英国文学史笔记

合集下载

英国文学史期末复习笔记

英美文学史期末复习笔记英国美国1.伊丽莎白时期的文学 1.殖民地时期文学2.17世纪和18世纪的文学 2.浪漫主义文学3.浪漫主义时期 3.现实主义文学4.维多利亚时期 4.自然主义文学5.20世纪的小说与诗歌 5.20世纪20年代的诗歌与小说6.二战后的诗歌 6.二战后的诗歌与小说7.二战后的小说7.美国戏剧梳理8.少数族裔文学1.Definition of epicAn epic is a long narrative poem.2.Geoffrey Chaucer(1340-1400)杰弗里。

乔叟the father of English poetry(literature) 英国文学之父the heroic couplet 英雄双韵体：a verse unit consisting of two rhymed(押韵)lines in iambic pentameter(五步抑扬格)AA BB CC DD EE代表作:The Canterbury Tales 坎特伯雷的故事（英国文学史的开端）文艺复兴时期The Renaissance(1500-1660)1.the definition of RenaissanceRenaissance first rose in Italy in the 14th century and came to a flowering in the 15th and then in the 16th century it spread to other countries, notably France and thence to Germany and England and Spain and the other countries.核心：humanism ：admire human beauty and human achievement.文艺复兴三杰：达芬奇，米开朗琪罗，拉斐尔2.William Shakespeare(1564-1616)He is actor, playwright;totally 37 playsFour great tragedies:Hamlet (哈姆雷特)Othello(奥赛罗)King Lear(李尔王)Macbeth(麦克白)Four great comedies:The Merchant of Venice 《威尼斯商人》A Midsummer Night’s Dream 《仲夏夜之梦》As You Like It 《皆大欢喜》Twelfth night 《第十二夜》Ben Johson dedicated a poem in praise of him:“…Soul of the age.He was not of an age, but for all time”.3.Sonnet(十四行诗）Sonnet is a lyric poem comprising 14 rhyming lines of equal length: iambic(抑扬格的) pentameters（五步格诗）in English. The English sonnet (also called the Shakespearen sonnet after its foremost practitinoner) comprises three quatrains (四行诗)and a final couplet（对句），rhyming ababcdcdefef. An important variant of this is the Spenserian sonnet (introduced by Elizabethan poet Edmund Spenser ), which links the three quatrains by rhyme, in the sequence ababbabccdcdee. In either form, the turn comes with the final couplet, which may sometimes achieve the neatness of an epigram.4.metaphysical poetry(玄学派诗歌）The term “metaphysical poetry”is commonly used to name the work of the 17th century writers who wrote under the influence of John Donne.Metaphysical poets tried to break away from the conventional fashion of the Elizabethan love poetry. The name given to a diverse group of 17th-century English poets whose work is notable for its ingenious (精致的)use of intellectual and theological concepts in surprising conceits(幻想), strange paradoxes, and far-reaching imagery, argumentative abruptness of rhythm and tone distinguishes his style from the conventions of Elizabethan love lyrics. T.S Eliot and others revived their reputation, stressing their quality of wit, in the sense of intellectual strenuousness and flexibility rather than smart humor.Its main features:①the diction is simple②The imagery is drawn from the actual life③The form is frequently that of an argument with the poet’s beloved, with God, or with himself.5.John Donne(1572-1631)View of poetry: A blend of emotion and intellectual ingenuity, characterized by conceit or "wit".The most striking feature of Donne’s poetry is its tang of reality, in the sense that it seems to reflect life in a real rather than a poetical world.Special features: Conceits;wit;imagery;dramatic and conversational style.代表作：the flea《跳蚤》6.Francis Bacon(1561-1626)He is the precursor of materialism英国唯物主义的始祖（马克思和恩格斯语）；also the founder of modern science；the first British essayist.作品：Essays《随笔》(of studies is the most famous one of them)7.John MiltonDefense for the English People为英国人辩护;blank verse 素体诗作品：Paradise Lost失乐园Paradise Regained复乐园18世纪的启蒙主义文学1.the definition of enlightenmentA general term applied to the movement of intellectual liberation that develop in Western Europe from the late 17th Century to the late 18th century.(the period is often called the Age of Reason), especially in France and Switzerland.The enlightenment culminated(使达到顶峰) with the writings of Jeans-Jacques Rousseau and the Encyclopedia（百科全书）, the philosophy of Immanuel(以马内利，基督的别称) Kant, and the political ideas of the American and French Revolutions while the forerunners in science and philosophy included Bacon, Descartes, Newton, and Locke. Its central idea was the need and the capacity of human reason to clearaway ancient superstition, prejudice, dogma and injustice.Literary features:①Classicism: As a critical term, classicism is a body of doctrine thought to be derived from or to reflect the qualities of ancient Greek and Roman culture, particularly in literature, philosophy, art, or criticism. Classicism stands for certain definite ideas and attitudes, mainly drawn from the critical utterances of the Greek and Romans or developed through an imitation of ancient art and literature. ②Neoclassicism:it emphasized the classical artistic ideals of order, logic, proportion, restrained emotion, accuracy, good taste and decorum.③Sentimentalism came into being as the result of a bitter discontent among the enlightened people with social reality.4 Pre-romanticism: In the latter half of the 18th century, a new literary movement arose in Europe, called the Romantic Revival. It was marked by a strong protest against the bondage of Classicism, by a recognition of the claims of passion and emotion, and by a renewed interest in medieval literature. In England this movement showed itself in the trend of Pre-romanticism.Gothic novel is its most manifest expression.2.John Locke(1632-1704)one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers ;considered one of the first of the British empiricists经验主义者, following the tradition of Francis Bacon; best known for his satirical verse and for his translation of Homer《荷马史诗》;He is the third most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations,after Shakespeare and Tennyson.3.Daniel Defoe(1661-1731)代表作：The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe (英国文学史第一部小说)Moll Flanders《摩尔. 佛兰德斯》Robinson Crusoe celebrates the 18th-century Western civilization’s material triumphs and the strength of human rational will to conquer the natural environment. Robinson, apparently, is cast as a typical 18th-century middle-class tradesman, the very prototype of the empire builder, the pioneer colonist.The hero is practical, diligent, shrewd, courageous and intelligent to overcome all kinds of obstacles. In another sense, Robinson is Everyman struggling to master nature.This novel is the representative of the English bourgeoisie at the earlier stages of its development.4.Jonathan Swift(1667-1745)乔纳森.斯威夫特作品：Gulliver’s Travels《格列佛游记》A Tale of a Tub 《木桶的故事》The Battle of Books 《书战》A Modest Proposal 《一个小小的建议》His writing features : Swift defines a good style as “proper words in proper places”. His language is always precise, simple, clear, vigorous as well as economical and concise.He is also a master satirist.5.Henry Fielding(1707-1754)The father of modern fiction(现代小说之父)代表作：《约瑟夫·安德鲁》Joseph Andrews《汤姆·琼斯》Tom Jones6.Oliver Goldsmith’s(1730-1774)代表作：The Vicar of Wakefield威克菲尔德的牧师The Deserted Village 荒村浪漫主义时期English Romanticism(1798-1830)1.the definition of RomanticismIt is generally said to have began in 1798 with the publication of Wordsworth & Coleridge’s Lyrical Ballads《抒情歌谣集》and to have ended in 1832 with Sir Walter Scott’s death and the passage of the first Reform Bill《改革法案》in the Parliament. English Romanticism is a revolt of the English imagination against the neoclassical reason. The French Revolution of 1789-1794 and the English Industrial Revolution exert great influence on English Romanticism.Romanticists show in their works their profound dissatisfaction with the social reality and their deep hatred for any political tyranny, economic exploitation and any form of oppression, feudal or bourgeois. In the realm of literature, they revol t against reason, rules, regulation, objectivity, common senses, etc. and emphasize the value of feelings, intuition, freedom, nature, subjectivism, individuality, originality, imagination, etc.2.two schools of Romanticism①The lake poets湖畔派诗人（escapist romanticists）：William Wordsworth华兹华斯, Samuel Taylor Coleridge柯勒律治and Robert Southey骚塞.They three were known as Lake Poets because they lived and knew one another in the last few years of the 18th century in the district of the great lakes in Northwestern England.②The Satanic school撒旦派（active romanticists):Byron, Shelly, and Keats.3.William Blake(1757-1827)十九世纪英国浪漫派诗人、画家、雕刻家作品：Songs of Experience《经验之歌》Songs of Innocence《天真之歌》The Marriage of Heaven and Hell《天堂与地狱的婚姻》The Chimney Sweeper《扫烟囱的孩子》The Lamb《羊羔》4.Robert Burns（1759-1796）（苏格兰著名农民诗人）作品：“A Red, Red Rose”《红红的玫瑰》5.William Wordsworth(1770-1850)He focused on the nature, children, the poor, common people, in his poem, he aimed at simplicity and purity of the language, so he used ordinary words to express his personal feelings.1843年获得桂冠诗人(Laureate)称号代表作：The Daffodils《水仙花》The Solitary Reaper《孤独的收割者》6.George Gordon Byron（1788-1824）Influence:(to world)Byron has enriched European poetry with an abundance of ideas, images, artistic forms & innovations. He stands with Shakespeare & Scott among the British writers who exert the greatest influence over the mainland of Europe.(to china)His revolutionary zeal and democratic ideals, as shown in his stirring lyricThe Isles of Greece and Childe Harold, strongly impressed the Chinese youth who were then waging struggles to overthrow the old feudal system.代表作Don Juan《唐璜》, 1818-1823When we two parted《当我们分手》She walks in beauty《她走在美的光彩中》Byronic hero：a proud, mysterious rebel figure of noble origin. With immense superiority in his passions and powers,unconquerable wills and inexhaustible energies.(fiery passions unbending will, ideal of freedom, against tyranny(专制统治)and injustice, lonely fighters individualistic ends)7.Percy Bysshe Shelley（1792-1822）代表作：Ode To The West Wind《西风颂》Queen Mab 《麦布女王》8.John Keats（1795—1821）代表作：Ode to An Nightingale《夜莺颂》(“美即是真，真即是美”Beauty is truth, truth is beauty.是他的著名诗句。

英国文学简史笔记整理

L‘Allegro欢乐的人;Il Penseroso沉思的人;Comus科马斯;Lycidas列西达斯;Areopagitica论出版自由;Pro Populo Anglicano Defense为英国人民声辩; Pro Populo Anglicano Defense Secunda再为英国人民声辩;Paradise Lost失乐园;Paradise Regained复乐园;Samson Agonistes力士参孙
长篇小说：The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews,and of His Friend Mr Abraham Adams约瑟·安德鲁传;The Life of Mr Jonathan Wild the Great大伟人江奈生·魏尔德传;The History of Tom Jones,a Foundling汤姆·琼斯;Amelia阿美利亚
Christopher Marlowe克里斯托夫。马洛
Tamburlaine铁木耳大帝Dr.Faustus浮士德的悲剧The Jew of Malta马耳他的犹太人The Passionate Shepherd多情的牧羊人致情人
William Shakespeare莎士比亚1564-1616
The Tempest暴风风雨;The Two Gentlemen of Veronaz维罗纳二绅士;The Mercy Wives of Windsor温莎的风流妇人;Measure for Measure恶有恶报;The Comedy of Errors错中错;Much Ado about Nothing无事自扰;Love’s Labour’s Lost空爱一场;A Midsummer Night’s Dream仲夏夜之梦;The Merchant of Venice威尼斯商人;As You Like It如愿;The Taming of the Shrew驯悍记;All’s Well That Ends Well皆大欢喜;Twelfth Night第十二夜;The Winter’s Tale冬天的故事;The Lifeand Death of King John/Richard the Second/Henry the Fifth/Richard the Third约翰王/理查二世/亨利五世/理查三世;The First/Second Part of King Henry the Fourth亨利四世（上、下）;The First/Second/Third Part of King Henry the Sixth亨利六世（上、中、下）;The Life of King Henry the Eighth亨利八世；Troilus and Cressida脱爱勒斯与克莱西达;The Tragedy of Coriolanus考利欧雷诺斯;Titus Andronicus泰特斯·安庄尼克斯;Romeo and Julet罗密欧与朱丽叶；Timon of Athens雅典的泰门;The Life and Death of Julius Caesar;朱利阿斯·凯撒；The Tragedy of Macbeth麦克白;The Tragedy of Hamlet哈姆雷特/王子复仇记;King Lear李尔王;Othello奥塞罗;Antony and Cleopatra安东尼与克利欧佩特拉;Cymbeline辛白林;Pericles波里克利斯;Venus and Adonis维诺斯·阿都尼斯;Lucrece露克利斯;The Sonnets十四行诗

英国文学简史笔记

Part One: Early and Medieval English Literature1. Beowulf: national epic of the English people; Denmark story; alliteration, metaphors and understatements （此处可能会有填空，选择等小题）2. Romance （名词解释）3. “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”: a famous roman about King Arthur’s story4. Ballad（名词解释）5. Character of Robin Hood6. Geoffrey Chaucer: founder of English poetry; The Canterbury Tales (main contents; 124 stories planned, only 24 finished; written in Middle English; significance; form: heroic couplet)7. Heroic couplet (名词解释)Part Two: The English Renaissance8. The Authorized Version of English Bible and its significance（填空选择）9. Renaissance（名词解释）10.Thomas More——Utopia11. Sonnet（名词解释）12. Blank verse（名词解释）13. Edmund Spenser“The Faerie Queene”; Amoretti (col lection of his sonnets)Spenserian Stanza（名词解释）14. Francis Bacon “essays” esp. “Of Studies”（推荐阅读，学习写正式语体的英文文章的好参照，本文用词正式优雅，多排比句和长句，语言造诣非常高，里面很多话都可以引用做格言警句，非常值得一读）15. Christopher Marlowe (“Doctor Faustus” and his achievements)16. William Shakespeare可以说是英国文学史中最重要的作家，一定要看熟了。

英美文学史复习笔记5篇

英美文学史复习笔记5篇第一篇：英美文学史复习笔记英美文学复习时期划分——Early & Medieval literature 包括The Anglo-Saxon Period 和The Anglo-Norman Period ——Renaissance 文艺复兴——Revolution & Restoration 资产阶级革命与王权复辟——Enlightenment 启蒙运动——Romantic Period 浪漫主义时期——Critical Realism 批判现实主义——20th Modernism 现代主义传统诗歌主题：nature, life, death, belief, time, youth, beauty, love, feelings of different kinds, reason(wisdom), moral lesson, morality.修辞名称：meter格律, rhyme韵, sound assonance谐音, consonance和音, alliteration头韵, form of poetry诗歌形式, allusion典故, foot音步, iamb抑扬格, trochee扬抑格, anapest抑抑扬格, dactyl扬抑抑格, pentameter五音步文学体裁：诗歌poem,小说novel,戏剧novel起源：Christianity 基督教Bible圣经myth神话The Romance of king Arthur and his knights亚瑟王和他的骑士（笔记）一、1、The Anglo-Saxon period(496-1066)这个时期的文学作品分类：（pagan异教徒）（Christian基督徒）2、代表作：The song of Beowulf《贝奥武甫》(national epic)（民族史诗）采用了隐喻手法3、Alliteration押头韵（写作手法）例子：of man was the mildest and most beloved.To his kin the kindest, keenest for praise.二、The Anglo-Norman period(1066-1350)Canto 诗章受到法国影响English literature is also a combination of French and Saxon elements.1、romance传奇文学 Arthurian romances亚瑟王传奇2、代表作：Sir Gawain and the Green Knight(高文爵士和绿衣骑士)是一首押头韵的长诗 knighthood 骑士精神三、Geoffrey Chaucer(1340-1400)杰弗里。

英国文学笔记

Chapter1 The Renaissance period（14世纪至十七世纪中叶）文艺复兴1. Humanism is the essence of the Renaissance.人文主义是文艺复兴的核心。

2. The Greek and Roman civilization was based on such a conception that man is the measure of all things.人文主义作为文艺复兴的起源是因为古希腊罗马文明的基础是以“人”为中心，人是万物之灵。

3. Renaissance humanists found in then classics a justification to exalt human nature and came to see that human beings were glorious creatures capable of individual development in the direction of perfection, and that the world they inhabited was theirs not to despise but to question, explore, and enjoy.人文主义者们却从古代文化遗产中找到充足的论据，来赞美人性，并开始注意到人类是崇高的生命，人可以不断发展完善自己，而且世界是属于他们的，供他们怀疑，探索以及享受。

4. Thomas More, Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare are the best representatives of the English humanists.托马斯.摩尔，克利斯朵夫.马洛和威廉.莎士比亚是英国人文主义的代表。

5. Wyatt introduced the Petrarchan sonnet into England.怀亚特将彼特拉克的十四行诗引进英国。

英国文学史笔记总结部分

English Literature 英国文学史笔记The Development of English LiteratureFrom the academic angle, English literature can be divided into seven periods:1. Early and Medieval English literature;2. The English Renaissance;3. The 17th C. – The Period of Revolution and Restoration;4. The 18th Century –The Age of Enlightenment5. Romanticism in England in the 1st half of the 19th century;6. The Victorian Age;7. The 20th Century Literature –Modernism and Post-ModernismChapter1 Literature of Old and Medieval Period(449—1485)1) Anglo-Saxon Period /Old English Period (449-1066)The main literary contribution of this period is the Epic, and its masterpiece is the national epic The Song of Beowulf, which is a long poem of 3182 lines about the deeds of the Teutonic (条顿)hero Beowulf in the 6th century. It is the oldest poem in the English language and the oldest surviving epic in Anglo-Saxon literature.2）The Anglo-Norman Period /Middle English Period (1066-1485)The literature of this period is greatly influenced by the Norman Conquest (1066). After the conquest, the customs and ideals known as chivalry was introduced by the Normans into England and can be reflected in literature, such as the knightly code, the romantic interest in women , tenderness and reverence paid to Virgin Mary etc.. The prevailing form of literature in the Feudal England was Romance (传奇，骑士文学).The most famous Romance was Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.㈠Definitions of Literary Terms1. Couplet(对句): a couplet is two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme.2. Iambic pentameter: each line has five feet of iambs; in each foot, there is an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.3.Heroic Couplet(英雄偶句／双韵体): two consecutive lines of rhymed poetry in iambic pentameter. (an iambic pentameter couplet). The form was introduced into English by Geoffrey Chaucer and was widely used subsequently, reaching a height of popularity in the works of Alexander Pope.4. Blank Verse(无韵体，素体诗): unrhymed iambic pentameter.5. Epic(史诗): A long narrative poem on the adventures and great deeds of heroes.6. Frame story: a narrative that provides the framework within which a number of different stories, which may or may not be connected, can be told. (The Canterbury Tales isa collection of stories in a frame story)7. Romance: A tale in verse, embodying the life and adventures of knights. The content of Romance was usually about love, chivalry and religion.㈡Geoffrey Chaucer (about1340—1400) 杰弗里•乔叟“The Founder (Father) of English poetry‖A Londoner of bourgeois origin, the most important and influential poet in medieval England, established English as a courtly language. Geoffrey’s Chaucer’s works are often categorized in three chronological periods (the French period, the Italian period and the English period).Ⅰ.Chaucer’s Contributions①. He introduced from French the ―heroic couplet‖ to English poetry.②. He is the first important poet to write in the current English language.③. Chaucer did much in making the dialect of London the foundation for modern English language.Ⅱ.Geoffrey Chaucer’s famous work :The Canterbury Tales (1387—1400)《坎特伯雷集》an unfinished series of stories told by a group of pilgrims(about 29), who came from all layers of society(a knight, a prioress, a plowman, a merchant, a clerk, the wife from Bath, etc.), journeying from London to the shrine of St. Thomas Becket at Canterbury. ―The General Prologue‖ told us Chaucer intended that each pilgrim should tell two tales on the way to Canterbury and two tales on the way back. But Chaucer had actually completed only 23 stories.Scholars are uncertain about the order of the tales, and The Canterbury Tales has been passed down in several handwritten manuscripts.Ⅲ. Other works:1)The French period (to 1372): Book of Duchess (1369) 《公爵夫人之书》2)The Italian period (1372—1385): House of Fame (1379—1384) 《声誉之宫》The Parliament of Fowls (1377—1382) 《百鸟会议》The Legend of Good Women 《贤妇传说》Troilus and Criseyde (1382—1385) 《特洛伊罗斯与克丽西达》3)The English period (1387—1400): The Canterbury Tales (1387—1400) Chapter 2 Literature of English Renaissance（1485—1616）The Renaissance as a cultural movement embraced all Western Europe roughly from the 14th century to the 17th century. It first sprang in Florence of Italy and then spread to the rest of Europe (to Germany and Spain and England). ―Renaissance‖, French for ―rebirth‖, refers to the revival of interest in ancient Roman and Greek culture.During this period, the classical arts and learning were discovered again and widely studied , so the term Renaissance originally indicated a revival of classical (Roman and Greek) arts and learning after the dark ages of medieval obscurantism , it also marked the beginning of bourgeois revolution .In the Renaissance period, scholars and educators called themselves humanists and began to emphasize the capacities of the human mind and the achievements of human culture, in contrast to the medieval emphasis on God and contempt for the things of this world. So humanism became the keynote of the English Renaissance. And the greatest humanist is Thomas More, the author of Utopia. The representatives in literature are Shakespeare and Bacon. The former has the greatest contribution in drama an d sonnets while the latter’s essays are condensed and witty.代表人物：1) Thomas More（1478—1535）托马斯•莫尔Utopia 乌托邦2) Thomas Wyatt 托马斯•怀亚特He introduced sonnet into English literature引入十四行诗的第一人sonnet(十四行诗)：form of poetry intricately rhymed(间隔押韵) in 14 lines iambic pentameter3) Edmund Spenser（1522—1599）埃德蒙•斯宾塞“the poet’s poet”(诗人中的诗人) English poet whose long allegorical poem(寓言性浪漫史诗) The Faerie Queene 《仙后》is one of the greatest in the English language. It was written in what cameto be called the Spenserian stanza.Spenserian stanza：A nine-line stanza with the following rhyme scheme: ababbcbcc. The first eight lines are written in iambic pentameter. The last line is written in iambic hexameter4) Christopher Marlowe （1564—1593）克里斯托弗•马洛“the most gifted writer of the University Wits”“the forerunner of English drama”“The Father of English Tragedy” (one-man tragedy) The greatest pioneer of English drama who made blank verse the principal vehicle of expression in drama.blank verse(无韵体：不押韵的五步抑扬格) 是十六世纪英国戏剧的主要表现形式。

