英国文学笔记

The influence of Bacon’s scientific spirit on his literature Francis Bacon was a versatile figure in the period of transition from the Renaissance to the early modern era, who made great contributions to wide range of fields varing from natural science, philosophy to literature. In the field of science, he is well known for devising an inductive method of reasoning in scientific study. In the filed of philosophy, he is the forerunner of English materialism because he stressed the importance of experience and experiment, which is in direct opposition to the superstition and scholasticism of the Middle Ages. It is this scientific spirit that lead to the brevity, preciseness and powerfulness of his literature works.

In his life, Bacon wrote 58 essays, which are the reflection and comments, mostly on the rather abstract subject. He wrote to inform young men of his age how to be efficient, just as his scientific spirit. Bacon’s essay is the first example of that genre in English literature, which was the landmark of in the development of English prose and began the long English essay tradition.

The essential qualities of his essays are conciseness, brevity and powerfulness and logic. Take his Of Studies for example, the arguments are well arranged in unity and coherence in the first sentence, which point out the main functions of studies is delight, ornament and ability. Besides, he analyze the different methods adopted which lead to different results, and the benefits of studies which help to shape characters. The rhetorical devices also add to the brilliance of the essay. The analogy make his essay concrete, vivid and rich. The ellipsis makes the essay concise, clear and coherent. The natural flow of parallels makes his logic and philosophical arguments convincingly and forcefully.

As versatile, towering figure in English history, he made wide range of contributions varying from science to literature, but it is supposed to be seen that all these fields are interrelated for Francis Bacon. It is his scientific spirit of materialism that makes his essays peculiar at his age for their conciseness, brevity, logic and powerfulness.

The age of Geoffrey Chaucer:

Backgroung of the time of Chaucer:

1. hundred years’ war between English kings and French kings: awakeing of

national conciousness and French language was gradually replaced.

2. peasant uprising caused by exploitation and oppression of feudal lords( heavy

taxes, the peasant rebellion was treacherously suppressed.

3-----the father of English poetry father of English language a new age.

He had a variety of occupations; coutier, soldier, ambassador, legislator, so he was familiar with the lives of various classes. Buried in westerminster

abbey

The Canterbury Tales

It tells a story of a group of pilgrims who are going to St. Thomas Beckett’ Tomb at cantebury from the Tabbard Inn and each one of them has to tell 2 stories on the outward trip and another 2 on the way back, and the best story teller will be rewarded with a nice supper at the rest of all the rest.

The significance of the Canterbury:

1.It gives a comprehensive picture of Chaucer’s time. The pilgrims covers a wide

range of characters in the England of the time, from noble man to peasants.

2.The dramatic structure of the poem has been highly commented by critics. Stories

are cleverly woven together by links between each other. Most stories are related to the personality of the teller.

3.Chaucer’s humor: his satire and irony “the smyler with the knyf under the cloke”

4.His contribution to language: he wrote in the London dialect of his time, which he

used skillfully. He proved English could be a beautiful language and cane be

handled to express deferent mood. By doing so, he greatly increase the prestige of the English language. He introduced heroic

Heroic couplet: a pair of rhyming iambic pentameter.

: 14th –mid 17th started in Italy

The Renaissance - rebirth or revival of ancient Roman & Greek culture. The essence of renaissance is humanism. People emphasize the dignity of human being & the importance of the present life, it was against human nature to sacrifice the happiness of this life for after life. Man should be given full freedom to enrich the intellectual and emotional life. In literatue, instead of praising god, they sang in praise of man and advocate the pursuit of happiness in this life, shttered the shackles of spiritual bondage of man’s kind.

Best representatives: Thomas More, Christopher Marlowe, William Shakespeare

The Elizabethan drama: the real mainstream of English Renaissance

Most famous dramatists: Christopher Marlowe, William Shakespeare, Ben Jonson

作品：

1. apprenticeship : Henry Ⅵ, Richard Ⅲ…

2. rapid growth and development: Richard Ⅱ, Henry Ⅳ, Henry Ⅴ, King John…

Comedies: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night…

Tragedy: Romeo and Juliet: romantic tragedy: To praise the faithfulness of

3. Four tragedies -

4. tragicomedies：The Tempest

Achievement:

1. his humanism: the humanist outlook prevails in his works. He had firm belief in the nonility of human nature and the power of love

2. his characterization; round character, they had many aspects and dimensions. Vice and virtue commingle, and that is true common sense of humanity.

