2023年英国文学笔记.doc

• A Brief Outline of British Literature History
•
1. Medieval Literature (5 A.D. -1485) (中世纪文学)
Geoffrey Chaucer (1340—1400 )
2. The English Renaissance (1500-1625) (文艺复兴时期文学)
Thomas More （1478—1535）
Edmund Spenser（1552—1599）
Christopher Marlowe（1564—1593）
Francis Bacon （1561—1626）
William Shakespeare （1564—1616）
3. The Seventeenth century (17th century)( 17 世纪文学)
John Milton （1608—1674）
John Donne （1572—1631）
John Bunyan （1628—1688）
4. English Enlightenment and neo-Classicism (17th century -18th century ) (英国启蒙运动和新古典主义文学)
Alexander Pope （1688—1744）
Jonathan Swift （1667—1745）
Daniel Defoe （1660—1731）
Henry Fielding （1707—1754）
5. Romanticism in England (1798-1832) (浪漫主义时期文学)
Robert Burns （1759—1796）
William Blake （1757—1827）
William Wordsworth (1770—1850)
Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772—1834)
George Gordon Byron(1788—1824)
Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792—1822)
John Keats (1795-1821)
6. English Realism (1830s-1918) (现实主义时期文学) /Victorian Age (1832—1901)
Robert Browning (1821—1889)
Alfred Tennyson ( 1809—1892)
Jane Austen (1775—1817)
The Bronte Sisters
Charles Dickens (1812—1870)
William Makepeace Thackeray (1811—1863)
Thomas Hardy (1840—1928)
Joseph Conrad ( 1857—1924)
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)
George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)
7. Modernism (1918-1945) (现代主义文学)
T.S. Eliot (1888—1965)
William Butler Yeats (1865—1939)
James Joyce (1882—1941)
Virginia Woolf (1882—1941)
D.H. Lawrence (1885—1930)
•
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1. Medieval Literature (5 A.D. -1485) (中世纪文学)
Beowulf《贝奥武夫》: the national epic of the English people.

romance (浪漫传奇)：the most prevailing kind of literature in feudal England
Theme: loyalty to king and lord
King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table《亚瑟王和他旳圆桌骑士》
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight 《高文爵士和绿衣骑士》

★ Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-- 1400)
Literary Position: The father of English poetry
Masterpiece: The Canterbury Tales 《坎特伯雷故事集》（Old English）
Literary Achievements: Heroic couplet (英雄双韵体)

2. The English Renaissance (1500-1625) (文艺复兴时期文学)
The word “Renaissance” means revival（复活）. The term originally indicates a revival of classical (Greek and Roman) arts and sciences after the dark ages of medieval obscurantism（蒙昧主义）.
Humanism: the essence of Renaissance

Edmund Spenser (1552-- 1599): "the poets' poet"
Masterpiece :The Faerie Oueene《仙后》
Thomas More （1478-1535）
Masterpiece: Utopia（乌托邦）
Christopher Marlowe (1564--1593): most gifted of the "University Wits"（大学才子派）.
Masterpiece: The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus. 《浮士德博士旳悲剧》

★ Francis Bacon (1561-1626 )
Literary Position:
—the founder of modern science in England;
—one of the earliest essayist(散文家） in English language
Masterpiece : Essays《论说文集》
Of Studies (论读书)

