A Concise History of British Literature(old)

1、A Concise History of British LiteratureChapter 1 English Literature of Anglo-Saxon PeriodI.Introduction1. The historical background(1) Before the Germanic invasion(2) During the Germanic invasiona. immigration; b. Christianity; c. heptarchy. d. social classes structure: hide-hundred; eoldermen (lord

2、) thane - middle class (freemen) - lower class (slave or bondmen: theow); e. social organization: clan or tribes. f. military Organization; g. Church function: spirit, civil service, education; h. economy: coins, trade, slavery; i. feasts and festival: Halloween, Easter; j. legal system.2. The Overv

3、iew of the culture(1) The mixture of pagan and Christian spirit.(2) Literature: a. poetry: two types; b. prose: two figures.II. Beowulf.1. A general introduction.2. The content.3. The literary features.(1) the use of alliteration(2) the use of metaphors and understatements(3) the mixture of pagan an

4、d Christian elementsIII. The Old English Prose1. What is prose?2. figures(1) The Venerable Bede(2) Alfred the GreatChapter 2 English Literature of the Late Medieval AgesI. Introduction1. The Historical Background.(1) The year 1066: Norman Conquest.(2) The social situations soon after the conquest.A.

5、 Norman nobles and serfs; B. restoration of the church.(3) The 11th century.A. the crusade and knights.B. dominance of French and Latin;(4) The 12th century.A. the centralized government;B. kings and the church (Henry II and Thomas);(5) The 13th century.A. The legend of Robin Hood;B. Magna Carta (12

6、15);C. the beginning of the ParliamentD. English and Latin: official languages (the end)(6) The 14th century.a. the House of Lords and the House of Commonsconflict between the Parliament and Kings;b. the rise of towns.c. the change of Church.d. the role of women.e. the Hundred Years Warstarting.f. t

7、he development of the trade: London.g. the Black Death.h. the Peasants Revolt1381.i. The translation of Bible by Wycliff.(7) The 15th century.a. The Peasants Revolt (1453)b. The War of Roses between Lancasters and Yorks.c. the printing-pressWilliam Caxton.d. the starting of Tudor Monarchy(1485)2. Th

8、e Overview of Literature.(1) the stories from the Celtic lands of Wales and Brittanygreat myths of the Middle Ages.(2) Geoffrye of MonmouthHistoria Regum BritanniaeKing Authur.(3) WaceLe Roman de Brut.(4) The romance.(5) the second half of the 14th century: Langland, Gawin poet, Chaucer.II. Sir Gawi

9、n and Green Knight.1. a general introduction.2. the plot.III. William Langland.1. Life 2. Piers the PlowmanIV. Chaucer1. Life2. Literary Career: three periods(1) French period(2) Italian period(3) master period3. The Canterbury TalesA. The Framework; B. The General Prologue;C. The Tale Proper.4. His

10、 Contribution.(1) He introduced from France the rhymed stanza of various types.(2) He is the first great poet who wrote in the current English language.(3) The spoken English of the time consisted of several dialects, and Chaucer did much in making the dialect of London the standard for the modern E

11、nglish speech.V. Popular Ballads.VI. Thomas Malory and English ProseVII. The beginning of English Drama.1. Miracle Plays.Miracle play or mystery play is a form of medieval drama that came from dramatization of the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church. It developed from the 10th to the 16th century,

12、reaching its height in the 15th century. The simple lyric character of the early texts was enlarged by the addition of dialogue and dramatic action. Eventually the performance was moved to the churchyard and the marketplace.2. Morality Plays.A morality play is a play enforcing a moral truth or lesso

13、n by means of the speech and action of characters which are personified abstractions figures representing vices and virtues, qualities of the human mind, or abstract conceptions in general.3. Interlude.The interlude, which grew out of the morality, was intended, as its name implies, to be used more

14、as a filler than as the main part of an entertainment. As its best it was short, witty, simple in plot, suited for the diversion of guests at a banquet, or for the relaxation of the audience between the divisions of a serious play. It was essentially an indoors performance, and generally of an arist

