英国文学week2

Eighteenth-Century Literature 1700---1800 1.H istorical backgroundThe period we are studying is included between the English Revolution of 1688 and the beginning of the French Revolution of 1789. Historically, the period begins in a remarkable way by the adoption of the Bill of rights in 1689. (one of the fundamental instruments of constitutional law. It incorporated by statute the Declaration of rights accepted by William III and Mary II, and registered the results of the struggle between the Stuart kings and parliament. The Bill of rights stated that no Roman Catholic would rule England; it gave inviolable civil and political rights to the people and political supremacy to parliament. It was supplemented (1701) by the Act of Settlement).This famous bill was the third and final step in the establishment of constitutional government, the first step being the Great Charter (1215, the most famous document of Britishconstitutional history, issued in 1215 by King John under compulsion by the barons. Its purpose was to insure feudal rights and to guarantee that the king could not encroach on baronial privileges. It also guaranteed the freedom of the church and the customs of the towns; implied laws protecting the rights of subjects and communities; vaguely suggested guarantees of trial by jury and Habeas Corpus),and the second the Petition of Right (1628, statement by the English Parliament to Charles I. It laid down four principles: no taxes without the consent of Parliament; no imprisonment without cause; no quartering of soldiers in the citizenry; and no martial law in peacetime).The modern form of cabinet government was established in the reign of George I (1714—1727). The foreign prestige of England was strengthened by the victories of Marlborough on the Continent (John Churchill,first duke of, 1650-1722, in the war of Spanish succession 1701-14, general European war fought for the succession to the Spanish empire, won such major victories as Blenheim);and the bounds of empire were enormously increased by Clive in India (Clive 1725-74, British soldier and statesman. In the military service of the British East India Company, he won a series of brilliant victories against the French that broke French power in India),by Cook in Australia and the islands of the Pacific (James Cook, 1728-79, an officer in the royal navy, he set off in 1768 in the endeavor to chart the transit of Venus. The trip took him around the world, and he explored the coasts of Australia and New Zealand. In 1776 he rediscovered the Sandwich Islands= Hawaiian Islands and searched the West Coast of North America for a passage to the Atlantic. He is credited with preventing scurvy among his crew through proper diet. He was killed bynatives on the Hawaiian Islands),and by English victories over the French in Canada and the Mississippi Valley during the Seven Years War (1756—63). ( worldwide conflict fought in Europe, North America, and India between France, Austria, Russia, Saxony, Sweden, and Spain on one side, and Great Britain, Prussia, and Hanover on the other). Politically, the country was divided into Whigs and Tories: the former seeking greater liberty for the people; the latter upholding the king against popular government. The continued strife between these two political parties had a direct influence on literature, as many of the great writers were used by the Whig or Tory party to advance its own interests and to satirize its enemies. Notwithstanding this perpetual strife of parties, the age is remarkable for the rapid social development, which soon expressed itself in literature. Clubs and coffeehouses multiplied, and the social life of these clubs resulted inbetter manners, in a general feeling of toleration, and especially in a kind of superficial elegance which shows itself in most of the prose and poetry of the period. On the other hand, the moral standard of the nation was very low; bands of rowdies infested the city streets after nightfall; bribery and corruption were the rule in politics; and drunkenness was frightfully prevalent among all classes. Swift‟s degraded race of Yahoos is a reflection of the degradation to be seen in multitudes of London saloons. This low standard of morals emphasizes the importance of the great Methodist revival under Whitefield and Wesley, which began in the second quarter of the eighteenth century. ( a group at Oxford, from their resolution to conduct their lives and study by “rule and method”, they were given the name Methodists).The literature of the century is remarkably complex, but we may classify it all under threegeneral heads,--- the reign of so-called classicism, the revival of romantic poetry, and the beginning of the modern novel. The first half of the century, especially, is an age of prose, owing largely to the fact that the practical and social interests of the age demanded expression. Modern newspapers, like the Chronicle, Post and Times, and literary magazines like the Tatler and Spectator, which began in this age greatly influenced the development of a serviceable prose style. The poetry of the first half of the century as typified in Pope, was