, a dedicated seeker of an ideal world where love and brotherhood of man would prevail.5，What makes Shelley a great poet is the sheer music and matchless spontaneity of his verse.Ode （颂诗）: it is a lyric poem of some length, dealing with a lofty theme in a dignified manner and originally intended to be sung.Jane Austen (1775 –1817) Romantic Period简奥斯丁Her major works:6 novels,. Northanger Abbey《诺桑觉寺》, Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park《曼斯菲尔的庄园》, Emma《爱玛》and Persuasion《劝导》III. Pride and Prejudice 傲慢与偏见(2)The theme tells us different attitudes toward marriage in Austen’s time. Elizabeth’s attitude, that marriage is not built upon wealth and social position but on spiritual understanding of each other, is praised by the author. Through the problem of marriage, the writer reveals the social position of women at that time.Austen has woven vivid pictures of everyday life of simple country society. Through the description of the daily talks and doings of young men and woman, she paints very real and interesting characters. She is at her best in writing about young girls, as she understands their hearts astonishingly well. Through Elizabeth, the writer shows women’s spirit of fighting for their independence, happiness and rights.Austen’s Writing features(1)Jane Austen is one of the realistic novelists.(2)Austen’s work has a very narrow literary field. She confines herself to small country parishes, whose simple country people become the characters of her novels(3)Her novels show a wealth of humor, wit, and delicate satire.English Literature in Victorian Period (1836 –1901)(EnglishCritical Realism) 一Critical Realism in novel (p 276)1 Definition: In Victorian period appeared a new literary trend –critical realism. English critical realism of the 19th century flourished in the forties and in the early fifties. It found its expression in the form of novel. Most of the critical realists were novelists, they described with vividness and artistic skill the chief traits of the English society and criticized the capitalist system from a democratic viewpoint.2 Representative Writers: Charles Dickens（greatest English critical realist）William Makepeace Thackeray（a severe exposer of contemporary society.）Charlotte and Emily Bronte, Elizabeth Gaskell, George Eliot and Thomas Hardy.3 Features(1) not only gave a satirical portrayal of the bourgeoisie and all the ruling classes, but also show profound sympathy for the common people，Hence, humor and satire abound in the English realistic novels of the 19th century.(2) Critical Realism revealed the corrupting influence of the rule of cash upon human nature.(3) But the critical Realists did not find a way to eradicate the social evils they knew so well.(4) The major contribution made by critical realists is their perfection of the novel. 19th century realistic novels “the Epic of the bourgeois society”.二Social Criticism in Prose. The important prose writers who criticized the evils of the capitalist society were Thomas Carlyle. John Ruskin and Mathew Arnold. They mainly wrote social criticism.三English Poetry in this periodThe Victorian Age was largely an age of prose, especially of the novel. However, the development of English poetry did not stop.concerned itself with the poet‘s purely personal tastes or spiritual questionings. most important poets of the age was Alfred Tennyson, next to him were Robert Browning and Mrs. Browning.Charles Dickens (1812-1870) (P277-302)查理斯狄更斯III. Oliver Twist （p.284-286）1. The story2. Comments on the novelThis novel is a powerful exposure of the bourgeois society. shows the extreme brutality and corruption of the oppressors and their agents under the mask of philanthropy. offers vivid descriptions of the sufferings of the poor and oppressed.Dickens, while sympathizing with the miseries of the people, did not know what and who was responsible for such miseries and even cherishes illusion about the rich idle and benevolent people. He believed that the social problems would be solved if only every employer followed the example set by “good gentlemen”Features of Charles Dickens’s Novels(1) Dickens’s novels offer a most complete and realistic picture of the English society of his age.(2) Dickens is a petty bourgeois intellectual. He could not overstep the limit of his class. That’s why most of his novels have happy endings.(3) His novels tell much of the unhappy experiences of his own childhood.(4) Dickens is a great satirist and humorist.(5) He is a master story teller, a genius in story-telling.(6) His character-portrayal is the most distinguishing feature of his creation. Among his characters, there are both types and individuals.His success with children lies in his writing from a child’s point of view.He is also famous for the characterization of horrible and grotesque figures such as Fagin and the broadly humorous or comical characters like Sam Weller/ Mr. Micawber.In a word, Dickens is able to portray a character with just a few words by highlighting or exaggerating some peculiar feature of his characters.William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863)(p.303-308)查克雷II. Vanity Fair（名利场）1. The storyments on the novel(p.307)describes the life of upper class of England in early decades of 19th century, and attacks the social relationship of the bourgeois world by satirizing the individuals in different strata of the upper society. It is a world where money grubbing is the main motive for all members of the upper class. Becky Sharp is a classic example of thismoney-grubbing instinct. Everyone wishes to gain something in Vanity Fair, and acts almost in the same manner as Becky. The Character Becky Sharp is drawn with admirable skill.Characteristics of Thackeray’s Novels1,Just like Charles Dickens, Thackeray is one of the greatest critical realists of the 19th century England.2,Thackeray is a satirist.3,Besides being a realist and satirist, Thackeray is a moralist.4,He is a conscientious writer.The Bronte Sisters: Charlotte & Emily布隆特II. Charlotte Bronte’s Masterpiece Jane Eyre1. The Story2. Comments on the novel(1),Charlotte tells a great deal of her own experience, as the life at Charity school and life as a governess. One of the central themes of the book is the criticism of the bourgeois system of education. Another problem raised by Charlotte in the novel is the position of woman in society, through the mouth of Jane the writer maintains that woman should have equal rights and equal social position。