英国文学常识及笔记-English literature

Part One Basic Knowledge of LiteratureI. Literature contains fiction and non-fiction.Under fiction there are four genres --- novels, short stories, plays and poems. Fiction is referred to as creative or figurative expression of life.Non-fiction is called a literal expression of life or discursive writing. Another term for non-fiction is essay, which has traditionally been classified into four categories. These rhetorical divisions, usually called the forms of discourse, are description, narration, exposition, and argumentation.II. Novel:A novel is a highly strained prose account of fictional reality in the form of story with profundity for the purpose of changing the reader’s mind by the aid of the reader’s active involvement while providing entertainment and super truth of life.Elements of the novel:Plot, a plot is a plan or groundwork for a story, cased on conflicting human motivation, with the actions resulting from believable and realistic human response. It is response, interaction, opposition, and causation that make a plot out of a simple series of action. (internal conflict and external conflict)(exposition, complication, climax or crisis, falling action, and resolution)Characters: the term character applies to any individual in a literary work. For the purpose of analysis, characters in fiction are customarily described by their relationship to plot, by the degree of development they are given by the author, and by whether or not they undergo significant character change. (protagonist and antagonist, flat and round characters, dynamic and static characters)Setting: the stage against which the story unfolds we call the setting. In its narrowest sense, setting is te place and time of the narration, but eventually it encompasses the total environment of the work. Setting, therefore, in its broadest sense, encompasses the physical locale that frames the action, the time of day or year, the climatic condition, and the historical period during which the action takes place.Point of view: A story must have a storyteller: a narrative voice, real or implied, that presents the story to the reader. When we talk abou narrative voice, we are talking about point of view, the method of narration that determines the position, or angle of vision, from which the story is told.(first, second, third, and mingling)Theme: the theme is the cental idea or statement about life that aunifies and controls the total work. Theme is not the issue, or the problem, or subject with which the work deals, but rather the comment or statemnet the author makes about the issue, problem, or subject.Style: the style is unsterstood to mean the way in which writers assemble words to tell the story, develop the argument, dramatize the play, or compose the poem. Often the definition is extended to distinguuish style from content.Tone: tone refers to the methods by which writers convey attitudes, although the discussion of tone sometimes on the attitudes themselves.Symbolism: a symbol is something that stands for something else by reason of relationship, association, convention, or accidental resemblance … a visible sign of something invisible. In literature, symbols --- in the form of words, images, objects, settings,events, and characters --- are often used deliberately to suggest and reinforce meaning, to provide enrichement by enlarging and clarifying the experience or work, and to help to organize and unify the whole.III. Short Story: a short story is a brief work of prose fiction.IV. Poetry:Poetry is an oldest form of art, and is reputed as the most democratic art. Poetry as a genre must be a particular form combined with a particular quality. The word poetry brings to our mind a picture of words special arrangements. In a poem, the sentences are seldom pla ced one after another in the same line. The readers have to actually “read between the line”. Poetry uses language and it uses language in a different manner. Therefore, poetry is a literary genre that communicates experience in the most condensed form.Kinds: ballad; lyric; narrative poem; epic; sonnet; ode; elegy; pastoral; blank verse; free verseElements: rhyme; metrical rhythm; foot; tone; image; themeDevices: simile; metaphor; conceit; personification; symbol; paradox; ambiguity; onomatopoeia)Sonnet:A sonnet is a lyric invariably of fourteen lines, usually in iambic pentameter, restricted to a definite scheme.Shakespearean sonnet: it si structured of three quatrains and a terminal couplet in iambic pentameter with the rhyme pattern abab cdcd efef gg.Petrachan sonnet: this form contains an octave with the rhyme pattern abbaabba and a sestet of various rhyme patterns such as cdecde or cdcdcd.Spenserian sonnet: a Spenserian sonnet comprises three quatrains and a couplet in iambic pentameter with the rhyme scheme abab bcbc cdcd ee.Sir Thomas Wyatt is credited with introducing the sonnet into English -- father of English sonnet.V. Drama:Drama is the for of compositon designed for performance in the theatre, in which actors take the role of the characters, perform the indicated action, and utter the written dialogue (the common alternative name for a dramatic compositon is a play).VI. Essay:Any short composition in prose that undertakes to discuss a matter, express a point of