★William Shakespeare(1564—1616)
Literary Position:
·“not of an age, but for all time”,
· the greatest giant of English language and poetic form,
· one of the founders of realism in world literature,
· one of the greatest writers in the world’s literature.
Literary Achievements:
38 plays (comedies(喜剧）, histories（历史剧）, tragedies（悲剧）, tragicomedies/romances（悲喜剧）
2 narrative poems
154 sonnets (Sonnets 1-126 addressed to a young man, Sonnets 127-152 addressed to “Dark Lady”, Sonnets 153-154 addressed to Cupid, the God of love in Greek mythology )
Plays (4 periods)
1. First period (1592-1594): His apprenticeship in plays.
Historical plays: King Henry VI 《亨利六世》, Richard Ⅲ 《查理三世》
Comedies: Love’s Labour’s Lost 《爱旳徒劳》
2. Second period (1595-1600): Mature period, a marked increase in the knowledge of humanism
Romeo and Juliet《罗密欧与朱丽叶》
(4大喜剧): A Midsummer Night’s Dream《仲夏夜之梦》
The Merchant of Venice《威尼斯商人》
As You Like It《皆大欢喜》
Twelfth Night《第十二夜》
3. Third period (1601-1608): Flourishing period, a period of gloomy and depression
(4大悲剧): Hamlet《汉姆雷特》
Othello《奥赛罗》
King Lear《李尔王》
Macbeth《麦克白》
4. Fourth period (1608-1612): The period of romantic drama in the form of tragicomedies
Reconciliation plays: The Winter’s Tale《冬天旳童话》, The Tempest《暴风雨》

3. The Seventeenth century (17th century)( 17 世纪文学)
Historical background
1. The English revolution（英国革命） and the Restoration（王朝复辟）.
· Causes: the conflict between the monarch and Parliament; the persecution of the Puritans
2. The bourgeois Dictatorship and the Restoration
· Glorious Revolution—a bloodless revolution
· The constitutional monarchy.

★John Milton (1608—1674)
Literary Position
· A master of the Blank verse
· The greatest English revolutionary poet of the 17th century
· One of the greatest poets of the English language
Literary Achievements
Poems
·Paradise Lost 《失乐园》(1667): his masterpiece——The greatest epic in English literature.
·Paradise Regained (1671) 《复乐园》
·Samson Agonistes (1671) 《力士参孙》

Paradise Lost《失乐园》
—John Milton
1. Introduction
· Long epic in 12 books
· Written in blank verse
· Based on Genesis《创世纪》in the Old Testament
· Dramatizes the Biblical account of humanity’s banishment.
2. Theme
—Milton’s aimed purpose: “justify the ways of God to man”（昭示天道对人旳公正）
—Real purpose: Challenge the restored monarch
·God — tyrannical, represents the king
·Satan — rebelling against monarch
·Love between Adam and Eve — human pursuit for happiness, the spirit of Renaissance
3. Writing features
—Milton style: Sonority洪亮, Eloquence雄辩, Majesty尊严, Grandeur壮美
·The blank verse
·Long and involved sentences

★John Donne (1572-1631)
Literary Position
—founder of Metaphysical School（玄学派）
—the greatest of the metaphysical poets.
Literary Achievements
Songs and Sonnets 《歌与十四行诗》
The Flea《跳蚤》
Holy Sonnets《圣十四行诗》 : Holy Sonnet 10
Features of metaphysical poetry:
—conceits（奇喻）
—strange paradoxes悖论）
—far-fetched （牵强旳）imagery

John Bunyan (1628-1688):
Masterpiece: The Pilgrim’s Progress《天路历程》

4. English Enlightenment and neo-Classicism (17th century -18th century ) (英国启蒙运动和新古典主义文学) (1688-1798)
Historical Background
1. Comparatively peaceful development under the constitutional monarchy
· A compromise between Tory and Whig
· The leading navel power in Europe
2. The Industrial Revolution 工业革命
· Unprecedented technical innovations
· Rapid growth of industry and commerce
The Enlightenment
An intellectual movement in Europe began in the late 17th and 18th centuries and ended with the French revolution of 1789
18th century : Age of Reason/ Age of Enlightenment
1. Importance—a lasting heritage for the 19th and 20th century
—it marked a key stage in the decline of the church and the growth of modern secularism(世俗主义)
—it served as the model for political and economic liberalism.
2. The development of Poetry: neo-Classicism 新古典主义
3. Characteristic of neo-Classicism
1). Emphasizing reason rather than emotion, form rather than content.
2). Didactic and satirical
3). Heroic Couplet (英雄双韵体)
4). Town poetry writing for the rising bourgeoisie

Alexander Pope (1688-1744)
Literary Position
—an outstanding enlightener
—The greatest and the most important representative of the English classical poetry.

