英国文学史_第二册_复习资料

British Literature

The Romantic Period(1798-1832) Age of Revolution. (social and economic

revolutions.)

一. Time Span:extends from the l ate 18th century to the third decade of the 19th century.

from the publication of Lyrical Ballads《抒情歌谣集》by Wordsworth and Coleridge, second edition o by Wordsworth serves as the manifesto of Romanticism, in 1798, to the death Walter Scott in 1832

2,closely linked to the following social and intellectual events or figures:

1. The Industrial Revolution.

2. American Revolution

3. The French Revolution

4. Lyrical Ballads 《抒情歌谣集》

5. Jean Jacque Rousseau (1712 –1778).

6. Edmund Burke & Thomas Paine(two great thinkers and writers )

二,Romanticism and its features

1,Definition: Romanticism 浪漫主义Romanticism, as a literary movement during most of the 19th century, appeared as a revolt against the bondage of neoclassicism which emphasized reason, order and “elegant wit”, Romanticism put emphasis on passion, emotion, imagination, intuition and natural beauty. and inspired many English writers and the desire for p ersonal freedom and individual rights encouraged a more daring and imaginative approach to both life and literature.

2,characteristics: (1) an emphasis on feeling, imagination, intuition and all in all an subjectivism. (2) a love for nature (3) a belief in individuality and freedom (4) a glorification of the commonplace (5) an interest in the past, the unusual, the unfamiliar, the bizarre or the picturesque (6) a feeling of loneliness

三,Literary development in this period

1,emphasis on feelings, intuition, imagination and individuality brought about the flourish of poetry

This is an age of poetry

William Blake, and Robert Burns were the two notable forerunners of romantic poetry. works of William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, George Gordon Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley and J ohn Keats represented the highest achievements in romantic poetry.

gained full momentum with the publication of Lyrical Ballads

2,The period is also a great age of prose. Charles Lamb, William Hazlitt, Thomas De Quincey and Leigh Hunt.

3,The only great romantic novelist of this period was Walter Scott, whose historical novels combined a romantic atmosphere with a realistic description of historical backgro und and common people’s life. Scott marked the transition from romanticism to the period of realism which followed it.

作家

William Wordsworth (1770 –1850) (p212-217) Romantic Period威廉伍兹沃斯

I. His fame Poet Laureate（桂冠诗人）: Poet officially appointed by the Royal Household in Britain to write poems for state occasions.

III. His Works 1. Lyrical Ballads (p.213-214) 2. Poems on Nature and Country life (p.214) 3. His Sonnet

4. His Longer Poems (p.217)

Comments on Wordsworth

(1)Wordsworth is the representative of the first generation of Romantic poets, who expressed the deepest aspirations for English Romanticism.

(2)Wordsworth’s poetry is distinguished by the simplicity and purity of his language.

(3)His theory and practice in poetical creation started from a dissatisfaction with reality and tradition in society and in literature

(4)Nearly all of his good poetry was written during the first decade of his literary career

Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) (p.232-243) Romantic Period雪莱

II. His Major Works

1. His longer poetical works include: Queen Mab《麦布女王》, The Revolt of Islam 《伊斯兰的反叛》; Prometheus Unbound《解放了的普鲁米修斯》, The Masque of Anarchy 《专制者的假面舞会》

2. His Short Lyrics on Nature and love (240-243) Shelley’s short poems on nature and love form an important part of his literary output.

Comments on Shelley

1，Shelley is one of the leading romantic poets, an intense and original lyrical poet in English language.,

2，Like Blake, he has a reputation as a difficult poet, his poetry is full of complex images and