自考《英美文学选读》（英）文艺复兴时期（4）

IV. Francis Bacon
1. ⼀般识记Brief Introduction
English Renaissance philosopher， essayist， statesman， born in London， England， Jan 22，1561 and died in London， April 9 1626.
One of the outstanding figures of the Renaissance， Bacon made important contributions to several fields. His chief interest were science philosophy， but he was also a distinguished man of letters & held several high governmental positions during the reign of king JamesⅠ。

He was one of the earliest & most eloquent spokesmen for experimental science. He lays the foundation for modern science with his insistence on scientific way of thinking & fresh observation rather than authority as a basis for obtaining knowledge.
2. 识记His works
As an author， Bacon is most famous for his Essays， which deal with such subjects as honor， friendship， love， & riches. Written in a terse， polished style， with many learned allusions & metaphors， the essays rank with the finest in English literature.
Bacon’s other important literary works include The New Atlantis， an account of an ideal society & an imaginary voyage， & The History of the Reign of King Henry Ⅶ， a perceptive psychological study of Henry’s mind & characters.
His works can be divided into three groups：
First group： The Advancement of Learning （1605）
Novum Organum （1620）（Latin version）
Second group： Essays
Apophthagmes New & Old （1605）
The History of the Reign of Henry Ⅶ（1622）
The New Atlantis （unfinished）
Third group： Maxims of Law
The Learned Reading upon the Stature of Uses （1642）
3. 领会 His Major Works
Essays The term "essay" was borrowed from Montaigne’s Essais， which appeared from 1580 to 1588. Bacon learned from Montaigne， the first great modern essayist， the economic & flexible way of writing. However， as a practical & prudential man， he intends to write for the ambitious Elizabethan & Jacobean youth of his class & tell them how to be efficient & make their way in public life.
Bacon’s essays are famous for their brevity， compactness & powerfulness. The essays are well arranged & enriched by Biblical allusions， Metaphors & cadence.
4. 领会His achievements
As a literary man， Bacon is the first English essayist， whose Essays won him a high place in the history of English literature.
As a philosopher， he is the founder of English materialistic philosophy. He advocates the inductive method of reasoning. In his famous plea for progress， Bacon demands three things： 1） the free investigation of nature， 2） the discovery of facts instead of the blind belief in theories 3） the verification of results by experiment rather than by argument. In our day， these are the ABC of science， but in Bacon’s time they were revolutionary， Marx called him "the real father of English materialism & experimental science of modern times in general."
5. 应⽤ Of Studies
Of Studies is the most popular of Bacon’s 58 essays. It analyzes what studies chiefly serve for， the different ways adopted by different people to pursue studies， & how studies exert influence over human character. Forceful & persuasive， compact & precise， Of Studies reveals to us Bacon’s mature attitude towards learning. Bacon’s language is
neat， priest， & weighty. It is some what affected， like the water in the reservoir， restricted & confined.
V. John Donne
1.⼀般识记 Donne & the Metaphysical Poetry
John Donne： English poet & Clergyman， born in London， England， 1572， and died in London， Mar. 31 1631. Donne is the leading figure of the 17th-century "metaphysical school." His poems give a more inherently theatrical impression by exhibiting a seemingly unfocused diversity of experiences & attitudes， & a free range of feelings & attitudes， & a free range of feelings & moods. The mode is dynamic rather than static， with ingenuity of speech，vividness of imagery & vitality of rhythms， which show a notable contrast to the other Elizabethan lyric poems， which are pure， serene， tuneful， & smooth running. The most striking feature of Donne’s poetry is precisely its tang of reality， in the sense that it seems to reflect life in a real rather than a poetical world. "Metaphysical Poetry" is commonly used to name the work of the 17th-century writers who wrote under the influence of John Donne. With a rebellions spirit， the metaphysical poets tried to break away from the conventional fashion of the Elizabethan Love poetry. The diction is simple as compared with echoes the words & cadences of common speech. The imagery is drawn from the actual life. The form is frequently that of an argument with the poet’s beloved， with God， or with himself. George Herbert， Andrew Marvell， Richard Crashaw， Henry Vaughan， Abraham Cowley， & Thomas Traherne are also considered to be metaphysical poets. They wrote on a variety of religious & secular themes， & to express their ideas， they used startling， highly imaginative comparisons known as conceits. A conceit is a combination of thoughts or images that are not usually associated with one another.
The finest works of the metaphysical poets combine intellectual subtlety with great emotional power. The poems reflect a broad knowledge of science， art， & other branches of learning. At the same time， metaphysical poems express an intense awareness of common human feelings & experiences， such as jealousy， the loss of religious faith， the complexities of love & the fear of death. Although the imagery of metaphysical poetry is frequently strained， the language is often as natural & direct as ordinary speech.
2.识记His major works
In his life， Donne wrote a large number of poems & prose works， His poems are especially admired for their unique combination of passionate feeling & intellectual wit. Many of his poems rank with the finest in the English language. Among his most famous works are the poems Death Be Not Proud， "Go & Catch a Falling Star，" The Ecstacy， & A Valediction Forbidding Mourning.
Most of The Elegies & Satires & a good many of The Songs & Sonnets were written in the early period. He wrote prose works mainly in the later period. His sermons， which are very famous， reveal his spiritual devotion to God as a passionate preacher.
His works are classified as songs & sonnets， epistles， elegies， & satires. When read in chronological order， the poems reveal his development from "Gay Jack Donne，" a reckless & cynical youth， to Dean John Donne， a man devoted to God.
Donne’s great prose works are his sermons， which are both rich & imaginative， exhibiting the same kind of physical vigor & scholastic complexity as his poetry. For example， the well-known Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions （1623-1624）。