view, persuade us to accept a theis on any subject, or simply entertain is an essay.Part Two Notes About British LiteratureI. English literature in the Old and Medieval periods(the Anglo-Saxon and Norman Period 449--1066--1485)1.Historical background1.1 The original people lived on the island were Celts.1.2 The invasion of the Romans from about 55BC to 410AD for about 400years.1.3 The invasion by Teutonic tribes of Angles, Saxons and Jutes. They are the forefathers of English .1.4 The conquer of Normans in 1066 which brought England into the Feudal system.1.5 The consequence of the Norman ConquestThe Norman Conquest brought England more than a change of rulers. Politically, a feudalist system was established in England; religiously, the Rome-backed Catholic Church had a much stronger control over the country; and great changes also took place in languages. After the conquest, three languages coexisted in England. Old English was spoken only by the common English people; French became the official language used by the King and the Norman lords; and Latin became the principal tongue of church affairs and was used by the clergymen and scholars in universities. The conquest opened up England to the whole European continent, so that with the introduction of the culture and literature of France, Italy and other European countries, a fresh wave of Mediterranean civilization came into England.2.Literature2.1 The original form is orature.2.2 It falls into two divisions: pagan(represented by The Song of Beowulf) and Christian(represented by Caedmon and Cynewulf).2.3 Terms during this period2.3.1 ballad: ~ is a story in poetic form to be sung or recited. It is passed down from generation to generation.2.3.2 epic: ~ refers to a long work dealing with the actions of gods and heroes. Beowulf is the greatest national epic of the Anglo-Saxons.2.3.3 romance: ~ is a popular literary form in the medieval England. It sings knightly adventures or other heroic deeds. Chivalry (such as bravery, honor, generosity, lo yalty and kindness to the weak and the poor) is the spirit of romance.2.3.4 alliteration: !means a repetition of the initial sounds of several words in a line of group. It is a traditional poetic device in English literature.2.4 The Song of BeowulfIt is regarded as the greatest national epic of the Anglo-Saxons.It describes the heroic deeds of a Scandinavian hero, Beowulf, in fighting against the monster Grendel, his revengeful mother and a fire-breathing dragon.The theme: the righteous triumphs over the evil.2.5 Geoffrey Chaucer2.5.1 main works: The Canterbury Tales; The House of Fame; The Parliament of Fowls; The Legend of Good Women; Troilus and Criseyde.2.5.2 the Father of English Poetry(1)Chaucer introduces from France the rhymed stanzas of various types to English poetry to replace the old English alliterative verse. He’s the first to use the rhymed couplet of iambic pentameter, which is to be called the heroic couplet. (2) He was the first to write in the current English language, and he did much in making the London dialect the foundation for modern English language. (3) In his works, he developed his characterization to a higher artistic level by presenting characters with both typical qualities and individual dispositions.2.5.3 His masterpiece: The Canterbury TalesIn The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer gives us a faithful picture of the society of his time; taking the standard of the rising bourgeoisie, he affirms men and opposes the dogma of asceticism by the church; as a forerunner of Humanism, he praises man's energy, intellect, quick wit and love of life, and his tales expose and satirize the evils of his time. They attack the degeneration of the noble, the heartlessness of the judge, and the corruption of the Church, etc.2.5.4 Chaucer is the first poets to be buried at the Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey.II. English literature in the Renaissance period(1485--1603)1.Historical background1.1 1453--1485 The War of Roses: a new dynasty in power，the Tudors1.2 1485 the beginning of modern western civilization1.3 the Enclosure Movement (sheep devoured men)1.4 In 1492，Christopher Columbus's voyage to the America opened European eyes to the existence of the New World.1.5 reign of Queen Elizabeth I from 1558 to 16031.6 The greatest of the Tudor monarchs was Henry VIII，whose needs for the annulment of his first marriage in order to father a son and heir to the line brought him into direct conflict with Catholic Church，and with Pope Clement VII in particular. In reaction to the Catholic Church’s rulings against remarriage, Henry took a decisive step which was to influence every aspect of English life and culture from that time onwards. He ended the rule of the Catholic Church in England, closed (and largely destroyed) the monasteries --- which had for centuries been the depositors of learning, history, and culture --- and established himself as both the head of Church and the head of state. Now England became Protestant1.7 The emergence of humanism was another feature of the Renaissance.2.Terms in this period2.1 Renaissance: ~ means rebirth or revival. It meant the reintroduction into Western Europe of the full cultural heritage of Greece and Rome. It refers to the transitional period from the