英国文学史课件Chapter 5

Essay on Man.

―One truth is clear, whatever is, is right.‖

(3) His contribution: i. An outstanding enlightener and the greatest English poet of the classical school. j. He was a master in the art of poetry and he is so perfect in using heroic couplets （英雄双韵体）that no one has been able to approach him. k. He was at best in satire and epigram and was an example of conscious literary artist. (4) weakness: lack of imagination and lyrical gift. His satire was not always just, often caused by personal grudge.



二. The literary overview.
(1) The Enlightenment. (2) The rise of English novels. the Middle Ages—— long romantic narrative poems, the Elizabethan age—— dramas the Restoration and Restoration——didactic(说教) and satirical verse the 18th century—— novels (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) Sentimentalism

An Essay on Criticism
H.
—— a philosophical poem in heroic couplets ——aims to prove that the scheme of the universe is the best in spite of appearance of evil, and that our failure to see the perfection of the whole is due to our limited vision. This idea is summed up in a well-known line:




Literature of Satire: Jonathan Swift(乔纳森· 斯威夫特 ).

1. Life: (1) born in Ireland; his father died before he was born. (2) studies at Trinity College; detested the routine curriculum (3) worked as a private secretary of a renowned distant relative; he never forgot this bitter experience of living under the roof of a noble family. Afterwards, he tried to help every young of talent who seemed deserving. (4) the Dean of St. Patrick‘s in Dublin and after he withdrew from active party strife(党派争斗), realizing that there was but little difference between the Tories （特洛伊党）and the Whigs（辉格党）, the two opposite parties of the ruling classes. 2. Works: The Battle of Books,
——(manifesto of neo-classicism) ——a didactic poem written in heroic couplets and sums up the art of poetry. f. The Rape of Lock(卷发遇劫记) ——a mock-heroic poem， in which he satirized the triviality (轻浮)and silliness of the high society with a delicate wit. g. Translation of two epics. Iliad （伊利亚特）and Odyssey（奥德赛）


Neo-classicism: Addison, Steel and Pope belong to the school of classicism. The classicists modelled (模仿)themselves on Greek and Latin authors, and tried to control literary creation by some fixed laws and rules drawn from Greek and Latin works. They wrote for the rising bourgeoisie to tidy up the capitalist social order.

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2. Addison and Steele (1) Richard Steele（斯梯尔） : poet, playwright, essayist, publisher of newspaper The Tatler（《闲谈者》报） . (2) Joseph Addison（艾迪生） : studies at Oxford, secretary of state, created a literary periodical ―Spectator‖（《旁观 者》报） (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（体裁）. Using it as a form of character sketching and story telling, they ushered in the dawn of the modern novel.


Alexander Pope（蒲柏）
(1) a. b. c. d. (2) e. Life: Catholic family; ill health; taught himself by reading and translating; friend of Addison, Steele and Swift. three groups of poems:



Culture：The 18 century marked the beginning of an intellectual movement in Europe, known as the Enlightenment(启蒙运动) , which was an expression of struggle of the bourgeoisie against feudalism. The enlighteners fought against class inequality, stagnation, prejudices and other survivals of feudalism. They attempted to place all branches of science at the service of mankind by connecting them with the actual needs and requirements of people. The representatives of the Enlightenment in English literature were Joseph Addison and Richard Steele ,the essayists and Alexander Pope, the poet. In their works they criticized all different aspects of contemporary England, discussed social problems, and even touched upon morality and private life. They intended to reform social life according to a more reasonable principle, and the principle is for bourgeois interests.
Chapter 5 English Literature of the 18th Century

一.Historical background Politics: After the tempestuous events of the 17th century, England entered a period of comparatively peaceful development, and became a constitutional monarchy. Economy: Industrial Revolution. A unprecedented technical innovations which equipped industry with steam, and new tools, rapid growth of industry and commerce influence the way of social life as a whole. New social class: ending of Enclosure Movement（圈地 运动） leads to landless farmers going to the cities and becoming workers who owned nothing but labor and had to work long hours for low wages, and they became the industrial proletariat(无产阶级).