★The Rise of Fiction
Daniel Defoe
Jonathan Swift
Henry Fielding

※ Fiction
The mainstream of 18th century literature, & The rise and growth of realistic novel —the most prominent achievement of 18th century English literature
★Daniel Defoe (1660-1731)
Literary Position
—Father of English novel
Literary Achievements:
—— Robinson Crusoe (1719)《鲁宾逊漂游记》
· Defoe’s masterpiece
· The first English novel in a real sense
· The first English realistic novel
Robinson Crusoe
—Daniel Defoe
1. Theme:
—to sing the praises of human labor
—to celebrate the strength of human rational will to conquer the natural environment
—to beautify colonialism & Negro slavery
2. Plot:
run away from home → become a sailor → a planter in Brazil → to an uninhabited island because of shipwreck → made a living there all by himself → save a negro named Friday who became his servant → back to England → visit the remote island again and Friday was killed
3. Robinson Crusoe’s characterization:
typical of the rising English bourgeois class, practical, diligent, a restless curiosity to know more about the world and a desire to prove individual power in the face of social and natural challenges; shrewd, care about money and good at managing; courageous and intelligent to overcome all kinds of obstacles

★Jonathan Swift (1667-1745)
Literary Position
—one of the greatest masters of English Prose
—a master satirist（挖苦作家）
Style of Swift’s prose:
simple, clear and vigorous. His famous saying
“Proper words in proper places, makes the true definition of a style” influenced a lot later writers.
Literary Achievements
Books
· The Battle of Books 《书籍之战》
· A Tale of Tub 《一种桶子旳故事》
· Guliver’s Travels 《格列佛游记》
——his masterpiece: a satire on the whole English society of the 18th century.
Pamphlets
· The Draper’s Letters《一种布商旳书信》
· A Modest Proposal 《一种温和旳提议》
——(A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People in Ireland from Being a Burden to Their Parents)
Guliver’s Travels《格列佛游记》
—Jonathan Swift
Plot:
Part I: A Voyage to Lilliput
Part II: A Voyage to Brobdingnag
Part III: A Voyage to Laputa, Balnibarbi, Glubbdubdrib, Luggnagg and Japan
Part IV: A Voyage to the Country of the Houyhnhnms

Henry Fielding (1707-1754)
Literary Achievements
· The History of Tom Jones, A Founding 《弃儿汤姆·琼斯》
Literary Position
· —The founder of English realistic novel-setting up the theory of realism in literary position.

5. Romanticism in England (1798-1832) (浪漫主义时期文学)

Pre-Romanticism: Latter half of the 18th century
Robert Burns
William Blake
1. Romantic revival
· A strong protest against the bondage of Classicism (=Formalism)
· A recognition of the claims of passion and emotion.
2. Representatives
· Robert Burns (1759-1796) 罗伯特·彭斯
· William Blake (1757-1827) 威廉·布莱克

★ Robert Burns (1759-1796)
Literary position
—the national poet of Scotland
—A poet of the peasants, a poet of the people
Literary Achievements
Poems chiefly in the Scottish Dialect《苏格兰方言诗集》
A Red, Red Rose《一朵红红旳玫瑰》,
Auld Long Syne《昔日时光》
A Man's A Man for A‘ That".《无论何时都要保持尊严》
My Heart ’s in the Highlands《我旳心在高原》.
Theme
· Love and friendship
· The natural beauty of his native Scotland
· The life and label of the common people
· The patriotism of his compatriots and their struggle for liberty
Features of his poetry
Scottish dialect

★William Blake
Literary Position
—a Pre-Romantic or a forerunner（先驱） of the Romantic poetry of the 19th century
Literary Achievements:
Songs of Innocence《天真之歌》
Songs of Experience《经验之歌》
Songs of Innocence《天真之歌》
· Written for children, express the poet’s delight in life.
· a lovely volume of poems, presenting a happy and innocent world without evils and sufferings
To depict the happy condition of a child before it knows anything about the pains of experience.
· Simple without being naïve, childlike without being childish, innocent, everything seems to be in harmony.
e.g. The Lamb《羔羊》