……need more

4. a master of English language: many of his quotations and phrases have been absorbed into English language.

5. his originality

6. he represented the trend of history in giving voice to the desire and aspirations of people.

Sonnet: a poem of 14 lines, usually in iambic pentameter with various rhyming schemes. It consists of 3 types. They are petrarchan style, penserian style and shsakespearan style.

Sonnet 18:

Summer’ lease: summer is personified as a a temant holding a lease for a short time, time is the eternal landlord.

Too brief a duration

The beauty of evry beautiful thing sometimes decline.

Death shall not brag that you will go to the underworld.

eternal or immortal（不朽的）beauty, have a faith in the permanence of poetry.

A nice summer’s day is usually transient(短暂的), but the beauty in poetry can last

for ever.confidence of the power of poem and art.

Romeo and Julia:

Despite the family feud, a pair of innocent lovers express their love for each other . his humanism is evidently seen in his praise of human love.

16C—17C过渡

hakespeare’s contemporary, he was the chief figure in the English prose and began the long tradition of English essay.

The progenitor of English materialism: stress the importance of experiment, experiences in opposition to the supers and forcefulness.

Devise introductive method.

Write to inform the young at his age how to be efficient.

58 essays are author’s reflection of rather abstract subject. They are known for brevity, conciseness, forcefulness.

Of studies

Of Studies is the most popular of Bacon’s 58 essays. It analyzes what study chiefly serve for, the different ways adopted by different people to pursue studies, and how studies exert influence over human character. Forceful and persuasive, compact and precise, Of Studies reveals to us Bacon’s mature attitude towards learning.

Devices:

Parallelism ellipses analogy

Metaphysical poets: bold and ingenious conceits and imagery, fantasticality in form. Love, death and religion. all things in the universe, no matter how different they are, they are unified to god.

Cavalier poets: courtliness, urbanity and polish. Love and seize the day

The use of quaint and ingenious imagery

Virtue:

Everything natural will meet its end, only a sweet and virtuous soul can survive forever. The contrast highlight the theme of the power.

it reflected a religious metaphysical poet toward life: nothing but a religiously devout soul perpetuate.

Cavalier Poets领袖

他们的诗歌追循古典主义原则，推崇理性和谐和规律，讲究古典精炼的形式和严格的韵脚，对其后兴起的新古典主义（Neo-Classism）诗歌，尤其是德莱顿（John Dryden）和蒲伯（Alexander Pope）的作品，产生了重大影响。

Song to Celia

love lyric. The poem describes a strong but exquisite affection of a man to a beauty called Celia. the poem shows the psychology of the man. He will get satisfied just for delivering his love by eyes. He will bear the thirst and resist temptation of the nectar just for the sake of keeping the beauty’s lipstick she left on the edge of the cup. He will present her a bunch of rose just for getting her breath much better than the flower. the poem gives us a large space to imagine hoe beautiful, attractive the woman is. Background:

In the 17th century, the further development of capitalism and bourgeois can no longer stand the feudal class.

Puritan revolution

the conflict between monarch and parliament became worse. 1. For eleven years, Charles I ruled without calling parliament and impose heavy tax. The burger class was greatly emerged. 2. persecution of puritans.

The revolution was carried out under the cloak of religion. Puritanism represent the interest of bourgeois

The 17th century was one of the most tempestuous periods in English history. Conflicts and clashes appeared between the King and the Parliament, which represented the bourgeois class.

In 1642, a civil war (English revolution) broke out between Charles I and the parliament. At last, the royalists were defeated by the parliament army led by Oliver Cromwell. In 1649 Charles I was beheaded, and England was declared to be a commonwealth.

After the death of Cromwell, the parliament recalled CharlesⅡto England in 1660 and monarchy was restored, then followed the Restoration Period.

