英国文学选读温习要点.docx
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英国文学选读温习要点.docx
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英国文学选读温习要点
ABriefRevision
GeoffreyChaucer
GeoffreyChauceristhe“fatherofEnglishpoetry”andoneofthegreatestnarrativepoetsofEngland.HewasburiedinWestminsterAbbey.Chaucer’slanguage,nowcalledMiddleEnglish,isvividandexact.GeoffreyChauceristhefirstgreatpoetwhowroteintheEnglishlanguage.ChaucermustberankedamongthemostlearnedandaccomplishedofEnglishpoets.
TheCanterburyTalesishismasterpieceandoneofthemonumentalworksinEnglishliterature.TheBookoftheDuchesswascomposedbyChaucerprobablyasamemorialpoemfortheDuchessofLancaster,whodiedoftheplague.
TheCanterburyTales
TheCanterburyTalesshouldbeanimmenseworkof124storiesbutonly24werewritten.Incompleteastheyare,TheCanterburyTalescoverspracticallyallthemajortypesofmedievalliterature.TheCanterburyTaleswaswritteninheroiccouplet.
Generaltone:
happy,easy,lively,humorous.
Terms:
Rhyme:
therepetitionofsoundsattheendsofwordsiscalledrhyme.Whenwordsrhymeattheendoflinesofpoetryitiscalledendrhyme.
Heroiccouplet:
Iambicpentameterlinesrhymedinpairs.ItiscalledheroicbecauseinEngland,especiallyinthe18thcentury,itwasmuchusedforheroic(epic)poems.
Iambicpentameterisameterinpoetry,consistingofanunrhymedlinewithfiveiambsorfeet,feltbymanytobethemostpowerfulofallmetricalformsinEnglishpoetry.
Renaissance
Generally,itreferstotheperiodbetweenthe14thandmid-17thcenturies.TheRenaissancemarksatransitionfromthemedievaltothemodernworld.ItfirststartedinItaly,withthefloweringofpainting,sculpture,architecture,andliterature.TheRenaissance,therefore,inessence,isahistoricalperiodinwhichtheEuropeanhumanistthinkersandscholarsmadeattemptstogetridofthoseoldfeudalistideasinmedievalEurope,tointroducenewideasthatexpressedtheinterestsoftherisingbourgeoisie,andtorecoverthepurityoftheearlychurchfromtheRomanCatholicChurch.
HumanismistheessenceoftheRenaissance.Byemphasizingthedignityofhumanbeingsandtheimportanceofthepresentlife,TheRenaissancehumanistthinkersvoicedtheirbeliefsthatmandidnotonlyhavetherighttoenjoythebeautyofthislife,buthadtheabilitytoperfecthimselfandperformwonders.
RenaissanceinEngland
The16thcenturyinEnglandwasaperiodofthebreakingupoffeudalrelationsandtheestablishmentofthefoundationsofcapitalism.BecauseoftheWarofRoseswithinthecountryanditsweakandunimportantpositioninworldtrade,RenaissancecamelaterinEnglandthanotherEuropeancountries.Butwhenitdidcome,itwastoproducesometoweringfiguresintheEnglish,and—world
literaryheritage—WilliamShakespeare,EdmundSpenser,SirThomasMore,FrancisBaconandanumberofhumanistscholars.
WilliamShakespeare
WilliamShakespeareisoneofthemostremarkableplaywrightsandpoetstheworldhaseverknown.HewasmanofthelateRenaissancewhogavethefullestexpressiontohumanistideals.Withhis37/38/39plays,154sonnetsand2longpoems,hehasestablishedhisgiantpositioninworldliterature.Hisworkshavebeentranslatedintoeverymajorlanguageintheworld.Hehasbeengiventhehighestpraisesbyvariousscholarsandcriticsintheworldover.HiscontemporarypoetanddramatistBenJonsondedicatedapoeminpraiseofhim:
“…hewasnotofanage,butforalltime!
”Thatisdefinitelytrue.
ShakespearewasborninStratford-on-Avon,asmalltowntothenorthwestofLondon.
Shakespeare’sachievements
1.Shakespearerepresentedthetrendofhistoryingivingvoicetothedesiresandaspirationsofthepeople.
2.Shakespeare’shumanism:
Moreimportantthanhishistoricalsenseofhistime,Shakespeareinhisplaysreflectsthespiritofhisage.
3.Shakespeare’scharactersare“round”,inthesensethattheyhavemanyaspectsordimensions.
4.Shakespeare’soriginality:
Shakespearedrewmostofhismaterialsfromsourcesthatwereknowntohisaudience;somefromRomandramas,somefrom
theAnglo-SaxonChronicle,andsomefromotherwriters’plays.Buthisplaysareoriginalbecauseheinstilledintotheoldmaterialsanewspiritthatgivesnewlifetohisplays.
5.Shakespeareasagreatpoet:
Shakespearewasnotonlyagreatdramatist,butalsoagreatpoet.
6.ShakespeareasmasteroftheEnglishlanguage:
ShakespearewasthemasteroftheEnglishlanguage.
Hamlet
HamletisconsideredtobethesummitofShakespeare’sart.ItistheprofoundestexpressionofShakespeare’shumanismandhiscriticismofcontemporarylife.
RomeoandJuliet
RomeoandJulietItisShakespeare’sfirstromantictragedy.
Sonnet:
a14-linepoem,predominantlyiniambicpentameter.TheEnglish(orShakespearean)sonnetisusuallyarrangedinto3quatrainsandacouplet,rhymingababcdcdefefgg.Thecoupletisusuallytheconclusion.