英国文学史学生笔记整理得很好

英国文学简史Part one: Early and Medieval English LiteratureHistorical Background1.When does early and medieval period refer to?“Early” here means English literature in primitive and slavery society. “Medieval” means English literature in feudal England before the Renaissance.2. What main events happened during this period?Roman conquestEnglish conquestNorman conquestLiterature Achievements in old English period1.two groups of English poetry in Anglo-Saxon period. The first group was the pagan poetry represented by Beowulf, the second was the religious poetry represented by the works of Caedmon and Cynewulf.2. In the 8th century, Anglo-Saxon prose appeared. The famous prose writers of that period were Venerable Bede and Alfred the Great.Venerable Bede : is the first scholar and chronicler in England. The most important works : The Ecclesiastical History of the English People.Alfred the Great : started the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.BeowulfI.Definition of epic:an extended narrative poem in elevated or dignified language, celebrating the feats of a legendary or traditional hero.II.Story of Beowulf : P3-4Questions :1.setting :2. characters:3.plotIII. Some important points“Beowulf” is a folk legend brought to England by Anglo-Saxons from their continental homes. However it also reflected the features of the tribal society in Britain. Originally Beowulf, the great epic, was in oral form and it must be a collective creation.Beowulf in the epic is a legendary figure. In formal history you can not find a man named Beowulf.IV. Artistic features of “Beowulf’’1. Using alliterationDefinition of alliteration: Words beginning with the same consonants alliterate with each other within each line. Each line of verse may contain an indefinite number of words or syllables but generally has four stresses, with a pause between the second and the third stresses.Some examples on P42. ·Using metaphor and understatementDefinition of understatement: expressing something in a controlled way Understatement is a typical way for Englishmen to express their ideas. You may findsome examples on P5Literary Features of the Anglo-Saxon Period1) secular(非宗教的) poetry,non religious poems but with Christian coloring;2) created collectively and orally;3) based on history, legend or events of the time;4) for entertainment;5) unknown writers, written down by the monks in the 10th centuryLiterature achievement in Middle English Period1.Romance: ( for noble )2.Ballads: ( folk literature) (oral)( for English people)3. Poetry:1) William Langland (popular literature)2) Chaucer ( the founder of English literature)1.Romance:It is the most prevailing kind of literature in England on feudal period. It is a long composition, in verse or in prose. It describes the life and adventures of a noble hero. The central theme is loyalty to king and Lord. The code of manners and morals of a knight is Chivalry. The most important romance is king Arthur and his knights of the Round Table.2. Ballads:a.It is the most important form of English folk literature.b.It is a story told in song, usually in 4-line stanzas with the second and fourthline rhymed.c.It is a literature of common people,( mainly the literature of the peasants)from them one is able to understand the outlook of the English common people in feudal society.d.It flourished in England in the 15th century.e.The most important ballads in England are Robin Hood .3. PoetryWilliam Langland:a. life:b. content:1.attack on the corruption of the rich and the wickedness of clergy2.the political situation of the time3.search for truth4. attack on the seven Deadly Sins:(pride, lechery (色欲），envy, wrath, Avarice, glutton, sloth)c. Social significance:1.a classic of popular literature2.kindled the toiling people’s sense of human dignity and equality before God3.arousing revolutionary sentimentd. artistic features:1.It is written in the form of a dream vision.2.It is an allegory which relates truth through symbolism. But in the main, it is a realistic picture of medieval England.3. The poem uses satire in his description of social abuses caused by the corruption4.The poem is written in alliteration.nguage style: lively speech of the countryside , blunt and unpolished words.Geoffrey ChaucerI. His lifeII. Literary career: 3 stagesIII. His works:a.Troilus and Criseydeb.The Canterbury TalesIV. His Contributions:♦I. His Life♦Born in a wine merchant’s family♦Trip to the continent on diplomatic missions,two of which took him to Italy♦Buried in Westminster Abbey, the poets’ corner♦Political background:relation with John of Gaunt♦II. Literary Career:♦French period:The Book of the Duchess♦Italian period: works adapted from the Italian: Troilus and Criseyde♦English period: The Canterbury TalesHe reached maturity and was free from dominant foreign influence.♦III. His works:♦The Book of the Dutchess 《公爵夫人之书》♦The House of Fame《声誉之堂》♦The Parliament of Fowls《百鸟议会》♦The Canterbury Tales《坎特伯雷故事集》♦Troilus and Criseyde 《特罗勒斯和克莱西》Troilus and Criseyde♦It is based on a poem by Boccaccio, his longest poem, written in the rhymed royal(君王体）(a seven-line stanza in iambic pentameter rhyming ababbcc.)The Canterbury Tales♦Questions :1. the organization of the book( the relationship between the general prologue and each tale)2.The main features of Chaucer’s narration3.The image of Wife of Bath♦Basic informationform: most of the tales are written in heroic coupletsetting: Tabard Inncharacters: types of literature: courtly romance, folk tale.,beast fable, story of travel and adventure, saint’s life, allegorical tale, sermon, alchemical account.Language: Middle English, vivid, exact, word- picturesLength: planned to be 120 stories. The General prologue,20 complete tales, 4 fragments, separate prologues to each tale with links, comments,quarrels ,etc. in between.Arrangement: linked through the host’s comments and prologue.two ways: the personality of the host affords a clear string of connection from the 1st to the last tale. There is an intimate connection between the tales and prologue.Typical characters: almost all medieval figures from different sides of life except noble and serfs.Character of the wife of Baththe owner of a cloth factory, light-hearted, merry,somewhat vulgar and talkative. a lengthy account of her feelings about marriage.♦The Canterbury Tales’ significancereflection of his times--- a panoramic view of his contemporary life; reflection of his humanist idea---- he exposed the evils of the church, the corruption of the upper class, praise man’s intellect and love; he affirms men and women’s right to pursue their happiness and oppose the dogma of asceticism preached by church.♦IV. Chaucer’s co ntributions:a.Forerunner of humanismb.The first realistic writerc.Father of English poetryd.Master of the English languagePart Two: The English RenaissanceHistorical BackgroundRenaissance and HumanismMain literary form:poetry Edmund Spencerdrama: most important William Shakespeareessay: (prose) Francis BaconThe English Renaissance1. Renaissance in Europea. It began in the 14th century in Italy.b. nature: a cultural and intellectual movementc. content: there arose a current for the study of Greek and Latin authors; ageneral dissatisfaction at the catholic and feudal ideas.d. two striking features: curiosity for classical literatureinterest in the activities of humanityII. Historical BackgroundThe establishment of Tudor Dynasty(1485-1603)Religious ReformationThe establishment of ProtestantismCommercial expansion abroadThe war with Spain(English bourgeoisie fought for existence and power)III. Renaissance and HumanismHumanisma.Nature: a literary and philosophical system of thought which attempt to placethe affairs of mankind at the center of its concerns.b.Origin: in Italyc.Source: based on a new reading of Greek and Roman literature, and anaffirmation of the importance of Platonic philosophy and reinterpretation of the writings of Aristotle.d.Idea: It took the life of man in the presence as a major interest.e.Humanism was one of the most important factors giving rise to theRenaissance. It is an attitude rather than a philosophy.The main traits of the Renaissance Literaturea. Its chief characteristic is the expression of secular values with man instead ofGod as the center of the universe.b. It emphasizes the dignity of man, affirms and eulogizes the value of man.c. It advocates the full expression of individualism and the fulfillment of one’sabilities against the despotic rule of the feudalism.d. It affirms the delight of earthly achievement as well as men’s desire for happiness and pleasure.PoetryI.Two poets before the Elizabethan Age:Thomas Wyatt; Henry Howard , Earl of Surreya. sonnet: an exact form of poetry in 14 lines of iambic pentameter rhymed, introduced to England from Italy by Sir Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey.b. Surrey: the first English blank verse, the form of poetry to be later masterly handled by Shakespeare and Milton.Two poets before the Elizabethan Agec. the songs and sonnets by Wyatt and Surrey was the first anthology of English lyric poems.II.Two poets of the Elizabethan Age1. Philip Sidneya. life: well-known as a poet and critic of poetry. He is Spencer’s friend. Spencerwrote Shepherd’s Calendar to dedicate to him. He was a courtier, a scholarand soldier.b. his collection of love sonnets:Astrophel and Stellac. criticism:Apology for Poetry: represent the spirit of literary criticism of the Renaissance.2. Edmund Spencera. life : a minor noble family, good education, the Poet’s poet ,buried inWestminster Abbey.b. works:1) The Shepherds’ calendar2) Amorettia sequence of 88 sonnets, containing Spencer’s love poems to his future wife,Elizabeth Boyle.Question: what are most famous Sonnet sequences of the Elizabethan Age?3) Masterpiece : Faerie QueenPlanned in 12 books but only 6 finished.Content: In the epic each hero or heroine represents a virtue. In the course of their trials, they come to fully embody that virtue. The virtues areHoliness, Temperance, Chastity, Friendship, Justice, and Courtesy.Form: allegoryLanguage: has sweet melody and its lines are very musicalVerse form: “Spenserian Stanza”Spenserian Stanza: First eight lines are iambic pentameter and ninth has twomore syllables, rhyming ababbcbcc.theme: 1)nationalism 2) humanism 3) PuritanismInfluence: used by all the later poets, especially imitated by the romantic poets of the 19th century.( Byron, Shelley, Keats)Everything in the story has two levels — as part of the story and as part of the allegory, or symbolic meaning. This can be seen in Book I, which summarizes the whole poem. As a Romantic adventure, this is the story of the Redcrosse Knight and Lady Una searching for Una’s parents, who are trapped by a dragon. The knight kills the dragon and so wins the right to be the lad y’s husband. As a spiritual allegory, this is the story of a soul’s encounter with the seven deadly sins, its separation from and reunion with the one faith, and its final salvation by divine grace.c. school-belong: like Lyly and Sidney, Spencer was a court poet.d. position: as a model of poetical art among the Renaissance English poets, the 1stto make English the natural music in poetry.ProseI. Biblea)Translation of Bible: the first complete English Bible was translated by JohnWycliffe(1324-1384), the morning star of the Reformation, and his followers.( from Latin to English)b)The authorized version of Bible: translated under the auspice of James I in1611 and so it was called the King James Bible. This version is simple and dignified in language.( modern English has been fixed and confirmed.)II.The greatest humanist: Thomas Morea.w as born in a middle-class family. humanist leader of the early 16th century,a scholar, master of Latin, witty talker, music lover, great thinker; once LordChancellor; beheaded on a false charge of treason.b.MasterpieceUtopia in 1516(in Latin) translated into English in 1551.Form: a conversation between More and a returned voyager.Comment :a. He is a far-sighted thinker, living on the eve of the bourgeois revolution.b. More was the first to see the relation between wealth and poverty and tobring up the ideal of communist society. He was one of the forerunner of modern socialist thought.Question:What is More’s Limitation?III.Bacon( the most important prose writer)Sir Francis Bacon was an English writer, philosopher and statesman and was educated in Cambridge. When he was fourteen, Bacon finished his education and went to Paris. In the French capital, he began to know humanism.In 1584, Francis Bacon was elected for the House of Commons and started his political career. Bacon advised for the union of England and Scotland and suggested ways to deal with Roman Catholics. For all these he had done, he was given the title of knight in 1603. By the time of James I, he was named as Lord Chancellor in 1618. In 1621, he was accused by Parliament and they said that he had accepted bribes. For this reason his political career ended.Drama:1. Three kinds of drama:a. the Miracle play: it is the root of English drama. It is based on Bible stories. Miracles were first performed in the church.b. the Morality play: It presents the conflict of good and evil with allegorical personages such as Mercy, Peace, Hate, Fally, etc.)( eg: Everyman)c. the Interlude: a short performance during the break.( eg: the play of the weather)2. Two influences on Elizabethan Drama1) influence from the classics. (Greek and Latin drama)2) influence from the popular drama.3. Gammer Gurton’s needle is the first English comedy, describing a quarrel over the loss of a needle.Gorboduc is the first English tragedy.The morality play Everyman at the end of 15th century makes the beginning of modern English drama.4. The London theatre and the audience5. playwrights:a. the university wits: they are Lily, Peele, Marlowe, Greene, Lodge and Nash, etc.The most influential is Marlowe. They had studied at the Universities of Oxford or Cambridge and then set up as professional writers, selling their learning and their “ wits” to the London public of playgoers and reading public as well.b. Marlowec. Shakespeared. Ben Jonsonb. MarloweWorks: (tragedies)Doctor Faustus( for knowledge)Tamburlaine ( based on a German Legend, ambition)Jew of Malta ( greed for wealth)Themes of his plays:scorn of orthodox creedspraise of individuality , freed from the restraints of medieval dogmas and law. Position and achievements:He was the predecessor of ShakespeareHe was the greatest pioneer of English drama.His two achievements: 1) He first made blank verse (unrhymed iambic drama),the principal instrument of English drama.2) He replaced the stilted heroes of drama in the past by men of vitality and passion. He created the Renaissance hero for English drama. ShakespeareLife :Four periods in play- writingHis comediesHis tragediesHistorical playsPoetical worksFeatures of Shakespeare’s dramaFour periods in play-writing1st period:Features:a) It’s Shakespeare’s early experimental period. It is marked by youthfulness and rich imagination.b) by extravagance of languagec) by the frequent use of rhymed couplets with blank versed) He looked down upon the world as a just one. Justice would eventually win in the end.e) Love, faith, work and duty were the four elements that made the world right.Works: P 582nd period:Features:a)He worked as a master in play writingb)It was a period of rapid growth and development of his artistic power.c)He had a keen insight into human nature, great power of expression andgenius for constructing a play.d)This period belongs to his best history plays.Works: P603rd period:features:a)The period of gloom and depressionb)He was concerned with deposit matters of human life.c)He grew in experience, in vision and in sympathyd)His belief and trust in mankind had been shattered.e)He produced his four greatest tragedies.Works: P624th period:features:a) a period of unrealistic compromise and fantasyb) a period of restored serenity and tolerant resignationc)He sounds again a note of calm and hope and serene wisdom.d)His latest plays including Tempest have happy endings.Works:P63His comediesShakespeare wrote his comedies in his early period. In these plays he portrayed the young people who had just freed themselves from the feudal fetters. He sang of their youth, their love and ideal of happiness. The heroes and heroines were sons and daughters of the Renaissance. They trust not in God or King but in themselves.Two groups of characters:Women characters:16 comedies together. His main comedies are: Merchant of Venice; AMidsummer Night’s Dream; As you like it; Twelfth Night.His tragediesShakespeare’s great tragedi es are associated with a period of gloom and sorrow in his life. During this period, England witnessed a general unrest, and social contradictions became very sharp. What caused the writer’s personal sadness is unknown to us. It is generally attributed to the political misfortune of his friend and patron, Earl of Essex, who was killed by the Queen.Shakespeare wrote 11 tragedies. His main tragedies are: Hamlet; Othello; King Lear; Macbeth. All these plays express a profound dissatisfaction with life.They show the struggle and conflicts between good and evils, between justice and injustice. In these plays, the writer Shakespeare condemns the dark andevil society.Historical playsShakespeare’s historical plays are political plays. The principal idea of thes e plays is the necessity for national unity under one sovereign. At his time, this idea was anti-feudal in nature; and it summed up the general opinion of the rising bourgeoisie in Shakespeare’s own day. Among Shakespeare’s 10 historical plays, Henry IV and Henry V are two remarkable plays.Shakespeare’s poetical worksVenus and Adonis ; Lucrece are two long narrative poems.The bulk of Shakespeare's sonnets were written between 1593 and 1598. Each line of a sonnet is in iambic pentameter, and the rhyme scheme is abab cdcd efef gg. His 154 sonnets seem to fall into two series:One series are addressed to W. H, evidently a patron, and the other addressed to "dark lady" who played the poet false. For depth of sentiment, for mastery of diction, for perfection of finish, they are among the most excellent of Elizabethan poetry.Features of Shakespeare’s dramaa) progressive significance of his themeb) successful character portrayalc) master hand in constructing playsd) the ingenuity of his poetrye) mastery of English languageBen JonsonI.Introduction:Poet, critic, poet’s laureate; Successor of Shakespeare. He was the greatest writers of comedy after Shakespeare.II.His plays:1)His plays are written according to “ humors ”. Every charac ter in hiscomedies personified a definite humor, so his characters are like caricature.2)His plays were not deep but had much surface energy.3)His masterpieces are Velpone and The AlchemistIII. His contribution:a) humorb) forerunner of classicismEnglish Literature in the seventeenth CenturyI .Social Backgroundthe English Revolution and the RestorationII. Literary characteristics:1. literature of the Revolution periodPuritan literature period is different from the literature of Elizabethan period in the following aspects:1) Elizabethan literature had a marked unity and the feeling of patriotism anddevotion to the Queen, but in the Revolution Period，all this was changed, the king became the open enemy of the people, and the country was divided by the struggle for political and religious liberty. So literature was as divided in spirit as were the struggling parties.2) Elizabethan literature was generally inspiring. It throbbed with youth andhope and vitality．Literature in the Puritan Age expressed age and sadness.Even its brightest hours were followed by gloom and pessimism.3) Elizabethan literature was intensely romantic．The romantic spirit sprangfrom the heart of youth．People believed all things, even the impossible．But in literature of the Puritan period, we cannot find any romantic ardor.2.The main literary form of the period was poetry．Among the poets, Milton was the greatest. Besides him, there were two other groups of poets, the Metaphysical Poets and the Cavalier Poets.3. Puritanism was the religious doctrine of the revolutionary bourgeoisie during this period. It preached thrift, sobriety, hard work, but with very little extravagant enjoyment of the fruits of labor. Worldly pleasures were condemned as harmful. This was precisely the outlook needed by the bourgeoisie for the accumulation of capital.Though there were many clever men in England during the latter half of the seventeenth century, there were only two minds which possessed the imaginative faculty in a very eminent degree. One of these minds produced the Paradise Lost, the other The Pilgrim's ProgressJohn Bunyan(约翰·班扬)1.life:son of a tinker. After receiving his early education at the Bedford grammar school ,he followed his father’ s trade. Later, He joine d a Baptist society and became a preacher. Soon he became active both in preaching and writing. After restoration, he was arrested and kept in prison for preaching. He was the chief puritan writer to participate in the struggle against the corrupt fedual-aristocratic regimes of charlies II and James II after John Milton.2.Works: Pilgrim’s Progress<<天路历程>>Bunyan’s most important work and one of the most popular books in the English languages, was written in the form of an allegory.Allegory(寓言)It loosely describes any writing in verse or prose that has a double meaning.This fictional literary narrative acts as an extended metaphor in which persons, abstract ideas, or events represent not only themselves on the literal level, but also stand for something else on the symbolic level. An allegorical reading usually involves moral or spiritual concepts that may be more significant than the actual, literal events described in a narrative.It is a prose narrative symbolically concerning the human soul’s pilg rimage through temptation and doubt to reach salvation.Other important allegorical works include Spencer’s Faerie Queen and Swift’s Gulliver’s travels.Pilgrim’s ProgressI. life:Milton is the greatest writer of the seventeenth century. Mastering the ancient languages and literature : Greek, Latin；“ the lady of the Christ” “ spokesman of the Revolution”. Milton was sent to Christ’s college, Cambridge, where he acquired a good knowledge of Latin. He was famous for his personal beauty and strictness of his l ife and was nicknamed “ the lady of the Christ’s”.II. literary career:a) up to 1641( First period)He was greatly influenced by humanism and the spirit of Elizabethan Age. His important poem is Lycidas, a pastoral elegy on the death of a college mate. b) From 1641 to 1654( second period)He wrote no poems but political essays and pamphlets.Areopafitica called for freedom of press. (prose)“ Defence of the English people”“ Second Defence of the English people”Pamphlets on marriagec) From 1655 to 1671( third period)Paradise Lost ( masterpiece)Paradise RegainedSamson AgonistesIII. works:a. Paradise Lost:epic in 12 books, written in blank versesource: old Testamenttheme: a revolt against God’s authoritythe fall of men ; man’s disobe dience and the loss of paradise; thepowers of man; craving for knowledgeimage: Satan1) the real hero of the poem2) He is a very firm revolt against God and makes man revolt against God3) Though defeated he won the respects of his angles.4) He is the spirit questioning the authority of God.b. Samson Agonistespoetical drama, modeled on the Greek tragedies, from the “ Book of Judges” in Old Testament”.Common between Samson and MiltonJohn MiltonIV. Features of Milton’s poetry:a. Milton is a great revolutionary poet of the 17th century. He was also anoutstanding political pamphleteer of the revolution period. He dedicated himself to the revolutionary cause. He made a strong influence on the laterEnglish poetry. Every progressive English poet since Milton has drawn inspiration from him.b. Milton is a great stylistHis poetry has a grand style. That is because he made a life-long study of classical and Biblical literature. His poetry is noted for sublimity of thought and majesty of expression.c. Milton is a great master of blank verse.He is the glorious pioneer to introduce blank verse into non-dramatic poetry. He has used it as the main tool in his masterpiece “ Paradise Lost”. His blank verse is rich in every poetic quality and never monotonous.d. Milton wrote the greatest epic in English literature. He made a strong influenceto later English poetry.V. Exercise:How do you understand these plots?1. God was surrounded by his angles, who never think of expressing anyopinions of their own.2. Satan and his followers freely discuss all issues in council. Why did Miltondesign the plots in such a way? Based on the text of Paradise Lost, how do you think Milton would justify his alterations of and additions to the Bible, given the fact that he was a devout Christian?Answer: It seems that Milton writes this epic to "justify the ways of God to men", but actually, it is not. God is depicted as a despot. This contradiction can be explained by the fact that Milton is a devout Christian, a Puritan, on one hand, and a fervent revolutionary, Republican, on the other. So we may say, that Milton's original purpose might be "to justify the ways of God to men", but it turns out to be an eloquent expression of the revolutionary spirit of the English bourgeois revolution, a call to resist tyranny and to continue the fight for freedom. Herein lies the significance of the work.3.Satan is the most well-developed character in Paradise Lost. Is he asympathetic character?Answer: One reason that Satan is easy to sympathize with is that he is much more like us than God or the Son are. As the embodiment of human errors, he is much easier for us to imagine and empathize with than an omniscient deity. Satan’s character and psychology are all very human, and his e nvy, pride, and despair are understandable given his situation. But Satan’s speeches, while undeniably moving, subtly display their own inconsistency and error.When Satan first sees Earth and Paradise in Book III, he is overcome with grief.His description of his situation is eloquent; his expression of pain is moving.Perhaps we pity Satan as he struggles to find his new identity while reflecting on his recent mistakes. Likewise, his feeling of despair resonates with feelings that all human beings underg o at some point. However, Satan’s despair becomes fuel for his ever-increasing evil, rather than the foundation for repentance. His anger and irrationality overcomes him, and he resolves to。

英国文学史笔记学习资料

英国文学史简介英国文学史简介楼主一、中世纪文学（约5世纪-1485）英国最初的文学同其他国家最初的文学一样，不是书面的，而是口头的。

故事与传说口头流传，并在讲述中不断得到加工、扩展，最后才有写本。

公元5世纪中叶，盎格鲁、撒克逊、朱特三个日耳曼部落开始从丹麦以及现在的荷兰一带地区迁入不列颠。

盎格鲁-撒克逊时代给我们留下的古英语文学作品中，最重要的一部是《贝奥武甫》（beowulf），它被认为是英国的民族史诗。

《贝奥武甫》讲述主人公贝尔武甫斩妖除魔、与火龙搏斗的故事，具有神话传奇色彩。

这部作品取材于日耳曼民间传说，随盎格鲁-撒克逊人入侵传入今天的英国，现在我们所看到的诗是8世纪初由英格兰诗人写定的，当时，不列颠正处于从中世纪异教社会向以基督教文化为主导的新型社会过渡的时期。

因此，《贝奥武甫》也反映了7、8世纪不列颠的生活风貌，呈现出新旧生活方式的混合，兼有氏族时期的英雄主义和封建时期的理想，体现了非基督教日耳曼文化和基督教文化两种不同的传统。

二、文艺复兴时期文学（15世纪后期-17世纪初）相对于欧洲其他国家来说，英国的文艺复兴起始较晚，通常认为是在15世纪末。

文艺复兴时期形成的思想体系被称为人文主义，它主张以人为本，反对中世纪以神为中心的世界观，提倡积极进取、享受现世欢乐的生活理想。

托马斯·莫尔（Thomas more， 1478-1535）是英国最主要的早期人文主义者，他的《乌托邦》（utopia）批评了当时的英国和欧洲社会，设计了一个社会平等、财产公有、人们和谐相处的理想国。

utopia现已成为空想主义的代名词，但乌托邦是作者对当时社会状况进行严肃思考的结果。

《乌托邦》开创了英国哲理幻想小说传统的先河，这一传统从培根的《新大西岛》（the new Atlantis）、斯威夫特的《格列佛游记》（gulliver's travels）、勃特勒的《埃瑞璜》（erewhon）一直延续到20世纪的科幻小说。

