新编英国文学选读上 所有作者作品简介复习资料

John Wycliff

Father of English prose

Reform the church to away with the corruption and rottenness; translate Bible into standard English; maintain church must not interfere in temporal matters; fixes a national standard for English prose to replace various dialects.

William Langland

poet

The Vision of Piers Plowman(takes form of allorgory but gives realistic picture of 14th century)

Sir Thomas Malory

poet

Le Morte d'Arthur/The Death of Arthur

Goeffrey Chaucer

the father of English poetry

born in rising family, join army then prisoned. smooth in political life.1st imitated French poetry and translated French poem, influenced by Italian,famous for his tales by links

The Book of Duchess, Troilus and Cryseyde, The Parliament of Fowls, The House of Fame, The Canterbury Tales

Renaissance

Edmund Spenser

“the poet’s poet”

born poor, became part of noble family, secretary of influential political members, queen son-in-law, boss burn down, he die in poor

The Shepheard's Calender(poem in 12parts, Virgil's verse dialogues, different descriptions of the English countryside, theme of love, poetry, religion);The Faerie Queene(allegorical romance, 7 deadly sins)

Christopher Marlowe

The greatest of pioneers of English drama in Renaissance

have been cooperate with Shakespeare.write all tragedies, works are remarkable for their imagination, burning passion, sensuous richness, variety of pace and response to varying emotions. his verse is known for its stateliness and its poetic beauty. Perfect blank-verse

Tamburlaine the Great(1587,Tamburlaine represent the Renaissance desire for infinite power and authority); The Tragic History of Doctor Faustus(1592, reflect the desire for infinite knowledge and express his atheism and patriotism, conforms with the orthodox teachings of the church)

William Shakespeare

Thomas More, Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare are the best representatives of the English humanism.

rich,help father of his shop, 18 married. left native town,a rising actor, disappear, write plays

2 narrative poems: Venus and Adonis(1593),The Rape of Lucrece(1594)

1st period of experimentation about history plays and comedies(imitation of exciting plays, by the spirit of youthfulness and rich imagination): King Henry

VI(3parts, Richard III(1593),Two Gentlemen of Verona(1594), Love's Labour

Lost(1594))

2nd period show more careful and artistic work, better plot and a marked increase in the knowledge of human nature: Midsummer Night's Dream(1595); Romeo and Juliet(1596); The Merchant of Venice(1597); two parts of Henry IV( As You Like It(1598), Julius Caesar(1599)); Henry V(1599)

3rd period of gloom and depression: Hamlet(1601), Othello(1604),King

Lear(1605),Macbeth(1605)

4th period of restored serenity, a calm after storm: The Winter's Tale(1610), The Tempest(1611)

17th century

Francis Bacon

The first important essayist and the founder of modern science in England

chief figure in 1700-1750, father is Lord, be a Lord but corruption and dismissed. pursuit of literary and scientific works; stress the importance of experience, or experiment, which is oppoed to common belief in Middle Ages,58essays. his essays are famous for their brevity, compactness and powerfulness

Of Truth, Of Friendship, Of Riches

John Donne

Catholic family. write religious sermons and poems; love lyrics with both

positive(purify love as sth holy) and nagetive attitude(cynical tone to satirize women's inconstancy反复无常).Representetive of Metaphysical poet s

Songs and Sonnets

George Herbert

poet

follows John Donne

The Temple

Ben Jonson

also a dramastist,representitve of Cavaliers

Robert Herrick

poet