英国文学LXW--2012-3-31

nullChapter 7 LiteratureChapter 7 LiteraturePart One British Literature Narrative fiction (short stories and novels) Poetry Drama Non-fiction proseLearning Focus An Introduction to British and American CultureLearning FocusBeowulf The Canterbury Tales William Shakespeare Daniel Defoe Brontë Sisters; Charles Dickens; Thomas Hardy Joseph Conrad; Virginia Woolf Before You ReadBefore You ReadWarm-up 1. Who is the winner of Nobel Prize in Literature in 2010? Mario Vargas Llosa (from Peru) 秘鲁作家马里奥·巴尔加斯·略萨(1936---) the 107th writer who get such prize 1963 La ciudad y los perros《城市与狗》 in Spanish La casa verde (in 1965) 《绿房子》 或《青楼》in Spanishnull2. Have you ever watched any movie that is adapted from British literary works? ____________________________________ 3. Director Feng Xiaogang’s film “The Banquet” has been called the Chinese version of Hamlet. How much do you know about the play Hamlet? ____________________________________ Part 1:Part 1:Early writingBeowulfBeowulfBeowulfBeowulfBeowulf, a long poem with more than 3182 lines, from Anglo-Saxon times One of the oldest of Old English (449 A.D. to 1066 ) Old English (Englisc, Anglisc, Englisc), or Anglo-Saxon, is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century. A folk legend brought to England by Anglo-Saxons from their continental homes Written down in the 10th century It is the national epic of the English people. A reflection of a tribal societyBeowulfBeowulfBeowulf is the conventional title of an Old English heroic epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines, set in Scandinavia, commonly cited as one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature.Story of BeowulfIt tells the story of the 6th century Swedish warrior Beowulf and his conflict with a terrible monster Grendel and his mother. The main protagonist, Beowulf, a hero of the Geat, comes to the aid of Hrothgar, the king of the Danes, whose great hall, Heorot, is plagued by the monster Grendel. Beowulf kills both Grendel and Grendel’s mother, the latter with a magical sword., Later in his life, Beowulf is himself king of the Geats, and finds his realm terrorized by a dragon, who had stolen Beowulf’s treasure from his hoard in a burial mound. He attacks the dragon with the help of his thegns大乡绅, but they do not succeed. Beowulf decides to follow the dragon into its lair (cave), but only his young Swedish relative Wiglaf dares to join him. Beowulf finally slays the dragon, but is mortally wounded. He is buried in a tomb by the sea.Story of Beowulf Writing Features of BeowulfWriting Features of Beowulf1) It is not a Christian but a pagan poem, despite the Christian flavor given to it by the monastery scribe. It is the product of all advanced pagan civilization. The whole poem presents us an all-round picture of the tribal society and Christian culture. The social conditions and customs can be seen in it. So the poem has a great social significance. 2) The use of the strong stress and the predominance of consonants are very notable in this poem. Each line is divided into two halves, and each half has two heavy stresses. 3) The use of the alliteration is another notable feature. Three stresses of the whole line are made even more emphatic by the use of alliteration. 4) A lot of metaphors and understatements are used in the poem. Geoffrey ChaucerGeoffrey Chaucer& The Canterbury TalesGeoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400) Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400) ① The father of modern English poetry: —His main contribution to English poetry is the introduction of the rhymed stanzas (节,段) of various types to English poetry to replace the old English alliterative verse, from France. — Chaucer is the first to use the rhymed couplet (双行押韵) of iambic (抑扬格) pentameter (五音步的), which is to be called the heroic couplet. Thus, he lays the foundation of the English tonic-syllabic verse. ② Master of the English language: — His language is vivid and exact. He is the first to write in London dialect and contributes to making it the foundation for modern English speech. His production of so much excellent poetry is an important factor in establishing English as the literary language of the country. null③The first realistic writer Old English literature is mainly about heroic behavior, with religious color or pagan color and portrays the image of the idealized hero. Middle English (between the late 11th and the late 15th century) romance mainly concerns the knight and makes wide use of the improbable, often of the supernatural. While, Chaucer, for the first time in English literature, presents to the readers a comprehensive realistic picture of the English society of his time and describes a series of vivid characters from all walks of life in The Canterbury