Part one： early and medieval english literature
Chapter 1: the making of england
1 the Briton
2 the Roman Consequent 3 the English Consequent
4 the social condition of the Anglo-Saxons
Chapter 2: Beowulf
Epic: long narrative poems that record the adventures or heroic deeds of a hero enacted in vast landscapes. The style of epic is grand and elevated. e.g. Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey Artistic features: 1 Using alliteration
2 Using metaphor and understatement
Definition of alliteration: a rhetorical device, meaning some words in a sentence begin with the same consonant sound（头韵） Some examples on P5
Definition of understatement: expressing something in a controlled way Understatement is a typical way for Englishmen to express their ideas
Chapter 3 : Feudal England
1 the Norman Consequest: ①the Danish invasion
King Alfred: the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle ②the Norman Consequest:
Marks the establishment of feudalism in England\\ 2 Feuda England
Social features of the Feuda England：Two classes（landlord and peasant） The miseries of the peasant：Black Death The raising of 1381 3 the Romance: knight Famous three: King Arthur
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Beowulf
Chapter 4 William Langland
Piers The Plowman耕者皮尔斯:a picture of feudal England ①the exposure of the ruling classes ②the story of the Cat and Rats ③the marriage of lady Meed ④the condition of the peasants ⑤the search for truth
⑥a representative of the most oppressed section of the peasantry Artistic features:
It is written in the form of a dream vision
Using symbolism
Chapter 5 the English Bllads民谣
Oral literature
Ballad: is a story told in song, usually in 4-line stanzas, with the second and fourth lines rhymed. The Robin Hood Ballad
Chapter 6 Geoffery Chaucer
英国文学史上首先用伦敦方言写作。约翰·德莱顿（John Dryden）称其为“英国诗歌之父” The father of English poetry.
writing style: wisdom, humor, humanity.
①
first time to use ‘heroic couplet’(双韵体) by middle English ②
Part Two ：The English Renaissance
A period of drama and poetry. The Elizabethan drama is the real mainstream of the English Renaissance.
Chapter 1 Old England in transition
1 the new monarchy 2 the reformation 3the English Bible：
Jhon Wycliffe, translated the first complete English Bile Authorized Version: also called King James Bible 4 the enclosure movement 5 the commercial exoansion
6 the war between Spain：it ended with the route of the Spanish fleet\7 the Renaissance and Humanism
Renaissance: the activity, spirit, or time of the great revival of art, literature, and learning
in Europe beginning in the 14th century and extending to the 17th century, marking the transition from the medieval to the modern world. Humanism is the key-note of the Renaissance.
Humanism: reflected the new outlook of the rising bourgeois class, which saw the world openning before it.
Three historical events of the Renaissance – rebirth or revival:
1. new discoveries in geography and astrology
2. the religious reformation and economic expansion 3. rediscovery of ancient Roman and Greek culture The most famous dramatists:
Christopher Marlowe William Shakespeare
8 William Caxton: the first English printer
Chapter2 Thomas More
One of the greatest English humanists
Utopia乌托邦: an ideal cummunist society
Thomas: 1 no revolutionary in the sense of wishing to arouse the people or to start any movement 2 still retains the features of class exploitation
3 he could never find at that time the means by which socialism could be realized.
Chapter 3 the flowering of English literature
1 the flourishing of literature 2 Sir Philip Sidney
A poet and critic poetry
Astrophel and Stella , Apology for poetry Walter Raleigh:
Discovery of Guiana
3 Edmund Spenser埃德蒙?斯宾塞1552~1599
The poets’ poet. The first to be buried in the Poet’s corner of Westerminster Abbey ①
The theme is not “Arms and the man”, but something more romantic “Fierce wars and faithfull loves”. Artistic features:
Using Spenserian Stanza
Definition of Spenserian Stanza:a stanza of nine lines ababbcbcc. Eight lines in iambic pentameter, and last line in iambic hexameter.