In 1688, the bourgeoisie invite William, prince of Orange; form Holland to be king of England. This is called the “Glorious Revolution”. This bloodless event completed the bourgeoisie revolution and modern England was firmly established. English literature was greatly influenced by the great upheaval of the time,

English literature of the revolution and restoration was very much concerned with the tremendous social upheavals of the time.

A. general characteristics

1) The Revolution Period was one of confusion in literature due to the breaking up of the old ideals. The Puritans believed in simplicity of life. They disapproved of the sonnets and the love poetry written in the previous period. Literature was as divide din spirit as were the struggling parties.

2) Literature in the Puritan Age expressed age and sadness. Even its brightest hours were followed by gloom and pessimism.

3) Romantic ardor can not be found in literature of the Puritan period.

4) John Milton, whose work would glorify any age and people, and in his work the indomitable revolutionary spirit found its noblest expression. For this reason, this period is also called Age of Milton．

5)The main literary form of the period was poetry．Besides Milton, there were two other groups of poets, the Metaphysical Poets and the Cavalier Poets.

hatred for the despotic ruler. With his pen, he defended revolutionary causes.

4) Features of Milton's Poetry or Milton’s contribution

A. Milton is a great revolutionary poet of the 17th century. He is also an outstanding political pamphleteer of the Revolution period. He made a strong influence on the later progressive English poets.

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.

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.

E. His poetry is noted for sublimity of thought and majesty of expression

To mr. cryiack skinner upon his blindness

Express his loyalty to revolutionary cause. Though he is blind, he is not a bit discouraged. The idea having lost his eyesight made him proud of himself and continued his fight,

. John Buny

As Milton was the chief puritan poet, so Bunyan was the chief puritan writer of prose. The Pilgrim’s Progress《天路历程》

寓言), its purpose is to urge people to abide by Christian

doctrines and seek salvation(拯救) through constant struggles with their own weaknesses and all kinds of social evils. Its predominant metaphor –life as a journey

The enlightenment movement:

it is a progressive intellectual movement in the 18th century , a furtherance of renaissance. It’s to enlighten the whole world with the light of modern philosophy and science. Because of its emphasis onrationality, it is also called the age of reason. In

neo-classicism:

People emphasize on reason rather than emotion, form rather than content.

Most of the writing are didactical, satirical

As elegance, correctness appropriateness and restraint were preferred, the poet found closed couplet the only possible verse for serious work

It is wanting in all those elements that are related with the romantic.

Gulliver’s Travels《格列佛游记》

. A Modest Proposal

A Modest Proposal

His life in Ireland gives him an intimate knowledge of the miserable condition of the people. Ireland had been England’s colony since 1945. he wrote a number of pamphlets to criticize the suppression and exploitation by absentee landlord and English government. He was highly respected and loved by irish people for his sympathy for poor people and hatred for the rich suppressors.

It suggest irish people in a serious manner with facts and figures. that the best way to end their misery was to produce children and sell them at the market as a delicious dish for the rich. It is a bitter satire on the policy of the English government towards irish people. The bitter irony is also seen in the contrast of the calm tone, humble manner of speaking and brutality and savage of content.

one of the first to introduce rationalism to England, for him the supreme value was order.

Life: roman catholic despite of the hostility toward catholic. At the age of 12, a disease left him a hunchback of less than 5 feet tall, and his deformity often made him the victim of contempt. His early experiences was responsible for his strong reaction to criticism.

Statue: He is the embodiment of English neo-classicism, he gained a profound knowledge of both the classics and the craft of writing. He mastered the literary rules well and used them better than most of his contemporaries, he is perfect in using

heroic couplet. He is not profound in thoughts but very adept in voicing the idea of his contemporaries in a beautiful and clever way.

Hope springs eternal

From brutes what men, from men what spirits know: this shows pope’s concept of an orderly universe, in which god is placed obove man and man is placed above animals. Accordingly, they are allowed to know what they should know.

Or who could suffer being here below: if those to stayed below knows everything about to happen to them, how could them bear their low status of life

Each may fill the circle marked by god: each creature may stay happily in his own place designed by god.

Because we do not know the future, so people can always hope.

