英专英国文学考试重点总结Summary of Chapter One 3教学文稿

Summary of Three Major Poets in 14th-Century England

Chapter one

1. Historical Background

♦ The Normans conquered in 1066

In 1066, William the Conqueror and his Norman warriors defeated the Anglo-Saxons and made themselves masters of England. The Norman Conquest ended the purely Anglo-Saxon period and started a new period in English history ---- the Medieval Period in England (1066-1485).

In the medieval period, chivalry was the important code of behavior for the knights. It served as a law that bound the often-lawless warriors. Violating the code of chivalry could mean the loss of honor.

2. Middle English

For three centuries after the Norman Conquest, three languages were used side by side in England. Latin and French were the languages of the upper classes, spoken at courts and used in churches and schools.

In the 14th century thousands of words and expressions were borrowed from French and Latin and Greek, and many inflectional forms of the words were dropped and formal grammar simplified.

3. Religious Literature

By far the largest proportion of surviving Middle English literature is religious.

4. Romance and the Influence of French Literature

Medieval romance was a type of literature that became a popular form of literature in the Middle Ages.

Romance, in the original sense of the word, means the vernacular (native) language, as opposed to Lain, and later it means a tale in verse, embodying the life and adventures of knights.

In subject matters, romance naturally falls under three categories:

(1) The matter of France

(2) The matter of Rome

(3) The matter of Britain

The influence of the Norman Conquest upon English language and literature:

After the conquest, the body of customs and ideals known as chivalry was introduced by the Normans into England. The knightly code, the romantic interest in women, tenderness and reverence paid to Virgin Mary were reflected in the literature.

With the coming of the Normans, the Anglo-Saxons sank to a position of abjectness. Their language was mad a despised thing. French words of Warfare and chivalry, art and luxury, science and law, began to come into the English language. Thus three languages existed in England at that time. The Normans spoke French, the lower class spoke English, and the scholars and clergymen used Latin.

The literature was varied in interest and extensive in range. The Normans began to write histories or chronicles. Most of them were written in Latin or French. The prevailing form of literature in the feudal England was the Romance.

5. Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400)

5.1 Historical background

(1) The Hundred Years’ War

(2) The peasant uprising of 1381

5.2 John Wycliff (1324? -1384)

He was important because he was one of the first figures who demanded to reform the church in order to do away with the corruption and rottenness. He was also important because he was the man who translated the Bible into Standard English. 5.3 Geoffrey Chaucer’s Life

Chaucer opened a brilliant page in English literature and had a profound influence on many important English poets. Chaucer is the father of modern English poetry. Chaucer’s poetry belongs to both the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.

5.4 Geoffrey Chaucer’s Major Poems