英国文学期末整理 (1)

Questions for Revision:The Anglo- Saxon Period

Q1: What is the major literary form in this period?

Poetry

Q2: What is epic? What is the national epic in this period?

An Epic is a long narrative poem in elevated style presents characters of high relation to a central figure of heroic proportions and through their development of episodes important to the history of a nation or race.

Beowulf

Q3: What are the characteristics of Beowulf ?

1、The most striking feature in its poetic form is the use of alliteration- repetition of initial

consonant sounds in a line of poem. In alliterative verse, certain accented words in a line begin with the same consonat sound.There are generally 4 accents in a line, three of which show alliteration ,as can be seen from the quotations on P.6-10 in the textbook.

2、"kenning": a kind of figurative language

3、The use of repetition and variation

Q4: What are two highlights in the developments of the Anglo-Saxon literature?

1、the Northumbrian School

2、during the reign of King Alfred

Questions for Revision-- The Middle English Period

Q1: What was the form of literature at the time? What features does it have?

Romance

1、Romance which uses narrative verse or prose to sing of knightly adventures or other

heroic deeds is a popular literary form in the Middle Ages. The importance of romance itself can be seen as a means of showing medieval aristocratic men and women in relation to their idealized view of the world.

2、Early feudal age，as it reflects the spirit of chivalry.

3、The English romance mainly deals with three major subjects: Religious, Courtly love, and

Arthurian

3、Matter of France: a collection of tales about Chalemagne and his peers headed by Roland

and their wars against the Saracens.

4、Matter of Rome: covered everything that had come down from the ancient Romans and

from the Greeks also e.g. Trojan War

5、Matter of Britain: the legendary history of Britain. e.g. King Arthur and His Round-Table

Knights, Sir Gawain and the Greenknight

Q2: What is the literary position of Geoferry Chaucer in English Literature?

Father of English poetry

Q3: What about the significance of The Canterbury Tales ?

1. It gives a comprehensive picture of Chaucer's time.

The pilgrims represent the whole range of 14th century society except the very top and the very bottom. With his own wide experience and close observation of life, his characters are so vivid and particular that there can be no substitution for the very person described.

2. The dramatic structure of the poem has been highly commended by critics. In The Canterbury Tales, stories are cleverly woven together by links between the stories.