polished, unimaginative, formal; and the closed couplet was in general use, supplanting all other forms of verse. Both prose and poetry were too frequently satiric and satire does not tend to produce a high type of literature. These tendencies in poetry were modified in the latter part of the century, by the revival of romantic poetry.2.C lassic ageThe Elizabethan writers were led by patriotism, enthusiasm and, in general, by romantic emotions. They wrote in a natural style, without regard to rules; and they exaggerated and used too many words, their works are delightful, because of their vigor and freshness and fine feeling. In the following age patriotism had largely disappeared from politics and enthusiasm from literature. Poets no longer wrote naturally, but artificially, with strange and fantastic verse forms to give effect, since fine feeling was wanting. And this is the general character of the poetry of the Puritan Age. Gradually English writers rebelled against the exaggerations of both the natural and the fantastic style. They demanded that poetry should follow exact rules; and in this way were influenced by French writers, especially by Boileau and Rapin, who insisted in precise methods of writing poetry, and who professed to have discovered their rules in the classics of Horace and Aristotle. In our studyof the Elizabethan drama we noted the good influence of the classic movement in insisting upon that beauty of form and definiteness of expression which characterize the dramas of Greece and Rome; and in the work of Dryden and his followers we see a revival of classicism in the effort to make English literature conform to rules established by the great writers of other nations. At first the results were excellent, especially in prose; but as the creative vigor of the Elizabethans was lacking in this age, writing by rule soon developed a kind of elegant formalism, which suggests the elaborate social code of the time. Just as a gentleman might not act naturally, but must follow exact rules in doffing his hat, or addressing a lady, or entering a room, or wearing a wig, or offering his snuffbox to a friend, so the writers lost individuality and became formal and artificial. The general tendency of literature was to look at life critically, to emphasize intellect rather thanimagination, the form rather than the content of a sentence. Writers strove to repress all emotion and enthusiasm, and to use only precise and elegant methods of expression. This is what is often meant by the “classicism” of the ages of Pope and Johnson. It refers to the critical, intellectual spirit of many writers, to the fine polish of their heroic couplets or the elegance of their prose, and not to any resemblance which their work bears to true classic literature. In a word, the classic movement had become pseudo-classic, i.e. a false or sham classicism. To avoid this critical difficulty the term Augustan Age is used instead of Classic Age.3.A lexander Pope, 1688—1744Suffered physical disabilities and was largely self-taught. By age 17 he was regarded as a prodigy. Known for his literary quarrels, he nevertheless had many close friends. His interest in Tory politics was strengthened byfriendship with Swift and by involvement in the Sriblerus Club ( literary group formed to satirize “false tastes in learning”). His poetry falls into three periods:First period: descriptive poetry: “Pastorals”“Windsor Forest”“Essay on Criticism”Rape of the LockSecond period: translations of Iliad and Odyssey edition of ShakespeareThird period: moral poems and satires The Dunciad “Essay on Man”A master craftsman leading 18th-cent. English poetAn essay on criticismII…A little learning is a dangerous thing;Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring: There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain, And drinking largely sobers us again.Fir‟d at first sight with what the Muse imparts,In fearless youth we tempt the heights of Arts, While from the bounded level of our mind Short views we take, nor see the lengths behind;But more advanc‟d, behold with strange surpriseNew distant scenes of endless science rise!So pleas‟d at first the tow‟ring Alps we try Mount o‟er the vales, and seem to tread the sky,Th‟ eternal snows appear already past,And the first clouds and mountains seem the last;But, those attain‟d, we tremble to surveyThe growing labours of the lengthen‟d way,Th‟ increasing prospect tires our wand‟ring eyes,Hills peep o‟er hills, and Alps on alps arise!E xcerpt from an “Essay on Criticism”True ease in writing comes from art, notchance,As those move easiest who have learned to dance.…Tis not enough no harshness gives offense, The sound must seem an echo to the sense; Soft is the strain when Zephyr gently blows, And the smooth stream in smoother numbers flows;But when loud surges lash the sounding shore, The hoarse, rough verse should like the torrent roar;When Ajax strives some rock‟s vast weight to throw,The line too labors, and the words move slow; Not so, when swift Camilla scours the plain, Flies o‟er the unbending corn, and skims along the main,Hear how Timotheus‟ varied lays surprise, And bid alternate passions fall and rise!。