15、ocratic nature.Chapter 3 English Literature in the RenaissanceI. A Historical BackgroundII. The Overview of the Literature (1485-1660)Printing pressreadershipgrowth of middle classtrade-education for laypeople-centralization of power-intellectual life-exploration-new impetus and direction of literat

16、ure.Humanism-study of the literature of classical antiquity and reformed education.Literary style-modeled on the ancients.The effect of humanism-the dissemination of the cultivated, clear, and sensible attitude of its classically educated adherents.1. poetryThe first tendency by Sidney and Spenser:

17、ornate, florid, highly figured style.The second tendency by Donne: metaphysical stylecomplexity and ingenuity.The third tendency by Johnson: reaction-Classically pure and restrained style.The fourth tendency by Milton: central Christian and Biblical tradition.2. Dramaa. the native tradition and clas

18、sical examples.b. the drama stands highest in popular estimation: Marlowe Shakespeare Jonson.3. Prosea. translation of Bible; b. More; c. Bacon.II. English poetry.1. Sir Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard (courtly makers)(1) Wyatt: introducing sonnets.(2) Howard: introducing sonnets and writing the first

19、 blank verse.2. Sir Philip Sidneypoet, critic, prose writer(1) Life: a. English gentleman; b. brilliant and fascinating personality; c. courtier.(2) worksa. Arcadia: pastoral romance;b. Astrophel and Stella (108): sonnet sequence to Penelope Dvereuxplatonic devotion.Petrarchan conceits and original

20、feelings-moving to creativenessbuilding of a narrative story; theme-love originality-act of writing.c. Defense of Poesy: an apology for imaginative literaturebeginning of literary criticism.3. Edmund Spenser(1) life: Cambridge - Sidneys friend - “Areopagus” Ireland - Westminster Abbey.(2) worksa. Th

21、e Shepherds Calendar: the budding of English poetry in Renaissance.b. Amoretti and Epithalamion: sonnet sequencec. Faerie Queene:l The general end-A romantic and allegorical epicsteps to virtue.l 12 books and 12 virtues: Holiness, temperance, justice and courtesy.l Two-level function: part of the st

22、ory and part of allegory (symbolic meaning)l Many allusions to classical writers.l Themes: puritanism, nationalism, humanism and Renaissance Neoclassicisma Christian humanist.(3) Spenserian Stanza.III. English Prose1. Thomas More(1) Life: “Renaissance man”, scholar, statesman, theorist, prose writer

23、, diplomat, patron of artsa. learned Greek at Canterbury College, Oxford; b. studies law at Lincoln Inn; c. Lord Chancellor; d. beheaded.(2) Utopia: the first English science fiction.Written in Latin, two parts, the secondplace of nowhere.A philosophical mariner (Raphael Hythloday) tells his voyages

24、 in which he discovers a land-Utopia.a. The part one is organized as dialogue with mariner depicting his philosophy.b. The part two is a description of the island kingdom where gold and silver are worn by criminal, religious freedom is total and no one owns anything.c. the nature of the book: attack

25、ing the chief political and social evils of his time.d. the book and the Republic: an attempt to describe the Republic in a new way, but it possesses an modern character and the resemblance is in externals.e. it played a key role in the Humanist awakening of the 16th century which moved away from th

26、e Medieval otherworldliness towards Renaissance secularism.f. the Utopia(3) the significance.a. it was the first champion of national ideas and national languages; it created a national prose, equally adapted to handling scientific and artistic material.b. a elegant Latin scholar and the father of E

27、nglish prose: he composed works in English, translated from Latin into English biography, wrote History of Richard III.2. Francis Bacon: writer, philosopher and statesman(1) life: Cambridge - humanism in Paris knighted - Lord Chancellor bribery - focusing on philosophy and literature.(2) philosophic

28、al ideas: advancement of sciencepeople:servants and interpreters of naturemethod: a child before naturefacts and observations: experimental.(3) “Essays”: 57.a. he was a master of numerous and varied styles.b. his method is to weigh and balance maters, indicating the ideal course of action and the pr

29、actical one, pointing out the advantages and disadvantages of each, but leaving the reader to make the final decisions. (arguments)IV. English Drama1. A general survey.(1) Everyman marks the beginning of modern drama.(2) two influences.a. the classics: classical in form and English in content;b. nat