英国文学简史笔记(完整版)

Chapter 1伊丽莎白统治之前的时代分为三个阶段：古英语（安格鲁撒克逊）时期，中世纪英语（安格鲁诺曼）时期，伊丽莎白统治前时期。

大不列颠岛相继被卡尔特人、罗马人和安格鲁撒克逊人占据。

【 The Old English (Anglo-Saxon) Period 】✧sign: the Stonehenge（巨石阵）prehistoric monumental pile of stones Celts（凯尔特人）were probably the first inhabitants of the British Isles in recorded history.One of their tribes, the Britons（不列颠人）， came over in the 5th century BC. 亚瑟王传奇 Arthurian legends 500 yearsRoman Conquest, Julius Caesar（尤里乌斯凯撒） 55BC500 yearsAnglo-Saxon Conquest, 5th centuryIn 597 AD the Anglo-Saxons began to be converted to Christianity.pagan elements/regular elementsreligion elementsIn the second half of the 7th century, the first English poet, Caedmon byname， began to sing.Another century passed, Beowulf.In the 9th century, King Alfred decided that literature should be writtenin the vernacular（方言） of Old English.✧With the arrival of St. Augustine in 597 AD and the subsequent spread of Christianinfluence and classical learning, heathen poetry was maneuvered out of the scene.a time of intermingling（过渡时期） of the pagan with the Christian components in poetry.1. Thenational epic of English people, a pagan poem2. An epic of well over 3000 lines.3. The greatest epic ever left by the ancient Germanic tribes.4. The most ancient ever since the demise of the Greek andRoman literatures.5. The only organic whole poem to come out of the Anglo-Saxonperiod.6. The story takes place in Scandinavia, no mention ofEngland.7. Anglo Saxon’s early life in Englandth century hero, Beowulf. It is basicallya two-part narrative——Beowulf’s fight with the sea-monstersGrendel and his mother in the first part, and his killing a fierydragon and his death in the second.1.human desire for some super power to conquer nature.2.great tradition of realism（现实主义传统）Versification:1.Pagan story has an Christian overlay（覆盖物，表面）.（作诗法）The mixture of pagan and Christian elements2. using of kenning(一种描写手法)e.g.: sea is often ‚swan’s way‛ or ‚whale-path.3. conspicious occurrence of alliteration(头韵).4. narrator of the poem, the ‚I‛ is aminstrel/scop/gleeman（吟游诗人）5. story’s digressive manner of narration.6. elevated tone（提高的音调）.7. the use of metaphors and understatements✧Then the pagan was superseded（超过） by the religious spirit, and minstrels（吟游诗人） gave way to learned men.✧Caedmon（凯德蒙）: the first known poet in English literary history.✧The Ecclesiastical History of England（英格兰教会史）by the venerable Bede（比得）.欧洲最早的编年史：Anglo-Saxon Chronicle（编年史）founded by King Alfred the Great （阿尔弗雷德大帝）.【 Medieval（中世纪）Literature: a brief introduction 】✧☑In 1066, ____, with his Norman army, succeeded in invading and defeating England.A. William the ConquerorB. Julius CaesarC. Alfred the GreatD. Claudius☑After the Norman Conquest, three languages existed in England at that time. The Normans spoke _____.A. FrenchB. EnglishC. LatinD. SwedishThe changes and replacement of dynasty and government:The Norman line of kings90 years1154 Angevin kingsKing Henry Ⅱ and his descendants 245 years1399 The House of Lancaster✧William the Conqueror grabbed Anglo-Saxon land by force and gave it tohis nobles and followers.A historical record of Anglo-Saxon institutions, customs, and way oflife（十字军东征）A serious of wars between Christians and the Muslims (1096-1270)The first communication between east and west（大宪章）King John was forced to recognize the rights of the powerful barons.（男爵）（Duke公 Marquis侯 Count伯 Viscount子 Baron爵）Norman and Anglo-Saxon elements began to coalesce into one nation, andthe English language started to revive.The emergence of nation（民族兴起）✧传奇：The Growth of the Arthurian Legends（亚瑟王传奇）Not put down on paper until 1147 Geoffrey of Monmouth came out with hisLatin Historia Reugm Britanniae.Be enriched by a good number of later writers.1205 Layamon wrote his cast verse work of 32,000 lines Brut in English.The beginning of the revival of English as a literary medium骑士文学：Sir Gawain and the Green Knight:(《高文爵士和绿骑士》)or prose.☑The prevailing form of Medieval English literature is ____.A. novelB. dramaC. romanceD. essay☑The story of ___ is the culmination of the Arthurian romances.A. Sir Gawain and the Green KnightB. BeowulfC. Piers the PlowmanD. The Canterbury Tales☑The theme of ____ to king and lord was repeatedly emphasized in romances.A. loyaltyB. revoltC. obedienceD. mockeryA famous roman about King Arthur’s storyA 4-part work of 2,530 lines in 101 sections.knightly virtues: loyalty, valor（勇猛）,rectitude（正直）,and integrity.One Christmas（故事发生的时间）1.某年圣诞节，亚瑟王在自己的宫廷里举行宴会。

英国文学史笔记

英国文学史笔记Christopher Marlowe William ShakespeareAlexander Pope Edmund SpenserHenry Fielding Samuel RichardsonGeoffrey Chaucer Thomas MoreSamuel Taylor Coleridge Jane Austen Jonathan SwiftHenry Fielding Samuel Richardson William ShakespeareJohn Milton Daniel DefoeWilliam Blake William WordsworthJonathan Swift Ben JonsonThe Anglo-Saxon period (the 11th~14th centuries)Beowulf : the most important piece ;forming period of English literatureBeowulf is the national epic(史诗) of Anglo-Saxon period, while Beowulf is the great warrior of …Beowulf is the oldest surviving epic in British literature. A rich fabric(结构) of fact and fancy.“I shall perform the deeds of hero or I have passed my last day in this mead hall.”The 14th century-the age of ChaucerGeoffrey Chaucer, the writer of The Canterbury Tales. While most of his contemporaries are busy writing with French(the language of court) and Latin( the language of church), Chaucer is experimenting with the vernacular(本国的) English.The Arthurian LegendsGeoffrey Chaucer: father of English literature and poetry, a great master of English language.Anthology 诗选The 15th century-the transitional periodThe transitional period between the age of Chaucer and the age of Shakespeare with the popular ballad, Robin Hood Ballad, as the most representative form of literature.Rabin Hood ballads are popular ballads dealing with the famous outlaw……Thomas MoreThomas More –Utopia (written in 1515)This book contains (1) a realistic picture of early 16th century England: social evilsare exposed and attacked (2) the first sketch of the ideal commonwealth by an English writer.Limitations of the book: Utopia(1)His dream world did not have its sound political, economic and socialbases.(2)His indifferent attitude toward slavery and his actual contempt for physicallabor.(3)Contradictions in his world outlook.The Elizabethan AgeEdmund Spenser – The Faerie QueenEnglish poet, born in LondonChristopher Marlowe – Doctor FaustusPlaywright, greatest dramatist before ShakespeareDr. Faustus is a play based on the German legend of a magician aspiring for knowledge and finally meeting his tragic end as a result of selling his soul to the Devil.Ben JonsonWilliam Shakespeare (1564-1616)He is English playwright and poet, and is recognized in much of the world as the greatest dramatist.Dramatic Works:William Shakespeare has 37 plays to his credit.JULIET:'Tis but thy name that is my enemy;Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot,Nor arm, nor face, nor any other partBelonging to a man. O, be some other name!What's in a name? that which we call a roseBy any other name would smell as sweet;So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd,Retain that dear perfection which he owes Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name,And for that name which is no part of theeTake all myself.Love’s Labor’s Lost 爱的徒劳The Merchant of V eniceThe Comedy of Errors 错误的喜剧Julius Caesar 凯撒The Two Gentlemen of V eronaPeriod of Romantic Comedies (1595-1600)Four great comedies:The Merchant of V enice – PortiaAs Y ou Like It – RosalindMuch Ado About Nothing – BeatriceTwelfth Night – ViolaThe Taming of the Shrew 驯悍记Merry Wives of WindsorA Midsummer-Night’s DreamMature Period (1601-1609)This is the period of tragedies. Four great tragedies:Othello ; King Lear ; Hamlet ; MacbethShakespeare’s Contribution to Drama(1)themes of progressive significance(2)masterful character portrayal(3)adroit plot construction(4)great freedom and ease in the use of languageThe Jacobean AgeBen Jonson (1573-1637)The most important playwright among Shakespeare’s contemporariesEvery Man in His Humor“comedy of humors”The Jacobean Prose:Francis Bacon (1561-1626)Francis Bacon was an important scientist, philosopher and essayist.“Real founder of English materialism and experimental sciences of modern times in general.”– Marx 唯物主义从他开始(1)New InstrumentIn this work Bacon introduced the inductive method to the science.(2)The New AtlantisIn this book Bacon described a utopian society –a fictitious land where his principles of collaborative research have been put into effect in a great agricultural and mechanical experimental station called Solomon’s House.(3)Essays:T hese essays reflect the author’s views on political, social and personal problems and in turn the bourgeois ideals and limitations of a man.*Conciseness of expression and simplicity of dictions are the two chief characteristics of Bacon’s style. Bacon’s essays exerted important influence on the development of English prose. They are the first “essays” in English.Of StudiesThe English Revolution PeriodMetaphysical poets: 玄学派诗人(1) John Donne(2) John MiltonMilton is often considered the greatest English poet after William Shakespeare. 1)Paradise Lost : greatest epic poem of MiltonIt deals with the fall of man, Satan’s revolt against God and man’s loss of Paradise. The first three lines of Paradise Lost:Of Man’s first disobedience, and the first fruitOf that forbidden tree whose mortal tasteBrought death into the World, and all our woe2)Paradise Regained :Another epic dealing with the redemption of man by Christ3)Samson Agonistes(3)John BunyanSpoke for common people; “the Immortal Tinker”Most famous one “Pilgrim’s Progress”天路历程has become a world classic.V anity Fair 名利场The Life and Death of Mr. Badman(4)John DrydenThe most prominent poet, dramatist, translator, literature critic of Revolution Period, the greatest neoclassicist of the Restoration Period, the age of Dryden Introduced “heroic play”–drama in epic mode; grand, rhetorical and declamatory; its themes being love and honorBest-known piece of literary criticism is An Essay of Dramatic Poesy, written in the form of a dialogue.Three Unities “三一律”The EnlightenmentTwo groups of English Enlighteners(1)Those in favor of partial reform :Pope, Defoe, Addison and Steele and Richardson(2)The more radical wing :Swift, Fielding, Smollett, Sheridan and GoldsmithAlexander PopeHis most famous poem, “The Rape of the Lock”–夺发记An ingenious mock(1)Enlightener (2) neo-classicist (3) satirist (4) brilliant poet (5) had a greatinfluenceChief Works:1. An Essay on Criticism:A manifesto of neo-classicismAncient poets are highly praised and rules are laid down to be observed.2. An Essay on Man:The best known and the most quoted of all Pope’s works.3. Moral EssaysA good style as “proper words in proper places” is defineThe names of Joseph Addison and Richard Steele have always been linkedwith the literary periodicals – The Tattler and The Spectator..Daniel Defoe (1660-1731)English novelist and journalistProlific 多产的Defoe’s first and most famous novel, “The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe”– Alexander Selkirk (原型)∙ A Letter to a Dissenter from his Friend at the Hague, 1688∙Essay on Projects, 1697∙True Born Englishman: A Satyr, 1701. -∙The Shortest-Way with the Dissenters, 1702.∙Hymn to the Pillory, 1703∙ A True Relation of the Apparition of One Mrs Veal, 1705∙The Consolidator, 1705∙Giving Alms No Charity, 1704.∙Everybody's Business is Nobody's Business∙The Family Instructor, 1715∙Dickory Cronke, the Dumb Philosopher, 1719∙On the Education of Women, 1719∙The Life and Strange Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, 1719.∙The Further Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, 1719∙The Life of Captain Singleton, 1720.∙Memoirs of a Cavalier, 1720∙The Fortunes and Misfortunes of Moll Flanders, 1722.∙Colonel Jack, 1722.∙Tour Through Eastern Counties of England, 1722∙From London to Land's End∙Journal of the Plague Year, 1722.∙Roxana, 1724∙The Great Law of Subordination Considered, 1724.∙ A General History of the Robberies and Murder of the Most Notorious Pyrates (attrib.), 1724-8 - excerpts∙ A Tour Through the Whole Island of Great Britain, 1724-7.∙The Complete English Tradesman, 1725-7. - excerpts∙The Political History of the Devil, 1726∙An Essay on the History and Reality of Apparitions, 1727∙London the Most Flourishing City in the Universe, 1728∙The Serious Reflections of Robinson Crusoe, 1729Poems: The True-Born Englishman; A Hymn to the PilloryPicaresque Novel 流浪汉式小说Earliest English picaresque novel is believed to have been The Unfortunate Traveler or, The Life of Jack Wilton (1594) by Thomas.Jonathan SwiftAnglo-Irish satirist and political pamphleteer, considered one of the greatest masters of English prose. He was born in Dublin.A Modest ProposalSwift’s masterpiece Travel into Several Remote Nations of the World, more popularly titled Gulliver’s Travels. It was an instant success. It was an attack on human society. It is at once a fantasy and a realistic work of fiction.Prose: The Battle of Book; A Tale of a TubSamuel RichardsonHis novels are in epistolary form(a series of letters).A founder of the English modern novel and an outstanding novelist.(1)PamelaThe first epistolary novel in the English language; sometimes called the first modern English novel because of its “penetrating” psychological analysis.(2) ClarissaIt is the longest novel in Britain and generally considered Richardson’s masterpiece. Significance:1.sympathy for women2.psychological study *3.exposure of the moral hypocrisyHenry FieldingHe has been considered the real founder of modern fiction.Fielding’s masterpiece:The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling (1749)1)one of the great English novels2)is in the picaresque traditionTobias George SmollettA versatile and prolific writerThe comic inventiveness of character and incident greatl y influenced the work of English novelist Charles Dickens.He has three important novels:1.Roderick Random:The first sea novel in English literature, written more or less in the picaresque tradition and narrated in the first person.2.Peregrine Pickle:A picaresque novel3. Humphrey ClinkerWritten in the epistolary formLaurence Sterne1. Tristram ShandyMeditation 沉思,冥想The novel is considered a precursor to the modern novel and the technique of “stream of consciousness.”2. A Sentimental Journey:Sterne enjoys a European fame. He not only has his far-reaching influence upon English writers of later days, especially on Byron and Thackeray, but also upon Diderot(狄德罗) and Rousseau(卢梭) and V oltaire(伏尔泰)Sterne’s fame rests chiefly on his two books, Tristram Shandy and A Sentimental Journey, especially the former..The Gothic RomancesThe Castle of Otranto (1764)Considered the first Gothic novel in EnglishMary Shelley 这一时期的代表Shelley’s wife 雪莱之妻Frankenstein: the first and most important workThe Domestic Novels:1)Fanny Burney: Evelina2)Jane Austen: Pride and PrejudiceThe former described the fashionable society in London, while the latter the life oflanded gentry in provincial England.Richard SheridanComedy: The Rivals and The School for ScandalThe 18th– Century ProseSamuel JohnsonEnglish writer and lexicographer,a major figure in 18th–century literature. In 1755, Johnson published his Dictionary of the English Language,which took him eight years to complete. The dictionary contains about 40,000 entries with vivid, idiosyncratic definitions and an extraordinary range of examples. The Dictionary of the English Language is the first kind of English dictionary.Thomas GrayBest known poem: Elegy Written in a Country ChurchyardRobert BurnsHe is Scottish poet and writer of traditional Scottish folk songs, whose works are known and loved wherever the English language is read.He has been considered the greatest Scottish poet. His love songs are unsurpassed.He is a many-sided genius:Poet: A Red, Red RoseWilliam BlakeHe is an important English poet at the turn of the 19th century.Blake should be remembered chiefly for his bitter social criticism, for his fight for freedom, and for his lyricism.The Songs of Experience is certainly the most important of all Blake’s poetry.Poem: The Chimney SweeperLondonThe TigerWilliam Wordsworth (1770-1850)1. English poet, one of the most accomplished and influential of England’sromantic poets.2. Themes: freedom, folk, mature3. The DaffodilsI wandered lonely as a cloud,That floats on high o’er vales and hills,When all at once I saw a crowd,A host of golden daffodils;Beside the lake, beneath the trees,Byron was notorious for his love affairs and unconventional lifestyle⏹He died while working to secure Greek independence from the Turks.⏹The “Byronic hero”— lonely, rebellious, and brooding— first appeared inManfred (1817).Among his other works are Childe Harold(1812-1818), The Prisoner of Chillon (1816), and the epic satire Don Juan (1819-1824).⏹Since the 1920s, his poetry has exerted considerable influence upon theChinese poets, and with the translation of some of his poems into the Chinese language, his name has become well known to the general reading public in China.●In 1822, shortly before his 30th birthday, Shelley was drowned in a stormwhile sailing.●In the final stanza—which ends with the now famous line “If Wintercomes, can Spring be far behind?”—Shelley appeals to the wind to help him spread the moral and political messages of his work.● A Defense of Poetry lays emphasis on the social educative role of poetry●. Byron only attacked political tyranny, but Shelley also saw the cruel relations of economic exploitation in the feudal-bourgeois world.Shelley had faith in the collective strength of the people and worked for the interests of the masses while Byron thought more of one’s personal happiness and sorrow and he believed chiefly in the might of individual heroes but had contempt for the common people.●Marx once said, “The real difference between Byron and Shelley is this:those who understand them and love them rejoice that Byron died at 36, because if he had lived he would become a reactionary bourgeois, theygrieve that Shelley died at 29, because he was essentially a revolutionist and he would always have been one of the advanced guard of socialism.”•John Keats (1795-1821), English poet, and an influential figure of the romantic movement.Ode to a Nightingale is possibly one of the most poignant expressions of Keats’ intense personal yearning for freedom from human misery as he fell under the magic of the nightingale’s song.•John Keats is remembered for his melodious, rich verse, and is considered one of the greatest English poets.Scottish writer Sir Walter Scott is considered the first major European historical novelist.l Scott’s historical novels may be conveniently divided into three main groups which coincided with the three periods in his creative career: l(1) The history of Scotlandl(2) English historyl(3) European historyl Novels on English historyl e.g. Ivanhoe: the struggle of Anglo-Saxon peasantry against their oppressors the Norman lords, in the last part of the 12th century.l Jane Austen (1775-1817), major English novelist, whose brilliantly witty, elegantly structured satirical fiction marks the transition in English literature from 18th-century neoclassicism to 19th-century romanticism.Austen was born near Basingstoke.l In her first period, from 1796 to 1798, she wrote Sense and Sensibility(1811), Pride and Prejudice(1813), and Northanger Abbey (1818); these novels did not find a publisher for several years after their composition.l Austen's second period of productivity began in 1811 after the publication of Sense and Sensibility.l She produced in quick succession her last three novels: Mansfield Park (1814), Emma (1816), and Persuasion (1818).It is a truth universally acknowledged thatWho are the main characters of "Wuthering Heights"?I'm just lost. There are way too many characters, and I'm having trouble picking out the main characters.For example, would Mr. Lockwood be considered one? He's only listening to the story that Mrs. Dean is telling him.So please, can anyone write the name of all the main characters?1.Redscar has given you a terrific outline of the characters inthis novel. The only thing I might add is this: not all characters in fiction are considered "main characters". Characters have different roles in literature. For example, Mr. Lockwood and Nellie Dean are characters, but they are both used as vehicles for advancing the plot.This is a technique the author uses to tell the story in retrospect.Nellie narrates the story to Mr. Lockwood but Nellie is also a character in the action that has taken place in the past. She has experienced the tale she is telling to Mr. Lockwood. She is both a storyteller and part of the plot itself. Keep in mind that Nellie's story is biased, however, but this too has its purpose in the novel.2.It is my opinion (and some will disagree) that the two maincharacters of this novel are Heathcliff and Catherine. Wuthering Heights is THEIR story. All of the other characters have significance only as they relate to Heathcliff and Catherine. In other novels, there are many subplots, and so it can be said that there are many "main" characters, but in this novel, the entire story is about Heathcliff and Catherine.Even after Catherine dies and the younger generation comes into play, the story is still about Catherine and Heathcliff because Heathcliff cannot give Catherine up. So, I think if you really want to boil things down, Catherine and Heathcliff are the two main characters and all of the other characters are vehicles that enrich their story.。

英国文学笔记整理

英国文学笔记整理英国文学史考试要点听课笔记（2006）1、it is ―Beowulf‖,the national epic of the English people.《贝奥武夫》（Beowulf），又译贝奥武甫，完成于西元八世纪，约750年左右的英雄叙事长诗，长达3000行。

故事的舞台位于北欧的斯堪的纳维亚半岛。

是以古英语记载的传说中最古老的一篇，在语言学方面也是相当珍贵的文献。

贝奥武夫（Beowulf）乃现存古英文文学中最伟大之作，也是欧洲最早的方言史诗。

该诗中并未提及英国，但学者相信该诗约於西元七二五年左右在英国完成。

全诗凡三千一百八十二行，以斯堪地那维亚的英雄贝奥武夫的英勇事迹构成主要内容。

虽然历史上并未证实确有贝奥武夫其人，但诗中所提及的许多其他人物与事迹却得到印证。

Features of ―Beowulf‖:The most striking feature i n its poetical form is the use of alliteration. Other features of ―Beowulf‖ are the use of metaphors and of understatements.本诗原以西撒克逊方言写成，押头韵而不押尾韵，用双字隐喻而不用明喻。

全诗内容分为两部分：第一部分描叙丹麦霍格国王（King Hrothgurs）宏伟的宫殿，在前后十二年中，半人半魔的妖怪格兰戴（Grendel）每晚出没捉食霍格的战士。