medieval to the modern world. It first started in Italy in the 14th century. The essence of the Renaissance id Humanism. The English Renaissance didn't begin until the reign of Henry VIII. The real mainstream of the English Renaissance is the Elizabethan drama. This period produced such literary giants as Shakespeare, Spenser, Marlowe, Bacon etc.2.2 Humanism: ~ is the essence of Renaissance. It emphasizes the dignity of human beings and the importance of the present life. Humanists voiced their beliefs that man was the center of the universe and man did not only have the right to enjoy the beauty of the present life but had the ability to perfect himself and to perform wonders.2.3 sonnet (see basic knowledge)2.4 blank verse: ~ refers to verse written in unrhymed iambic pentameter. It is a very popular form in English poetry. It was extensively employed in English poetry of the Renaissance.It was Christopher Marlowe who made blank verse the principle vehicle of expression in drama.2.5 stanza: ~ is a group of lines of poetry, usually four or more, arranged according to afixed plan. It is the unit of structure in a poem and poets do not vary the unit within a poem.2.6 University Wit: ~ refers to any of a notable group of pioneer English dramatists who wrote during the last 15 years of the 16th century. They transformed the native dramatic inheritance of interlude and chronicle play into a potentially great drama by writing plays of quality and diversity. Their plays paved the way for William Shakespeare. UW include John Lily, Robert Greene, Christopher Marlowe and Thomas Kyd, etc.2.7 soliloquy: ~, indrama, means a moment when a character is alone and speaks hia or her thoughts aloud.2.8 narrative poem: a ~ refers to a poem tells a story.2.9 meter: the word "meter" is derived from the Greek word "metron", meaning "measure". In English when applied to poetry, it refers to the regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllable. The analysis of the meter is called scansion.3.Works in this period3.1 The main literary genre in this period is DRAMA.3.2 Main figures: Shakespeare, More, Bacon, Spenser etc.3.2.1 Edmund Spenser and his Faerie Queene(1) Spenser is often referred to as "the poets' poet" because his influence on later poets was considerable. He is generally acknowledged to be the greatest non-dramatic poet of the Elizabethan Age.(2) Spenser' s fame in English literature is chiefly based upon his masterpiece The Faerie Queene.(3) The Faerie Queene is a long poem planned in twelve books, of which he finished only six. In the poem Spenser speaks of 12 virtues of a perfect gentleman. The poem was dedicated to Queen Elizabeth. The whole poem is suffused with genuine devotion to the queen and the country.(4) The long poem is written in the form of allegory. It has sweet melody and its lines are very musical.(5) Spenser invented a new verse form for this poem. The verse form has been called "Spenserian Stanza" since his day. Each stanza has nine lines, each of the first eight lines is in iambic pentameter form, and the ninth line is an iambic hexameter line. The rhythm scheme is abab bcbc c.3.2.2 Thomas More and his UtopiaOne of the greatest of the English Humanists3.2.3 Christopher Marlowe(1)He is the most gifted of the University Wits.(2)Works: Tamberlaine 《贴木儿大帝》；Dr. Faustus; The Jew of Malta; Shepherd to His Love.(3)It was Christopher Marlowe who made blank verse the principle vehicle of expression in drama.3.2.4 Francis Bacon(1)He is a philosopher, a scientist and the first English Drama.(2)Bacon's works may be divided into three groups: the philosophical works; the literary works and the professional works.(3)He lays the foundation for modern science with his insistence on scientific way of thinking and fresh observation rather than authority as a basis for obtaining knowledge.(4)Works: Essays; The Advancement of Learning; Novum Organum(The New Instrument); Of Studies.(5)The New Instrument is a successful treatise written in Latin on methodology. The argument is for the use of inductive method of reasoning in scientific study.(6)Of Studies is the most popular one. It analyses what studies chiefly serve for, the different ways adopted by different people to pursue studies, and how studies exert influence over human character. Forceful, compact and precise, the essay reveals to us Bacon's mature attitude toward learning.3.2.5 William Shakespeare(1)He is the greatest of all Elizabethan dramatists.(2)He wrote 37 plays, 2 narrative poems and 154 sonnets.(3)Comedies:Shakespeare 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.Shakespeare's comedies are imbued with bourgeois ideas and show progressive significance. Shakespeare produced 16 comedies altogether. His main comedies are: Merchant of Venice, A Midsummer Night's Dream, As You Like It, The Winter's Tale, and The Twelfth Night.