English_literature

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Romance

Romance-- a long composition describing the life and adventures of a noble.

The most prevailing kind of literature in feudal England.

Central character – the knight

Theme – loyalty to king and lord

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

tone · The nar rator’s tone toward Gawain’s story hovers between straightforward praise and irony-tinged ambivalence.

point of view · The Gawain-poet tells the story mainly from Gawain’s point of view. However, he also occasionally narrates moments that happen outside the scope of Gawain’s direct experience, most notably the host’s daily hunts.

setting (time) ·The mythical past of King Arthur’s court (sometime after Rome’s fall, but before recorded history)

settings (place) ·Camelot; the wilderness; Bertilak’s castl e; the Green Chapel protagonist · Sir Gawain

rising action ·

Gawain accepts the Green Knight’s covenant and chops off the Green Knight’s head, but he survives the blow. Two months before he is due to meet the knight for his own decapitation, Gawain sets out through the wilderness in search of the Green Chapel. He happens upon a castle, where he stays until he must leave for his challenge. At the castle, Gawain’s courtesy, chastity, and honesty are all tempted. Gawain then journeys to confront the Green Knight at the Green Chapel.

climax ·

Gawain encounters the Green Knight at the Green Chapel. After feinting with his axe twice, the Green Knight strikes Gawain on the third swing, but only nicks his neck.

falling action ·

The Green Knight explains all the mysteries of the story. He and Gawain’s host at the castle are the same man, named Bertilak. Morgan le Faye, the old woman at the castle, is actually behind all the events of the story. Gawain admits his breach of contract in having kept the green girdle and promises to wear the girdle as a banner of his weakness.

Suggestions for Further Reading

Anderson, J.J. Language and Imagination in the Gawain-poems. Manchester University Press, 2005.

Brewer, Derek, and Jonathon Gibson. Companion to the Gawain-poet.

Rochester, New York: D. S. Brewer, 1997.

Burrow, J. A. The Gawain-poet. Plymouth, Massachusetts: Northcote House, 2000.

Lupack, A. ed. New Directions in Arthurian Studies. Rochester, N. Y. : D. S.

Brewer, 2002.

Spearing, A. C. The Gawain Poet: A Critical Study. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1970.

Tolkien and E. V. Gordon. ed. Sir Gawain & the Green Knight. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1925.

The Canterbury Tales

Point of view

In the General Prologue, the narrator speaks in the first person, describing each of the pilgrims as they appeared to him. Each of the tales is told from an omniscient third-person point of view, providing the reader with the thoughts as well as actions of the characters.

Tone

The Canterbury Tales incorporates an impressive range of attitudes toward life and literature. The tales are by turns satirical, pious, earthy, and comical.

Protagonists

Each individual tale has protagonists.

Summary of the Prioress

Imitating the behavior of the court and wearing a brooch with a courtly love motto: Love conquers all.

--It may suggest that she is corrupt

--Or demonstrate the popularity of courtly love tradition in Chaucer’s time --Highlight the contradictions between courtly love and Christianity.

--realistically portrayed but quite controversial

Suggestions for Further Reading

Davis, Norman, et al. A Chaucer Glossary, 1977. 权威的乔叟词汇表和释义 Miller, Robert P. ed., Chaucer: Sources and Backgrounds, 1977. 汇集乔叟作品所借鉴的文学素材和背景资料,极有参考价值。

Robertson, D. W. A Preface to Chaucer: Studies in Medieval Perspectives, 1962. 此书被公认为最有学术价值和文献意义的乔叟研究介绍,某些观点有争议。

The metrical structure and rhythm

Foot: a single unit of the meter

Meter: the regular and repetitive use of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry

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