此时恰巧瑞典南部济兹（Geats）王子贝奥武夫率家臣来访，协助除害。

国王当晚设宴款待，熟料妖怪格兰戴又复出现，捉食一名济兹战士，贝奥武夫与之格斗，贝氏扭断其臂，妖怪落荒而逃，因受重伤致死。

第二天晚上，格兰戴的母亲前来为其子复仇，其后贝氏把她在一湖泊的洞穴中杀死。

第二部分描叙贝奥武夫返国，被拥为王，前后五十年，举国大治。

最后贝奥武夫以垂老之年，杀一喷火巨龙，但其个人亦因而身受重创，终於身死。

英国文学简史完全笔记

英国文学简史完全笔记A Concise History of British LiteratureChapter 1 English Literature of Anglo-Saxon PeriodI.Introduction1. The historical background（1）Before the Germanic invasion（2）During the Germanic invasiona. immigration;b. Christianity;c. heptarchy.d. social classes structure: hide-hundred; eoldermen （lord）– thane - middle class （freemen）- lower class （slave or bondmen: theow）;e. social organization: clan or tribes.f. military Organization;g. Church function: spirit, civil service, education;h. economy: coins, trade, slavery;i. feasts and festival: Halloween, Easter; j. legal system.2. The Overview of the culture（1）The mixture of pagan and Christian spirit.（2）Literature: a. poetry: two types; b. prose: two figures.II.Beowulf.1. A general introduction.2. The content.3. The literary features.（1）the use of alliteration（2）the use of metaphors and understatements（3）the mixture of pagan and Christian elementsIII.The Old English Prose1.What is prose?2.figures（1）The V enerable Bede（2）Alfred the GreatChapter 2 English Literature of the Late Medieval Ages I.Introduction1. The Historical Background.（1）The year 1066: Norman Conquest.（2）The social situations soon after the conquest.A. Norman nobles and serfs;B. restoration of the church.（3）The 11th century.A. the crusade and knights.B. dominance of French and Latin;（4）The 12th century.A. the centralized government;B. kings and the church （Henry II and Thomas）;（5）The 13th century.A. The legend of Robin Hood;B. Magna Carta （1215）;C. the beginning of the ParliamentD. English and Latin: official languages （the end）（6）The 14th century.a. the House of Lords and the House of Commons—conflict between the Parliament and Kings;b. the rise of towns.c. the change of Church.d. the role of women.e. the Hundred Years' War—starting.f. the development of the trade: London.g. the Black Death.h. the Peasants' Revolt—1381.i. The translation of Bible by Wycliff.（7）The 15th century.a. The Peasants Revolt （1453）b. The War of Roses between Lancasters and Yorks.c. the printing-press—William Caxton.d. the starting of Tudor Monarchy（1485）2. The Overview of Literature.（1）the stories from the Celtic lands of Wales and Brittany—great myths of the Middle Ages. （2）Geoffrye of Monmouth—Historia Regum Britanniae—King Authur.（3）Wace—Le Roman de Brut.（4）The romance.（5）the second half of the 14th century: Langland, Gawin poet, Chaucer.II.Sir Gawin and Green Knight.1. a general introduction.2. the plot.III.William Langland.1. Life2. Piers the PlowmanIV.Chaucer1. Life2. Literary Career: three periods（1）French period（2）Italian period（3）master period3. The Canterbury TalesA. The Framework;B. The General Prologue;C. The Tale Proper.4. His Contribution.（1）He introduced from France the rhymed stanza of various types.（2）He is the first great poet who wrote in the current English language.（3）The spoken English of the time consisted of several dialects, and Chaucer did much in making the dialect of London the standard for the modern English speech.V. Popular Ballads.VI.Thomas Malory and English ProseVII.The beginning of English Drama.1. Miracle Plays.Miracle play or mystery play is a form of medieval drama that came from dramatization of the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church. It developed from the 10th to the 16th century, reaching its height in the 15th century. The simple lyric character of the early texts was enlarged by the addition of dialogue and dramatic action. Eventually the performance was moved to the churchyard and the marketplace.2. Morality Plays.A morality play is a play enforcing a moral truth or lesson by means of the speech and action of characters which are personified abstractions – figures representing vices and virtues, qualities of the human mind, or abstract conceptions in general.3. Interlude.The interlude, which grew out of the morality, was intended, as its name implies, to be used more as a filler than as the main part of an entertainment. As its best it was short, witty, simple in plot, suited for the diversion of guests at a banquet, or for the relaxation of the audience between the divisions of a serious play. It was essentially an indoors performance, and generally of an aristocratic nature.Chapter 3 English Literature in the Renaissance I.A Historical BackgroundII.The Overview of the Literature （1485-1660）Printing press—readership—growth of middle class—trade-education for laypeople-centralization of power-intellectual life-exploration-new impetus and direction of literature.Humanism-study of the literature of classical antiquity and reformed education.Literary style-modeled on the ancients.The effect of humanism-the dissemination of the cultivated, clear, and sensible attitude of its classically educated adherents.1. poetryThe first tendency by Sidney and Spenser: ornate, florid, highly figured style.The second tendency by Donne: metaphysical style—complexity and ingenuity.The third tendency by Johnson: reaction——Classically pure and restrained style.The fourth tendency by Milton: central Christian and Biblical tradition.2. Dramaa. the native tradition and classical examples.b. the drama stands highest in popular estimation: Marlowe – Shakespeare – Jonson.3. Prosea. translation of Bible;b. More;c. Bacon.II.English poetry.1. Sir Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard （courtly makers）（1）Wyatt: introducing sonnets.（2）Howard: introducing sonnets and writing the first blank verse.2. Sir Philip Sidney—poet, critic, prose writer（1）Life:a. English gentleman;b. brilliant and fascinating personality;c. courtier.（2）worksa. Arcadia: pastoral romance;b. Astrophel and Stella （108）: sonnet sequence to Penelope Dvereux—platonic devotion. Petrarchan conceits and original feelings-moving to creativeness—building of a narrative story; theme-love originality-act of writing.c. Defense of Poesy: an apology for imaginative literature—beginning of literary criticism.3. Edmund Spenser（1）life: Cambridge - Sidney's friend - ―Areopagus‖ – Ireland - Westminster Abbey.（2）worksa. The Shepherds Calendar: the budding of English poetry in Renaissance.b. Amoretti and Epithalamion: sonnet sequencec. Faerie Queene:l The general end——A romantic and allegorical epic—steps to virtue.l 12 books and 12 virtues: Holiness, temperance, justice and courtesy.l Two-level function: part of the story and part of allegory （symbolic meaning）l Many allusions to classical writers.l Themes: puritanism, nationalism, humanism and Renaissance Neoclassicism—a Christian humanist. （3）Spenserian Stanza.III.English Prose1. Thomas More（1）Life: ―Renaissance man‖, scholar, statesman, theorist, prose writer, diplomat, patron of artsa. learned Greek at Canterbury College, Oxford;b. studies law at Lincoln Inn;c. Lord Chancellor;d. beheaded.（2）Utopia: the first English science fiction.Written in Latin, two parts, the second—place of nowhere.A philosophical mariner （Raphael Hythloday）tells his voyages in which he discovers a land-Utopia.a. The part one is organized as dialogue with mariner depicting his philosophy.b. The part two is a description of the island kingdom where gold and silver are worn by criminal, religious freedom is total and no one owns anything.c. the nature of the book: attacking the chief political and social evils of his time.d. the book and the Republic: an attempt to describe the Republic in a new way, but it possesses anmodern character and the resemblance is in externals.e. it played a key role in the Humanist awakening of the 16th century which moved away from the Medieval otherworldliness towards Renaissance secularism.f. the Utopia（3）the significance.a. it was the first champion of national ideas and national languages; it created a national prose, equally adapted to handling scientific and artistic material.b. a elegant Latin scholar and the father of English prose: he composed works in English, translated from Latin into English biography, wrote History of Richard III.2. Francis Bacon: writer, philosopher and statesman（1）life: Cambridge - humanism in Paris –knighted - Lord Chancellor –bribery - focusing on philosophy and literature.（2）philosophical ideas: Advancement of science—people: servants and interpreters of nature—method: a child before nature—facts and observations: experimental.（3）―Essays‖: 57.a. he was a master of numerous and varied styles.b. his method is to weigh and balance maters, indicating the ideal course of action and the practical one, pointing out the advantages and disadvantages of each, but leaving the reader to make the final decisions. （arguments）IV.English Drama1. A general survey.（1）Everyman marks the beginning of modern drama.（2）two influences.a. the classics: classical in form and English in content;b. native or popular drama.（3）the University Wits.2. Christopher Marlowe: greatest playwright before Shakespeare and most gifted of the Wits.（1）Life: first interested in classical poetry—then in drama.（2）Major worksa. Tamburlaine;b. The Jew of Malta;c. The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus.（3）The significance of his plays.V. William Shakespeare1. Life（1）1564, Stratford-on-Avon;（2）Grammar School;（3）Queen visit to Castle;（4）marriage to Anne Hathaway;（5）London, the Globe Theatre: small part and proprietor;（6）the 1st Folio, Quarto;（7）Retired, son—Hamnet; H. 1616.2. Dramatic career3. Major plays-men-centered.（1）Romeo and Juliet——tragic love and fate（2）The Merchant of Venice.Good over evil.Anti-Semitism.（3）Henry IV.National unity.Falstaff.（4）Julius CaesarRepublicanism vs. dictatorship.（5）HamletRevengeGood/evil.（6）OthelloDiabolic characterjealousygap between appearance and reality.（7）King LearFilial ingratitude（8）MacbethAmbition vs. fate.（9）Antony and Cleopatra.Passion vs. reason（10）The TempestReconciliation; reality and illusion.3. Non-dramatic poetry（1）Venus and Adonis; The Rape of Lucrece.（2）Sonnets:a. theme: fair, true, kind.b. two major parts: a handsome young man of noble birth; a lady in dark complexion.c. the form: three quatrains and a couplet.d. the rhyme scheme: abab, cdcd, efef, gg.VI.Ben Jonson1. life: poet, dramatist, a Latin and Greek scholar, the ―literary king‖ （Sons of Ben）2.contribution:（1）the idea of ―humour‖.（2）an advocate of classical drama and a forerunner of classicism in English literature.3. Major plays（1）Everyone in His Humour—―humour‖; three unities.（2）V olpone the FoxChapter 4 English Literature of the 17th Century I.A Historical BackgroundII.The Overview of the Literature （1640-1688）1. The revolution period（1）The metaphysical poets;（2）The Cavalier poets.（3）Milton: the literary and philosophical heritage of the Renaissance merged with Protestant political and moral conviction2. The restoration period.（1）The restoration of Charles II ushered in a literature characterized by reason, moderation, good taste, deft management, and simplicity. （school of Ben Jonson）（2）The ideals of impartial investigation and scientific experimentation promoted by the newly founded Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge （1662）were influential in the development of clear and simple prose as an instrument of rational communication.（3）The great philosophical and political treatises of the time emphasize rationalism.（4）The restoration drama.（5）The Age of Dryden.III.John Milton1. Life: educated at Cambridge—visiting the continent—involved into the revolution—persecuted—writing epics.2. Literary career.（1）The 1st period was up to 1641, during which time he is to be seen chiefly as a son of the humanists and Elizabethans, although his Puritanism is not absent. L'Allegre and IL Pens eroso （1632）are his early masterpieces, in which we find Milton a true offspring of the Renaissance, a scholar of exquisite taste and rare culture. Next came Comus, a masque. The greatest of early creations was Lycidas, a pastoral elegy on the death of a college mate, Edward King.（2）The second period is from 1641 to 1654, when the Puritan was in such complete ascendancy that he wrote almost no poetry. In 1641, he began a long period of pamphleteering for the puritan cause. For some 15 years, the Puritan in him alone ruled his writing. He sacrificed his poetic ambition to the call of the liberty for which Puritans were fighting.（3）The third period is from 1655 to 1671, when humanist and Puritan have been fused into an exalted entity. This period is the greatest in his literary life, epics and some famous sonnets. The three long poems are the fruit of the long contest within Milton of Renaissance tradition and his Puritan faith. They form the greatest accomplishments of any English poet except Shakespeare. In Milton alone, it would seem, Puritanism could not extinguish the lover of beauty. In these works we find humanism and Puritanism merged in magnificence.3. Major Works（1）Paradise Losta. the plot.b. characters.c. theme: justify the ways of God to man.（2）Paradise Regained.（3）Samson Agonistes.4. Features of Milton's works.（1）Milton is one of the very few truly great English writers who is also a prominent figure in politics, and who is both a great poet and an important prose writer. The two most essential things to be remembered about him are his Puritanism and his republicanism.（2）Milton wrote many different types of poetry. He is especially a great master of blank verse. He learned much from Shakespeare and first used blank verse in non-dramatic works.（3）Milton is a great stylist. He is famous for his grand style noted for its dignity and polish,which is the result of his life-long classical and biblical study.（4）Milton has always been admired for his sublimity of thought and majesty of expression. IV.John Bunyan1. life:（1）puritan age;（2）poor family;（3）parliamentary army;（4）Baptist society, preacher;（5）prison, writing the book.2. The Pilgrim Progress（1）The allegory in dream form.（2）the plot.（3）the theme.V. Metaphysical Poets and Cavalier Poets.1. Metaphysical PoetsThe term ―metaphysical poetry‖ is commonly used to designate the works of the 17th century writers who wrote under the influence of John Donne. Pressured by the harsh, uncomfortable and curious age, the metaphysical poets sought to shatter myths and replace them with new philosophies, new sciences, new words and new poetry. They tried to break away from the conventional fashion of Elizabethan love poetry, and favoured in poetry for a more colloquial language and tone, a tightness of expression and the single-minded working out of a theme or argument.2. Cavalier PoetsThe other group prevailing in this period was that of Cavalier poets. They were often courtiers who stood on the side of the king, and called themselves ―sons‖ of Ben Jonson. The Cavalier poets wrote light poetry, polished and elegant, amorous and gay, but often superficial. Most of their verses were short songs, pretty madrigals, love fancies characterized by lightness of heart and of morals. Cavalier poems have the limpidity of the Elizabethan lyric without its imaginative flights. They are lighter and neater but less fresh than the Elizabethan's.VI.John Dryden.1. Life:（1）the representative of classicism in the Restoration.（2）poet, dramatist, critic, prose writer, satirist.（3）changeable in attitude.（4）Literary career—four decades.（5）Poet Laureate2. His influences.（1）He established the heroic couplet as the fashion for satiric, didactic, and descriptive poetry. （2）He developed a direct and concise prose style.（3）He developed the art of literary criticism in his essays and in the numerous prefaces to his poems.Chapter 5 English Literature of the 18th Century I.Introduction1. The Historical Background.2. The literary overview.（1）The Enlightenment.（2）The rise of English novels.When the literary historian seeks to assign to each age its favourite form of literature, he finds no difficulty in dealing with our own time. As the Middle Ages delighted in long romantic narrative poems, the Elizabethans in drama, the Englishman of the reigns of Anne and the early Georges in didactic and satirical verse, so the public of our day is enamored of the novel. Almost all types of literary production continue to appear, but whether we judge from the lists of publishers, the statistics of public libraries, or general conversation, we find abundant evidence of the enormous preponderance of this kind of literary entertainment in popular favour.（3）Neo-classicism: a revival in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries of classical standards of order, balance, and harmony in literature. John Dryden and Alexander Pope were major exponents of the neo-classical school.（4）Satiric literature.（5）SentimentalismII.Neo-classicism. （a general description）1. Alexander Pope（1）Life:a.Catholic family;b.ill health;c.taught himself by reading and translating;d.friend of Addison, Steele and Swift.（2）three groups of poems:e.An Essay on Criticism （manifesto of neo-classicism）;f. The Rape of Lock;g.Translation of two epics.（3）His contribution:h.the heroic couplet—finish, elegance, wit, pointedness;i.satire.（4）weakness: lack of imagination.2. Addison and Steele（1）Richard Steele: poet, playwright, essayist, publisher of newspaper.（2）Joseph Addison: studies at Oxford, secretary of state, created a literary periodical ―Spectator‖ （with Steele, 1711）（3）Spectator Club.（4）The significance of their essays.a. Their writi ngs in ―The Tatler‖, and ―The Spectator‖ provide a new code of social morality for the rising bourgeoisie.b. They give a true picture of the social life of England in the 18th century.c. In their hands, the English essay completely established itself as a literary genre. Using it as a form of character sketching and story telling, they ushered in the dawn of the modern novel.3. Samuel Johnson—poet, critic, essayist, lexicographer, editor.（1）Life:a.studies at Oxford;b.made a living by writing and translating;c.the great cham of literature.（2）works: poem （The Vanity of Human Wishes, London）; criticism （The Lives of great Poets）; preface.（3）The champion of neoclassical ideas.III.Literature of Satire: Jonathan Swift.1.Life:（1）born in Ireland;（2）studies at Trinity College;（3）worked as a secretary;（4）the chief editor of The Examiner;（5）the Dean of St. Patrick's in Dublin.2. Works: The Battle of Books, A Tale of a Tub, A Modest Proposal, Gulliver's Travels.3. Gulliver's Travels.Part I. Satire—the Whig and the Tories, Anglican Church and Catholic Church.Part II. Satire—the legal system; condemnation of war.Part III. Satire—ridiculous scientific experiment.Part IV. Satire—mankind.IV.English Novels of Realistic tradition.1. The Rise of novels.（1）Early forms: folk tale – fables – myths – epic – poetry – romances – fabliaux – novelle - imaginative nature of their material. （imaginative narrative）（2）The rise of the novela.picaresque novel in Spain and England （16th century）: Of or relating to a genre of prose fiction that originated in Spain and depicts in realistic detail the adventures of a roguish hero, often with satiric or humorous effects.b.Sidney: Arcadia.c. Addison and Steele: The Spectator.（plot and characterization and realism）（3）novel and drama （17the century）2. Daniel Defoe—novelist, poet, pamphleteer, publisher, merchant, journalist.）（1）Life:a.business career;b.writing career;c.interested in politics.（2）Robinson Cusoe.a. the story.b. the significance of the character.c. the features of his novels.d. the style of language.3. Henry Fielding—novelist.（1）Life:a.unsuccessful dramatic career;b.legal career; writing career.（2）works.（3）Tom Jones.a.the plot;b.characters: Tom, Blifil, Sophia;c.significance.（4）the theory of realism.（5）the style of language.V. Writers of Sentimentalism.1. Introduction2. Samuel Richardson—novelist, moralist （One who is unduly concerned with the morals of others.）（1）Life:a.printer book seller;b.letter writer.（2）Pamela, Virtue Rewarded.a.the storyb.the significancePamela was a new thing in these ways:a）It discarded the ―improbable and marvelous‖ accomplishments of the former heroic romances, and pictured the life and love of ordinary people.b）Its intension was to afford not merely entertainment but also moral instruction.c）It described not only the sayings and doings of characters but their also their secret thoughts and feelings. It was, in fact, the first English psycho-analytical novel.3. Oliver Goldsmith—poet and novelist.A. Life:a.born in Ireland;b.a singer and tale-teller, a life of vagabondage;c.bookseller;d.the Literary Club;e.a miserable life;f. the most lovable character in English literature.B. The Vicar of Wakefield.a.story;b.the signicance.VI.English Drama of the 18th century1. The decline of the drama2. Richard Brinsley SheridenA. life.B. works: Rivals, The School for Scandals.C. significance of his plays.a. The Rivals and The School for Scandal are generally regarded as important links between the masterpieces of Shakespeare and those of Bernard Shaw, and as true classics in English comedy.b. In his plays, morality is the constant theme. He is much concerned with the current moral issues and lashes harshly at the social vices of the day.c. Sheridan's greatness also lies in his theatrical art. He seems to have inherited from his parents anatural ability and inborn knowledge about the theatre. His plays are the product of a dramatic genius as well as of a well-versed theatrical man.d. His plots are well-organized, his characters, either major or minor, are all sharply drawn, and his manipulation of such devices as disguise, mistaken identity and dramatic irony is masterly. Witty dialogues and neat and decent language also make a characteristic of his plays.Chapter 6 English Literature of the Romantic Age I.Introduction1. Historical Background2. Literary Overview: RomanticismCharacteristics of Romanticism:（1）The spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings（2）The creation of a world of imagination（3）The return to nature for material（4）Sympathy with the humble and glorification of the commonplace（5）Emphasis upon the expression of individual genius（6）The return to Milton and the Elizabethans for literary models（7）The interest in old stories and medieval romances（8）A sense of melancholy and loneliness（9）The rebellious spiritII.Pre-Romantics1. Robert Burns（1）Life: French Revolution（2）Features of poetrya. Burns is chiefly remembered for his songs written in the Scottish dialect.b. His poems are usually devoid of artificial ornament and have a great charm of simplicity.c. His poems are especially appreciated for their musical effect.d. His political and satirical poems are noted for his passionate love for freedom and fiery sentiments of hatred against tyranny.（3）Significance of his poetryHis poetry marks an epoch in the history of English literature. They suggested that the spirit of the Romantic revival was embodied in this obscure ploughman. Love, humour, pathos, the response to nature – all the poetic qualities that touch the human heart are in his poems, which marked the sunrise of another day – the day of Romanticism.2. William Blake（1）life: French Revolution（2）works.l Songs of Innocencel Songs of Experience（3）featuresa. sympathy with the French Revolutionb. hatred for 18th century conformity and social institutionc. attitude of revolt against authorityd. strong protest against restrictive codes（4）his influenceBlake is often regarded as a symbolist and mystic, and he has exerted a great influence ontwentieth century writers. His peculiarities of thought and imaginative vision have in many ways proved far more congenial to the 20th century than they were to the 19th.III.Romantic Poets of the first generation1. Introduction2. William Wordsworth: representative poet, chief spokesman of Romantic poetry（1）Life:a.love nature;b.Cambridge;c.tour to France;d.French revolution;e.Dorathy;f. The Lake District;g.friend of Coleridge;h.conservative after revolution.（2）works:a. the Lyrical Ballads （preface）: significanceb. The Prelude: a biographical poem.c. the other poems（3）Features of his poems.a.ThemeA constant theme of his poetry was the growth of the human spirit through the natural description with expressions of inward states of mind.b.characteristics of style.His poems are characterized by a sympathy with the poor, simple peasants, and a passionate love of nature.3. Samuel Taylor Coleridge: poet and critic（1）Life:a.Cambridge;b.friend with Southey and Wordsworth;c.taking opium.（2）works.l The fall of Robespierrel The Rime of the Ancient Marinerl Kubla Khanl Biographia Literaria（3）Biographia Literaria.（4）His criticismHe was one of the first critics to give close critical attention to language. In both poetry and criticism, his work is outstanding, but it is typical of him that his critical work is very scattered and disorganized.IV.Romantic Poets of the Second Generation.1. Introduction2. George Gordon Byron（1）Life:a.Cambridge, published poems and reviews;b.a tour of Europe and the East;c.left England;d.friend with Shelley;e.worked in Greece: national hero;f. radical and sympathetic with French Revolution.（2）Works.l Don Juanl When We Two Partedl She Walks in Beauty（3）Byronic Hero.Byron introduced into English poetry a new style of character, which as often been referred to as ―Byronic Hero‖ of ―satanic spirit‖. People imagined that they saw something of Byron himself in these strange figures of rebels, pirates, and desperate adventurers.（4）Poetic style: loose, fluent and vivid3. Percy Bysshe Shelley: poet and critic（1）Life:a.aristocratic family;b.rebellious heart;c.Oxford;d.Irish national liberation Movement;e.disciple of William Godwin;f. marriage with Harriet, and Marry;g.left England and wandered in EUrope, died in Italy;h.radical and sympathetic with the French revolution;i. Friend with Byron（2）works: two types – violent reformer and wanderer（3）Characteristics of poems.a.pursuit of a better society;b.radian beauty;c. superb artistry: imagination.（4）Defense of Poetry.4. John Keats.（1）Life:a.from a poor family;b.Cockney School;c.friend with Byron and Shelley;d.attacked by the conservatives and died in Italy.（2）works.（3）Characteristics of poemsa.loved beauty;b.seeking refuge in an idealistic world of illusions and dreams.V. Novelists of the Romantic Age.1. Water Scott. Novelist and poet。