Indian also benefit from their ignorance and their poor knowledge does not at all prevent them from living happily in the woods and satisfying their natural talents. Man is made in the shape of god, and occupies a middle position in the great chains of being. Dispite man’s blindness to the future, they should never be pessimistic with their lives. Instead, they should live happily just as the ignorant Indians do. advise people to place absolute trust in god’s way to man.

the author of the first English dictionary by an Englishman, lexicographer

the last neoclassicist enlightener.

letter to the right honorable the earl of chesterfield

it is written in a very polite and refined language but a bitter undertone of anger, satire and defiance. The contrast of seemingly peaceful reasoning with the implication of anger and criticism achieves the best satire effect. It express author’s strong indignation at the lord’ fame-fishing and his firm resolution not to be reconciled to the hypocritical lord.

Pre romanticism

Under the influence of French revolution, it is against classicism, and advocate imagination and individual’s mind.

It witnessed the decline of neoclassicism. It was marked by revolt against neo classicism and emphasis on human passion and emotion. It is free from fixed rules, refinement in neoclassicism.

He is optimistic and patriotic. As peasant poet, he shows his affection and closeness to the common people. His poems are permeated with Scottish national spirit, and his language is full of emotion and sincerity and has a musical quality.

A Red Red Rose

Rose is the symbol of love. The poet use rose as a symbol of their love. 2. His lover is just as young and beautiful as the newly sprung rose. Newly spring= young

Why it is so touching?

Original flavor in fiery and direct expression

Artistic recreation: imagery presentation

Repetition, imagery, hyperbole, symbol, simile

Auld lang syne old long since/ the time gone by 过去的美好的时光

we’ll take another cup of friendship

surely, you’ll drink your fill

- poet & engraver(雕刻家)

Progenitor of romanticism in english poetry

Strongly opposed to nationalism and tyranny of all forms, emphasize on intuition and imagination.

Songs of Innocence----- a happy and innocent world from children's eye

Songs of Experience---- a world of misery, poverty, disease, war and repression with a melancholy (忧郁的)tone from men eyes. Childhood, paradoxes, a pairing of opposites

Tiger:

The Tyger, included in Songs of Experience, is one of Blake's best-known poems. It seemingly praises the great power of tiger, but what the tiger symbolizes remains disputable: the power of man? Or the revolutionary force? Or the evil? Or as it is usually interpreted, the Almighty Maker who created both the meek & gentle lamb & the terrible & awesome tiger? The poem is highly symbolic with a touch of mysticism & it is open to various interpretations. The poem contains six quatrains in rhyming couplets & its language is terse & forceful with an anvil rhythm.

The tiger is the counterpart of the lamb in the songs of innocence. On contrary of the lamb who symbolize the goodness and kindness of the world, the tiger symbolize the evil. Lamb is the representive of innocent society, but it lacks progressive forces. However, although tiger is sometimes destructive, it is vigorous and creative. they represent evil and good of the society respectively and both of them are indispensable. London:

Chartered street: a street which is pre-empted as a private property. Charter: a document issued by government granting tights and privileges.

Mark : notice/ sign

Ban: an order that officially forbids something

Mind forged manacle:

Blackening: the word is used both in its physical sense and moral sense,. Physically, the outward of the church is blackening because of the pollution. Morally, it referring to the hypocrisy and corruption of church.

Hapless: unfortunate

Soldiers’sign: referring to the tragic lives of the disarmed soldiers wandering in London.

Hearing the signs of the miserable soldiers, one visualize blood running down on the

walls of the palace. Synaesthesia

The society become more degraded because of the capitalism and urbanization

The gap between the rich and poor are enlarged

Showing sympathy for the poor people.

△ Romantic - emotion over reason, spontaneous (自发)emotion, a change from the outer world of social civilization to the inner world of the human spirit, poetry should be free from all rules, imagination, nature, commonplace

△ The romantic emphasized the special qualities of each individual’s mind.

王守仁《英国文学选读》译文汇总.