Songs of Experience《经验之歌》
· Much mature work
· The atmosphere is no longer sunny but sad and gloomy.
· Presenting a world of misery, poverty, disease, war and repression with a melancholy tone.
e.g. The Tiger 《老虎》

The Age of Romanticism (1798-1832)
Political and social factors
1. The American and French revolution: an upsurge of national liberation and democratic movements
American revolution (1775-1783)—The formation of the independent United States.
French revolution of 1789—“Liberty, equality and fraternity”
2. The Industrial Revolution
Intellectual Background--Shift from emphasis on reason to instinct and emotion
General characteristic features (style)
1. Subjectivism
2. Spontaneity
3. Singularity
4. Simplicity: everyday language spoken by the rustic people
5. A dominating note of melancholy
6. A freer verse form
★ Romantic Poetry
1. Lake poets (湖畔派诗人)—the passive or escapist romanticists: Wordsworth, Coleridge, Southey
—detesting the real world, escaping from the reality.
2. Revolutionary poets(革命派诗人)— (Active or radical) romanticists: Byron, Shelley, Keats
—striving to strengthen man’s will to live and raise him up against the darkness in the world.

Lake Poets (湖畔派诗人)
William Wordsworth
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Robert Southey
★William Wordsworth (1770-1850)
Literary Position
—Poet Laureate 桂冠诗人 （1843）
—the best and the most famous romantic poet
—A great poet of nature
Literary Achievements
Lyrical Ballads (1798) 《抒情歌谣集》 :
The Prelude (1850) 《序曲》：
—Wordsworth’s autobiographical poem.
Major works:
I wondered lonely as a cloud 《我好似一朵流云独自漫游》
Lucy Poems 《露西》
The Solitary Reaper 《孤单旳收割女》
Major concern
1. Nature
2. The life of ordinary people
Poetic features
—Simplicity and purity of his language.
Lyrical Ballads (1798) 《抒情歌谣集》
—William Wordsworth
1. Written by Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge
2. Marked the break with the conventional poetic tradition of 18th century classicism, and the beginning of romanticism in English poetry
3. The preface serves as the manifesto of the English romantic movements in poetry.
4. The principle of poetry: “All good poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feeling.” ——“所有好诗都是强烈感情旳自然流露.”
—William Wordsworth

★Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834)
Literary position
—Poet, critic, and philosopher of Romanticism.
Literary Achievement
· The Rime of the Ancient Mariner(1798)《古舟子吟》
· Kubla Khan (1816)《忽必烈汗》

Robert Southey (1774-1843)

Revolutionary Poets （革命派诗人）
George Gordon Byron
Percy Bysshe Shelley
John Keats
★George Gordon Byron (1788—1824)
Life
Ø born in a noble family
Ø inherited the baronial title
Ø graduated from Cambridge University
Ø entered House of Lords
Ø strongly criticized by those conservatives and at last left England
Ø stayed in Italy and then Greece
Ø died in Greece at 36
Literary Position
—one of the most excellent representatives of English Romanticism.
—His literary career was closely linked with the struggle and progressive movements of his age.
Major Works
· Child Harold’s Pilgrimage《恰尔德·哈罗德游记 》
—One of his most readable books
· Don Juan《唐璜》
—His masterpiece
Byronic Heroes
— The men with fiery and unbending will express the poet’s own ideal of freedom.
— The men who rise against tyranny and injustice

Don Juan 《唐璜》
—George Gordon Byron
1. Hero of the long poem:
Don Juan, a Spanish young man born in a noble family; strange adventures he has experienced (Greece, Turkey, Russia and England);
2. A panorama of the whole Europe and a strong satire

★Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792—1822)
Literary Position
— The great poet of revolutionary romanticism in England.
—The most wonderful lyric poet England has ever produced
Major Works
· Prometheus Unbound 《解放了旳普罗米修斯》—lyrical drama
· Ode to the West Wind 《西风颂》
Artist