(4) Tragedies:Shakespeare'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 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, and Macbeth. All of these plays express a profound dissatisfaction with life. They show the struggle and conflicts between good and evil of the tune, between justice and injustice. In these plays, the writer Shakespeare condemns the dark and evil society. (5)Historical plays:Shakespeare'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 bourgeoisie in Shakespeare's own day. Shakespeare's historical plays reflect the historical events of two centuries from RichardⅡ to Henry VIII. They show the horrors of civil war, the necessity for national unity, the responsibilities of efficient ruler, and the importance of legitimate succession to the throne.In Shakespeare' s historical plays there is only one ideal king Henry V, though his real prototype differs little from the other kings. Nevertheless, for English patriots of that time his name was associated with the military victories of England in the Hundred Y ear's War and became a symbol of English glory in the eyes of the well-to-do citizens of England. Among Shakespeare's 10 historical plays, Henry IV and Henry V are two remarkable plays. Henry V is the continuation of Henry IV. The two plays deal with the events of the 15th century and give the picture of a troubled reign.(6)Sonnets: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.(7) Features of Shakespeare's Dramatic WorksShakespeare is a realist. He is one of the founders of realism in English literature. His plays are mirrors of his age, reflecting the major contradictions of that time. He described the decaying of the feudal society and the rising of the bourgeois spirit. His comedies reflect life of the young men and women who just freed themselves from the fetters of feudalism and who were striving for individual emancipation. His comedies lay emphasis on emancipation of women, which played a very important role in anti-feudalism. In his great tragedies, Shakespeare depicted the life and death struggle between the humanists, who represented the newly emerging forces, and the corrupted King and his feudal followers, who represented the dark power of that time.III. Literature in the Revolution and Restoration Period (1603--1688)1.Historical background1.1 The 17th century is a chaotic period.1.2 Elizabeth died in 1603 and James I came to the throne.1.3 Charles I succeeded James I in 1625.1.4 Conflicts and clashes appeared between the crown and the bourgeoisie. In 1628, Charles I dissolved the parliament because it wanted to limit the kings power in taxation. But in 1640, the king was compelled to it again.1.5 In 1642, a civil war broke out between Charles I and the parliament. The royalists were defeated by the parliament army led by Oliver Cromwell. In 1649 Charles was sentenced to death, and England was declared to be a commonwealth and Cromwell became the leader of the country.1.6 After the death of Cromwell, the parliament recalled CharlesⅡto England in 1660 and monarchy was restored.1.7 1688, Glorious Revolution. Modern England was firmly established and capitalism would develop freely within the state structure of modern England, constitutional monarchy.2.Literature in this period2.1 Mainstream thought(1)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.(2)The Puritan Movement had two chief objects: the first was personal righteousness, the second was civil and religious liberty. So it aimed to make man honest and to make man free.2.2 Characteristics2.2.1 English literature of the revolution and restoration was very much concerned with the tremendous social upheavals of the time.2.2.2 The main literary form of the period was poetry．2.2.3 Puritan literature is different from that of Elizabethan Period in the following three aspects：1) Elizabethan literature had a marked unity and the feeling of patriotism and devotion 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 and hope 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 sprang from the heart of youth．People believed all things, even the impossible．But in literature of the Puritan period, we cannot find any romantic ardor.2.3 Main terms2.3.1 Metaphysical poetry(1) The 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 world and new poetry. Thus, with a rebellious spirit, they tried to break away form the conventional fashion of Elizabethan love poetry, in particular the sonnet tradition, and favored in poetry a more colloquial language, a single-minded working of one theme.(2) John Donne (1573-1631) is the founder of the Metaphysical School.(3) George Herbert (1593-1633) is "the saint of the Metaphysical School".2.3.2 conceit(1)Conceit is a far-fetched simile or metaphor, a literary conceit occurs when the speaker compares two highly dissimilar things. (2) Conceit is extensively employed in John Donne's poetry.2.3.3 Allegory(1)~ is a story told to explain or teach something, especially a long and complicated story with an underlying meaning different from the surface meaning of the story itself. (2) Allegorical novels use extended metaphors to convey moral meanings or attack certain social evils. Characters in these novels often stand for different values such as virtue and vice. (3) Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress is a good example of this kind.2.4 Writers and works2.4.1 John Donne(1)He is the leading figure of the metaphysical school(2)The most striking feature of Donne's poetry is his frequent use of conceit.(3)He is a religious poet.(4)His best work is The Songs and Sonnets. Love is the basic theme. He holds that the nature of love is the union of soul and body.(5)His main works: The Sun Rising; The Holy Sonnets; Death, Be Not Proud; The Flea;A V alediction: Forbidding Mourning.