英美文学

1 History of English Literature2 Old English and Beowulf3 Middle English and Chaucer4 Renaissance Drama and Shakespeare5 Biblical Epic and John Milton6 Prose Fiction and Jonathan Swift7 Romanticism and Robert Burns8 Victorian Novel and Dickens9 Beginning of American Literature and Edgar Allan Poe10 Modern LiteraUnit One History of English LiteratureWarming-up 常识预习1. What historical background of the British and American literature are you familiar with？2. Who is the most widely read and the most quoted of poets in the history of English literature? What do you know about him?3. Who influenced the recognition of English as a literary language by writing in English at a time when other poets were using French and Latin?4. Do you like English novels? Which ones have you ever read? Do you know their authors?5. American literature was largely influenced by that of Europe at the beginning period. Do you know why?6. Many works of Ernest Hemingway are regarded as classics of American literature. With which one did he win the Nobel Prize for literature in 1954?Lecturette专题讲座History of English LiteratureEnglish literature is as diverse as the varieties and dialects of English spoken around theworld. It has a history and this connects with cultural history more widely. Prosenarratives were written in the 16th century, but the novel as we know it could not arise,in the absence of a literate public. The popular and very contemporary medium for narrativein the 16th century is the theatre. The earliest novels reflect a bourgeois view of theworld because this is the world of the authors and their readers（working people aredepicted, but patronizingly, not from inside knowledge. The growth of literacy in theVictorian era leads to enormous diversification in the subjects and settings of the novel.The test of time may be a cliché, but is a genuine measure of how a work of imagination can transcend cultural boundaries, we should, perhaps, now speak of the test of time and place,as the best works cross boundaries of both kinds. We may not like or enjoy works such as Wüthering Heights, or The Waste Land, but they are the perfect expression of particular waysof looking at the world; the author has articulated a view which connects with the reader's search for meaning. It is, of course, perfectly possible for a work of imagination to makesense of the world or of experience while also entertaining or delighting the reader oraudience with the detail and eloquence of the work, as in A Midsummer Night's Dream, orGreat Expectations.Old English and BeowulfThe earliest written literature, mostly anonymous and narrative, was composed orally atfirst, and may have been passed on from speaker to speaker until they learned the Latinalphabet from Roman missionaries in the early Middle Ages. Much Old English verse in theextant manuscripts is probably a "milder" adaptation of the earlier Germanic war poems fromthe continent. When such poetry was brought to England it was still being handed downorally from one generation to another, and the constant presence of alliterative verse, orconsonant rhyme (today's newspaper headlines and marketing abundantly use this techniquesuch as in Big is Better) helped the Anglo-Saxon peoples remember it. Even without theircrudest lines, the Old English war poems, and to a larger extent all Germanic war poems,still smell of blood feuds and their consonant rhymes sound like the smashing of swordsunder the gloomy northern sky: there is always a sense of imminent danger in thenarratives. Such an Old English epic of unknown authorship is Beowulf, a heroic poem abouta young warrior, set in Denmark and Sweden, commonly cited as one of the most importantworks of Anglo-Saxon literature. Sooner or later, all things must come to an end, asBeowulf eventually dies at the hands of the monsters he spends the tale fighting. Thefeelings of Beowulf that nothing lasts, that youth and joy will turn to death and sorrowentered Christianity and were to dominate the future landscape of English fiction.Middle English and ChaucerFrom 1066 onwards, the language is known to scholars as Middle English. Ideas and themesfrom French and Celtic literature appear in English writing at about this time. The termMiddle English literature refers to the literature written in the form of the Englishlanguage known as Middle English when a form of London-based English, became widespread andthe printing press regularized the language. There are three main categories of MiddleEnglish Literature: Religious, Courtly love, and Arthurian. Though much