简明英国文学史笔记整理

简明英国文学史笔记整理
英国文学史可以追溯到古罗马时期，从那时起就有大量的古典文献流传下来。

十七世纪开始，英国文学便进入了一个重要的发展阶段，此时出现了一批重要的文学作家，如莎士比亚、乔叟等。

十八世纪是伊丽莎白时期，英国文学出现了多面性的发展，此时出现的文学作家有荒诞主义创始人博罗斯基、浪漫主义诗人华兹华斯等。

19世纪英国文学发展迅速，出现了大量伟大的作家，如狄更斯、奥斯卡王尔德、萧伯纳等。

20世纪，现代主义文学派站稳脚跟，英国文学又有了新的发展，让许多伟大的作家如福克纳、厄普代克等留下了众多精彩的文学作品。

《英国文学简史》完整版笔记

英国文学简史完全版A Concise History of British LiteratureChapter 1 English Literature of Anglo-Saxon PeriodI. Introduction1. The historical background（1）Before the Germanic invasion（2）During the Germanic invasiona. immigration;b. Christianity;c. heptarchy.d. social classes structure: hide-hundred; eoldermen （lord）– thane - middle class （freemen）- lower class （slave or bondmen: theow）;e. social organization: clan or tribes.f. military Organization;g. Church function: spirit, civil service, education;h. economy: coins, trade, slavery;i. feasts and festival: Halloween, Easter; j. legal system.2. The Overview of the culture（1）The mixture of pagan and Christian spirit.（2）Literature: a. Poetry: two types; b. prose: two figures.II. Beowulf.1. A general introduction.2. The content.3. The literary features.（1）the use of alliteration（2）the use of metaphors and understatements（3）the mixture of pagan and Christian elementsIII. The Old English Prose1. What is prose?2.figures（1）The Venerable Bede（2）Alfred the GreatChapter 2 English Literature of the Late Medieval Ages I.Introduction 1. The Historical Background.（1）The year 1066: Norman Conquest.（2）The social situations soon after the conquest.A. Norman nobles and serfs;B. restoration of the church.（3）The 11th century.A. the crusade and knights.B. dominance of French and Latin;（4）The 12th century.A. the centralized government;B. kings and the church （Henry II and Thomas）;（5）The 13th century.A. The legend of Robin Hood;B. Magna Carta （1215）;C. the beginning of the ParliamentD. English and Latin: official languages （the end）（6）The 14th century.a. the House of Lords and the House of Commons—conflict between the Parliament and Kings;b. the rise of towns.c. the change of Church.d. the role of women.e. the Hundred Years' War—starting.f. the development of the trade: London.g. the Black Death.h. the Peasants' Revolt—1381.i. The translation of Bible by Wycliffe.（7）The 15th century.a. The Peasants Revolt （1453）b. The War of Roses between Lancaster and Yorks.c. the printing-press—William Caxton.d. the starting of Tudor Monarchy（1485）2. The Overview of Literature.（1）the stories from the Celtic lands of Wales and Brittany—great myths of the Middle Ages.（2）Geoffrye of Monmouth—Historia Regum Britanniae—King Authur. （3）Wace—Le Roman de Brut.（4）The romance.（5）the second half of the 14th century: Langland, Gawin poet, Chaucer. II. Sir Gawin and Green Knight.1. A general introduction.2. The plot.III. William Langland.1. Life2. Piers the PlowmanIV. Chaucer1. Life2. Literary Career: three periods（1）French period（2）Italian period（3）master period3. The Canterbury TalesA. The Framework;B. The General Prologue;C. The Tale Proper.4. His Contribution.（1）He introduced from France the rhymed stanza of various types.（2）He is the first great poet who wrote in the current English language. （3）The spoken English of the time consisted of several dialects, and Chaucer did much in making the dialect of London the standard for the modern English speech.V. Popular Ballads.VI. Thomas Malory and English ProseVII. The beginning of English Drama.1. Miracle Plays.Miracle play or mystery play is a form of medieval drama that came from dramatization of the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church. It developed from the 10th to the 16th century, reaching its height in the 15th century. The simple lyric character of the early texts was enlarged by the addition of dialogue and dramatic action. Eventually the performance was moved to the churchyard and the marketplace.2. Morality Plays.A morality play is a play enforcing a moral truth or lesson by means of the speech and action of characters which are personified abstractions – figures representing vices and virtues, qualities of the human mind, or abstract conceptions in general.3. Interlude.The interlude, which grew out of the morality, was intended, as its name implies, to be used more as filler than as the main part of an entertainment. As its best it was short, witty, simple in plot, suited for the diversion of guests at a banquet, or for the relaxation of the audience between the divisions of a serious play. It was essentially an indoors performance, and generally of an aristocratic nature.Chapter 3 English Literature in the Renaissance I.A Historical Background II. The Overview of the Literature （1485-1660）Printing press—readership—growth of middle class—trade-education for laypeople-centralization of power-intellectual life-exploration-new impetus and direction of literature.Humanism-study of the literature of classical antiquity and reformed education.Literary style-modeled on the ancients.The effect of humanism-the dissemination of the cultivated, clear, and sensible attitude of its classically educated adherents.1. poetryThe first tendency by Sidney and Spenser: ornate, florid, highly figured style.The second tendency by Donne: metaphysical style—complexity and ingenuity.The third tendency by Johnson: reaction——Classically pure and restrained style.The fourth tendency by Milton: central Christian and Biblical tradition.2. Dramaa. the native tradition and classical examples.b. the drama stands highest in popular estimation: Marlowe – Shakespeare –Jonson.3. Prosea. translation of Bible;b. More;c. Bacon.II. English poetry.1. Sir Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard （courtly makers）（1）Wyatt: introducing sonnets.（2）Howard: introducing sonnets and writing the first blank verse.2. Sir Philip Sidney—poet, critic, prose writer（1）Life:a. English gentleman;b. brilliant and fascinating personality;c. courtier.（2）worksa. Arcadia: pastoral romance;b. Astrophel and Stella （108）: sonnet sequence to Penelope Dvereux—platonic devotion.Petrarchan conceits and original feelings-moving to creativeness—building of a narrative story; theme-love originality-act of writing.c. Defense of Poesy: an apology for imaginative literature—beginning of literary criticism.3. Edmund Spenser（1）life: Cambridge - Sidney's friend - “Areopagus” –Ireland - Westminster Abbey.（2）worksa. The Shepherds Calendar: the budding of English poetry in Renaissance.b. Amoretti and Epithalamion: sonnet sequencec. Faerie Queen:l The general end——A romantic and allegorical epic—steps to virtue.l 12 books and 12 virtues: Holiness, temperance, justice and courtesy.l Two-level function: part of the story and part of allegory （symbolic meaning）l Many allusions to classical writers.L Themes: puritanism, nationalism, humanism and Renaissance Neoclassicism—a Christian humanist.（3）Spenserian Stanza.III. English Prose1. Thomas More（1）Life: “Renaissance man”, scholar, statesman, theorist, prose writ er, diplomat, patron of artsa. learned Greek at Canterbury College, Oxford;b. studies law at Lincoln Inn;c. Lord Chancellor;d. beheaded.（2）Utopia: the first English science fiction.Written in Latin, two parts, the second—place of nowhere.A philosophical mariner （Raphael Hythloday）tells his voyages in which he discovers a land-Utopia.a. The part one is organized as dialogue with mariner depicting his philosophy.b. The part two is a description of the island kingdom where gold and silver are worn by criminal, religious freedom is total and no one owns anything.c. the nature of the book: attacking the chief political and social evils of his time.d. the book and the Republic: an attempt to describe the Republic in a new way, but it possesses an modern character and the resemblance is in externals.e. it played a key role in the Humanist awakening of the 16th century which moved away from the Medieval otherworldliness towards Renaissance secularism.f. the Utopia（3）the significance.a. it was the first champion of national ideas and national languages; it created a national prose, equally adapted to handling scientific and artistic material.b. a elegant Latin scholar and the father of English prose: he composed works in English, translated from Latin into English biography, wrote History of Richard III.2. Francis Bacon: writer, philosopher and statesman（1）life: Cambridge - humanism in Paris – knighted - Lord Chancellor –bribery - focusing on philosophy and literature.（2）philosophical ideas: advancement of science—people: servants and interpreters of nature—method: a child before nature—facts and observations: experimental.（3）“Essays”: 57.a. he was a master of numerous and varied styles.b. his method is to weigh and balance maters, indicating the ideal course of action and the practical one, pointing out the advantages and disadvantages of each, but leaving the reader to make the final decisions. （arguments）IV. English Drama1. A general survey.（1）Everyman marks the beginning of modern drama.（2）two influences.a. the classics: classical in form and English in content;b. native or popular drama.（3）the University Wits.2. Christopher Marlowe: greatest playwright before Shakespeare and most gifted of the Wits.（1）Life: first interested in classical poetry—then in drama.（2）Major worksa. Tamburlaine;b. The Jew of Malta;c. The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus.（3）The significance of his plays.V. William Shakespeare1. Life（1）1564, Stratford-on-Avon;（2）Grammar School;（3）Queen visit to Castle;（4）marriage to Anne Hathaway;（5）London, the Globe Theatre: small part and proprietor;（6）the 1st Folio, Quarto;（7）Retired, son—Hamlet; H. 1616.2. Dramatic career3. Major plays-men-centered.（1）Romeo and Juliet——tragic love and fate （2）The Merchant of Venice.Good over evil.Anti-Semitism.（3）Henry IV.National unity.Falstaff.（4）Julius CaesarRepublicanism vs. dictatorship.（5）HamletRevengeGood/evil.（6）OthelloDiabolic characterjealousygap between appearance and reality.（7）King LearFilial ingratitude（8）MacbethAmbition vs. fate.（9）Antony and Cleopatra.Passion vs. reason（10）The TempestReconciliation; reality and illusion.3. Non-dramatic poetry（1）Venus and Adonis; The Rape of Lucrece.（2）Sonnets:a. theme: fair, true, kind.b. two major parts: a handsome young man of noble birth; a lady in dark complexion.c. the form: three quatrains and a couplet.d. the rhyme scheme: abab, cdcd, efef, gg.VI. Ben Jonson1. life: poet, dramatist, a La tin and Greek scholar, the “literary king” （Sons of Ben）2.contribution:（1）the idea of “humor”.（2）an advocate of classical drama and a forerunner of classicism in English literature.3. Major plays（1）Everyone in His Humor—“humor”; three unities.（2）V olpone the FoxChapter 4 English Literature of the 17th CenturyI.A Historical BackgroundII. The Overview of the Literature （1640-1688）1. The revolution period（1） The metaphysical poets;（2） The Cavalier poets.（3） Milton: the literary and philosophical heritage of the Renaissance merged with Protestant political and moral conviction2. The restoration period.（1） The restoration of Charles II ushered in a literature characterized by reason, moderation, good taste, deft management, and simplicity. （school of Ben Jonson）（2） The ideals of impartial investigation and scientific experimentation promoted by the newly founded Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge （1662） were influential in the development of clear and simple prose as an instrument of rational communication.（3） The great philosophical and political treatises of the time emphasize rationalism.（4） The restoration drama.（5） The Age of Dryden.III. John Milton1. Life: educated at —visiting the continent—involved into the revolution—persecuted—writing epics.2. Literary career.（1） The 1st period was up to 1641, during which time he is to be seen chiefly as a son of the humanists and Elizabethans, although his Puritanism is not absent. L'Allegre and IL Pens eroso （1632） are his early masterpieces, in which we find Milton a true offspring of the Renaissance, a scholar of exquisite taste and rare culture. Next came Comus, a masque. The greatest of early creations was Lycidas, a pastoral elegy on the death of a college mate, Edward King.（2） The second period is from 1641 to 1654, when the Puritan was in such complete ascendancy that he wrote almost no poetry. In 1641, he began a long period of pamphleteeringfor the puritan cause. For some 15 years, the Puritan in him alone ruled his writing. He sacrificed his poetic ambition to the call of the liberty for which Puritans were fighting.（3） The third period is from 1655 to 1671, when humanist and Puritan have been fused into an exalted entity. This period is the greatest in his literary life, epics and some famous sonnets. The three long poems are the fruit of the long contest within Milton of Renaissance tradition and his Puritan faith. They form the greatest accomplishments of any English poet except Shakespeare. In alone, it would seem, Puritanism could not extinguish the lover of beauty. In these works we find humanism and Puritanism merged in magnificence.3. Major Works（1） Paradise Losta. the plot.b. characters.c. theme: justify the ways of God to man.（2） Paradise Regained.（3） Samson Agonistes.4. Features of 's works.（1） Milton is one of the very few truly great English writers who is also a prominent figure in politics, and who is both a great poet and an important prose writer. The two most essential things to be remembered about him are his Puritanism and his republicanism.（2） Milton wrote many different types of poetry. He is especially a great master of blank verse. He learned much from Shakespeare and first used blank verse in non-dramatic works.（3） Milton is a great stylist. He is famous for his grand style noted for its dignity and polish, which is the result of his life-long classical and biblical study.（4） Milton has always been admired for his sublimity of thought and majesty of expression.IV.John Bunyan1. Life:（1） puritan age;（2） poor family;（3） parliamentary army;（4） Baptist society, preacher;（5） prison, writing the book.2. The Pilgrim Progress（1） The allegory in dream form.（2） the plot.（3） the theme.V. Metaphysical Poets and Cavalier Poets.1. Metaphysical PoetsThe term “metaphysical poetry” is commonly used to designate the works of the 17th century writers who wrote under the influence of John Donne. Pressured by the harsh, uncomfortable and curious age, the metaphysical poets sought to shatter myths and replace them with new philosophies, new sciences, new words and new poetry. They tried to break away from the conventional fashion of Elizabethan love poetry, and favoured in poetry for a more colloquial language and tone, a tightness of expression and the single-minded working out ofa theme or argument.2. Cavalier PoetsThe other group prevailing in this period was that of Cavalier poets. They were often courtiers who stood on the side of the king, and called themselves “sons” of Ben Jonson. The Cavalier poets wrote light poetry, polished and elegant, amorous and gay, but often superficial. Most of their verses were short songs, pretty madrigals, love fancies characterized by lightness of heart and of morals. Cavalier poems have the limpidity of the Elizabethan lyric without its imaginative flights. They are lighter and neater but less fresh than the Elizabethan's.VI. John Dryden.1. Life:（1） the representative of classicism in the Restoration.（2） poet, dramatist, critic, prose writer, satirist.（3） changeable in attitude.（4） Literary career—four decades.（5） Poet Laureate2. His influences.（1） He established the heroic couplet as the fashion for satiric, didactic, and descriptive poetry.（2） He developed a direct and concise prose style.（3） He developed the art of literary criticism in his essays and in the numerous prefaces to his poems.Chapter 5 English Literature of the 18th CenturyI. Introduction1. The Historical Background.2. The literary overview.（1） The Enlightenment.（2） The rise of English novels.When the literary historian seeks to assign to each age its favourite form of literature, he finds no difficulty in dealing with our own time. As the Middle Ages delighted in long romantic narrative poems, the Elizabethans in drama, the Englishman of the reigns of Anne and the early Georges in didactic and satirical verse, so the public of our day is enamored of the novel. Almost all types of literary production continue to appear, but whether we judge from the lists of publishers, thestatistics of public libraries, or general conversation, we find abundant evidence of the enormous preponderance of this kind of literary entertainment in popular favor.（3） Neo-classicism: a revival in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries of classical standards of order, balance, and harmony in literature. John Dryden and Alexander Pope were major exponents of the neo-classical school.（4） Satiric literature.（5） SentimentalismII. Neo-classicism. （a general description）1. Alexander Pope（1）Life:a. Catholic family;b. ill health;c. taught himself by reading and translating;d. friend of Addison, Steele and Swift.（2）three groups of poems:e. An Essay on Criticism （manifesto of neo-classicism）;f. The Rape of Lock;g. Translation of two epics.（3）His contribution:h. the heroic couplet—finish, elegance, wit, pointedness;i. satire.（4） weakness: lack of imagination.2. Addison and Steele（1） Richard Steele: poet, playwright, essayist, publisher of newspaper.（2） Joseph Addison: studies at Oxford, secretary of state, created a literary periodical “Spectator” （with Steele, 1711）（3） Spectator Club.（4） The significance of their essays.a. Their writings in “The Tatler”, and “The Spectator” provide a new code of social morality for the rising bourgeoisie.b. They give a true picture of the social life of in the 18th century.c. In their hands, the English essay completely established itself as a literary genre. Using it as a form of character sketching and story telling, they ushered in the dawn of the modern novel.3. Samuel Johnson—poet, critic, essayist, lexicographer, editor.（1）Life:a. studies at ;b. made a living by writing and translating;c. the great cham of literature.（2） works: poem （The Vanity of Human Wishes, London）; criticism （The Lives of great Poets）; preface.（3） The champion of neoclassical ideas.III. Literature of Satire: Jonathan Swift.1. Life:（1）born in Ireland;（2）studies at Trinity College;（3）worked as a secretary;（4）the chief editor of The Examiner;（5）the Dean of St. Patrick's in .2. Works: The of Books, A Tale of a Tub, A Modest Proposal, Gulliver's Travels.3. Gulliver's Travels.Satire—the Whig and the Tories, Anglican Church and Catholic Church.Part II. Satire—the legal system; condemnation of war.Part III. Satire—ridiculous scientific experiment.Part IV. Satire—mankind.IV. English Novels of Realistic tradition.1. The Rise of novels.（1）Early forms: folk tale – fables – myths – epic –poetry –romances –fabliaux –novella - imaginative nature of their material. （imaginative narrative）（2）The rise of the novela. picaresque novel in Spain and England （16th century）: Of or relating to a genre of prose fiction that originated in Spain and depicts in realistic detail the adventures of a roguish hero, often with satiric or humorous effects.b. : .c. Addison and Steele: The Spectator.（plot and characterization and realism）（3） novel and drama （17the century）2. Daniel Defoe—novelist, poet, pamphleteer, publisher, merchant, journalist.）（1）Life:a. business career;b. writing career;c. interested in politics.（2） Robinson Crusoe.a. the story.b. the significance of the character.c. the features of his novels.d. the style of language.3. Henry Fielding—novelist.（1）Life:a. unsuccessful dramatic career;b. legal career; writing career. （2） works.（3） Tom Jones.a. the plot;b. characters: Tom, Blifil, Sophia;c. significance.（4） the theory of realism.（5） the style of language.V. Writers of Sentimentalism.1. Introduction2. Samuel Richardson—novelist, moralist （One who is unduly concerned with the morals of others.）（1）Life:a. printer book seller;b. letter writer.（2） Pamela, Virtue Rewarded.a. the storyb. the significancePamela was a new thing in these ways:a） It discarded th e “improbable and marvelous” accomplishments of the former heroic romances, and pictured the life and love of ordinary people.b） Its intension was to afford not merely entertainment but also moral instruction.c） It described not only the sayings and doings of characters but their also their secret thoughts and feelings. It was, in fact, the first English psycho-analytical novel.3. Oliver Goldsmith—poet and novelist.A. Life:a. born in ;b. a singer and tale-teller, a life of vagabondage;c. bookseller;d. the Literary Club;e. a miserable life;f. the most lovable character in English literature.B. The Vicar of .a. story;b. the signicance.VI. English Drama of the 18th century1. The decline of the drama2. Richard Brinsley SheridenA. life.B. works: Rivals, The School for Scandals.C. significance of his plays.a. The Rivals and The School for Scandal are generally regarded as important links between the masterpieces of Shakespeare and those of Bernard Shaw, and as true classics in English comedy.b. In his plays, morality is the constant theme. He is much concerned with the current moral issues and lashes harshly at the social vices of the day.c. 's greatness also lies in his theatrical art. He seems to have inherited from his parents a natural ability and inborn knowledge about the theatre. His plays are the product of a dramatic genius as well as of a well-versed theatrical man.d. His plots are well-organized, his characters, either major or minor, are all sharply drawn, and his manipulation of such devices as disguise, mistaken identity and dramatic irony is masterly. Witty dialogues and neat and decent language also make a characteristic of his plays.Chapter 6 English Literature of the Romantic AgeI. Introduction1. Historical Background2. Literary Overview: RomanticismCharacteristics of Romanticism:（1） The spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings（2） The creation of a world of imagination（3） The return to nature for material（4） Sympathy with the humble and glorification of the commonplace（5） Emphasis upon the expression of individual genius （6） The return to Milton and the Elizabethans for literary models（7） The interest in old stories and medieval romances （8） A sense of melancholy and loneliness（9） The rebellious spiritII. Pre-Romantics1. Robert Burns（1） Life: French Revolution（2） Features of poetrya. Burns is chiefly remembered for his songs written in the Scottish dialect.b. His poems are usually devoid of artificial ornament and have a great charm of simplicity.c. His poems are especially appreciated for their musical effect.d. His political and satirical poems are noted for his passionate love for freedom and fiery sentiments of hatred against tyranny.（3） Significance of his poetryHis poetry marks an epoch in the history of English literature. They suggested that the spirit of the Romantic revival was embodied in this obscure ploughman. Love, humor, pathos, the response to nature –all the poetic qualities that touch the human heart are in his poems, which marked the sunrise of another day – the day of Romanticism.2. William Blake（1） life: French Revolution（2） works.l Songs of Innocencel Songs of Experience（3） featuresa. sympathy with the French Revolutionb. hatred for 18th century conformity and social institutionc. attitude of revolt against authorityd. strong protest against restrictive codes（4） his influenceBlake is often regarded as a symbolist and mystic, and he has exerted a great influence on twentieth century writers. His peculiarities of thought and imaginative vision have in many ways proved far more congenial to the 20th century than they were to the 19th.III. Romantic Poets of the first generation1. Introduction2. William Wordsworth: representative poet, chief spokesman of Romantic poetry（1） Life:a. love nature;b. ;c. tour to ;d. French revolution;e. Dorathy;f. The ;g. friend of Coleridge;h. conservative after revolution.（2） works:a. the Lyrical Ballads （preface）: significanceb. The Prelude: a biographical poem.c. the other poems（3） Features of his poems.a. ThemeA constant theme of his poetry was the growth of the human spirit through the natural description with expressions of inward states of mind.b. characteristics of style.His poems are characterized by a sympathy with the poor, simple peasants, and a passionate love of nature.3. Samuel Taylor Coleridge: poet and critic（1） Life:a. ;b. friend with Southey and Wordsworth;c. taking opium.（2） works.l The fall of Robespierrel The Rime of the Ancient Marinerl Kubla Khanl Biographia Literaria（3） Biographia Literaria.（4） His criticismHe was one of the first critics to give close critical attention to language. In both poetry and criticism, his work is outstanding, but it is typical of him that his critical work is very scattered and disorganized.IV. Romantic Poets of the Second Generation.1. Introduction2. George Gordon Byron（1） Life:a. , published poems and reviews;b. a tour of and the East;c. left ;d. friend with Shelley;e. worked in : national hero;f. radical and sympathetic with French Revolution.（2） Works.l Don Juanl When We Two Partedl She Walks in Beauty（3） Byronic Hero.Byron introduced into English poetry a new style of character, which as often been referred to as “Byronic Hero” of “satanic spirit”.People imagined that they saw something of Byron himself in these strange figures of rebels, pirates, and desperate adventurers.（4） Poetic style: loose, fluent and vivid3. Percy Bysshe Shelley: poet and critic（1） Life:a. aristocratic family;b. rebellious heart;c. ;d. Irish national liberation Movement;e. disciple of William Godwin;f. marriage with Harriet, and Marry;g. left and wandered in EUrope, died in ;h. radical and sympathetic with the French revolution;i. Friend with Byron（2） works: two types – violent reformer and wanderer （3） Characteristics of poems.a. pursuit of a better society;b. radian beauty;c. superb artistry: imagination.（4） Defense of Poetry.4. John Keats.（1） Life:a. from a poor family;b. ;c. friend with Byron and Shelley;d. attacked by the conservatives and died in .（2） works.（3） Characteristics of poemsa. loved beauty;b. seeking refuge in an idealistic world of illusions and dreams.V. Novelists of the Romantic Age.1. Water Scott. Novelist and poet（1） Life:a. ;b. ;c. poem to novel;d. unsuccessful publishing firm;e. great contribution: historical novel.（2） three groups of novels。