(6)In A V alediction: Forbidding Mourning John Donne resents too much display foremotion when two lovers part. In this poem we are farmiliarized with his famous conceit: the two lovers are likened to the two points of a compass. The wife stays at home. She is the fixed foot and the husband "roams" around, but never deviates from the center.Summary : In 1611, John Donne wrote the poem to his wife, Anne More Donne, to comfort her while he sojourned in France on government business and she remained home in Mitcham, England, about seven miles from London. The poem then explains that a maudlin show of emotion would cheapen their love, reduce it to the level of the ordinary and mundane. Their love, after all, is transcendant, heavenly. Other husbands and wives who know only physical, earthly love, weep and sob when they separate for a time, for they dread the loss of physical closeness. But because Donne and his wife have a spiritual as well as physical dimension to their love, they will never really be apart, he says. Their souls will remain united–even though their bodies are separated–until he returns to England.Figures of SpeechMetaphor ....Donne relies primarily on extended metaphors to convey his message. First, he compares his separation from his wife to the separation of a man's soul from his body when he dies (first stanza).Donne compares his relationship with his wife to that of the two legs of a drawing compass. Although the legs are separate components of the compass, they are both part of the same object.He also compares himself and his wife to celestial spheresParadox ...In the sixth stanza, Donne begins a paradox, noting that his and his wife's souls are one though they be two; therefore, their souls will always be together even though they are apart.Simile .Stanza 6 , comparing the expansion of their souls to the expansion of beaten gold. Alliteration "s" "f" ...Theme Real, complete love unites not only the bodies of a husband and wife but also their souls. Such spiritual love is transcendent, metaphysical, keeping the lovers together intellectually and spiritually even though the circumstances of everyday life may separate their bodies.Rhyme Scheme and MeterEnd rhyme occurs in the first and third lines of each stanza and in the second and fourth lines. The meter is iambic tetrameter, with eight syllables (four feet) per line. Each foot, or pair of syllables, consists of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. The first two lines of the second stanza demonstrate this metric pattern:2.4.2 John Milton(1)Main works: Paradise Lost 1665 Paradise Regained 1671 Samson Agonistes 1671(2)Paradise Lost①~ is the greatest of Milton's epics.②It is the only generally acknowledged epic in English since Beowulf.③The story is taken from the Bible. The theme of the epic is man's disobedience and loss of Paradise, with its prime cause -- Satan who rebels against God's authority and tyranny.④To Milton, the proud and somber Satan represented the spirit of rebellion against an unjust authority. By using Satan as his mouthpiece, Milton is uttering his intense hatred of tyranny in the capacity of the Revolutionary.(3)Paradise RegainedIt explores the theme of temptation and fall: in this case, it is the tempting of Jesus by Satan to prove his godhead.(4)Samson Agonistes①~ is the most perfect example of verse drama after the Greek style in English.②In the epic Milton presents to us a picture of how Samson, the Isreal's mighty champion, brings destruction down upon the enemy at the cost of his own life.③The whole poem strongly suggests Milton's passionate longing like Samaon's. In this sense, Samson is Milton.(5) Features of Milton's PoetryA. Milton is a great revolutionary poet of the 17th century. He is also an outstanding political pamphleteer of the Revolution period. He dedicated himself to the revolutionary cause. He made a strong influence on the later English poetry. Every progressive English poet since Milton has drawn inspiration from him.B. Milton is a great stylist. His 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 influence o later English poetry.2.4.3 John Bunyan(1)He is a religious novelist whose style was modeled after that of the English Bible.(2)His language is concrete and vivid.(3)His masterpiece, The Pilgrim's Progress, is the most successful religious allegory.(4)Over the centuries the book has been the most widely read work produced during the Puritan Age, and one of the most popular pieces of Christian writing ever to appear in English.(5)The two great forces at work in Bunyan’s life are vivid imagination and the spiritual ferment of the age.(6)The Pilgrim's Progress~ is Bunyan's masterpiece. It is the most successful religious allegory. It tells of the experience of a devout Christian the Pilgrim with a neighbor named Faithful in a world full of vice and wickedness. It is a prose allegory depicting the pilgrimage of a human soul in search of salvation. The novel is not only about something spiritual but also bears much relevance to the time. Its predominant metaphor is the metaphor of life as a journey. The most famous scene is V anity Fair.2.4.4 John Dryden(1)Dryden is the most notable representative of English classicism in the Restoration period.。