Tales.Chaucer as a Pilgrim Canterbury CathedralChaucer as a Pilgrim Canterbury Cathedral The Canterbury TalesThe Canterbury TalesThe Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer at the end of the 14th century. The tales (mostly in verse, although some are in prose) are told as part of a story-telling contest by a group of pilgrims of many different occupations and personalities, as they travel together on a journey from Southwark to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. The pilgrims meet at an inn near London as they are setting out for Canterbury, England. Their host proposes a storytelling contest to make the journey more interesting. Among his works, including Troilus and Criseyde, House of Fame, and Parliament of Fowls, The Canterbury Tales was his masterpiece. He uses the tales and the descriptions of the characters to paint an ironic and critical portrait of English society at the time, and particularly of the Church. Structurally, the collection bears the influence of The Decameron 迪卡麦伦十日谈 , which Chaucer is said to have come across during his first diplomatic mission to Italy in 1372. The Canterbury TalesThe Canterbury TalesThe prologue of this poem provides a framework for the tales. Some of the more famous stories are “The Knight's Tale,” “The Miller's Tale,” and “The Wife of Bath's Tale” (the most well known in all these tales). Death of Arthur An Introduction to British and American CultureDeath of Arthur Medieval romances became a popular form of literature during the medieval age. The stories of King Arthur and his knights reflect the spirit of knighthood. Death of Arthur An Introduction to British and American CultureDeath of ArthurThe best known version of this story is Thomas Malory’s “Morte D’Arthur” (Death of Arthur). Part 2Part 2Elizabethan drama English RenaissanceEnglish RenaissanceThe Renaissance was a European phenomenon. It had its origin in north Italy in the 14th century, and spread northward to other European countries, and lastly to England. It revived the study of Roman and Greek classics and marked the beginning of bourgeois revolution. During the period of English Renaissance England enjoyed stability and prosperity. The English Renaissance encouraged the Reformation of the Church. English King, Henry VIII, who started the Reformation, declared the break with Rome and became head of the English Church. Thus Catholicism was got rid of in England. Protestantism was established. In the Renaissance Period, scholars and educators who called themselves Humanists began to emphasize the capacities of the human mind and the achievements of human culture, in contrast to the medieval emphasis on God. So humanism became the keynote of English Renaissance. nullEnglish Renaissance is usually divided into three periods: 1) The first period called the beginning of the Renaissance started in 1485 and came to an end in 1558. 2) The second period known as the flowering time of the Renaissance was from 1558 to 1603. 3) The third period between 1603 and 1625 is the epilogue (end) of the Renaissance. In the second period, Queen Elizabeth ruled the country. For this reason it is also called Elizabethan Period. William Shakespeare, the greatest playwright of England, lived in the Elizabethan Period. So in the history of English literature, this period is often referred to as the Age of William Shakespeare.Christopher Marlow (1564-1593) Christopher Marlow (1564-1593) A. Three famous plays: Tamburlaine (1587) 《帖木耳大帝》 The Jew Of Malta (1592) 《马耳它的犹太人》 The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus (1588) 《浮士德博士的悲剧》(masterpiece) B. His heroes have resolute character and overpowering passion. C. The theme is the praise of individuality and the human effect in conquering the universe. D. Earliest of this great trio; Great influence on ShakespeareBen Jonson (1572-1637)Ben Jonson (1572-1637)By name of Benjamin Jonson: (born in London) English Stuart dramatist，lyric poet, and literary critic. He is generally regarded as the second most important English dramatist, after William Shakespeare, during the reign of James I. Among his major plays are the comedies Every Man in His Humour (1598) 《人人高兴》， Every Man Out of His Humour 《人人扫兴》(1599), Volpone (1605)《福尔蓬奈》， The Alchemist 《炼金术士》， The Silent Woman (1609)，… --- The finest neo-classical dramatist of his day.William Shakespeare (1564-1616) William Shakespeare (1564-1616) Born: 23 April 1564 Birthplace: Stratford-upon-Avon, England Died: 23 April 1616 English drama is completely dominated by William Shakespeare. He is regarded as one of the founders of realism in world literature. a. Greatest genius of the world theater b. 37 plays, mostly in verse c. His plays contained a surprising variety of human qualities and moods, and a wealth of eloquence and word-mastery. Thus