Lecture 5 (17世纪英国文学)

for 15 years, during which time he wrote some of his most beautiful lines, many of which believed to have been written to his wife. In 1615 he gave up his Catholic faith and took orders in the Anglican Church and for ten years, from 1621 to his death, he was Dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral. During this last period of his life he wrote only religious sermons and poems and was the most famous preacher of his time. The influence of his poetic style was widely felt in the seventeenth century. He tangibly influenced Andrew Marvell, George Herbert, Henry Vaughan and others, and is deemed the greatest of what John Dryden and Samuel Johnson called the “metaphysical poets.”
organization. They advocated that the common people and the king were equal in the presence of God. They argued that the Bible encouraged trade and individual freedom. Puritans represented the interests of the middle class. Charles I took strong measures against the Puritans and many of them had to emigrate to America to escape persecutions. 3) political conflicts. From 1642 to 1688, England was full of political conflrepresentative of metaphysical poets
The life of John Donne can be divided into two stages. In the first stage he was Donne the courtier, the lover, and the soldier. In the second stage he was Dr. John Donne, Dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral. Donne was born in a Roman Catholic family. He received his education at Oxford and Cambridge and later studied law at Lincoln’s Inn. As a young man he was hungry for adventures. He joined the expedition of Essex for Cadiz (a region or a city of Spain) in 1596, and for the Azores (北大 西洋中东部的一群岛，属葡萄牙) in 1597. he was secretary to Sir T. Egerton, keeper of the Great Seal. In 1601 he eloped with 17-year-old Ann More, niece of Egerton’s wife, and for this he was cast into prison by the girl’s father. After release he lived in poverty
The Flea 1. Mark: notice; look at; pay attention to. 2. How little that which thou denies me is: your denial of my love is of little use / significance. 3. in this flea our two bloods mingled be: our two bloods would be mingled in this flea. 4. Yet this enjoys before it woo: this flea enjoys love before it could seek love. woo: seek love, seek dating. 5. pampered swells with one blood made of two: the blood of this flea is made of the blood of us two, and the mixture of our blood made his stomach become bigger. This implies that our love would make you pregnant. 6. Where we almost, nay more than married are: in the flea we are more than married. nay: rather, more than. 这里nay 与more than连用，起强调作用。
The King James Bible consists of two great parts, one the Old Testament, the other the New Testament. The word “testament” means “the covenant” between God and the Hebrews. The Old Testament, originally written in Hebrew, is about the creation of the universe, the origin of the Jewish people, its history, religion, law, and poetry. The New Testament, originally written in Greek, is about the life, teaching and deeds of Jesus Christ. The earliest English translations of the Bible date back to Caedmon, Bede and King Alfred. Then there were translations done by John Wycliff, William Tyndale, and Miles Miles Coverdale. The King James Bible was completed in 1611 after seven years’ arduous work of 47 of the best scholars in the kingdom.
Historical Background of the seventeenth-century England The seventeenth century was an eventful period in the history of England. 1) The economic conflict between the Parliament and the king (the power of monarch). Parliament mainly represented the interests of the middle class; the middle class wanted free trade but the king controlled trade and commerce and imposed heavy taxes on the merchants. What made the matter worse, the king granted or sold monopolies (special privileges) to various individuals to manufacture or sell particular commodities such as coal, salt, etc.. This conflict resulted in the civil war in 1642 between Charles I and the Parliament. 2) The religious conflict between the Puritans and the Anglican Church. The Puritans were Christians who wanted to make reforms in the Anglican Church. They were opposed to Charles I who held that the king was not only the head of the state but also the head of the Church (dictatorship).
The Puritans wanted to do away with the elaborate ceremonies of the Anglican Church. They demanded a simple religious belief, a simple manner of worship, and a simple manner of church
休憩和睡眠其实就是你的写照你定然比它们更让人感到舒适惬意而我们最出色的人们随你而去越早越能早日让灵魂获救肉体安息你是命运时机君主和狂徒的奴隶你与毒药战争和病魔同流合污鸦片与巫术也能灵验地进行蛊惑而且效果更佳你又何必颐指气使
英国文学史及选读
第五讲 十七英国文学
• The King James Bible of 1611 • John Donne (1572—1631) • John Milton (1608—1674)
Metaphysical poetry is a derogatory term invented by John Dryden (1631-1700) and later adopted by Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) describing a school of highly intellectual poetry marked by bold and ingenious conceits, incongruous imagery, complexity of thought, frequent use of paradox, and often by deliberate harshness or rigidity of expression. The main themes of the metaphysical poets are love, death, and religion. According to them, all things in the universe, no matter how dissimilar they are to each other, are closely unified in God. The chief representative of this school was John Donne.