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多次游弋于地中海跟随登陆大军将敌战败十五次比武他大显身手为捍卫信仰而浴血奋斗在战场上三次杀死敌将高贵的武士美名传四方他还侍奉过柏拉西亚国君讨伐另一支土耳其异教军没有一次不赢得最高荣誉他骁勇善战聪慧而不痴愚他温柔顺从像个大姑娘一生无论是在什么地方对谁也没有讲过半个脏字堪称一个完美的真骑士他有一批俊美的千里马但是他的衣着朴实无华开价的底下是结识的布衣上上下下到处是斑斑污迹他风尘仆仆刚从战场归来片刻未休息就急忙去朝拜 Unit 2 William Shakespeare 1564-1616 生存或毁灭这是个必答之问题是否应默默的忍受坎苛命运之无情打击还是应与深如大海之无涯苦难奋然为敌并将其克服此二抉择就竟是哪个较崇高死即睡眠它不过如此倘若一眠能了结心灵之苦楚与肉体之百患那么此结局是可盼的死去睡去但在睡眠中可能有梦啊这就是个阻碍当我们摆脱了此垂死之皮囊在死之长眠中会有何梦来临它令我们踌躇使我们心甘情愿的承受长年之灾否则谁肯容忍人间之百般折磨如暴君之政骄者之傲失恋之痛法章之慢贪官之侮或庸民之辱假如他能简单的一刃了之还有谁会肯去做牛做马终生疲於操劳默默的忍受其苦其难而不远走高飞飘於渺茫之境倘若他不是因恐惧身后之事而使他犹豫不前此境乃无人知晓之邦自古无返者所以「理智」能使我们成为懦夫而「顾虑」能使我们本来辉煌之心志变得黯然无光像个病夫再之这些更能坏大事乱大谋使它们失去魄力第二场同前凯普莱特家的花园罗密欧上罗密欧没有受过伤的才会讥笑别人身上的创痕朱丽叶自上方

大三_英国文学史(绝对标准中文版)

英国文学源远流长，经历了长期、复杂的发展演变过程。在这个过程中，文学本体以外的各种现实的、历史的、政治的、文化的力量对文学发生着影响，文学内部遵循自身规律，历经盎格鲁-撒克逊、文艺复兴、新古典主义、浪漫主义、现实主义、现代主义等不同历史阶段。下面对英国文学的发展过程作一概述。 一、中世纪文学（约5世纪-1485） 英国最初的文学同其他国家最初的文学一样，不是书面的，而是口头的。故事与传说口头流传，并在讲述中不断得到加工、扩展，最后才有写本。公元5世纪中叶，盎格鲁、撒克逊、朱特三个日耳曼部落开始从丹麦以及现在的荷兰一带地区迁入不列颠。盎格鲁-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），它被认为是英国的民族史诗。《贝奥武甫》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。这部作品取材于日耳曼民间传说，随盎格鲁-撒克逊人入侵传入今天的英国，现在我们所看到的诗是8世纪初由英格兰诗人写定的，当时，不列颠正处于从中世纪异教社会向以基督教文化为主导的新型社会过渡的时期。因此，《贝奥武甫》也反映了7、8世纪不列颠的生活风貌，呈现出新旧生活方式的混合，兼有氏族时期的英雄主义和封建时期的理想，体现了非基督教日耳曼文化和基督教文化两种不同的传统。 公元1066年，居住在法国北部的诺曼底人在威廉公爵率领下越过英吉利海峡，征服英格兰。诺曼底人占领英格兰后，封建等级制度得以加强和完备，法国文化占据主导地位，法语成为宫廷和上层贵族社会的语言。这一时期风行一时的文学形式是浪漫传奇，流传最广的是关于亚瑟王和圆桌骑士的故事。《高文爵士和绿衣骑士》（Sir Gawain and the Green Knight，1375-1400）以亚瑟王和他的骑士为题材，歌颂勇敢、忠贞、美德，是中古英语传奇最精美的作品之一。传奇文学专门描写高贵的骑士所经历的冒险生活和浪漫爱情，是英国封建社会发展到成熟阶段一种社会理想的体现。 14世纪以后，英国资本主义工商业发展较快，市民阶级兴起，英语逐渐恢复了它的声誉，社会各阶层普遍使用英语，为优秀英语文学作品的产生提供了条件。杰弗利·乔叟（Geoffrey Chaucer， 1343-1400）的出现标志着以本土文学为主流的英国书面文学历史的开始。《坎特伯雷故事》（The Canterbury Tales）以一群香客从伦敦出发去坎特伯雷朝圣为线索，通过对香客的生动描绘和他们沿途讲述的故事，勾勒出一幅中世纪英国社会千姿百态生活风貌的图画。乔叟首创英雄诗行，即五步抑扬格双韵体，对英诗韵律作出了很大贡献，被誉为"英国诗歌之父".乔叟的文笔精练优美，流畅自然，他的创作实践将英语提升到一个较高的文学水平，推动了英语作为英国统一的民族语言的进程。 二、文艺复兴时期文学（15世纪后期-17世纪初） 相对于欧洲其他国家来说，英国的文艺复兴起始较晚，通常认为是在15世纪末。文艺复兴时期形成的思想体系被称为人文主义，它主张以人为本，反对中世纪以神为中心的世界观，提倡积极进取、享受现世欢乐的生活理想。托马斯·莫尔（Thomas More， 1478-1535）是英国最主要的早期人文主义者，他的《乌托邦》（Utopia）批评了当时的英国和欧洲社会，设计了一个社会平等、财产公有、人们和谐相处的理想国。Utopia现已成为空想主义的代名词，但乌托邦是作者对当时社会状况进行严肃思考的结果。《乌托邦》开创了英国哲理幻想小说传统的先河，这一传统从培根的《新大西岛》（The New Atlantis）、斯威夫特的《格列佛游记》（Gulliver's Travels）、勃特勒的《埃瑞璜》（Erewhon）一直延续到20世纪