of Geoffrey Chaucer(1340-1400)’s work stands outside these, he is the first great name in English literature.His greatest work is mostly narrative poetry, which we find in The Canterbury Tales. Renaissance Drama and ShakespeareThe Elizabethan era saw a great flourishing of literature, especially in the field ofdrama. The English playwrights were intrigued by Italian model: a conspicuous community of Italian actors had settled in London and much of the Italian language and culture had been brought to England. Before the 16th century English drama meant the amateur performances of Bible stories by craft guilds on public holidays. William Shakespeare, very gifted and incredibly versatile, stands out in this period as playwright and a poet as yet unsurpassed. Shakespeare was not a man of letters by profession, and probably had only some grammar school education. He was neither a lawyer, nor an aristocrat as the "university wits" that had monopolized the English stage when he started writing. Shakespeare finds the medium of blank verse so productive. Shakespeare develops and virtually exhausts this form. All his dramas met with great success: Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth, Antony and Cleopatra, and The Tempest, a tragicomedy that inscribes within the main drama a brilliant pageant to the new king. Shakespeare also popularized the Englishsonnet which made significant changes to Petrarch's model.Well, had Marlowe (1564-1593) not been stabbed at twenty-nine in a tavern brawl, he might have rivaled, if not equaled Shakespeare himself for his poetic gifts. Remarkably, he wasborn only a few weeks before Shakespeare and must have known him well. Marlowe's subject matter, though, is different: it focuses more on the moral drama of the Renaissance manthan any other thing. Marlowe was fascinated and terrified by the new frontiers opened by modern science. Drawing on German lore, he introduced Dr. Faustus to England, a scientist and magician who is obsessed by the thirst of knowledge and the desire to push man'stechnological power to its limits. He acquires supernatural gifts that even allow him to goback in time and wed Helen of Troy, but at the end of his twenty-four years' covenant with the devil he has to surrender his soul to him. His dark heroes may have something of Marlowe himself, whose death remains a mystery. He was known for being an atheist, leading a lawless life, keeping many mistresses, consorting with ruffians: living the 'high life'of London's underworld. But many suspect that this might have been a cover-up for his activities as a secret agent for Elizabeth I, hinting that the 'accidental stabbing' mighthave been a premeditated assassination by the enemies of the Crown.Biblical Epic and John MiltonLong narrative poems on heroic subjects mark the best work of classical Greek and Romanpoetry. John Milton（1608-1674）set out to write a great biblical epic.Prose Fiction and Jonathan SwiftJonathan Swift（1667-1745）, wrote satires in prose, best-known for the extended fiction Gulliver's Travels, in which a fantastic account of a series of travels is the vehicle forsatirizing familiar English institutions, such as religion, politics and law.Romanticism and Robert BurnsA movement in philosophy but especially in literature, romanticism is the revolt of the senses or passions against the intellect and of the individual against the consensus. The attempts to render the speech of ordinary people are not wholly convincing. Robert Burns （1759 1796）writes lyric verse in the dialect of lowland Scots（a variety of English）.After Shakespeare, Burns is perhaps the most often quoted of writers in English.Victorian Novel and DickensIn the 19th century, adult literacy increases markedly: attempts to provide education bythe state, and self-help schemes are partly the cause and partly the result of thepopularity of the novel. The greatest of all time is Charles Dickens（1812-1870）. The complexity of his best work，the variety of tone, the use of irony and caricature createsurface problems for the modern reader, who may not readily persist in reading.And one of the major poets of the Victorian era is Alfred, Lord Tennyson（1809-1892）, PoetLaureate of the United Kingdom and remains one of the most popular poets in the English language. Tennyson makes extensive use of classical myth and Arthurian legend, and has been praised for the beautiful and musical qualities of his writing. Tennyson wrote a number of phrases that have become commonplaces of the English language, including: "Nature, red in tooth and claw", "Tis better to have loved and lost / Than never to have loved at all", "Theirs not to reason why, / Theirs but to do and die", "My strength is as the strength of ten, / Because my heart is pure", "Knowledge comes, but Wisdom lingers", and "The old orderchangeth, yielding place to new".Beginning of American Literature and Edgar Allan PoeThe early 19th century sees the emergence of American literature, with the stories of Edgar Allan Poe（1809-1849）, the novels of Nathaniel Hawthorne （1804-64）and Mark Twain（1835-1910）, as well as the poetry of Walt Whitman（1819-92）.Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective-fiction genre. He is further credited with contributing to the emerging genre of science fiction.He was the first well-known American writer to try to earn a living through writing alone, resulting in a financially difficult life and career. Poe and his works influencedliterature in the United States and around the world, as well as in specialized fields,such as cosmology and cryptography. Poe and his work appear throughout popular culture inliterature, music, films, and television.Modern Literature and HemingwayAny list of "important" names is bound to be uneven and selective. Identifying broad movements leads to the exclusion of those who do not easily fit into schematic outlines ofhistory. Ernest Hemingway（1899-1961）. During his lifetime he wrote and had publishedseven novels; six collections of short stories; and two works of non-fiction. Since hisdeath three novels, four collections of short stories, and three non-fictionautobiographical works have been published. Hemingway received the Nobel Prize inLiterature in 1954 for his novella The Old Man and the Sea. Hemingway's distinctive writingstyle is characterized by economy and understatement, and had a significant influence onthe development of twentieth-century fiction writing. His protagonists are typicallystoical men who exhibit an ideal described as "grace under pressure." Many of his works arenow considered classics of American literature._______________________________________________________________________________ alliteration: a literary or rhetorical stylistic device that consists in repeating the sameconsonant sound at the beginning of several words in close succession头韵法blank verse：a type of poetry, distinguished by having a regular meter, but no rhyme. InEnglish, the meter most commonly used with blank verse has been iambic pentameter 素体诗Petrarch: an Italian poet (1304 –1374), “Father of Humanism”. His sonnets were admiredand imitated throughout Europe during the Renaissance and became a model for lyricalpoetry. 波特拉克Renaissance：French for "rebirth " 文艺复兴Renaissance man: related and used to describe a person who is well educated or who excelsin a wide variety of subjects or fieldsHelen of Troy：the daughter of Zeus and Leda. Her abduction by Paris brought about theTrojan War. 海伦公主Poet Laureate：a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to composepoems for State occasions and other government events 桂冠诗人Going-over复习反馈Multiple-choice Questions1. Beowulf, an Old English epic, emphasizes the sorrow and _________ of life, and thehelplessness of humans before the power of fate.A. ultimate futilityB. infinite possibilitiesC. unexpected variables2. The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer was written in _________.A. Old EnglishB. Middle EnglishC. Modern English3. William Shakespeare is noted for his use of _____________ in his dramas to achievespecial effects.A. perfect rhymeB. alliterationC. blank verse4. Who is not the character in the works of William Shakespeare?A. Queen CleopatraB. King LearC. Dr. Faustus5. The greatest novelist of the Victorian era is _____________.A. John MiltonB. Charles DickensC. Jonathan Swift6. “Tis better to have loved and lost/ Than never to have loved at all”was written by______, Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom.A. Alfred TennysonB. Ben JohnsonC. William Wordsworth7. Who does not represent the emergence of American literature in the early 19th century?A. Nathaniel HawthorneB. Walt WhitmanC. Ernest Hemingway8. Who was the first well-known American man of letters to support himself as aprofessional writer?A. Edgar Allan PoeB. Mark TwainC. Benjamin Franklin9. Which does not describe the writing style of Hemingway?A. economyB. hyperboleC. understatementEssay Questions10. What is Romanticism in terms of literature?11. Compare Marlowe with Shakespeare.12. What is the type of heroes in Hemingway’s novels?Unit Two Old English and BeowulfWarming-up 