his plays are still frequently acted.Shakespeare’s worksShakespeare’s worksA. His comedies: As You Like It, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, A Winter’s Tale, The Merchant of Venice, The Tempest, and Twelfth Night Of the comedies, The Merchant of Venice is quite famous. B. His tragedies: Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, King Lear, Othello Hamlet is the most performed play in the world.Hamlet Hamlet A tragedy by William Shakespeare. The king of Denmark has been murdered by his brother, Claudius, who then becomes king and marries the dead king's widow. The ghost of the dead king visits his son, Prince Hamlet, and urges him to avenge the murder. In the course of the play, Hamlet, a scholar, slowly convinces himself that he must murder Claudius. The play ends with a duel between Hamlet and the courtier朝臣 Laertes雷欧提斯, and the death by poison of all the principal characters.C. His historical plays:C. His historical plays:Richard III, Richard II, Henry IV, Henry V, Julius Caesar, Antony and CleopatraFeatures of Shakespeare's Dramatic Works Features of Shakespeare's Dramatic Works ① Shakespeare is a realist. He is one of the founders of realism in English literature. His plays are mirrors of his age, reflecting the major contradictions of that time. He described the decaying of the feudal society and the rising of the bourgeois spirit. His comedies reflect life of the young men and women who just freed themselves from the fetters of feudalism and who were striving for individual emancipation. His comedies lay emphasis on emancipation of women, which played a very important role in anti-feudalism. In his great tragedies, Shakespeare depicted the life and death struggle between the humanists, who represented the newly emerging forces, and the corrupted King and his feudal followers, who represented the dark power of that time.② a great master of English language② a great master of English languageShakespeare was a great master of English language. The language of each of his characters fits his position in society and reveals the peculiarities of his character. He commanded a vocabulary larger than any other English writer. He loved to play with words, or to make puns with them. Sometimes we find it’s very difficult to understand him. Shakespeare also created a lot of new words and expressions, thus enriching English language. ③ a great poet③ a great poetShakespeare is also a great poet. He was skilled in many poetic forms. He could write songs, lyrics, sonnets, couplets, quatrains (四行诗/绝句), and blank verse（无韵诗）. Blank verse is the principal form of his dramas. The sonnets are almost all constructed from three four-line stanzas (called quatrains) and a final couplet (对句;相连并押韵的两行诗) composed in iambic pentameter (五音步抑扬格:就是十个音节按照先轻后重依次排列的，一轻一重组成一个音步) with the rhyme scheme abab cdcd efef gg (this form is now known as the Shakespearean sonnet). Example for a sonnet: Sonnet 18Example for a sonnet: Sonnet 18Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer’s lease hath all too short a date: Sometimes too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimmed; And every fair from fair sometimes declines, By chance, or nature’s changing course, untrimm’d; But thy eternal summer shall not fade, Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st; Nor shall Death brag thou wander’st in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st. So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.null能不能让我把你比拟作夏日？ 你可是更加温和，更加可爱： 狂风会吹落五月的好花儿， 夏季的生命又未免结束得太快： 有时候苍天的巨眼照得太灼热， 他那金彩的脸色也会被遮暗； 每一样美呀，总会离开美而凋落， 被时机或者自然的代谢所摧残； 但是你永久的夏天决不会凋枯， 你永远不会失去你美的仪态； 死神夸不着你在他影子里踯躅， 你将在不朽的诗中与时间同在； 只要人类在呼吸，眼睛看得见， 我这诗就活着，使你的生命绵延。Example for a sonnet:Example for a sonnet:When in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes I all alone beweep my outcast state, And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries, And look upon myself, and curse my fate, Wishing me like to one more rich in hope, Featured like him, like him with friends possessed, Desiring this man’s art, and that man’s scope, With what I most enjoy contented least; Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising, Haply I think on thee,—and then my state, Like to the lark at break of day arising From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven’s gate; For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings That then I scorn to change my state with kings.Part 3Part 3The 17th CenturyA. Francis BaconA. Francis BaconEssays 论说文集 The Advance of Learning (1605) 学术的进步 The Novum Organum (new instrument) (1620) 新工具 The New Atlantis (1627) 新大西岛B. John Milton (1608-1674)B. John Milton (1608-1674) Milton Dictates the Lost Paradise to His Three Daughters, in 1826 Features of Milton's PoetryFeatures of Milton's PoetryA. Milton is a great revolutionary poet of the 17th century. He is also an outstanding political pamphleteer of the Revolution period. He dedicated himself to the revolutionary cause. He made a strong influence on the later English poetry. Every progressive English poet since Milton has drawn inspiration from him. 