英国文学 整理

Term Definition： Alliteration（押头韵）: Alliteration is the repetition of a speech sound in a sequence of nearby words. The term is usually applied only to consonants, and only when the recurrent sound begins a word or a stressed syllable within a word. Arthurian legend（亚瑟王传奇）: It is a group of tales (in several languages) that developed in the Middle Ages concerning Arthur L, semi-historical king of the Britons and his knights. The legend is a complex weaving of ancient Celtic mythology with later traditions around a core of possible historical authenticity. Sonnet（十四行诗）: A lyric poem consisting of a single stanza of fourteen iambic pentameter lines linked by an intricate rhyme scheme. There are two major patterns of rhyme in sonnets written in the English language: ( 1) The Italian or Petrarchan sonnet (named after the fourteenth century Italian poet Petrarch) falls into two main parts: an octave(eight lines) rhyming abbaabba followed by a sestet (six lines) rhyming cdecde or some variant, such as cdccdc . (2) the English sonnet, or else the Shakespearean sonnet. This sonnet falls into three quatrains and a concluding couplet: abab cdcd efef gg. There was one notable variant, the Spenserian sonnet, in which Edmund Spenser linked each quatrain to the next by a continuing rhyme: abab bcbc cdcd ee. Conceit（夸张）: From the Italian concetto (meaning idea or concept), it refers to an unusually far-fetched or elaborate metaphor or simile presenting a surprisingly apt parallel between two apparently dissimilar things or feelings. Poetic conceits are prominent in Elizabethan love sonnets and metaphysical poetry. Conceits often employ the devices of hyperbole, paradox and oxymoron. Neoclassicism（新古典主义）: A style of Western literature that flourished from the mid-seventeenth century until the end of the eighteenth century and the rise of Romanticism. The neoclassicists looked to the great classical writers for inspiration and guidance. They believed that literature should both instruct and delight, and the proper subject of art was humanity. Neoclassicism stressed rules, reason, harmony, balance, restraint, decorum, order, serenity, realism, and form—above all, an appeal to the intellect rather than emotion. The Restoration in 1660 marked the beginning of the Neoclassical Period in England, whose writers included John Dryden, Alexander Pope, Samuel Johnson, etc. Romance（传奇小说）: It is a literary genre popular in the Middle Ages (5th century to 15th century), dealing, in verse or prose, with legendary, supernatural, or amorous subjects and characters. Popular subjects for romances included the Macedonian King Alexander the Great, King Arthur of Britain and the Knights of the Round Table, and the Frankish Emperor Charlemagne. Renaissance（文艺复兴）: Renaissance ("rebirth") is the name commonly applied to the period of European history following the Middle Ages. The development came late to England in the