英国文学史笔记学习资料

英国文学史简介英国文学史简介楼主一、中世纪文学（约5世纪-1485）英国最初的文学同其他国家最初的文学一样，不是书面的，而是口头的。

故事与传说口头流传，并在讲述中不断得到加工、扩展，最后才有写本。

公元5世纪中叶，盎格鲁、撒克逊、朱特三个日耳曼部落开始从丹麦以及现在的荷兰一带地区迁入不列颠。

盎格鲁-撒克逊时代给我们留下的古英语文学作品中，最重要的一部是《贝奥武甫》（beowulf），它被认为是英国的民族史诗。

《贝奥武甫》讲述主人公贝尔武甫斩妖除魔、与火龙搏斗的故事，具有神话传奇色彩。

二、文艺复兴时期文学（15世纪后期-17世纪初）相对于欧洲其他国家来说，英国的文艺复兴起始较晚，通常认为是在15世纪末。

文艺复兴时期形成的思想体系被称为人文主义，它主张以人为本，反对中世纪以神为中心的世界观，提倡积极进取、享受现世欢乐的生活理想。

utopia现已成为空想主义的代名词，但乌托邦是作者对当时社会状况进行严肃思考的结果。

刘炳善《英国文学简史》完整版笔记(汇编)

英国文学简史完全笔记Part one：early and medieval english literatureChapter 1: the making of england1 the Briton2 the Roman Consequent3 the English Consequent4 the social condition of the Anglo-SaxonsChapter 2: Beowulf<Beowulf>贝奥武夫:the national epic of the Anglo-SaxonsEpic: long narrative poems that record the adventures or heroic deeds of a hero enacted in vast landscapes. The style of epic is grand and elevated.e.g. Homer’s Iliad and OdysseyArtistic features:1 Using alliteration2 Using metaphor and understatementDefinition of alliteration: a rhetorical device, meaning some words in a sentence begin with the same consonant sound（头韵）Some examples on P5Definition of understatement: expressing something in a controlled way Understatement is a typical way for Englishmen to express their ideasChapter 3 : Feudal England1 the Norman Conquest:①the Danish invasionKing Alfred: the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle②the Norman Conquest:Marks the establishment of feudalism in England\2 Feuda EnglandSocial features of the Feuda England：Two classes（landlord and peasant）The miseries of the peasant：Black DeathThe raising of 13813 the Romance: knightFamous three:King ArthurSir Gawain and the Green KnightBeowulfChapter 4 William LanglandPiers The Plowman耕者皮尔斯:a picture of feudal England①the exposure of the ruling classes②the story of the Cat and Rats③the marriage of lady Meed④the condition of the peasants⑤the search for truth⑥a representative of the most oppressed section of the peasantryArtistic features:It is written in the form of a dream visionUsing symbolismChapter 5 the English Bllads民谣Oral literatureBallad: is a story told in song, usually in 4-line stanzas, with the second and fourth lines rhymed.The Robin Hood BalladChapter 6 Geoffery Chaucer英国文学史上首先用伦敦方言写作。

英国文学史课堂笔记

英国文学史课堂笔记两希文化：古希腊文化和希伯来文化。

干禄《圣经》（《旧约》和《新约》）房龙：《圣经的故事》《丑陋的中国人》斯宾格勒：《文明的衰落》汤因比：《历史研究》亨廷顿：《文明的冲突与世界秩序的重建》（文明冲突论）老子，李耳，玄元皇帝/玄祖庄子：《南华真经》儒家——入世道家——出世《培根论说文集》钱钟书、辜鸿鸣、徐志摩……The Celtsthe Celtic Invasion1) Iberian --- Celtic invasion --- Britons (tribe of Celts)2) The Roman Conquest: 55 BC-410, Natives --- Britons, Christianity introduced培根说：“笔记使人准确。

”《培根论说文集》《新工具》3) English Conquest: mid-5th century, tribes of Angles, Saxons and Jutes --- Anglo-Saxons (English) --- Anglo-Saxon / Old English7 kingdoms --- 7 century(The Anglo-Saxons Christianized), United kingdom (England --- the land of Angles)Transition from tribal society to feudalism4) The Danish Invasion: 787-1043, King Alfred the Great,The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle --- prose of Old English5) The Norman Conquest: 1066-, William, the Conqueror, confiscate the lands of lords, surveyI came and I conquered.我死后哪怕洪水滔天。

英国文学简完全笔记

英国文学简史完全笔记A Concise History of British LiteratureChapter 1 English Literature of Anglo-Saxon PeriodI.Introduction1. The historical background（1）Before the Germanic invasion（2）During the Germanic invasiona. immigration;b. Christianity;c. heptarchy.d. social classes structure: hide-hundred; eoldermen （lord）– thane - middle class （freemen）- lower class （slave or bondmen: theow）;e. social organization: clan or tribes.f. military Organization;g. Church function: spirit, civil service, education;h. economy: coins, trade, slavery;i. feasts and festival: Halloween, Easter; j. legal system.2. The Overview of the culture（1）The mixture of pagan and Christian spirit.（2）Literature: a. poetry: two types; b. prose: two figures.II.Beowulf.1. A general introduction.2. The content.3. The literary features.（1）the use of alliteration（2）the use of metaphors and understatements（3）the mixture of pagan and Christian elementsIII.The Old English Prose1.What is prose?2.figures（1）The V enerable Bede（2）Alfred the GreatChapter 2 English Literature of the Late Medieval Ages I.Introduction1. The Historical Background.（1）The year 1066: Norman Conquest.（2）The social situations soon after the conquest.A. Norman nobles and serfs;B. restoration of the church.（3）The 11th century.A. the crusade and knights.B. dominance of French and Latin;（4）The 12th century.A. the centralized government;B. kings and the church （Henry II and Thomas）;（5）The 13th century.A. The legend of Robin Hood;B. Magna Carta （1215）;C. the beginning of the ParliamentD. English and Latin: official languages （the end）（6）The 14th century.a. the House of Lords and the House of Commons—conflict between the Parliament and Kings;b. the rise of towns.c. the change of Church.d. the role of women.e. the Hundred Years' War—starting.f. the development of the trade: London.g. the Black Death.h. the Peasants' Revolt—1381.i. The translation of Bible by Wycliff.（7）The 15th century.a. The Peasants Revolt （1453）b. The War of Roses between Lancasters and Yorks.c. the printing-press—William Caxton.d. the starting of Tudor Monarchy（1485）2. The Overview of Literature.（1）the stories from the Celtic lands of Wales and Brittany—great myths of the Middle Ages. （2）Geoffrye of Monmouth—Historia Regum Britanniae—King Authur.（3）Wace—Le Roman de Brut.（4）The romance.（5）the second half of the 14th century: Langland, Gawin poet, Chaucer.II.Sir Gawin and Green Knight.1. a general introduction.2. the plot.III.William Langland.1. Life2. Piers the PlowmanIV.Chaucer1. Life2. Literary Career: three periods（1）French period（2）Italian period（3）master period3. The Canterbury TalesA. The Framework;B. The General Prologue;C. The Tale Proper.4. His Contribution.（1）He introduced from France the rhymed stanza of various types.（2）He is the first great poet who wrote in the current English language.（3）The spoken English of the time consisted of several dialects, and Chaucer did much in making the dialect of London the standard for the modern English speech.V. Popular Ballads.VI.Thomas Malory and English ProseVII.The beginning of English Drama.1. Miracle Plays.Miracle play or mystery play is a form of medieval drama that came from dramatization of the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church. It developed from the 10th to the 16th century, reaching its height in the 15th century. The simple lyric character of the early texts was enlarged by the addition of dialogue and dramatic action. Eventually the performance was moved to the churchyard and the marketplace.2. Morality Plays.A morality play is a play enforcing a moral truth or lesson by means of the speech and action of characters which are personified abstractions – figures representing vices and virtues, qualities of the human mind, or abstract conceptions in general.3. Interlude.The interlude, which grew out of the morality, was intended, as its name implies, to be used more as a filler than as the main part of an entertainment. As its best it was short, witty, simple in plot, suited for the diversion of guests at a banquet, or for the relaxation of the audience between the divisions of a serious play. It was essentially an indoors performance, and generally of an aristocratic nature.英国文学简史完全笔记2007-7-2713:56页面功能【字体：大中小】【打印】【关闭】Chapter 3 English Literature in the Renaissance I.A Historical BackgroundII.The Overview of the Literature （1485-1660）Printing press—readership—growth of middle class—trade-education for laypeople-centralization of power-intellectual life-exploration-new impetus and direction of literature.Humanism-study of the literature of classical antiquity and reformed education.Literary style-modeled on the ancients.The effect of humanism-the dissemination of the cultivated, clear, and sensible attitude of its classically educated adherents.1. poetryThe first tendency by Sidney and Spenser: ornate, florid, highly figured style.The second tendency by Donne: metaphysical style—complexity and ingenuity.The third tendency by Johnson: reaction——Classically pure and restrained style.The fourth tendency by Milton: central Christian and Biblical tradition.2. Dramaa. the native tradition and classical examples.b. the drama stands highest in popular estimation: Marlowe – Shakespeare – Jonson.3. Prosea. translation of Bible;b. More;c. Bacon.II.English poetry.1. Sir Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard （courtly makers）（1）Wyatt: introducing sonnets.（2）Howard: introducing sonnets and writing the first blank verse.2. Sir Philip Sidney—poet, critic, prose writer（1）Life:a. English gentleman;b. brilliant and fascinating personality;c. courtier.（2）worksa. Arcadia: pastoral romance;b. Astrophel and Stella （108）: sonnet sequence to Penelope Dvereux—platonic devotion. Petrarchan conceits and original feelings-moving to creativeness—building of a narrative story; theme-love originality-act of writing.c. Defense of Poesy: an apology for imaginative literature—beginning of literary criticism.3. Edmund Spenser（1）life: Cambridge - Sidney's friend - “Areopagus” – Ireland - Westminster Abbey.（2）worksa. The Shepherds Calendar: the budding of English poetry in Renaissance.b. Amoretti and Epithalamion: sonnet sequencec. Faerie Queene:l The general end——A romantic and allegorical epic—steps to virtue.l 12 books and 12 virtues: Holiness, temperance, justice and courtesy.l Two-level function: part of the story and part of allegory （symbolic meaning）l Many allusions to classical writers.l Themes: puritanism, nationalism, humanism and Renaissance Neoclassicism—a Christian humanist. （3）Spenserian Stanza.III.English Prose1. Thomas More（1）Life: “Renaissance man”, scholar, statesman, theorist, prose writer, diplomat, patron of artsa. learned Greek at Canterbury College, Oxford;b. studies law at Lincoln Inn;c. Lord Chancellor;d. beheaded.（2）Utopia: the first English science fiction.Written in Latin, two parts, the second—place of nowhere.A philosophical mariner （Raphael Hythloday）tells his voyages in which he discovers a land-Utopia.a. The part one is organized as dialogue with mariner depicting his philosophy.b. The part two is a description of the island kingdom where gold and silver are worn by criminal, religious freedom is total and no one owns anything.c. the nature of the book: attacking the chief political and social evils of his time.d. the book and the Republic: an attempt to describe the Republic in a new way, but it possesses an modern character and the resemblance is in externals.e. it played a key role in the Humanist awakening of the 16th century which moved away from the Medieval otherworldliness towards Renaissance secularism.f. the Utopia（3）the significance.a. it was the first champion of national ideas and national languages; it created a national prose, equally adapted to handling scientific and artistic material.b. a elegant Latin scholar and the father of English prose: he composed works in English, translated from Latin into English biography, wrote History of Richard III.2. Francis Bacon: writer, philosopher and statesman（1）life: Cambridge - humanism in Paris –knighted - Lord Chancellor –bribery - focusing on philosophy and literature.（2）philosophical ideas: advancement of science—people:servants and interpreters of nature—method: a child before nature—facts and observations: experimental.（3）“Essays”: 57.a. he was a master of numerous and varied styles.b. his method is to weigh and balance maters, indicating the ideal course of action and the practical one, pointing out the advantages and disadvantages of each, but leaving the reader to make the final decisions. （arguments）IV.English Drama1. A general survey.（1）Everyman marks the beginning of modern drama.（2）two influences.a. the classics: classical in form and English in content;b. native or popular drama.（3）the University Wits.2. Christopher Marlowe: greatest playwright before Shakespeare and most gifted of the Wits.（1）Life: first interested in classical poetry—then in drama.（2）Major worksa. Tamburlaine;b. The Jew of Malta;c. The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus.（3）The significance of his plays.V. William Shakespeare1. Life（1）1564, Stratford-on-Avon;（2）Grammar School;（3）Queen visit to Castle;（4）marriage to Anne Hathaway;（5）London, the Globe Theatre: small part and proprietor;（6）the 1st Folio, Quarto;（7）Retired, son—Hamnet; H. 1616.2. Dramatic career3. Major plays-men-centered.（1）Romeo and Juliet——tragic love and fate（2）The Merchant of Venice.Good over evil.Anti-Semitism.（3）Henry IV.National unity.Falstaff.（4）Julius CaesarRepublicanism vs. dictatorship.（5）HamletRevengeGood/evil.（6）OthelloDiabolic characterjealousygap between appearance and reality.（7）King LearFilial ingratitude（8）MacbethAmbition vs. fate.（9）Antony and Cleopatra.Passion vs. reason（10）The TempestReconciliation; reality and illusion.3. Non-dramatic poetry（1）Venus and Adonis; The Rape of Lucrece.（2）Sonnets:a. theme: fair, true, kind.b. two major parts: a handsome young man of noble birth; a lady in dark complexion.c. the form: three quatrains and a couplet.d. the rhyme scheme: abab, cdcd, efef, gg.VI.Ben Jonson1. life: poet, dramatist, a Latin and Greek scholar, the “literary king” （Sons of Ben）2.contribution:（1）the idea of “humour”.（2）an advocate of classical drama and a forerunner of classicism in English literature.3. Major plays（1）Everyone in His Humour—“humour”; three unities.（2）V olpone the FoxChapter 4 English Literature of the 17th Century I.A Historical BackgroundII.The Overview of the Literature （1640-1688）1. The revolution period（1）The metaphysical poets;（2）The Cavalier poets.（3）Milton: the literary and philosophical heritage of the Renaissance merged with Protestant political and moral conviction2. The restoration period.（1）The restoration of Charles II ushered in a literature characterized by reason, moderation, good taste, deft management, and simplicity. （school of Ben Jonson）（2）The ideals of impartial investigation and scientific experimentation promoted by the newly founded Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge （1662）were influential in the development of clear and simple prose as an instrument of rational communication.（3）The great philosophical and political treatises of the time emphasize rationalism.（4）The restoration drama.（5）The Age of Dryden.III.John Milton1. Life: educated at Cambridge—visiting the continent—involved into the revolution—persecuted—writing epics.2. Literary career.（1）The 1st period was up to 1641, during which time he is to be seen chiefly as a son of the humanists and Elizabethans, although his Puritanism is not absent. L'Allegre and IL Pens eroso （1632）are his early masterpieces, in which we find Milton a true offspring of the Renaissance, a scholar of exquisite taste and rare culture. Next came Comus, a masque. The greatest of early creations was Lycidas, a pastoral elegy on the death of a college mate, Edward King.（2）The second period is from 1641 to 1654, when the Puritan was in such complete ascendancy that he wrote almost no poetry. In 1641, he began a long period of pamphleteering for the puritan cause. For some 15 years, the Puritan in him alone ruled his writing. He sacrificed his poetic ambition to the call of the liberty for which Puritans were fighting.（3）The third period is from 1655 to 1671, when humanist and Puritan have been fused into an exalted entity. This period is the greatest in his literary life, epics and some famous sonnets. The three long poems are the fruit of the long contest within Milton of Renaissance tradition and his Puritan faith. They form the greatest accomplishments of any English poet except Shakespeare. In Milton alone, it would seem, Puritanism could not extinguish the lover of beauty. In these works we find humanism and Puritanism merged in magnificence.3. Major Works（1）Paradise Losta. the plot.b. characters.c. theme: justify the ways of God to man.（2）Paradise Regained.（3）Samson Agonistes.4. Features of Milton's works.（1）Milton is one of the very few truly great English writers who is also a prominent figure in politics, and who is both a great poet and an important prose writer. The two most essential thingsto be remembered about him are his Puritanism and his republicanism.（2）Milton wrote many different types of poetry. He is especially a great master of blank verse. He learned much from Shakespeare and first used blank verse in non-dramatic works.（3）Milton is a great stylist. He is famous for his grand style noted for its dignity and polish, which is the result of his life-long classical and biblical study.（4）Milton has always been admired for his sublimity of thought and majesty of expression. IV.John Bunyan1. life:（1）puritan age;（2）poor family;（3）parliamentary army;（4）Baptist society, preacher;（5）prison, writing the book.2. The Pilgrim Progress（1）The allegory in dream form.（2）the plot.（3）the theme.V. Metaphysical Poets and Cavalier Poets.1. Metaphysical PoetsThe term “metaphysical poetry” is commonly used to designate the works of the 17th century writers who wrote under the influence of John Donne. Pressured by the harsh, uncomfortable and curious age, the metaphysical poets sought to shatter myths and replace them with new philosophies, new sciences, new words and new poetry. They tried to break away from the conventional fashion of Elizabethan love poetry, and favoured in poetry for a more colloquial language and tone, a tightness of expression and the single-minded working out of a theme or argument.2. Cavalier PoetsThe other group prevailing in this period was that of Cavalier poets. They were often courtiers who stood on the side of the king, and called themselves “sons” of Ben Jonson. The Cavalier poets wrote light poetry, polished and elegant, amorous and gay, but often superficial. Most of their verses were short songs, pretty madrigals, love fancies characterized by lightness of heart and of morals. Cavalier poems have the limpidity of the Elizabethan lyric without its imaginative flights. They are lighter and neater but less fresh than the Elizabethan's.VI.John Dryden.1. Life:（1）the representative of classicism in the Restoration.（2）poet, dramatist, critic, prose writer, satirist.（3）changeable in attitude.（4）Literary career—four decades.（5）Poet Laureate2. His influences.（1）He established the heroic couplet as the fashion for satiric, didactic, and descriptive poetry. （2）He developed a direct and concise prose style.（3）He developed the art of literary criticism in his essays and in the numerous prefaces to hispoems.Chapter 5 English Literature of the 18th Century I.Introduction1. The Historical Background.2. The literary overview.（1）The Enlightenment.（2）The rise of English novels.When the literary historian seeks to assign to each age its favourite form of literature, he finds no difficulty in dealing with our own time. As the Middle Ages delighted in long romantic narrative poems, the Elizabethans in drama, the Englishman of the reigns of Anne and the early Georges in didactic and satirical verse, so the public of our day is enamored of the novel. Almost all types of literary production continue to appear, but whether we judge from the lists of publishers, the statistics of public libraries, or general conversation, we find abundant evidence of the enormous preponderance of this kind of literary entertainment in popular favour.（3）Neo-classicism: a revival in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries of classical standards of order, balance, and harmony in literature. John Dryden and Alexander Pope were major exponents of the neo-classical school.（4）Satiric literature.（5）SentimentalismII.Neo-classicism. （a general description）1. Alexander Pope（1）Life:a.Catholic family;b.ill health;c.taught himself by reading and translating;d.friend of Addison, Steele and Swift.（2）three groups of poems:e.An Essay on Criticism （manifesto of neo-classicism）;f. The Rape of Lock;g.Translation of two epics.（3）His contribution:h.the heroic couplet—finish, elegance, wit, pointedness;i.satire.（4）weakness: lack of imagination.2. Addison and Steele（1）Richard Steele: poet, playwright, essayist, publisher of newspaper.（2）Joseph Addison: studies at Oxford, secretary of state, created a literary periodical “Spectator” （with Steele, 1711）（3）Spectator Club.（4）The significance of their essays.a. Their writings in “The Tatler”, and “The Spectator” provide a new code of social morality for the rising bourgeoisie.b. They give a true picture of the social life of England in the 18th century.c. In their hands, the English essay completely established itself as a literary genre. Using it as a form of character sketching and story telling, they ushered in the dawn of the modern novel.3. Samuel Johnson—poet, critic, essayist, lexicographer, editor.（1）Life:a.studies at Oxford;b.made a living by writing and translating;c.the great cham of literature.（2）works: poem （The Vanity of Human Wishes, London）; criticism （The Lives of great Poets）; preface.（3）The champion of neoclassical ideas.III.Literature of Satire: Jonathan Swift.1.Life:（1）born in Ireland;（2）studies at Trinity College;（3）worked as a secretary;（4）the chief editor of The Examiner;（5）the Dean of St. Patrick's in Dublin.2. Works: The Battle of Books, A Tale of a Tub, A Modest Proposal, Gulliver's Travels.3. Gulliver's Travels.Part I. Satire—the Whig and the Tories, Anglican Church and Catholic Church.Part II. Satire—the legal system; condemnation of war.Part III. Satire—ridiculous scientific experiment.Part IV. Satire—mankind.IV.English Novels of Realistic tradition.1. The Rise of novels.（1）Early forms: folk tale – fables – myths – epic – poetry – romances – fabliaux – novelle - imaginative nature of their material. （imaginative narrative）（2）The rise of the novela.picaresque novel in Spain and England （16th century）: Of or relating to a genre of prose fiction that originated in Spain and depicts in realistic detail the adventures of a roguish hero, often with satiric or humorous effects.b.Sidney: Arcadia.c. Addison and Steele: The Spectator.（plot and characterization and realism）（3）novel and drama （17the century）2. Daniel Defoe—novelist, poet, pamphleteer, publisher, merchant, journalist.）（1）Life:a.business career;b.writing career;c.interested in politics.（2）Robinson Cusoe.a. the story.b. the significance of the character.c. the features of his novels.d. the style of language.3. Henry Fielding—novelist.（1）Life:a.unsuccessful dramatic career;b.legal career; writing career.（2）works.（3）Tom Jones.a.the plot;b.characters: Tom, Blifil, Sophia;c.significance.（4）the theory of realism.（5）the style of language.V. Writers of Sentimentalism.1. Introduction2. Samuel Richardson—novelist, moralist （One who is unduly concerned with the morals of others.）（1）Life:a.printer book seller;b.letter writer.（2）Pamela, Virtue Rewarded.a.the storyb.the significancePamela was a new thing in these ways:a）It discarded the “improbable and marvelous” accomplishments of the former heroic romances, and pictured the life and love of ordinary people.b）Its intension was to afford not merely entertainment but also moral instruction.c）It described not only the sayings and doings of characters but their also their secret thoughts and feelings. It was, in fact, the first English psycho-analytical novel.3. Oliver Goldsmith—poet and novelist.A. Life:a.born in Ireland;b.a singer and tale-teller, a life of vagabondage;c.bookseller;d.the Literary Club;e.a miserable life;f. the most lovable character in English literature.B. The Vicar of Wakefield.a.story;b.the signicance.VI.English Drama of the 18th century1. The decline of the drama2. Richard Brinsley SheridenA. life.B. works: Rivals, The School for Scandals.C. significance of his plays.a. The Rivals and The School for Scandal are generally regarded as important links between themasterpieces of Shakespeare and those of Bernard Shaw, and as true classics in English comedy.b. In his plays, morality is the constant theme. He is much concerned with the current moral issues and lashes harshly at the social vices of the day.c. Sheridan's greatness also lies in his theatrical art. He seems to have inherited from his parents a natural ability and inborn knowledge about the theatre. His plays are the product of a dramatic genius as well as of a well-versed theatrical man.d. His plots are well-organized, his characters, either major or minor, are all sharply drawn, and his manipulation of such devices as disguise, mistaken identity and dramatic irony is masterly. Witty dialogues and neat and decent language also make a characteristic of his plays.Chapter 6 English Literature of the Romantic Age I.Introduction1. Historical Background2. Literary Overview: RomanticismCharacteristics of Romanticism:（1）The spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings（2）The creation of a world of imagination（3）The return to nature for material（4）Sympathy with the humble and glorification of the commonplace（5）Emphasis upon the expression of individual genius（6）The return to Milton and the Elizabethans for literary models（7）The interest in old stories and medieval romances（8）A sense of melancholy and loneliness（9）The rebellious spiritII.Pre-Romantics1. Robert Burns（1）Life: French Revolution（2）Features of poetrya. Burns is chiefly remembered for his songs written in the Scottish dialect.b. His poems are usually devoid of artificial ornament and have a great charm of simplicity.c. His poems are especially appreciated for their musical effect.d. His political and satirical poems are noted for his passionate love for freedom and fiery sentiments of hatred against tyranny.（3）Significance of his poetryHis poetry marks an epoch in the history of English literature. They suggested that the spirit of the Romantic revival was embodied in this obscure ploughman. Love, humour, pathos, the response to nature – all the poetic qualities that touch the human heart are in his poems, which marked the sunrise of another day – the day of Romanticism.2. William Blake（1）life: French Revolution（2）works.l Songs of Innocencel Songs of Experience（3）featuresa. sympathy with the French Revolutionb. hatred for 18th century conformity and social institutionc. attitude of revolt against authorityd. strong protest against restrictive codes（4）his influenceBlake is often regarded as a symbolist and mystic, and he has exerted a great influence on twentieth century writers. His peculiarities of thought and imaginative vision have in many ways proved far more congenial to the 20th century than they were to the 19th.III.Romantic Poets of the first generation1. Introduction2. William Wordsworth: representative poet, chief spokesman of Romantic poetry（1）Life:a.love nature;b.Cambridge;c.tour to France;d.French revolution;e.Dorathy;f. The Lake District;g.friend of Coleridge;h.conservative after revolution.（2）works:a. the Lyrical Ballads （preface）: significanceb. The Prelude: a biographical poem.c. the other poems（3）Features of his poems.a.ThemeA constant theme of his poetry was the growth of the human spirit through the natural description with expressions of inward states of mind.b.characteristics of style.His poems are characterized by a sympathy with the poor, simple peasants, and a passionate love of nature.3. Samuel Taylor Coleridge: poet and critic（1）Life:a.Cambridge;b.friend with Southey and Wordsworth;c.taking opium.（2）works.l The fall of Robespierrel The Rime of the Ancient Marinerl Kubla Khanl Biographia Literaria（3）Biographia Literaria.（4）His criticismHe was one of the first critics to give close critical attention to language. In both poetry and criticism, his work is outstanding, but it is typical of him that his critical work is very scattered and disorganized.IV.Romantic Poets of the Second Generation.1. Introduction2. George Gordon Byron（1）Life:a.Cambridge, published poems and reviews;b.a tour of Europe and the East;c.left England;d.friend with Shelley;e.worked in Greece: national hero;f. radical and sympathetic with French Revolution.（2）Works.l Don Juanl When We Two Partedl She Walks in Beauty（3）Byronic Hero.Byron introduced into English poetry a new style of character, which as often been referred to as “Byronic Hero” of “satanic spirit”. People imagined that they saw something of Byron himself in these strange figures of rebels, pirates, and desperate adventurers.（4）Poetic style: loose, fluent and vivid3. Percy Bysshe Shelley: poet and critic（1）Life:a.aristocratic family;b.rebellious heart;c.Oxford;d.Irish national liberation Movement;e.disciple of William Godwin;f. marriage with Harriet, and Marry;g.left England and wandered in EUrope, died in Italy;h.radical and sympathetic with the French revolution;i. Friend with Byron（2）works: two types – violent reformer and wanderer（3）Characteristics of poems.a.pursuit of a better society;b.radian beauty;c. superb artistry: imagination.（4）Defense of Poetry.4. John Keats.（1）Life:a.from a poor family;b.Cockney School;c.friend with Byron and Shelley;d.attacked by the conservatives and died in Italy.（2）works.（3）Characteristics of poems。