常识预习1. How much do you know about Old English? What are the major characteristics of OldEnglish?2. Which poem has achieved national epic status in Britain?3. Have you ever seen the movie based on Beowulf before?4. Are you familiar with the Iliad? Who wrote this poem?5. Two poetic figures commonly found in Old English poetry are the kenning and litotes. Doyou know the meanings of these two words?6. What does the Old English poetry deal with?Lecturette 专题讲座Old English and BeowulfOld English literature encompasses literature written in Anglo-Saxon during the 600-yearAnglo-Saxon period of England, from the mid-5th century to the Norman Conquest of 1066. Among the most important works of this period is the poem Beowulf, which has achieved national epic status in Britain. Two poetic figures commonly found in Old English poetryare the kenning, an often formulaic phrase that describes one thing in terms of another,for example in Beowulf, the sea is called the whale’s road, and litotes, a dramatic understatement employed by the author for ironic effect. The Old English poetry which has received the most attention deals with the Germanic heroic past. The longest (3,182 lines), and most important, is Beowulf, which tells the story of the legendary Geatish hero Beowulf who is the title character. The story is set in Scandinavia and the tale likewise probablyis of Scandinavian origin. The story is biographical and sets the tone for much of the restof Old English poetry. It has achieved the same status as the Iliad, and is of interest tohistorians, anthropologists, literary critics, and students the world over.Beowulf is an Old English heroic epic poem of unknown authorship, dating as recorded in the Nowell Codex manuscript from between the 8th and the early 11th century, set in Denmark and Sweden. Commonly cited as one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature, Beowulf has been the subject of much scholarly study, theory, speculation, discourse, and,at 3182 lines, has been noted for its length. In the poem, Beowulf, a hero of the Geats,battles three antagonists: Grendel, who has been attacking the resident warriors of a meadhall called Heorot in Denmark; Grendel’s mother; and an unnamed dragon. The last battle takes place later in life, after returning to Geatland (modern southern Sweden), where Beowulf has become king. In the final battle, Beowulf is fatally wounded. After his deathhis retainers bury him in a tumulus in Geatland.The main protagonist, Beowulf, a hero of the Geats, comes to the aid of Hroðgar, the kingof the Danes, whose great hall, Heorot, is plagued by the monster Grendel. Beowulf killsboth Grendel and Grendel’s mother, the latter with a magical sword. Later in his life, Beowulf is himself king of the Geats, and finds his realm terrorized by a dragon whose treasure had been stolen from his hoard in a burial mound. He attacks the dragon with the help of his thegns, but they do not succeed. Beowulf decides to follow the dragon into its lair, at Earnanæs, but only his young Swedish relative Wiglaf dares join him. Beowulffinally slays the dragon, but is mortally wounded. He is buried in a tumulus by the sea. Beowulf is considered an epic poem in that the main character is a hero who travels great distances to prove his strength at impossible odds against supernatural demons and beasts. The poet who composed Beowulf, while objective in telling the tale, nonetheless utilizes a certain style to maintain excitement and adventure within the story. An elaborate historyof characters and their lineages are spoken of, as well as their interactions with eachother, debts owed and repaid, and deeds of valor. The events described in the poem take place in the late 5th century, after the Anglo-Saxons had begun migration and settlement in England, and before the beginning of the 7th century, a time when the Saxons were either newly arrived or in close contact with their fellow Germanic kinsmen in Scandinavia and Northern Germany. The poem could have been transmitted in England by people of Geatish origins. It has been suggested that Beowulf was first composed in the 7th century at Rendlesham in East Anglia, as Sutton Hoo also shows close connections with Scandinavia, and also that the East Anglian royal dynasty, the Wuffings, were descendants of the GeatishWulfings. Others have associated this poem with the court of King Alfred, or with the courtof King Canute. The poem deals with legends, i.e., it was composed for entertainment and does not separate between fictional elements and real historic events. Scholars