英国文学史第一章知识点

一.English literature:
poetry诗歌、Novel
小说、Drama戏剧
and Essay散文。

a)中世纪：the English Medieval Age：
the old English Literature 古英语时期
the Middle English Literature 中古英语时期
Anglo-Saxon ages 央格鲁-撒克逊时代给我们留下的古英语文学作品中，最重要的一部是《贝奥武甫》，<Beowulf> 别认为是英国的民族史诗。

The good specimens标本of pagan异教poetry 诗歌are Beowulf,the greatest of Germanic epics日耳曼史诗. 讲述主人公贝尔武甫斩妖除魔，与火龙搏斗的故事，具有神话传奇色彩。

national epic 民族史诗of the English people/of the
Anglo-Saxons; Denmark story; alliteration 头韵体, A lot of metaphors 隐喻and understatements保守的陈述are used in the poem.
Epic:long narrative poems叙事诗that
record the adventures or
heroic deeds of a hero enacted
制定in vast landscapes风景.
The style of epic is grand宏伟
的and elevated严肃的.
e.g. Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey
Artistic features:
The epic presents an all-round picture of the tribal society史诗提出了一种全面的图像部落的社
会。

.We can see the social conditions and customs of that period我们可以看到那个时期的社会条件和习俗。

.So,the epic is also a poem of great social significance. 所以,史诗也是一个伟大的社会意义的诗。

Definition of alliteration头韵: a rhetorical device, meaning some words in a sentence
begin with the same consonant辅音sound （头韵）
ing使用metaphor隐喻and
understatement 保守陈述
Definition of understatement:
expressing something in a controlled
受控制的way Understatement is a
typical典型的way for Englishmen
to express their ideas
Features of Beowulf:a.Emphatics stress.
b)Each line is divided into two parts,each half has two strongly accented syllables音节，at least one of the stressed syllables in the first half-line must alliterate with the first accented syllable in the second half-line.
c) A lot of metaphors and understatements are used in the poem.
Anglo-saxon Christian poetry is produced by
Caedmon and Cynewulf.
Caedmon,the first English known poet,has been called the father of the English songs. Cynewulf livedin the early 9th century.He was the greatest Anglo-Saxon poet,excepting the unknown composer of Beowulf.The only signed poems by Cynewulf are Christ基督,Juliana朱莉安娜，the Fates of the Apostles 使徒的命运and Elene埃伦娜.
The Norman conquest 诺曼征服：brought a great change to the English language ;brought the growth of English vocabulary.French culture dominated the English language and literature for three hundred years.The knightly code,the romantic interest in women. The Romance传奇文学
The three matters of the romance:传奇文学的三个问题the matter of France,the Matter of Rome and the matter of Britain.
The most notable著名的romance in this gioup is Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.A verse诗篇-romance of 2530 lines,derived from来源于Celtic legend 凯尔特传奇
Poetry in age of Chaucer,14th century: Geoffrey Chaucer lived in the 14th century.His writings brought about带来the first harvest in English poetry.So,the 14th century has been traditionally 习惯上called Age of Chaucer.
English poetry flowered in the writings of three great poets:William Langland,Geoffrey Chaucer,and John
Gower.
William Langland’s achievement in Piers Plowman农夫皮尔斯is important both in literature and in history.
Piers Plowman has the form of a dream vision.It is perhaps one of the greatest of English allegories寓言.
Geoffrey Chaucer:In the period of Medieval English,literature found its best expression mainly in poetry.The most famous and greatest poet of the time was Geoffrey Chaucer,who is often called the father of English poetry.He was born in London.He liked reading and writing in his spare time.Chaucer’s literary career coincided一致，符合with his life experiences.
Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales:total about 17000 lines;
has its social significance in several ways:First,
second,
Third,
Fourth,
Fifth,
Lastly
The Fifteenth Cemtury Poetry Chaucerians 乔叟式的：John Lydgate,John Skelton
But it is a perid in which folk literature flourished 繁荣,especially ballads民谣.情歌。

Popular ballads:民谣Ballads belong to the domain of folk literature.A ballad is a story told in song,usually in 4-line
stanzas,with the second and fourth lines rhymed.
Ballads of Robin Hood:The most famous cycle of the English ballads deal with the stories of a legendary outlaw named Robin Hood.
In English history,Robin Hood is a partly legendary figure.
2,the sixteenth century: The Renaissance in England英国的文艺复兴 H umanism人文主义become the key note of the English Renaissance.The English scholars
and educators called themselves Humanists.
●T he English Renaissance went through three periods:The Beginning ,The Flowering(also called a Age of Elizabeth伊丽
莎白),and The Decline.
●E lizabethan poetry is remarkable for its variety ,its freshness,its youthfulness,and
its romantic ardor.In the Age
of Elzabeth，writing poetry became a fashion.The queen herself was a poet.
●T he Sonnet,十四行诗the common Italian poetic form,was introduced by Thomas Wyatt.Henry Hoeard,Earl of Surrey,invented the English
sonnet,which was practiced by Shakespeare and other sonnet writers.He also introduced blank verse无韵诗into English。

This form serves so well the large descriptive and narrative requirements of The Faerie Queene仙后.
Sir Thomas Wyatt ,the first introduce the Sonnet into English literature.His greatest contribution to English literature is that he introduced into England the sonnets,a 14-lined poem with a complicated rhyme scheme.The most common rhyme scheme in Wyatt’s sonnets is abba abba cddc ee. The sonnets of
Shakespeare are English-structure,usually rhyming abab cdcd efef gg. Edmund Spenser,the greatest poet of the English Renaissance,is regarded as “the poet’spoet”because of his great influence on later poets.。