②
The theme is to lament over the loss of Rosalind. ③
5 Francis Bacon弗兰西斯?培根1561~1626 （哲学家、散文家；在论述探究知识的著作中提出了知识就是力量这一著名论断；近代唯物主义哲学的奠基人和近代实验科学的先驱。） The founder of English materialist
The founder of modern science in English Philosopher, scientist, lay the foundation for modern science. The first English essayist. Writing style:brevity, compactness&powerfulness, well-arranging and enriching by Biblical allusions, metaphors and philosophy to man’s reason. ①
Chapter 4 Drama
The highest glory of the English Renaissance was unquestionably its drama 1 the miracle play 2 the morality play 3 the interlude
4 the classical drama 5 the London theatre
Chapter 5 Christopher Marlowe柯里斯托弗?马洛1564~1595
“University Wits”, the pioneer of English drama （完善了无韵体诗。）
Blank verse: written in unrhymed iambic pentameter. ①
1 the heroes of his plays are generally distinguished by a resolute character, a scorn of orthodox creeds, and an overpowering paasion.
2 The praise of individuality freed from the restraints of medieval dogmas and law, and the conviction of the boundless possibility of human effortd in conquering the universe.
3 the hero's individualistic ambition often brings ruins to the ruin to the world and sometomes to themselves.
His literary achievement:
1 the greatest of the pioneers of English drama
2 reformed the language and verse of dramatic works
3 first made blank verse. His blank verse has been called as \4 famous for his \5 pave the way for the Shakespeare
Chapter 6 William Shakespeare威廉?莎士比亚1564~1616
37plays
① Historical plays: Henry VI ; Henry IV : Richard III ; Henry V ；Richard II；Henry VIII ②Four Comedies:
1 venus and adonis 2Shakespeare Sonnet :154
A sonnet is a lyric consisting of 14 lines, usually in iambic pentameter restricted to a definition rhyme scheme.
3 the rape of lucrece
Features of Shakespeare's drama:
1 one of the founder of realism in world literature 2 often used the method of adoptation
3 his long experience with the stage and his intimate knowledge of dramatic art thus acuired make him a master hand for playwriting.
4 skilled in many poetic forms: song, sonnet, couplet, dramatic blank verse 5 a great master of the English language Chapter 7 Ben Jonson ①
②
Part three the period of the English bourgeois revolution
Chaper 1 the English revolution and the Reatoration
1 the weakening of the tie between monarchy and bourgeoise 2 the clashes between the king and parliament 3 the outburst of the English revolution: 4 the split with the revolution camp
5 the bourgeois dictatorship and the restoration 6 the religious cloak of the English revolution: Also called the puritan revolution. Puritanism is the religious doctrine 7 literature of the revolution period
Chapter 2 John Milton约翰?弥尔顿1608~1674
（诗人、政论家;失明后写 《失乐园》、《复乐园》、《力士参孙》。） ①Epics:
In the poem god is no better than a despot. God is cruel and unjust. Adam and Eve embody Milton's belife in the powers of man.
The desription of hell, Satan is the real hero of the poem. Satan is the spirit questioning the authority of God.
②Dramatic poem: < Samson Agonistes>力士参孙: A poetical drama.
③
This sonnet is written in iambic pentameter rhymed in abba abba cde cde, typical of Italian sonnet.
Its theme is that people use their talent for God, and they serve him best sho can endure the suffering best. Milton:
1 he was a political in both his life and his art. He was a militant pamphleteer of the English Revolution, and the greatest English revolutionary poet in 17th century
2 wrote the greatest epic in English literature. He and Shakespeare have always been regarded as two patterns of English verse
3 he first used blank verse in non-dramatic works. In paradise lost, he acquires an absolute mastery of the blank verse.
4 he is a great stylist, grand style.
5 his sublimity of thought and majesty of expression.
英国文学简史笔记(刘炳善著)