generally agree that many of the personalities of Beowulf also appear in Scandinavian sources, butthis does not only concern people, but also clans and some of the events.The poem is divided between Beowulf's battles with Grendel ( as well as Beowulf’s battlewith Grendel’s mother) and with the dragon.Beowulf begins with the story of King Hroðgar, who built the great hall Heorot for his people. In it he, his wife Wealhþeow, and his warriors spend their time singing and celebrating, until Grendel, an outcast from society who is angered by the singing, attacks the hall and kills and devours many of Hroðgar's warriors while they sleep. But Grendel dares not touch the throne of Hroðgar, because he is described as protected by a powerful god. Hroðgar and his people, helpless against Grendel's attacks, abandon Heorot. Beowulf, a young warrior from Geatland, hears of Hroðgar's troubles and with his king's permission leaves his homeland to help Hroðgar. Beowulf and his men spend the night in Heorot. After they fall asleep, Grendel enters the hall and attacks, devouring one of Beowulf's men. Beowulf, who bears no weapon as this would be an unfair advantage over the unarmed beast, has been feigning sleep and leaps up to clench Grendel’s hand. The two battle until it seems as though the hall might collapse. Beowulf’s retainers draw their swords and rush to his aid, but their blades can not pierce Grendel’s skin as he is immune to human weapons. Finally, Beowulf tears Grendel’s arm from his body at the shoulder and Grendel runs to hishome in the marshes to die.The next night, after celebrating Grendel’s death, Hroðgar and his men sleep in Heorot. Grendel’s mother appears and attacks the hall. She kills Hroðgar's most trusted warrior,Æschere, in revenge for Grendel’s death. Hroðgar, Beowulf, and their men track Grendel’smother to her lair under a lake. Beowulf prepares himself for battle; he is presented witha sword, Hrunting, by a warrior called Unferth. After stipulating a number of conditions toHroðgar in case of his death (including the taking in of his kinsmen and the inheritance byUnferth of Beowulf’s estate), Beowulf dives into the lake. He is swiftly detected andattacked by Grendel’s mother. However, she is unable to harm Beowulf through his armor anddrags him to the bottom of the lake. In a cavern containing Grendel’s body and the remainsof men that the two have killed, Grendel’s mother and Beowulf engage in fierce combat. Atfirst, Grendel’s mother appears to prevail. Beowulf, finding that Hrunting cannot harm hisfoe, discards it in fury. Beowulf is again saved from his opponent’s attack by his armorand, grasping a mighty sword of the giants from Grendel’s mother’s armory (which no otherman could have hefted in battle), Beowulf beheads her. Traveling further into the lair,Beowulf discovers Grendel’s corpse and severs his head. Beowulf then returns to thesurface and to his men at the ‘ninth hour’(about 3pm). He returns to Heorot, whereHroðgar gives Beowulf many gifts, including the sword Nægling, his family’s heirloom. Beowulf returns home and eventually becomes king of his own people. One day, late inBeowulf’s life, a slave steals a golden cup from the lair of an unnamed dragon (sometimesreferred to as Sua) at Earnaness. When the dragon sees that the cup has been stolen, itleaves its cave in a rage, burning everything in sight. Beowulf and his warriors come tofight the dragon, but when Beowulf is wounded by the dragon, his warriors run away in fear.Only one of the warriors, a brave young man named Wiglaf, stays to help Beowulf. The twoslay the dragon, but Beowulf dies from his wounds. After he is cremated, Beowulf is buriedin Geatland on a cliff overlooking the sea, where sailors are able to see his tumulus. Thedragon’s treasure is buried with him, in accordance with Beowulf’s wishes, rather than distributed to his people. There is a curse associated with the hoard and it is also aGermanic and Scandinavian burial practice.It is widely accepted that there are three funerals in Beowulf. These funerals help to outline changes in the poem’s story as well as the audiences’views on earthly possessions, battle and glory. The funerals are also paired with the three battles described above. The three funerals share similarities regarding the offerings for the deadand the change in theme through the description of each funeral.The first funeral in the poem is of Scyld Scefing (translated in some versions as Shield Shiefson) the king of the Danes. The first fitt helps the poet illustrate the settings ofthe poem