Introduction to English literature英美文学选读张伯香

British
Literature
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What’s Literature? The word ―literature‖ came into English from the 14th
century in the sense of polite learning through reading. Thus a man of literature, or a man of letters, meant what we would now describe as a man of wide reading. So, this word corresponds mainly to the modern meaning of the word ― literacy精通文学,有文化.‖ From the mid-18th century, literature referred to the practice and profession of writing. This appears to be closely connected with the heightened self -consciousness of the profession of authorship. Since the 19th century, literature has been the high skills of writing in the especial context of high imagination.
Recommended Novels for Reading
A Novel Without a Hero
tragic fate of a ―pure‖ young peasant woman at the time of capitalist invasion into the country in the 19th-century England
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文学是指以语言文字为工具形象化地反映客观现实的艺 术，包括诗歌、散文、小说、剧本、寓言、童话等，是 文化的重要表现形式，以不同的形式（称作体裁）表现 内心情感和再现一定时期和一定地域的社会生活。
Fiction 小说
Elements


of Fiction
Theme Plot & structure Character Point of view Setting Tone Language & style Irony Symbol
Fostering one’s connoisseurship (the ability to appreciate a work of art)
Enjoying oneself
Aims


Course Description


To provide the learners with a brief outline of the history of British literature up to the first half of the 20th century; To introduce learners to the imaginative use of English and to help them towards an appreciation of literary language and literature; To consolidate and extend the learners’ knowledge and fluency in English through interaction with literary texts; To further develop the learners’ ability to recognize and express emotional and moral attitudes on a higher level than about daily occurrences so as to facilitate their communication with educated native speakers; To prepare the learners for the study of literature in English at a higher level and to help them develop interest in and, hopefully, the habit of，reading extensively
Recommended Novels for Reading
Pride and Prejudice, originally drafted as ―First Impression‖ in 1796, is the most delightful of her works. The title tells of a major concern of the novel: pride and prejudice. If to form good relationships is our main task in life, we must first have good judgment. Our first impressions, according to Jane Austen, are usually wrong
In A Tale of Two Cities Dickens takes the French Revolution as the background of his novel, and the two cities are Paris and London in the time of that revolution.
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Literature comes from human interest in telling a story, in arranging words in artistic forms, in describing in words aspects of our human experiences. This human activity embodies human desire to express and share experiences. At the beginning, the literary impulse exists only in one’s mind. It is a writer’s ― performance in words‖ as Robert Frost once said. In this way it can be appreciated by others. Therefore, we can define literature as language artistically used to achieve identifiable literary qualities and to convey meaningful messages. Literature is characterized by beauty of experience and form and by university of intellectual and emotional appeal.




Voice声音: Speaker & tone Diction Imagery Figures of speech: Simile and Metaphor Symbolism Syntax Sound: Rhyme, Alliteration头韵, Assonance腹韵 Rhyme节奏 and meter韵律
60%
Final-term examination 70%
Requirements for students in this course




Take notes in class and, if necessary, after class from other sources; Read the parts that the teacher asks to read before class ( usu. The teacher assigns the reading parts one week before discussion. Besides doing the exercises that should be handed in, students have to find the related information about the reading parts for discussion in class; Students should attend class and actively participate in class discussion.
Test after each chapter
Assessment General performance 30%

Class attendance 40% Assignment ( class participation, homework,
presentation, book report)
Recommended Novels for Reading
Swift’s masterpiece, it gives an unparalleled satirical depiction of the vices of his age.
an account of the process of the building of the British Empire in the 18th century; diary-like detailed description and narration;