SomeimportantworksofShakespeare:
1)Comedies:
TheComedyofErrors,TheTwoGentlemenofVerona,TheTamingoftheShrew,Love’sLabour’sLost,AMidsummerNight’sDream,TheMerchantofVenice,MuchAdoaboutNothing无事生非,AsYouLikeIt皆大欢喜,TwelfthNight,TheMerryWivesofWindsor,All’swellThatEndsWell终成眷属,MeasureforMeasure一报还一报.
2)Tragedies:
RomeoandJuliet,JuliusCaesar,Hamlet,Othello,KingLear,Macbeth,AntonyandCleopatra,TroilusandCressida.
3)Tragi-comedies:
Cymbeline,TheWinter’sTale,TheTempest.
4)Histories:
HenryIV,HenryVI.
Theme
ThethemeofHamletisrevenge
ThethemeofKingLearisvanity.
ThethemeofOthelloisjealousy.
ThethemeofMacbethisdesire.
FrancisBacon
BaconisthefounderofmodernscienceinEngland.He,aphilosopher,scientistandessayist,laysthefoundationformodernsciencewithhisinsistenceonscientificwayofthinkingandfreshobservationratherthanauthorityasabasisforobtainingknowledge.
Essays
58essayswereincludedinBacon’sEssays.Theyarefamousfortheirbrevity,compactness,andpowerfulness.Theseessayscoverawidevarietyofsubjectsconcerningvariousaspectsoflife,suchaslove,truth,friendship,parentsandchildren,beauty,studies,riches,youthandage,garden,death,andmanyothers.Theyhavewonpopularityfortheirprecision,clearness,brevityandforce.
The17thcenturywasoneofthemostturbulentperiodsinEnglishhistory.Itwasaperiodwhenabsolutemonarchyimpededthefurtherdevelopmentof
capitalisminEnglandandthebourgeoisiecouldnolongerbearthecontrolofthelandednobility.Thecontradictionsbetweenthefeudalsystemandthebourgeoisiehadreacheditspeakandresultedinarevolutionaryoutburst.
TheEnglishrevolutiontookplaceinthemiddleof17thcentury.Amongthecausesofthisrevolutionwasthegrowthofcapitalism,thebreak-upofserfdomandPuritanmovement.
In1642,theCivilWarbrokeoutbetweenthekingandtheParliament.WiththesupportofthepeopleandtheleadershipofOliverCromwell,theEnglishbourgeoisiewonthevictory.In1649CharlesIwascapturedandbeheaded.EnglandbecameacommonwealthundertheleadershipofOliverCromwell.Afterhisdeath,monarchywasagainrestoredbyKingCharlesIIin1660.ItwascalledaperiodoftheRestoration
ThereweretwoleadersintheEnglishRevolution.CromwellwasthemanofactionandMiltonthemanofthought.
JohnMilton
InEnglishliteratureJohnMiltonrankswithShakespeareandChaucer.Duringhisretirementfrompubliclife,heproducedhismasterpieces:
theepicParadiseLost,itssequel,ParadiseRegained;andthepoetictragedySamsonAgonistes.
ParadiseLost
ParadiseLostislongepicpoemdividedinto12books.Thethemeisthefallofmen:
man’sdisobedienceandthelossthereuponofParadise.InthisepicpoemSatanisthemostsuccessfullyportrayedcharacter.Hewasevil,rebellious,
courageous,heroicandtragic.
Milton’sstyle
Miltonisdifficulttoread,becauseofhisinvolvedstylewithfrequentinversion(probablyowingtotheinfluenceofLatinsyntax)andverycomplicatedsentencestructures.Hissentencesareoftenlong,sometimesrunningintoadozen,orevenmorelines.Toexpresshissublimityofthought,hewroteinastylethatisunsurpassedinitssonority,eloquence,majestyandgrandeur.
DanielDefoe
DanielDefoeisconsideredoneofthegreatestfictionwritersof18th-centuryEngland.Defoewasaverygoodstory-teller.Hissentencesaresometimesshort,crispandplain,andsometimeslongandrambling,whileleaveonthereaderanimpressionofcasualnarration.Hislanguageissmooth,easy,colloquialandmostlyvernacular.Thereisnothingartificialinhislanguage:
itiscommonEnglishatitsbest.
RobinsonCrusoe
ThestoryofRobinsonCrusoeiswell-knownthroughouttheworld.IttellsofhowRobinsonCrusoe,anEnglishmariner,havingshipwreckedonanisland,managedtostruggleforlivefor28yearsthereandrescuedablackman,whomhenamedFriday,fromthecannibals(personwhoeatshumanflesh).Later,Robinsongotholdofashipandsailedhome.Thebook’s“realistic”touchandingenuity(originality)arousedgreatinterestfromthereadersbothinEnglandandabroad.
Robinsonisherearealhero:
atypicaleighteenth-centuryEnglishmiddle-class
man,withagreatcapacityforwork,inexhaustibleenergy,courage,patienceandpersistenceinovercomingobstacles,instrugglingagainstthehostilenaturalenvironment.Heistheveryprototypeoftheempirebuilder,thepioneercolonist.
JonathanSwift
JonathanSwiftisamastersatirist.
Gulliver’sTravels
Gulliver’sTravelsishisbestwork,asocialandpoliticalprosesatire,intheformofabookoftravels.Itispartlyburlesqueoftravelers’tales,andpartlyrealisticwonder-bookwithaverydifferentsatiricalaim.Asawhole,
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