英国文学史学生笔记,整理得很好

英国文学简史Part one: Early and Medieval English LiteratureHistorical Background1.When does early and medieval period refer to?“Early” here means English literature in primitive and slavery society. “Medieval” means English literature in feudal England before the Renaissance.2. What main events happened during this period?Roman conquestEnglish conquestNorman conquestLiterature Achievements in old English period1.two groups of English poetry in Anglo-Saxon period. The first group was the pagan poetry represented by Beowulf, the second was the religious poetry represented by the works of Caedmon and Cynewulf.2. In the 8th century, Anglo-Saxon prose appeared. The famous prose writers of that period were Venerable Bede and Alfred the Great.Venerable Bede : is the first scholar and chronicler in England. The most important works : The Ecclesiastical History of the English People.Alfred the Great : started the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.BeowulfI.Definition of epic:an extended narrative poem in elevated or dignified language, celebrating the feats of a legendary or traditional hero.II.Story of Beowulf : P3-4Questions :1.setting :2. characters:3.plotIII. Some important points“Beowulf” is a folk legend brought to England by Anglo-Saxons from their continental homes. However it also reflected the features of the tribal society in Britain. Originally Beowulf, the great epic, was in oral form and it must be a collective creation.Beowulf in the epic is a legendary figure. In formal history you can not find a man named Beowulf.IV. Artistic features of “Beowulf’’1. Using alliterationDefinition of alliteration: Words beginning with the same consonants alliterate with each other within each line. Each line of verse may contain an indefinite number of words or syllables but generally has four stresses, with a pause between the second and the third stresses.Some examples on P42. ·Using metaphor and understatementDefinition of understatement: expressing something in a controlled way Understatement is a typical way for Englishmen to express their ideas. You may findsome examples on P5Literary Features of the Anglo-Saxon Period1) secular(非宗教的) poetry,non religious poems but with Christian coloring;2) created collectively and orally;3) based on history, legend or events of the time;4) for entertainment;5) unknown writers, written down by the monks in the 10th centuryLiterature achievement in Middle English Period1.Romance: ( for noble )2.Ballads: ( folk literature) (oral)( for English people)3. Poetry:1) William Langland (popular literature)2) Chaucer ( the founder of English literature)1.Romance:It is the most prevailing kind of literature in England on feudal period. It is a long composition, in verse or in prose. It describes the life and adventures of a noble hero. The central theme is loyalty to king and Lord. The code of manners and morals of a knight is Chivalry. The most important romance is king Arthur and his knights of the Round Table.2. Ballads:a.It is the most important form of English folk literature.b.It is a story told in song, usually in 4-line stanzas with the second and fourthline rhymed.c.It is a literature of common people,( mainly the literature of the peasants)from them one is able to understand the outlook of the English common people in feudal society.d.It flourished in England in the 15th century.e.The most important ballads in England are Robin Hood .3. PoetryWilliam Langland:a. life:b. content:1.attack on the corruption of the rich and the wickedness of clergy2.the political situation of the time3.search for truth4. attack on the seven Deadly Sins:(pride, lechery (色欲），envy, wrath, Avarice, glutton, sloth)c. Social significance:1.a classic of popular literature2.kindled the toiling people’s sense of human dignity and equality before God3.arousing revolutionary sentimentd. artistic features:1.It is written in the form of a dream vision.2.It is an allegory which relates truth through symbolism. But in the main, it is a realistic picture of medieval England.3. The poem uses satire in his description of social abuses caused by the corruption4.The poem is written in alliteration.nguage style: lively speech of the countryside , blunt and unpolished words.Geoffrey ChaucerI. His lifeII. Literary career: 3 stagesIII. His works:a.Troilus and Criseydeb.The Canterbury TalesIV. His Contributions:♦I. His Life♦Born in a wine merchant’s family♦Trip to the continent on diplomatic missions,two of which took him to Italy♦Buried in Westminster Abbey, the poets’ corner♦Political background:relation with John of Gaunt♦II. Literary Career:♦French period:The Book of the Duchess♦Italian period: works adapted from the Italian: Troilus and Criseyde♦English period: The Canterbury TalesHe reached maturity and was free from dominant foreign influence.♦III. His works:♦The Book of the Dutchess 《公爵夫人之书》♦The House of Fame《声誉之堂》♦The Parliament of Fowls《百鸟议会》♦The Canterbury Tales《坎特伯雷故事集》♦Troilus and Criseyde 《特罗勒斯和克莱西》Troilus and Criseyde♦It is based on a poem by Boccaccio, his longest poem, written in the rhymed royal(君王体）(a seven-line stanza in iambic pentameter rhyming ababbcc.)The Canterbury Tales♦Questions :1. the organization of the book( the relationship between the general prologue and each tale)2.The main features of Chaucer’s narration3.The image of Wife of Bath♦Basic informationform: most of the tales are written in heroic coupletsetting: Tabard Inncharacters: types of literature: courtly romance, folk tale.,beast fable, story of travel and adventure, saint’s life, allegorical tale, sermon, alchemical account.Language: Middle English, vivid, exact, word- picturesLength: planned to be 120 stories. The General prologue,20 complete tales, 4 fragments, separate prologues to each tale with links, comments,quarrels ,etc. in between.Arrangement: linked through the host’s comments and prologue.two ways: the personality of the host affords a clear string of connection from the 1st to the last tale. There is an intimate connection between the tales and prologue.Typical characters: almost all medieval figures from different sides of life except noble and serfs.Character of the wife of Baththe owner of a cloth factory, light-hearted, merry,somewhat vulgar and talkative. a lengthy account of her feelings about marriage.♦The Canterbury Tales’ significancereflection of his times--- a panoramic view of his contemporary life; reflection of his humanist idea---- he exposed the evils of the church, the corruption of the upper class, praise man’s intellect and love; he affirms men and women’s right to pursue thei r happiness and oppose the dogma of asceticism preached by church.♦IV. Chaucer’s contributions:a.Forerunner of humanismb.The first realistic writerc.Father of English poetryd.Master of the English languagePart Two: The English RenaissanceHistorical BackgroundRenaissance and HumanismMain literary form:poetry Edmund Spencerdrama: most important William Shakespeareessay: (prose) Francis BaconThe English Renaissance1. Renaissance in Europea. It began in the 14th century in Italy.b. nature: a cultural and intellectual movementc. content: there arose a current for the study of Greek and Latin authors; ageneral dissatisfaction at the catholic and feudal ideas.d. two striking features: curiosity for classical literatureinterest in the activities of humanityII. Historical BackgroundThe establishment of Tudor Dynasty(1485-1603)Religious ReformationThe establishment of ProtestantismCommercial expansion abroadThe war with Spain(English bourgeoisie fought for existence and power)III. Renaissance and HumanismHumanisma.Nature: a literary and philosophical system of thought which attempt to placethe affairs of mankind at the center of its concerns.b.Origin: in Italyc.Source: based on a new reading of Greek and Roman literature, and anaffirmation of the importance of Platonic philosophy and reinterpretation of the writings of Aristotle.d.Idea: It took the life of man in the presence as a major interest.e.Humanism was one of the most important factors giving rise to theRenaissance. It is an attitude rather than a philosophy.The main traits of the Renaissance Literaturea. Its chief characteristic is the expression of secular values with man instead ofGod as the center of the universe.b. It emphasizes the dignity of man, affirms and eulogizes the value of man.c. It advocates the full expression of individualism and the fulfillment of one’sabilities against the despotic rule of the feudalism.d. It affirms the delight of eart hly achievement as well as men’s desire for happiness and pleasure.PoetryI.Two poets before the Elizabethan Age:Thomas Wyatt; Henry Howard , Earl of Surreya. sonnet: an exact form of poetry in 14 lines of iambic pentameter rhymed, introduced to England from Italy by Sir Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey.b. Surrey: the first English blank verse, the form of poetry to be later masterly handled by Shakespeare and Milton.Two poets before the Elizabethan Agec. the songs and sonnets by Wyatt and Surrey was the first anthology of English lyric poems.II.Two poets of the Elizabethan Age1. Philip Sidneya. life: well-known as a poet and critic of poetry. He is Spencer’s friend. Spencerwrote Shepherd’s Calendar to dedicate to him. He was a c ourtier, a scholarand soldier.b. his collection of love sonnets:Astrophel and Stellac. criticism:Apology for Poetry: represent the spirit of literary criticism of the Renaissance.2. Edmund Spencera. life : a minor noble family, good education, the Poet’s poet ,buried inWestminster Abbey.b. works:1) The Shepherds’ calendar2) Amorettia sequence of 88 sonnets, containing Spencer’s love poems to his future wife,Elizabeth Boyle.Question: what are most famous Sonnet sequences of the Elizabethan Age?3) Masterpiece : Faerie QueenPlanned in 12 books but only 6 finished.Content: In the epic each hero or heroine represents a virtue. In the course of their trials, they come to fully embody that virtue. The virtues areHoliness, Temperance, Chastity, Friendship, Justice, and Courtesy.Form: allegoryLanguage: has sweet melody and its lines are very musicalVerse form: “Spenserian Stanza”Spenserian Stanza: First eight lines are iambic pentameter and ninth has twomore syllables, rhyming ababbcbcc.theme: 1)nationalism 2) humanism 3) PuritanismInfluence: used by all the later poets, especially imitated by the romantic poets of the 19th century.( Byron, Shelley, Keats)Everything in the story has two levels — as part of the story and as part of the allegory, or symbolic meaning. This can be seen in Book I, which summarizes the whole poem. As a Romantic adventure, this is the story of the Redcrosse Knight and Lady Una searching for Una’s parents, who are trapped by a dragon. The knight kills the dragon and so wins the right to be the lady’s husband. As a spiritual allegory, this is the story of a soul’s encounter with the seven deadly sins, its separation from and reunion with the one faith, and its final salvation by divine grace.c. school-belong: like Lyly and Sidney, Spencer was a court poet.d. position: as a model of poetical art among the Renaissance English poets, the 1stto make English the natural music in poetry.ProseI. Biblea)Translation of Bible: the first complete English Bible was translated by JohnWycliffe(1324-1384), the morning star of the Reformation, and his followers.( from Latin to English)b)The authorized version of Bible: translated under the auspice of James I in1611 and so it was called the King James Bible. This version is simple and dignified in language.( modern English has been fixed and confirmed.)II.The greatest humanist: Thomas Morea.w as born in a middle-class family. humanist leader of the early 16th century,a scholar, master of Latin, witty talker, music lover, great thinker; once LordChancellor; beheaded on a false charge of treason.b.MasterpieceUtopia in 1516(in Latin) translated into English in 1551.Form: a conversation between More and a returned voyager.Comment :a. He is a far-sighted thinker, living on the eve of the bourgeois revolution.b. More was the first to see the relation between wealth and poverty and tobring up the ideal of communist society. He was one of the forerunner of modern socialist thought.Question:What is More’s Limitation?III.Bacon( the most important prose writer)Sir Francis Bacon was an English writer, philosopher and statesman and was educated in Cambridge. When he was fourteen, Bacon finished his education and went to Paris. In the French capital, he began to know humanism.In 1584, Francis Bacon was elected for the House of Commons and started his political career. Bacon advised for the union of England and Scotland and suggested ways to deal with Roman Catholics. For all these he had done, he was given the title of knight in 1603. By the time of James I, he was named as Lord Chancellor in 1618. In 1621, he was accused by Parliament and they said that he had accepted bribes. For this reason his political career ended.Drama:1. Three kinds of drama:a. the Miracle play: it is the root of English drama. It is based on Bible stories. Miracles were first performed in the church.b. the Morality play: It presents the conflict of good and evil with allegorical personages such as Mercy, Peace, Hate, Fally, etc.)( eg: Everyman)c. the Interlude: a short performance during the break.( eg: the play of the weather)2. Two influences on Elizabethan Drama1) influence from the classics. (Greek and Latin drama)2) influence from the popular drama.3. Gammer Gurton’s needle is the first English comedy, describing a quarrel over the loss of a needle.Gorboduc is the first English tragedy.The morality play Everyman at the end of 15th century makes the beginning of modern English drama.4. The London theatre and the audience5. playwrights:a. the university wits: they are Lily, Peele, Marlowe, Greene, Lodge and Nash, etc.The most influential is Marlowe. They had studied at the Universities of Oxford or Cambridge and then set up as professional writers, selling their learning and their “ wits” to the London public of playgoers and reading public as well.b. Marlowec. Shakespeared. Ben Jonsonb. MarloweWorks: (tragedies)Doctor Faustus( for knowledge)Tamburlaine ( based on a German Legend, ambition)Jew of Malta ( greed for wealth)Themes of his plays:scorn of orthodox creedspraise of individuality , freed from the restraints of medieval dogmas and law. Position and achievements:He was the predecessor of ShakespeareHe was the greatest pioneer of English drama.His two achievements: 1) He first made blank verse (unrhymed iambic drama),the principal instrument of English drama.2) He replaced the stilted heroes of drama in the past by men of vitality and passion. He created the Renaissance hero for English drama. ShakespeareLife :Four periods in play- writingHis comediesHis tragediesHistorical playsPoetical worksFeatures of Shakespeare’s dramaFour periods in play-writing1st period:Features:a) It’s Shakespeare’s early experimental period. It is marked by youthfulness and rich imagination.b) by extravagance of languagec) by the frequent use of rhymed couplets with blank versed) He looked down upon the world as a just one. Justice would eventually win in the end.e) Love, faith, work and duty were the four elements that made the world right.Works: P 582nd period:Features:a)He worked as a master in play writingb)It was a period of rapid growth and development of his artistic power.c)He had a keen insight into human nature, great power of expression andgenius for constructing a play.d)This period belongs to his best history plays.Works: P603rd period:features:a)The period of gloom and depressionb)He was concerned with deposit matters of human life.c)He grew in experience, in vision and in sympathyd)His belief and trust in mankind had been shattered.e)He produced his four greatest tragedies.Works: P624th period:features:a) a period of unrealistic compromise and fantasyb) a period of restored serenity and tolerant resignationc)He sounds again a note of calm and hope and serene wisdom.d)His latest plays including Tempest have happy endings.Works:P63His comediesShakespeare wrote his comedies in his early period. In these plays he portrayed the young people who had just freed themselves from the feudal fetters. He sang of their youth, their love and ideal of happiness. The heroes and heroines were sons and daughters of the Renaissance. They trust not in God or King but in themselves.Two groups of characters:Women characters:16 comedies together. His main comedies are: Merchant of Venice; AMidsummer Nigh t’s Dream; As you like it; Twelfth Night.His tragediesShakespeare’s great tragedies are associated with a period of gloom and sorrow in his life. During this period, England witnessed a general unrest, and social contradictions became very sharp. What ca used the writer’s personal sadness is unknown to us. It is generally attributed to the political misfortune of his friend and patron, Earl of Essex, who was killed by the Queen.Shakespeare wrote 11 tragedies. His main tragedies are: Hamlet; Othello; King Lear; Macbeth. All these plays express a profound dissatisfaction with life.They show the struggle and conflicts between good and evils, between justice and injustice. In these plays, the writer Shakespeare condemns the dark andevil society.Historical playsShakespeare’s historical plays are political plays. The principal idea of these plays is the necessity for national unity under one sovereign. At his time, this idea was anti-feudal in nature; and it summed up the general opinion of the rising bourgeo isie in Shakespeare’s own day. Among Shakespeare’s 10 historical plays, Henry IV and Henry V are two remarkable plays.Shakespeare’s poetical worksVenus and Adonis ; Lucrece are two long narrative poems.The bulk of Shakespeare's sonnets were written between 1593 and 1598. Each line of a sonnet is in iambic pentameter, and the rhyme scheme is abab cdcd efef gg. His 154 sonnets seem to fall into two series:One series are addressed to W. H, evidently a patron, and the other addressed to "dark lady" who played the poet false. For depth of sentiment, for mastery of diction, for perfection of finish, they are among the most excellent of Elizabethan poetry.Features of Shakespeare’s dramaa) progressive significance of his themeb) successful character portrayalc) master hand in constructing playsd) the ingenuity of his poetrye) mastery of English languageBen JonsonI.Introduction:Poet, critic, poet’s laureate; Successor of Shakespeare. He was the greatest writers of comedy after Shakespeare.II.His plays:1)His plays are written according to “ humors ”. Every character in hiscomedies personified a definite humor, so his characters are like caricature.2)His plays were not deep but had much surface energy.3)His masterpieces are Velpone and The AlchemistIII. His contribution:a) humorb) forerunner of classicismEnglish Literature in the seventeenth CenturyI .Social Backgroundthe English Revolution and the RestorationII. Literary characteristics:1. literature of the Revolution periodPuritan literature period is different from the literature of Elizabethan period in the following aspects:1) Elizabethan literature had a marked unity and the feeling of patriotism anddevotion to the Queen, but in the Revolution Period，all this was changed, the king became the open enemy of the people, and the country was divided by the struggle for political and religious liberty. So literature was as divided in spirit as were the struggling parties.2) Elizabethan literature was generally inspiring. It throbbed with youth andhope and vitality．Literature in the Puritan Age expressed age and sadness.Even its brightest hours were followed by gloom and pessimism.3) Elizabethan literature was intensely romantic．The romantic spirit sprangfrom the heart of youth．People believed all things, even the impossible．But in literature of the Puritan period, we cannot find any romantic ardor.2.The main literary form of the period was poetry．Among the poets, Milton was the greatest. Besides him, there were two other groups of poets, the Metaphysical Poets and the Cavalier Poets.3. Puritanism was the religious doctrine of the revolutionary bourgeoisie during this period. It preached thrift, sobriety, hard work, but with very little extravagant enjoyment of the fruits of labor. Worldly pleasures were condemned as harmful. This was precisely the outlook needed by the bourgeoisie for the accumulation of capital.Though there were many clever men in England during the latter half of the seventeenth century, there were only two minds which possessed the imaginative faculty in a very eminent degree. One of these minds produced the Paradise Lost, the other The Pilgrim's ProgressJohn Bunyan(约翰·班扬)1.life:son of a tinker. After receiving his early education at the Bedford grammar school ,he followed his father’ s trade. Later, He joined a Baptist society and became a preacher. Soon he became active both in preaching and writing. After restoration, he was arrested and kept in prison for preaching. He was the chief puritan writer to participate in the struggle against the corrupt fedual-aristocratic regimes of charlies II and James II after John Milton.2.Works: Pilgrim’s Progress<<天路历程>>Bunyan’s most important work and one of the most popular books in the English languages, was written in the form of an allegory.Allegory(寓言)It loosely describes any writing in verse or prose that has a double meaning.This fictional literary narrative acts as an extended metaphor in which persons, abstract ideas, or events represent not only themselves on the literal level, but also stand for something else on the symbolic level. An allegorical reading usually involves moral or spiritual concepts that may be more significant than the actual, literal events described in a narrative.It is a prose narrative symbolically concerning the human soul’s pilgrimage through temptation and doubt to reach salvation.Other important allegorical works inclu de Spencer’s Faerie Queen and Swift’s Gulliver’s travels.Pilgrim’s ProgressI. life:Milton is the greatest writer of the seventeenth century. Mastering the ancient languages and literature : Greek, Latin；“ the lady of the Christ” “ spokesman of the Revolution”. Milton was sent to Christ’s college, Cambridge, where he acquired a good knowledge of Latin. He was famous for his personal beauty and strictness of his life and was nicknamed “ the lady of the Christ’s”.II. literary career:a) up to 1641( First period)He was greatly influenced by humanism and the spirit of Elizabethan Age. His important poem is Lycidas, a pastoral elegy on the death of a college mate. b) From 1641 to 1654( second period)He wrote no poems but political essays and pamphlets.Areopafitica called for freedom of press. (prose)“ Defence of the English people”“ Second Defence of the English people”Pamphlets on marriagec) From 1655 to 1671( third period)Paradise Lost ( masterpiece)Paradise RegainedSamson AgonistesIII. works:a. Paradise Lost:epic in 12 books, written in blank versesource: old Testamenttheme: a revolt against God’s authoritythe fall of men ; man’s disobedience and the loss of paradise; thepowers of man; craving for knowledgeimage: Satan1) the real hero of the poem2) He is a very firm revolt against God and makes man revolt against God3) Though defeated he won the respects of his angles.4) He is the spirit questioning the authority of God.b. Samson Agonistespoetical drama, modeled on the Greek tragedies, from the “ Book of Judges” in Old Testament”.Common between Samson and MiltonJohn MiltonIV. Features of Milton’s poetry:a. Milton is a great revolutionary poet of the 17th century. He was also anoutstanding political pamphleteer of the revolution period. He dedicated himself to the revolutionary cause. He made a strong influence on the laterEnglish poetry. Every progressive English poet since Milton has drawn inspiration from him.b. Milton is a great stylistHis poetry has a grand style. That is because he made a life-long study of classical and Biblical literature. His poetry is noted for sublimity of thought and majesty of expression.c. Milton is a great master of blank verse.He is the glorious pioneer to introduce blank verse into non-dramatic poetry. He has used it as the main tool in his masterpiece “ Paradise Lost”. His blank verse is rich in every poetic quality and never monotonous.d. Milton wrote the greatest epic in English literature. He made a strong influenceto later English poetry.V. Exercise:How do you understand these plots?1. God was surrounded by his angles, who never think of expressing anyopinions of their own.2. Satan and his followers freely discuss all issues in council. Why did Miltondesign the plots in such a way? Based on the text of Paradise Lost, how do you think Milton would justify his alterations of and additions to the Bible, given the fact that he was a devout Christian?Answer: It seems that Milton writes this epic to "justify the ways of God to men", but actually, it is not. God is depicted as a despot. This contradiction can be explained by the fact that Milton is a devout Christian, a Puritan, on one hand, and a fervent revolutionary, Republican, on the other. So we may say, that Milton's original purpose might be "to justify the ways of God to men", but it turns out to be an eloquent expression of the revolutionary spirit of the English bourgeois revolution, a call to resist tyranny and to continue the fight for freedom. Herein lies the significance of the work.3.Satan is the most well-developed character in Paradise Lost. Is he asympathetic character?Answer: One reason that Satan is easy to sympathize with is that he is much more like us than God or the Son are. As the embodiment of human errors, he is much easier for us to imagine and empathize with than an omniscient deity. Satan’s character and psychology are all very human, and his envy, pride, and despair are understandable given his situation. But Satan’s speeches, while undeniably moving, subtly display their own inconsistency and error.When Satan first sees Earth and Paradise in Book III, he is overcome with grief.His description of his situation is eloquent; his expression of pain is moving.Perhaps we pity Satan as he struggles to find his new identity while reflecting on his recent mistakes. Likewise, his feeling of despair resonates with feelings that all human beings undergo at some point. However, Satan’s despair becomes fuel for his ever-increasing evil, rather than the foundation for repentance. His anger and irrationality overcomes him, and he resolves to。