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. His poetry is noted for sublimity崇高 of thought and majesty 庄严 of expression. 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. D. Milton wrote the greatest epic Paradise Lost in blank verse as his masterpiece in English literature. He made a strong influence on later English poetry.Milton’s works Milton’s works L’ Allegro 《快乐的人》 Il Penseroso 《幽思的人》 Areopagitica 《论出版自由》[ˌæriɔpəˈdʒitikə] Paradise Lost (masterpiece) 《失乐园》 — an account of humanity's fall from grace Paradise Regained 《复乐园》 Samson Agonistes 《力士参孙》 C. John Bunyan (1628-1668)C. John Bunyan (1628-1668)a. A commanding prose writer, also a novelist b. great allegory novel --- The Pilgrim’s Progress: the most widely read book in England after the Bible. c. It is a religious allegory which depicts the spiritual pilgrimage of a Christian. d. He cherished a deep hatred for the king and his government and detested the injustices of the law.John Bunyan’s worksJohn Bunyan’s worksThe Pilgrim’s Progress 《天路历程》 The Life and Death of Mr. Badman 《培德曼先生的生与死》 The Holy War 《圣战》D. Metaphysical poets 玄学派诗人D. Metaphysical poets 玄学派诗人① John Donne --- poem: “The Flea” 《跳蚤》 --- poetry anthology选集：the Elegies and the Songs and Sonnets《歌与短歌》 ② Richard Crashaw --- poem: Steps to the Temple 《通向圣殿的台阶》 --- poetry anthology: Epigrammatum Scarorum Liber, “A Book of Sacred Epigram” 《神圣警言录》；Hymn to Our Lord 《我主颂》John DonneMetaphysical poets (continued)Metaphysical poets (continued)③ Andrew Marvell --- poem: To His Coy Mistress《写给她含羞的情人》 (classical poem of Metaphysical poems); The Garden《公园》; Upon Appleton House《阿普尔顿府邸》； On the Death of O. C《克伦威尔之死》； Last Instruction to a Painter 《对画家的最后指示》Metaphysical poetsMetaphysical poetsThe metaphysical poets is a term coined by the poet and critic Samuel Johnson to describe a loose group of British lyric poets of the 17th century, who shared an interest in metaphysical concerns and a common way of investigating them, and whose work was characterized by inventiveness of metaphor (these involved comparisons being known as metaphysical conceits). These poets were not formally affiliated; most of them did not even know or read each other. Their poetry was influenced greatly by the changing times, new sciences and the new found debauched scene of the 17th century. Characteristics Characteristics Their style was characterized by wit and metaphysical conceits自以为，别出心裁的比喻 — far-fetched or unusual similes or metaphors, such as in Andrew Marvell’s comparison of the soul with a drop of dew 露水; in an expanded epigram format, with the use of simple verse forms. The specific definition of wit which Johnson applied to the school was: "... a combination of dissimilar images, or discovery of occult超自然的;神秘的 resemblances in things apparently unlike.“ Their poetry diverged from the style of their times, containing neither images of nature nor allusions影射 to classical mythology, as were common. Part 4 Part 4 The 18th CenturyThe 18th CenturyThe 18th CenturyRather larger shift from the mood and tone - second great political disturbance took place in late 17th century - co-monarch Age of wit/ skepticism Satire: making fun of people & things, expresses spirit of the time Jonathan Swift/ Robert Burns/ Daniel DefoeCharacteristics of the Literature Characteristics of the Literature ① The main literary stream of the 18th century was realism. What the writers described in their works were social realities. The main characters were usually common men. Most of the writers concentrated their attention on daily life. ② Prose had a rapid development in this age. The 18th century was an age of prose. A group of excellent prose writers, such as Addison, Steele, Swift, Fielding, were produced. ③ Novel writing made a big advance in this century. The main characters in the novels were no longer kings and nobles but the common people. ④ In this age, satire was much used in writing. English literature of this age produced some excellent satirists, such as Pope, Swift and Fielding. So, it became the fashion for all forms of writing at the time.Summary of literature of this ageSummary of literature of this ageThe development of the literature in this period can be summarized as: ① the predominance of neo-classical poetry and prose in the early decades of the 18th century; ② the rise and flourish of modern realistic novel in the middle years of the 18th century; and ③ the appearance of the sentimental and pre-romantic poetry and fiction in the last few decades of the 1