by introducing Hrothgar’s lineage. The funeral leads to the introduction of the hero, Beowulf and his confrontation with the first monster, Grendel. This funeral also helps the poet to develop the plot to lead into the confrontation between the protagonist,Beowulf, and the main antagonist, Grendel.The second funeral in the poem is that of Hildeburg’s kin and is the second fitt of this poem. The funeral is sung in Heorot to celebrate Beowulf’s victory over Grendel. It also signifies the beginning of the protagonist’s battle against Grendel’s mother. The death of Hildeburg’s brother, son(s), and husband are the results of battle. The battle also leads to Scyld’s death and mirrors the use of funeral offerings for the dead with extravagant possessions. Although the poet maintains the theme of possessions as important even in death, the glory of battle is challenged by the vicious nature of war. The second funeral displays different concepts from the first and a change of direction in the plotthat leads to Beowulf’s fight against Grendel’s Mother.The final funeral of the poem is Beowulf’s funeral. After the final battle against thedragon, Beowulf receives fatal wounds and dies. The greatness of Beowulf’s life isdemonstrated through this funeral, particularly through the many offerings of his people.In addition, the immense hoard of the dragon is buried with the hero. Beowulf’s funeral isthe fourth fitt of the poem and acts as an epilogue for the hero who is the, “mostgracious and fair-minded, kindest to his people and keenest to win fame.”_______________________________________________________________________________ Old English: the English language from the middle of the 5th to the beginning of the 12thcentury. Also called Anglo-Saxon 古英语Anglo-Saxon: a member of one of the Germanic peoples, the Angles, the Saxons, and theJutes, who settled in Britain in the 5th and 6th centuries. 盎格鲁-撒克逊人, 盎格鲁-撒克逊人后裔Norman Conquest: the conquest of England by the Normans under William the Conquerorbeginning in 1066.诺曼征服kenning: a figurative, usually compound expression used in place of a name or noun,especially in Old English and Old Norse poetry隐喻语litotes: a figure of speech consisting of an understatement in which an affirmative isexpressed by negating its opposite, as in This is no small problem. 间接肯定法Geat: a member of an ancient Germanic people of southern Sweden conquered by the Swedes inthe sixth century A.D.雅特人Iliad: ancient Greek epic poem in 24 books attributed to the poet Homer(荷马). 《伊利亚特》Going-over 复习反馈Multiple-choice Questions1. Old English literature encompasses literature written in Anglo-Saxon during the 600-yearAnglo-Saxon period of England, from the ______ century to the Norman Conquest of 1066.A. mid-4thB. mid-5thC. mid-6th2. Among the most important works of this period is the poem ______, which has achievednational epic status in Britain.A. the OdysseyB. the IliadC. Beowulf3. The Old English poetry which has received the most attention deals with the _____ heroicpast.A. GermanicB. ScottishC. British4. The longest and most important poem during this period is_____.A. the Holy BibleB. the IliadC. Beowulf5. Beowulf tells the story of the legendary_____ hero Beowulf who is the title character.A. FrenchB. RomanC. Geatish6. The poem Beowulf is set in______.A. IrelandB. ScandinaviaC. Scotland7. Beowulf has achieved the same status as_____.A. the BibleB. the Old TestamentC. the Iliad8. In the poem, Beowulf, a hero of the Geats, battles _____antagonists.A. oneB. twoC. three9. After the final battle against _____, Beowulf receives fatal wounds and dies.A. the wolfB. the tigerC. the dragonEssay Questions10. Summarize the major characteristics of the Old English poetry.11. Give a brief introduction to Beowulf.12. Compare Beowulf with the Iliad.Unit Three Middle English and ChaucerWarming-up 常识预习1. How much do you know about Middle English? What are the major characteristics of MiddleEnglish?2. Whose writings are considered to be the “birth”of modern English?3. Who is sometimes called the father of English literature? How much do you know aboutthis person?4. Have you ever read The Canterbury Tales or ever seen the movie based on this book?5. Have you ever read Ten Days' Work by an Italian writer? Do you know the Chinese name ofthat book?6. Have you heard of these two people, Virgil and St. Augustine?Lecturette 专题讲座Middle English and ChaucerThe English language which developed from this Anglo-Saxon-Norse-French-Latin mixture proved to be a hardy and adaptable language. Rather than it being superseded by the French。