英国文学简史 刘炳善著(1-3单元)

Part one

Conquests & Influences

A. Early period:

1.The Roman conquest:

(1)The Roman civilization 文明；文化

(2)Christianity (基督教)

(3)Flouring (兴旺) of towns along military roads

2. The English conquest:

(1)Three tribes English old English (the Angles, Saxons and Jutes)

(2)Tribal society-feudalism (社会封建制度)

B. Medieval period:

1.The Danish conquest

2.The Norman conquest

(1)The French-Speaking Normans under Duke William came in 1066

(2)Establishment of feudalism (封建制度)

(3)French words came to English

Anglo-Saxon Poetry (499-1066)

1.Anglo-Saxons: the ancestors of today’s Englishmen

2.The beginning of history of English literature

3.Features: alliteration (头韵) & rhymes metaphors (押韵的比喻) and understatements (轻描淡写)

4.The only great work: Beowulf

Beowulf

1.A national epic (史诗般的作品) of the English people.

2.Pagan (异教徒的) poetry & No representative figure (没有代表性人物)

3.A folk legend brought to England by Anglo-Saxon from Northern Europe.

4.Praises man’s energy, intellect and love of life; and exposes the social vices. (社会的黑暗面)

Features of Beowulf

1.Alliteration

2.Metaphors (隐喻)

3.Understatements (保守的陈述)

The significance of Beowulf

1.This glorious (辉煌的) epic presents us a vivid picture of the life of Anglo-Saxon people and highly praises the brave and courageous spirit of the fighting against the vices.

2.The epic reflects the situations the pagan tribalism (部落文化) and of the era (时代) of the Christianized (基督教化) feudal society.

3.The epic gives the vivid portrayal (写照) of a great national hero, strong and courageous people

and his kinfolk. (亲属)

Feudal England

1.The chief features of the society was division into two classes: Landlords and peasants.

2.The peasants’ rising shook the feudal system in England to the root.

The Romance

1.The code of manners and morals of a knight is known as chivalry (骑士精神).

2.The English versions of romances were translated from French or Latin.

3.The romance of King Arthur is the most important for the history of English literature.

4.The romance’s culmination (顶点) in (metrical romance)

5.The romance’s summing up in Thomas Malory’s (in English prose散文)

6.(i. E. the Death of King Arthur ) is a collection of stories about King Arthur, translated from French by Sir Thomas Malory.

Langland

written by William Langland shows the existence of English popular literature.

The English Ballads

Ballad: a story told in song, usually in four-line stanzas, with the second and fourth lines rhymed.

The various ballads of Robin Hood are gathered into a collection called: The Geste of Robin Hood

Chaucer

一.Chaucer’s Literary Career

The three periods of Chaucer’s career

1.Works translated from French, as

2.Works adapted from the Italian, as

3. which is purely English

二.The Canterbury Tales’ Social Significance(参考)

1.A true-to-life picture of Chaucer’s time

2.Taking the stand of the rising bourgeoisie, Chaucer affirms men’s rights to pursue their earthly happiness and opposes the dogma of asceticism preached by the church

3.As a forerunner of humanism, he praises man’s energy, intellect and love of life

4.Attack social evils of his time

三.The Wife of Bath

四.Chaucer’s Language

Chaucer’s language, now called Middle English, is vivid and exact. He is a master of