30、ive or popular drama.(3) the University Wits.2. Christopher Marlowe: greatest playwright before Shakespeare and most gifted of the Wits.(1) Life: first interested in classical poetrythen in drama.(2) Major worksa. Tamburlaine; b. The Jew of Malta; c. The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus.(3) The si

31、gnificance of his plays.V. William Shakespeare1. Life(1) 1564, Stratford-on-Avon; (2) Grammar School; (3) Queen visit to Castle; (4) marriage to Anne Hathaway; (5) London, the Globe Theatre: small part and proprietor; (6) the 1st Folio, Quarto;(7) Retired, sonHamnet; H. 1616.2. Dramatic career3. Maj

32、or plays-men-centered.(1) Romeo and Juliet-tragic love and fate(2) The Merchant of Venice.Good over evil.Anti-Semitism.(3) Henry IV.National unity.Falstaff.(4) Julius CaesarRepublicanism vs. dictatorship.(5) HamletRevengeGood/evil.(6) OthelloDiabolic characterjealousygap between appearance and reali

33、ty.(7) King LearFilial ingratitude(8) MacbethAmbition vs. fate.(9) Antony and Cleopatra.Passion vs. reason(10) The TempestReconciliation; reality and illusion.3. Non-dramatic poetry(1) Venus and Adonis; The Rape of Lucrece.(2) Sonnets: a. theme: fair, true, kind. b. two major parts: a handsome young

34、 man of noble birth; a lady in dark complexion. c. the form: three quatrains and a couplet.d. the rhyme scheme: abab, cdcd, efef, gg.VI. Ben Jonson1. life: poet, dramatist, a Latin and Greek scholar, the “l(fā)iterary king” (Sons of Ben)2.contribution: (1) the idea of “humour”.(2) an advocate of classic

35、al drama and a forerunner of classicism in English literature.3. Major plays(1) Everyone in His Humour”humour”; three unities.(2) Volpone the FoxChapter 4 English Literature of the 17th CenturyI. A Historical BackgroundII. The Overview of the Literature (1640-1688)1. The revolution period(1) The met

36、aphysical poets;(2) The Cavalier poets.(3) Milton: the literary and philosophical heritage of the Renaissance merged with Protestant political and moral conviction2. The restoration period.(1) The restoration of Charles II ushered in a literature characterized by reason, moderation, good taste, deft

37、 management, and simplicity. (school of Ben Jonson)(2) The ideals of impartial investigation and scientific experimentation promoted by the newly founded Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge (1662) were influential in the development of clear and simple prose as an instrument of r

38、ational communication. (3) The great philosophical and political treatises of the time emphasize rationalism. (4) The restoration drama.(5) The Age of Dryden.III. John Milton1. Life: educated at Cambridgevisiting the continentinvolved into the revolutionpersecutedwriting epics.2. Literary career.(1)

39、 The 1st period was up to 1641, during which time he is to be seen chiefly as a son of the humanists and Elizabethans, although his Puritanism is not absent. L'Allegre and IL Pens eroso (1632) are his early masterpieces, in which we find Milton a true offspring of the Renaissance, a scholar of e

40、xquisite taste and rare culture. Next came Comus, a masque. The greatest of early creations was Lycidas, a pastoral elegy on the death of a college mate, Edward King.(2) The second period is from 1641 to 1654, when the Puritan was in such complete ascendancy that he wrote almost no poetry. In 1641,

41、he began a long period of pamphleteering for the puritan cause. For some 15 years, the Puritan in him alone ruled his writing. He sacrificed his poetic ambition to the call of the liberty for which Puritans were fighting. (3) The third period is from 1655 to 1671, when humanist and Puritan have been

42、 fused into an exalted entity. This period is the greatest in his literary life, epics and some famous sonnets. The three long poems are the fruit of the long contest within Milton of Renaissance tradition and his Puritan faith. They form the greatest accomplishments of any English poet except Shake