Written when he was seriously ill， they contain the famous passage： "No Man is an island entire of itself；every man is a piece of the continent， a part of the main… Any man’s death diminishes me， because I am involved in mankind， & therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls； it tolls for thee."
3. 领会 Characteristics of His Poems
Donne’s poetry is subtle， complex， & often startling. He made expert use of such poetic techniques as the paradox，a statement that seems contradictory but actually contains truth， & the conceit， a pertinent comparison between 2 apparently dissimilar things.
His early Lyrics most exist in The Songs & Sonnets. Love is the basic theme. Donne holds that the nature of love is the union of soul & body. The operations of the soul depend on the body. Idealism & cynicism about love coexist in Donne’s love poetry.
As a religious poet， his chief power is shown in the Holy Sonnets & the last hymns.
In his poems， Donne frequently applies conceits， i.e. extended metaphors involving dramatic contrasts. His poetry involves a certain kind of argument， sometimes in rigid syllogistic form. With the brief， simple language， the argument is continuous throughout the poem.
4. 应⽤Selected Readings
1） Death Be Not Proud， one of Donne’s Holy Sonnets， is an almost Startling put-down of poor death. Staunchly Christian in its pare expectation of the resurrection， Donne’s poem personifies death as an adversary swollen with false pride & unworthy of being called "mighty & dreadful." Donne gives various reasons in accusing death of being little more than a slave bossed about by fate， chance， kings & desperate men-a craven thing that keeps bad company， such as poison， was & sickness. Finally， Donne taunts death with a paradox： "death， thou shalt die."
The sonnet is written in the strict Petrarchan pattern. It reveals the poet’s belief in life after death： death is eternal.
2） The Sun Rising
The persona apostrophizes the sun as " unruly" because the sun enters the lovers’secret room without their approval. The speaker criticizes the sun pays too much attention to such things as sex & that he should not be behaving so tediously as to stick to his rule & enter without thinking twice into such a place as lovers dwell.
Ⅵ。

John Milton
1.⼀般识记 Brief Introduction
John Milton， English poet & prose writer， born in London， England， Dec. 9， 1608， and died in London， Nov 8， 1674.
Milton was one of the greatest poets in the English language & one of the towering figures in all literature. His masterpiece， Paradise Lost， is considered the unsurpassed English epic poem. It is a powerfully imaginative & dramatic work， based in part on the Biblical story of the temptation & fall of Adam & Eve in the Garden of Eden. Milton， a deeply religious man， wrote the epic " to justify the ways of God to men." He is also famous for his graceful lyric poems， such as Lycidas， Allegro， & for his intensely moving sonnets.
Milton was a great master of language， & his poetry， both epic & lyric， is admired for its sublime eloquence & rich musical quality.
2. 识记His literary achievements。