《英国文学简史》完整版笔记

《英国文学简史》完整版笔记Chapter 4 En glish Literature of the 17th Cen tury I.A HistoricalBackgro undII. The Overview of the Literature (1640-1688)1. The revoluti on period(1)The metaphysical poets;(2)The Cavalier poets.(3)Milto n: the literary and philosophical heritage of the Ren aissa nee merged with Protesta nt political and moral conv icti on2. The restorati on period.(1)The restorati on of Charles II ushered in a literature characterized by reas on, moderatio n, good taste, deft man ageme nt, and simplicity. (school of Ben Jon son)(3)The great philosophical and political treatises of the time emphasize rati on alism.(4)The restorati on drama.(5)The Age of Dryde n.III. Joh n Milt on1. Life: educated at —visiti ng the continent—invo Ived in to the revoluti on —persecuted—writi ng epics.2. Literary career.(1)The 1st period was up to 1641, duri ng which time he is to be see n chiefly as a son of the huma ni sts and Elizabetha ns, although his Purita nism is not abse nt. L'Allegre and IL Pens eroso (1632) are his early masterpieces, in which we find Milt on a true offspri ng of the Ren aissa nee, a scholar of exquisite taste and rare culture. Next came Comus, a masque. The greatest of early creati ons was Lycidas, a pastoral elegy on the death of acollege mate, Edward King.3. Major Works(1)Paradise Losta. the plot.b. characters.c. theme: justify the ways of God to man.(2)Paradise Rega in ed.(3)Sams on Agoni stes.4. Features of 's works.(1)Milt on is one of the very few truly great En glish writers who is also a prominent figure in politics, and who is both a great poet and an importa nt prose writer. The two most esse ntial thi ngs to be remembered about him are his Purita nism and his republica ni sm.(2)Milt on wrote many differe nt types of poetry. He is especially a great master of bla nk verse. He lear ned much from Shakespeare and first used bla nk verse in non-dramatic works.(3)Milt on is a great stylist. He is famous for his grand style no ted for its dig nity and polish, which is the result of his life-lo ng classical and biblical study.(4)Milt on has always bee n admired for his sublimity of thought and majesty of expressi on.IV. John Bun yan1. Life:(1)purita n age;(2) poor family;(3) parliame ntary army;(4) Baptist society, preacher;(5) pris on, writ ing the book.2. The Pilgrim Progress(1) The allegory in dream form.(2) the plot.(3) the theme.V. Metaphysical Poets and Cavalier Poets.1. Metaphysical Poets2. Cavalier PoetsThe other group prevail ing in this period was that of Cavalier poets. They were ofte n courtiers who stood on the side of the king, and called themselves Ben Jonson. The Cavalier poets wrote light poetry, polished and elega nt, amorous and gay, but ofte n superficial. Most of their verses were short son gs, pretty madrigals, love fan cies characterized by light ness of heart and of morals. Cavalier poems have the limpidity of the Elizabetha n lyric without its imagi native flights. They are lighter and n eater but less fresh tha n the Elizabetha n's.VI. John Dryde n.1. Life:the represe ntative of classicism in the Restorati on.poet, dramatist, critic, prose writer, satirist.(4) Literary career —four decades.(1) (2)(3) cha ngeable in attitude.(5)Poet Laureate2. His in flue nces.(1)He established the heroic couplet as the fashi on for satiric, didactic, and descriptive poetry.(2)He developed a direct and con cise prose style.(3)He developed the art of literary criticism in his essays and in the nu merous prefaces to his poems.Chapter 5 En glish Literature of the 18th Cen turyI. I ntroducti on1. The Historical Backgro und.2. The literary overview.(1)The En lighte nment.(2)The rise of En glish no vels.When the literary historia n seeks to assig n to each age its favourite form of literature, he finds no difficulty in deali ng with our own time. As the Middle Ages delighted in long roma ntic n arrative poems, the Elizabetha ns in drama, the En glishma n of the reig ns of Anne and the early Georges in didactic and satirical verse, so the public of our day is en amored of the no vel. Almost all types of literary producti on con ti nue to appear, but whether we judge from the lists of publishers, the statistics of public libraries, or gen eral conv ersati on, we find abundant evide nee of the eno rmous prep on dera nee of this kind of literary en terta inment in popular favor.(3)Neo-classicism: a revival in the seve ntee nth and eightee nth cen turies of classical sta ndards of order, bala nee, and harm ony in literature. Joh n Dryde n and Alexa nder Pope were major exp onents of the n eo-classical school.(4)Satiric literature.(5)Sen time ntalismII. Neo-classicism. (a general description)1. Alexa nder Pope(1)Life:a. Catholic family;b. ill health;c. taught himself by readi ng and tran slat ing;d. friend of Addis on, Steele and Swift.(2)three groups of poems:e. An Essay on Criticism (manifesto of neo-classicism);f. The Rape of Lock;g. Tran slati on of two epics.(3)His contribution:h. the heroic couplet——fini sh, elega nee, wit, poin ted ness;i. satire.(4)weak ness: lack of imagi nati on.2. Addis on and Steele(1)Richard Steele: poet, playwright, essayist, publisher of n ewspaper.(2)Joseph Addis on: studies at Oxford, secretary of state, created a literary periodical “ Specta(orzith”Steele, 1711)(3)Spectator Club.(4)The sig ni fica nee of their essays.a. Their writings in “ The Tatler ” , and “ The Spectator ” provide a nesocial morality for the risi ng bourgeoisie.b. They give a true picture of the social life of in the 18th century.3. Samuel Joh nso—poet, critic, essayist, lexicographer, editor.(1)Life:a. studies at ;b. made a liv ing by writi ng and tran slat ing;c. the great cham of literature.(2)works: poem (The Vanity of Huma n Wishes, Lon don ；criticism (The Lives of great Poets ； preface.(3)The champi on of n eoclassical ideas.III. Literature of Satire: Jon atha n Swift.1. Life:(1)born in Ireland;(2)studies at Trinity College;(3)worked as a secretary;(4)the chief editor of The Examiner;(5)the Dean of St. Patrick's in .2. Works: The of Books, A Tale of a Tub, A Modest Proposal, Gulliver's Travels.3. Gulliver's Travels.Satire—the Whig and the Tories, An glica n Church and Catholic Church.Part II. Satire— the legal system; condemn ati on of war.Part III. Satire—ridiculous scie ntific experime nt.Part IV. Satire—ma nki nd.IV. En glish Novels of Realistic traditi on.1. The Rise of no vels.(1)Early forms: folk tale -fables -myths -epic -poetry -romances —fabliaux —no vella - imagi native n ature of their material. (imag in ative n arrative)(2)The rise of the novela. picaresque novel in Spain and England (16th century) : Of or relating to a genre of prose ficti on that origi nated in Spain and depicts in realistic detail the adve ntures of a roguish hero, often with satiric or humorous effects.b. :.c. Addis on and Steele: The Spectator.(plot and characterization and realism)(3)no vel and drama (17the cen tury)2. Daniel Defoe—novelist, poet, pamphleteer, publisher, merchant, journalist.)(1)Life:a. bus in ess career;b. writi ng career;c. in terested in politics.(2)Robinson Crusoe.a. the story.b. the sig ni fica nee of the character.c. the features of his no vels.。

1、下载文档前请自行甄别文档内容的完整性，平台不提供额外的编辑、内容补充、找答案等附加服务。
2、"仅部分预览"的文档,不可在线预览部分如存在完整性等问题,可反馈申请退款(可完整预览的文档不适用该条件!)。
3、如文档侵犯您的权益，请联系客服反馈,我们会尽快为您处理(人工客服工作时间：9:00-18:30)。

英国文学史笔记The Anglo-Saxon period (the 11th~14thcenturies)Beowulf : the most important piece ;forming period of English literatureBeowulf is the national epic(史诗) of Anglo-Saxon period, while Beowulf is the great warrior of …Beowulf is the oldest surviving epic in British literature. A rich fabric(结构) of fact and fancy.“I shall perform the deeds of hero or I have passed my last day in this mead hall.”The 14th century-the age of Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer, the writer of The Canterbury Tales. While most of his contemporaries are busy writing with French(the language of court) and Latin( the language of church), Chaucer is experimenting with the vernacular(本国的) English.The Arthurian LegendsGeoffrey Chaucer: father of English literature and poetry, a great master of English language.Anthology 诗选The 15th century-the transitional periodThe transitional period between the age of Chaucer and the age of Shakespeare with the popular ballad, Robin Hood Ballad, as the most representative form of literature.Rabin Hood ballads are popular ballads dealing with the famous outlaw……Thomas MoreThomas More – Utopia (written in 1515) This book contains (1) a realistic picture of early 16th century England: social evils are exposed and attacked (2) the first sketch of the ideal commonwealth by an English writer. Limitations of the book: Utopia(1)His dream world did not have its soundpolitical, economic and social bases. (2)His indifferent attitude toward slaveryand his actual contempt for physicallabor.(3)Contradictions in his world outlook.The Elizabethan AgeEdmund Spenser – The Faerie QueenEnglish poet, born in LondonChristopher Marlowe – Doctor FaustusPlaywright, greatest dramatist before ShakespeareDr. Faustus is a play based on the German legend of a magician aspiring for knowledge and finally meeting his tragic end as a result of selling his soul to the Devil.Ben JonsonWilliam Shakespeare (1564-1616)He is English playwright and poet, and is recognized in much of the world as the greatest dramatist.Dramatic Works:William Shakespeare has 37 plays to his credit. First built in 1935, then rebuilt in 1959, Ashland’s Elizabethan Theatre is one of several venues for plays in the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.Love’s Labor’s Lost 爱的徒劳The Merchant of VeniceThe Comedy of Errors 错误的喜剧Julius Caesar 凯撒The Two Gentlemen of VeronaPeriod of Romantic Comedies (1595-1600) Four great comedies:The Merchant of Venice – PortiaAs You Like It – RosalindMuch Ado About Nothing – Beatrice Twelfth Night – ViolaThe Taming of the Shrew 驯悍记Merry Wives of WindsorA Midsummer-Night’s DreamMature Period (1601-1609)This is the period of tragedies. Four great tragedies:Othello ; King Lear ; Hamlet ; Macbeth Shakespeare’s Contribution to Drama(1)themes of progressive significance(2)masterful character portrayal(3)adroit plot construction(4)great freedom and ease in the use oflanguageThe Jacobean AgeBen Jonson (1573-1637)The most important playwright among Shakespeare’s contemporariesEvery Man in His Humor“comedy of humors”The Jacobean Prose:Francis Bacon (1561-1626)Francis Bacon was an important scientist, philosopher and essayist.“Real founder of English materialism and experimental sciences of modern times in general.”– Marx 唯物主义从他开始(1)New InstrumentIn this work Bacon introduced the inductive method to the science.(2)The New AtlantisIn this book Bacon described a utopian society – a fictitious land where his principles of collaborative research have been put into effect in a great agricultural and mechanical experimental station called Solomon’s House.(3)Essays:T hese essays reflect the author’s views on political, social and personal problems and in turn the bourgeois ideals and limitations of a man.*Conciseness of expression and simplicity of dictions are the two chief characteristics of Bacon’s style. Bacon’s essays exerted important influence on the development of English prose. They are the first “essays”in English.Of StudiesThe English Revolution Period Metaphysical poets: 玄学派诗人(1) John Donne(2) John MiltonMilton is often considered the greatest English poet after William Shakespeare.1)Paradise Lost : greatest epic poem of MiltonIt deals with the fall of man, Satan’s revolt against God and man’s loss of Paradise. The first three lines of Paradise Lost:Of Man’s first disobedience, and the first fruitOf that forbidden tree whose mortal tasteBrought death into the World, and all our woe2)Paradise Regained :Another epic dealing with the redemption of man by Christ3)Samson Agonistes(3)John BunyanSpoke for common people; “the Immortal Tinker”Most famous one “Pilgrim’s Progress”天路历程has become a world classic.Vanity Fair 名利场The Life and Death of Mr. Badman(4)John DrydenThe most prominent poet, dramatist, translator, literature critic of Revolution Period, the greatest neoclassicist of the Restoration Period, the age of DrydenIntroduced “heroic play”–drama in epic mode; grand, rhetorical and declamatory; its themes being love and honorBest-known piece of literary criticism isAn Essay of Dramatic Poesy, written in the form of a dialogue.Three Unities “三一律”The EnlightenmentTwo groups of English Enlighteners(1)Those in favor of partial reform :Pope, Defoe, Addison and Steele and Richardson(2)The more radical wing :Swift, Fielding, Smollett, Sheridan and GoldsmithAlexander PopeHis most famous poem, “The Rape of the Lock”–夺发记An ingenious mock(1)Enlightener (2) neo-classicist (3) satirist (4) brilliant poet (5) had a great influenceChief Works:1. An Essay on Criticism:A manifesto of neo-classicismAncient poets are highly praised and rules are laid down to be observed.2. An Essay on Man:The best known and the most quoted of all Pope’s works.3. Moral EssaysA good style as “proper words in proper places” is defineThe names of Joseph Addison and Richard Steele have always been linked with the literary periodicals –The Tattler and The Spectator..Daniel Defoe (1660-1731) English novelist and journalistProlific 多产的Defoe’s first and most famous novel, “The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe”–Alexander Selkirk (原型)Poems: The True-Born Englishman; A Hymn to the PilloryPicaresque Novel 流浪汉式小说Earliest English picaresque novel is believed to have been The Unfortunate Traveler or, The Life of Jack Wilton (1594) by Thomas.Jonathan SwiftAnglo-Irish satirist and political pamphleteer, considered one of the greatest masters of English prose. He was born in Dublin.A Modest ProposalSwift’s masterpiece Travel into Several Remote Nations of the World, more popularly titled Gulliver’s Travels. It was an instant success. It was an attack on human society. It is at once a fantasy and a realistic work of fiction.Prose: The Battle of Book; A Tale of a TubSamuel RichardsonHis novels are in epistolary form (a series of letters).A founder of the English modern novel and an outstanding novelist.(1)PamelaThe first epistolary novel in the English language; sometimes called the first modern English novel because of its “penetrating”psychological analysis.(2) ClarissaIt is the longest novel in Britain and generally considered Richardson’s masterpiece. Significance:1.s ympathy for women2.p sychological study *3.e xposure of the moral hypocrisyHenry FieldingHe has been considered the real founder of modern fiction.Fielding’s masterpiece:The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling (1749)1)one of the great English novels2)is in the picaresque traditionTobias George SmollettA versatile and prolific writerThe comic inventiveness of character and incident greatl y influenced the work of English novelist Charles Dickens.He has three important novels:1.R oderick Random:The first sea novel in English literature, written more or less in the picaresque tradition and narrated in the first person.2.P eregrine Pickle:A picaresque novel3. Humphrey ClinkerWritten in the epistolary formLaurence Sterne1. Tristram ShandyMeditation 沉思,冥想The novel is considered a precursor to the modern novel and the technique of “stream ofconsciousness.”2. A Sentimental Journey:Sterne enjoys a European fame. He not only has his far-reaching influence upon English writers of later days, especially on Byron and Thackeray, but also upon Diderot(狄德罗) and Rousseau(卢梭) and V oltaire(伏尔泰).The Gothic RomancesThe Castle of Otranto (1764)Considered the first Gothic novel in English Mary Shelley 这一时期的代表Shelley’s wife 雪莱之妻Frankenstein: the first and most important workThe Domestic Novels:1)Fanny Burney: Evelina2)Jane Austen: Pride and PrejudiceThe former described the fashionable society in London, while the latter the life of landed gentry in provincial England.Richard SheridanComedy: The Rivals and The School for ScandalThe 18th– Century ProseSamuel JohnsonEnglish writer and lexicographer,a major figure in 18th–century literature. In 1755, Johnson published his Dictionary of the English Language, which took him eight years to complete. The dictionary contains about 40,000 entries with vivid, idiosyncratic definitions and an extraordinary range of examples. The Dictionary of the EnglishLanguage is the first kind of English dictionary.Thomas GrayBest known poem: Elegy Written in a Country ChurchyardRobert BurnsHe is Scottish poet and writer of traditional Scottish folk songs, whose works are known and loved wherever the English language is read.He has been considered the greatest Scottish poet. His love songs are unsurpassed.He is a many-sided genius:Poet: A Red, Red RoseWilliam BlakeHe is an important English poet at the turn of the 19th century.Blake should be remembered chiefly for his bitter social criticism, for his fight for freedom, and for his lyricism.The Songs of Experience is certainly the most important of all Blake’s poetry.Poem: The Chimney SweeperLondonThe TigerWilliam Wordsworth (1770-1850)1. English poet, one of the most accomplished and influential of England’s romantic poets.2. Themes: freedom, folk, mature3. The DaffodilsI wandered lonely as a cloud,That floats on high o’er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd,A host of golden daffodils;Beside the lake, beneath the trees,Byron was notorious for his love affairs and unconventional lifestyle⏹H e died while working to secure Greek independence from the Turks.⏹T he “Byronic hero”— lonely, rebellious, and brooding—first appeared in Manfred (1817).Among his other works are Childe Harold (1812-1818), The Prisoner of Chillon (1816), and the epic satire Don Juan (1819-1824).⏹S ince the 1920s, his poetry has exerted considerable influence upon the Chinese poets, and with the translation of some of his poems into the Chinese language, his name has become well known to the general reading public in China.●I n 1822, shortly before his 30th birthday, Shelley was drowned in a storm while sailing.●I n the final stanza—which ends with the now famous line “If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?”—Shelley appeals to the wind to help him spread the moral and political messages of his work.●A Defense of Poetry lays emphasis on thesocial educative role of poetry●. Byron only attacked political tyranny, but Shelley also saw the cruel relations of economic exploitation in the feudal-bourgeois world.Shelley had faith in the collective strength of the people and worked for the interests of the masses while Byron thought more of one’s personal happiness and sorrow and he believed chiefly in the might of individual heroes but had contempt for the common people.●M arx once said, “The real differencebetween Byron and Shelley is this: those who understand them and love them rejoice that Byron died at 36, because if he had lived he would become a reactionary bourgeois, they grieve that Shelley died at 29, because he was essentially a revolutionist and he would always have been one of the advanced guard of socialism.”•John Keats (1795-1821), English poet, and an influential figure of the romantic movement.Ode to a Nightingale is possibly one of the most poignant expressions of Keats’ intensepersonal yearning for freedom from human misery as he fell under the magic of the nightingale’s song.•John Keats is remembered for his melodious, rich verse, and is considered one of the greatest English poets.Scottish writer Sir Walter Scott is considered the first major European historical novelist.●Scott’s historical novels may beconveniently divided into three main groups which coincided with the three periods in his creative career:●(1) The history of Scotland●(2) English history●(3) European history●Novels on English history● e.g. Ivanhoe: the struggle ofAnglo-Saxon peasantry against their oppressors the Norman lords, in the last part of the 12th century.●Jane Austen (1775-1817), majorEnglish novelist, whose brilliantly witty, elegantly structured satirical fiction marks the transition in English literature from 18th-century neoclassicism to 19th-century romanticism. Austen was born near Basingstoke.●In her first period, from 1796 to1798, she wrote Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice(1813), and Northanger Abbey(1818); these novelsdid not find a publisher for several years after their composition.●Austen's second period of productivity began in 1811 after the publication of Sense and Sensibility.●She produced in quick succession her last three novels: Mansfield Park(1814), Emma(1816), and Persuasion (1818).It is a truth universally acknowledged that。

英国文学史笔记

英国文学史期末复习笔记

英国文学简史 笔记整理

英国文学简史笔记

英美文学史复习笔记5篇

英国文学笔记

英国文学史笔记总结部分

英国文学史学生笔记整理得很好

英国文学史笔记学习资料

英国文学简史笔记(完整版)

英国文学史笔记

英国文学笔记整理

英国文学简史完全笔记

简明英国文学史笔记整理

《英国文学简史》完整版笔记

英国文学史笔记学习资料

刘炳善《英国文学简史》完整版笔记(汇编)

英国文学史课堂笔记

英国文学简完全笔记

英国文学史学生笔记,整理得很好

《英国文学简史》完整版笔记

英国文学简史笔记整理