英国文学史期末复习重点

英国文学史

Part one: Early and Medieval English Literature

Chapter 1 The Making of England

1. The early inhabitants in the island now we call England were Britons, a tribe of Gelts.

2. In 55 B.C., Britain was invaded by Julius Caesar.

The Roman occupation lasted for about 400 years.

It was also during the Roman role that Christianity was introduced to Britain.

And in 410 A.D., all the Roman troops went back to the continent and never returned.

3. The English Conquest

At the same time Britain was invaded by swarms of pirates（海盗）. They were three tribes from Northern Europe: the Angles, Saxons and Jutes.

And by the 7th century these small kingdoms were combined into a United Kingdom called England, or, the land of Angles.

And the three dialects spoken by them naturally grew into a single language called Anglo -Saxon, or Old English.

4. The Social Condition of the Anglo -Saxon

Therefore, the Anglo -Saxon period witnessed a transition from tribal society to feudalism.

5. Anglo -Saxon Religious Belief and Its Influence

The Anglo -Saxons were Christianized in the seventh century. Chapter 2 Beowulf

1. Anglo -Saxon Poetry

But there is one long poem of over 3,000 lines. It is Beowulf, the national epic of the English people. Grendel is a monster described in Beowulf.

3. Analysis of Its Content

Beowulf is a folk lengend brought to England by Anglo -Saxons from their continental homes. It had been passed from mouth to mouth for hundreds of years before it was written down in the tenth century.

4. Features of Beowulf

The most striking feature in its poetical form is the use of alliteration, metaphors and understatements.

Chapter 3 Feudal England

1）T he Norman Conquest

2. The Norman Conquest

The French -speaking Normans under Duke William came in 1066. After defeating the English at Hastings, William was crowned as King of England.

The Norman Conquest marks the establishment of feudalism in England.

3. The Influence of the Norman Conquest on the English Language

By the end of the fourteenth century, when Normans and English intermingled, English was once more the dominant speech in the country.

3) The Romance

1. The Content of the Romance

The most prevailing kind of literature in feudal England was the romance.

4. Malory L'e sMorte D 'Arthur

The adventures of the Knights of the Round Table at Arthur 's court

Chapter 5 The English Ballads

2. The Ballads

The most important department of English folk literature is the ballad. A ballad is a story told in song, usually in 4 -line stanzas, with the second and fourth lines rhymed.

Of paramount importance are the ballads of Robin Hood.

3. The Robin Hood Ballads Chapter 6 Chaucer

1. Life

Geoffrey Chaucer, the founder/father of English poetry.

3. Troilus and Criseyde

Troilus and Criseyde is Chaucer 's longest complete poem and his greatest artistic achievement. But the poet shows some sympathy for her, hitting that her fault springs from weakness rather than baseness of character.

4. The Canterbury Tales

The Canterbury Tales is Chaucer 's masterpiece and one of the monumental works in English literature.

6. His Language

Chaucer 's language, now called Middle English, is vivid and exact.

Chaucer 's contribution to English poetry lies chiefly in the fact that he introduced from France the rhymed stanza of various types, especially the rhymed couplet of 5 accents in iambic meter (the “ the heroic couplet ” ) to English poetry, instead of the-SoladxAo n galolliterative verse.

The spoken English of the time consisted of several dialects, and Chaucer did much in making dialect of London the standard for the modern English speech.

Part Two: The English Renaissance

Chapter 1 Old England in Transition

1. The New Monarchy