43、speare. In Milton alone, it would seem, Puritanism could not extinguish the lover of beauty. In these works we find humanism and Puritanism merged in magnificence.3. Major Works(1) Paradise Losta. the plot.b. characters.c. theme: justify the ways of God to man.(2) Paradise Regained.(3) Samson Agonis

44、tes.4. Features of Miltons works. (1) Milton is one of the very few truly great English writers who is also a prominent figure in politics, and who is both a great poet and an important prose writer. The two most essential things to be remembered about him are his Puritanism and his republicanism.(2

45、) Milton wrote many different types of poetry. He is especially a great master of blank verse. He learned much from Shakespeare and first used blank verse in non-dramatic works.(3) Milton is a great stylist. He is famous for his grand style noted for its dignity and polish, which is the result of hi

46、s life-long classical and biblical study.(4) Milton has always been admired for his sublimity of thought and majesty of expression.IV. John Bunyan1. life: (1) puritan age; (2) poor family; (3) parliamentary army; (4) Baptist society, preacher; (5) prison, writing the book. 2. The Pilgrim Progress(1)

47、 The allegory in dream form.(2) the plot.(3) the theme.V. Metaphysical Poets and Cavalier Poets.1. Metaphysical PoetsThe term “metaphysical poetry” is commonly used to designate the works of the 17th century writers who wrote under the influence of John Donne. Pressured by the harsh, uncomfortable a

48、nd curious age, the metaphysical poets sought to shatter myths and replace them with new philosophies, new sciences, new words and new poetry. They tried to break away from the conventional fashion of Elizabethan love poetry, and favoured in poetry for a more colloquial language and tone, a tightnes

49、s of expression and the single-minded working out of a theme or argument.2. Cavalier PoetsThe other group prevailing in this period was that of Cavalier poets. They were often courtiers who stood on the side of the king, and called themselves “sons” of Ben Jonson. The Cavalier poets wrote light poet

50、ry, polished and elegant, amorous and gay, but often superficial. Most of their verses were short songs, pretty madrigals, love fancies characterized by lightness of heart and of morals. Cavalier poems have the limpidity of the Elizabethan lyric without its imaginative flights. They are lighter and

51、neater but less fresh than the Elizabethans.VI. John Dryden.1. Life: (1) the representative of classicism in the Restoration.(2) poet, dramatist, critic, prose writer, satirist.(3) changeable in attitude.(4) Literary careerfour decades.(5) Poet Laureate2. His influences.(1) He established the heroic

52、 couplet as the fashion for satiric, didactic, and descriptive poetry.(2) He developed a direct and concise prose style.(3) He developed the art of literary criticism in his essays and in the numerous prefaces to his poems.Chapter 5 English Literature of the 18th CenturyI. Introduction1. The Histori

53、cal Background.2. The literary overview.(1) The Enlightenment.(2) The rise of English novels.When the literary historian seeks to assign to each age its favourite form of literature, he finds no difficulty in dealing with our own time. As the Middle Ages delighted in long romantic narrative poems, t

54、he Elizabethans in drama, the Englishman of the reigns of Anne and the early Georges in didactic and satirical verse, so the public of our day is enamored of the novel. Almost all types of literary production continue to appear, but whether we judge from the lists of publishers, the statistics of pu

55、blic libraries, or general conversation, we find abundant evidence of the enormous preponderance of this kind of literary entertainment in popular favour.(3) Neo-classicism: a revival in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries of classical standards of order, balance, and harmony in literature. Joh

56、n Dryden and Alexander Pope were major exponents of the neo-classical school.(4) Satiric literature.(5) SentimentalismII. Neo-classicism. (a general description)1. Alexander Pope(1) Life: a. Catholic family; b. ill health; c. taught himself by reading and translating; d. friend of Addison, Steele an

57、d Swift.(2) three groups of poems: e. An Essay on Criticism (manifesto of neo-classicism); f. The Rape of Lock; g. Translation of two epics.(3) His contribution: h. the heroic coupletfinish, elegance, wit, pointedness;i. satire.(4) weakness: lack of imagination.2. Addison and Steele(1) Richard Steele: poet, playwright, essayist, publisher of newspaper. (2) Joseph Addison: studies at Oxford,