英国文学期末考试题目(英语专业必备)

.. ;.. 一．中古英语时期 Beowulf is the oldest poem in the English language, and the most important specimen (范例、典范)of Anglo-Saxon literature, and also the oldest surviving epic in the English language. The romance is a popular literary form in the medieval period（中世纪）. It uses verse or prose to sing knightly a dventures or other heroic deeds. Geoffrey Chaucer, one of the greatest English poets, whose masterpiece, The Canterbury Tales（《坎特伯雷故事集》）,was one of the most important influences on the development of English literature. Chaucer is considered as the father of English poetry and the founder of English realism. 二．文艺复兴Renaissance Renaissance r efers to the period between the 14th and mid-17th centuries. It marks a transition(过渡) from the medieval to the modern world. It started in Italy with the flowering of painting, sculpture（雕塑）and literature, and then spread to the rest of Europe. Humanism is the essence of Renaissance -----Man is the measure of all things. This was England’s Golden Age in literature. Queen Elizabeth r eigned over the country in this period. The real mainstream of the English Renaissance i s the Elizabethan drama. The most famous dramatists in the Renaissance E ngland are Christopher Marlowe and W illiam Shakespeare. The greatest of the pioneers of English drama was Christopher Marlowe. Francis Bacon was the best known essayist of this period. “Of Studies” is the most popular of Bacon’s 58 essays. Thomas More ——Utopia Edmund Spenser——The Faerie Queene 相关练习 1. Which is the oldest poem in the English language? A. Utopia B. Faerie Queene C. Beowulf D. Hamlet 2. _____ is the father of English poetry. A. Edmund Spenser B. William Shakespeare C. Francis Bacon D. Geoffrey Chaucer 3. ____ is not a playwright during the Renaissance period on England. A. William Shakespeare B. Geoffrey Chaucer C. Christopher Marlowe D. Ben Johnson 三．莎士比亚William Shakespeare “All t he world 's a stage, a nd all the men and women merely p layers.”——William Shakespeare William Shakespeare is considered the greatest playwright in the world and the finest poet who has written in the English language. Shakespeare understood people more than any other writers. He could create characters that have

英国文学译文

第一部分：早期和中世纪英国文学 第一章：英国的组成 1、大不列颠人（英国人） 在开始学习英国文学史之前，了解一下英国这个民族是很必要的。英国这个民族是一个混血族。早期居住在这个岛上的居民是凯尔特人的一个部落，我们现在称它为大不列颠人。大不列颠人把这个岛屿命名为大不列颠岛，凯尔特人是其原始居民。他们分为几十个小部落，每个部落都以小屋群居为主。“最古老的凯尔特人法律今天归结起来显示出氏族任然充满着生命力”。英国人曾生活在部落社会。 2、罗马人的占领 在公元前55年，大不列颠岛被罗马征服者凯撒入侵，而这时的凯撒刚刚占领了高卢。但是罗马人刚登上大不列颠岛海岸时，就遭到了在首领领导下的大不列颠人的狮子般疯狂的反击，随着罗马将领来来往往的这个世纪，直到公元78年英国从被于罗马帝国完全征服过。伴随着罗马人的侵略占领，罗马式的生活方式也开始融入英国。罗马式剧院和澡堂很快的在城镇中兴起。而这些高雅的文明只不过是罗马侵略者的娱乐享受方式罢了，大不列颠人民却像奴隶一样被压迫着。罗马人的占领持续了将近400年，在这期间，罗马人因其军事目的在岛上修建了后来被称之为罗马路的纵横交错的公路，这些公路在后期发展中起到了很大的作用。沿着这些公路开始建立起大量的城镇，伦敦就是其中之一，开始成为重要的贸易中心城市。罗马的占领也带来了基督教文化。但是在15世纪初期，罗马帝国处于逐渐的衰落阶段。公元410年，所有罗马军队撤回欧洲大陆再也没有返回。因此，也标志这罗马人占领的结束。 3、英国人的占领 同时，大不列颠也被成群的海盗给侵略着。他们是来自北欧的三个部落：盎格鲁人，撒克逊人和朱特人民族。这三个部落在大不列颠海岸登路，把大不列颠人民赶到西部和北部，然后自己定居下来。朱特人占领了岛屿东南部的肯特。撒克逊人占领了岛屿南部地区，并建立起像韦塞克斯，埃塞克斯和东萨塞克斯这样的小王国。盎格鲁人席卷了东部中部地区，并在东英吉利亚建立王国。七个像这样的王国在大不列颠岛上逐渐出现。到公元7世纪，这些小王国开始合并成为今天称为英格兰的统一王国，或被称作盎格鲁人之国。这三个部落的人混合在一起，被称为今天的英国人，而盎格鲁人占绝大多数。他们说的三种方言自然而然的发展成为一种语言——盎格鲁撒克逊，或者古英语，和今天我们所说的英语有着很大的区别。 4、盎格鲁撒克逊人的社会状况 在盎格鲁撒克逊人定居在大不列颠之前，他们仍过着部落式生活。家庭成员以亲属关系联合在一起，分别定居在不同的村落。主要的战争乐团由年轻人组成，勇士们食用族长的食物与其分享战利品。虽然说族长有权决定他子民的生死，但是将在外难免军令有所不受。他熟悉他的每一个士兵，和他们一起吃喝玩乐。这就是当时盎格鲁人称作为“氏族军事民主”。 在占领大不列颠后，盎格鲁撒克逊的社会形态发生了巨大的变化。“我们知道，统治管理未屈服的人民是与非犹太人的法令相违背的……因此，非犹太人社会体系需要改革成为国家机关……首先，征服者代表必须是军事指挥官，被占领地区的内外安全需要加强指挥官的权利。这样，军事领导权转变成君权的时刻到来。一切以成定局。因此，盎格鲁撒克逊时期见证了英国由部落社会向封建社会转变的过程。 5、盎格鲁撒克逊人的宗教信仰以及其影响 盎格鲁撒克逊人是异教徒。他们信奉北欧的古老神话传说。那就是为什么北欧神话学说在英语这门语言中留下痕迹的原因。例如，一周中的天数就是由北神命名的。奥丁，我们所说的神，星期三以他的名字命名，星期四以托尔的名字命名，美丽女神弗丽嘉，祈祷者以她的名字命名星期五。星期二则是为了纪念另一个北欧之神--蒂乌。

英国文学笔记

Middle English Middle English is the stage in the history of the English language during the High and Late Middle Ages, or roughly during the four centuries between the late 11th and the late 15th century.For three centuries after Norman conquest , two languages were were used side by side in England , Latin and French were the languages of the upper classes, used in official and formal conditions.however the inflectional system of old English was weakened and a large number of French words had been absorbed.and many inflectional forms of the words were dropped and formal grammar simplified. Romance Romance is a type of literature that was very popular in the Middle Ages.Romance , in the original sense of the word , means the native language,as opposed to Latin,and later it means a tale in verse, embodying the life and adventures of knights. John wycliff He was one of the first man who demand to reform the church in order to do away with the corruption and rottenness, he was the one who translate the bible into standard english. His translation for bible is a great contribution to english literature ,as well as english lanuage. For he fixed a national standard for englsih prose to replace various dialects. His work owned him the title of father of english prose. William langland He is the author of Piers Plowman 《农夫皮尔斯》or the vision of piers plowman.The story takes the form of an allegory, but it gives a realsitic picture of 14th century England, (an allegory is a story or description in which the characters and events symbolize some deeper underlying meaning,and serve to spread moral teaching)in his work , within the scope of allegorical characters, the lives of the religious people and the laymen are vividly portrayed.the corruption and the rottenness of the church people are truthfully exposed. Chaucer （The Canterbury Tales） Geoffrey Chaucer, the founder of English poetry, father of English literature.was born, about 1340, in London. Chaucer's contribution to English poetry lies chiefly in the fact that he introduced the "heroic couplet"into English poetry, instead of the old Anglo-Saxon alliterative verse. Though drawing influences from French, Italian and Latin models, he is the first great poet who wrote in the current English language. His production of so much excellent poetry was an important factor in establishing English as the literary language of the country. The spoken English of the time consisted of several dialects, and Chaucer did much in making the dialect of London the foundation for modern English speech.

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