literatureofuk.doc

1. Anglo-Saxon Period (The Old English Period 449-1066)
· Beowulf《贝奥武夫》
Ø The representative of the Anglo-Saxon literature, the national epic of the English people;
Ø The first piece of English literary work;
Ø One of the oldest “Old English” literary works in British literature.
Ø A folk legend brought to England from Northern Europe, written down in the 10th Century, and the most important work of the Old English literature.
· Wessex Literature
Ø Wessex: A region and ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom of southern England.
Ø King Alfred (849-899): King of the West Saxons, scholar, and lawmaker who repelled the Danes and helped consolidate England into a unified kingdom.
ü Works: The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (The Old English Chronicle )《古英语编年史》
· Background
Ø William the Conqueror became the King of England;
Ø Feudalism was established in England;
Ø The church had a total control of literature during much of the Middle Ages;
Ø The literature was a combination of French and Anglo-Saxon elements.
· Two different literary forms: popular literature & romance
· Popular literature: Literature for the lower class
Ø Popular ballad: a narrative poem that tells a story/a narrative song which bears the characteristics of folklore.
ü Robin Hood Ballads
· Romance:
Ø The literature for the upper class;
Ø A long composition in verse or prose, about knights—adventures or love stories;
Ø Subject: about the matter of Britain, the matter of France, and the matter of Rome.
ü King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table
ü Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (《高文爵士与绿衣骑士》)
· Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400)
Ø “Father” of English poetry and novel
Ø Born in a wine merchant family in London; At 27 he entered the service of the king;
Ø From 1372-1373 he went to Italy on diplomatic missions;
Ø After death, he was buried in Westminster Abbey—the Poets’ Corner.
Ø “Father” of English poetry and novel
ü The Canterbury Tales 《坎特伯雷故事集》 : one of the landmarks of English literature, perhaps the greatest work produced in Middle English)
· Contributions of Chaucer
Ø Geoffrey Chaucer introduced from Italy and France the rhymed stanza (诗节) of various types;
Ø The first great poet who wrote in English language (Middle English), thus establishing English as the literary language;
Ø He did much in making the London dialect the foundation for modern English language.
II. The English Renaissance (1485-1660)
· The Renaissance
Ø The word “Renaissance” is actually a French word, which means “revival” or “rebirth” (of learning);
Ø It originated in Italy in the 14th century, which was a great cultural & intellectual movement that swept the whole of Europe;
Ø The period is marked by the rediscovery, reintroduction and study of the classics of ancient Greece and Rome and by challenging feudalism and religious dogmas.
Ø Humanism was the keynote of the renaissance, reflecting the new outlook of the rising bourgeois class;
Ø The humanists advocated the emancipation of man, fought for equality & justice, and opposed feudal tyranny;
Ø In essence, renaissance is the reflection of the rise of bourgeoisie in the cultural life.
· The Renaissance in England
Ø This was England’s Golden Age in literature & education was revitalized and literature became more popular;
Ø The division of the English renaissance:
1. Beginning: the end of the 15th century—first half of the 16-th century (1485-1558)
2. Flourishing: the Elizabethan Age (1558-1603)
3. Declining: the period of James I (1603-1625) in early 17th century.
· The Renaissance in England
Ø This was England’s Golden Age in literature & education was revitalized and literature became more popular;
Ø The division of the English renaissance:
1. Beginning: the end of the 15th century—first half of the 16-th century (1485-1558)
2. Flourishing: the Elizabethan Age (1558-1603)
3. Declining: the period of James I (1603-1625) in early 17th century.
· Historical background
Ø The Elizabeth Age (1558-1603): England enjoyed peaceful development under the rule of Queen Elizabeth I;
Ø Characteristics of the Elizabethan Age:
ü An age of comparative religious tolerance;
ü An age of comparative social contentment;
ü An age of dreams, of adventures of unbounded enthusiasm;
ü An age of intellectual liberty.
· Thomas More (1478-1535)
Ø A humanist in essence;
Ø A learned scholar, a master of Latin, an honest statesman, a forerunner of modern socialist thought.
Ø The name “Utopia” comes from Greek meaning “no place” & was adopted by More as the name of his ideal commonwealth;
Ø Divided into two books. The first contains a long discussion on the social condition. The second described an ideal communist society.
· Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593)
Ø The Father of English Tragedy & widely acknowledged as the greatest tragedy writer before William Shakespeare;
Ø The first playwright to use blank verse (无韵诗) in English drama.
Ø Tamburlaine (帖木耳大帝, 1587);
Ø The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus (浮士德博士的悲剧, 1588), which is the greatest play written by Christopher Marlowe;
Ø The Jew of Malta (马耳他的犹太人,1592), which might have influenced Shakespeare in his writing of The Merchant of Venice;
Ø His famous lyric: The Passionate Shepherd to His Love (热恋中的牧羊人致情人,1588).
· Ben Jonson (1572-1637)
Ø The greatest dramatist from Shakespeare to mid-17th century;
Ø Comedies are his favorite & his best: “Every Man in his Humor” (人人高兴), “The Alchemist” (炼金术士), etc;
Ø Awarded Poet Laureate of James I in 1616.
· William Shakespeare (1564—1616)
Ø A dramatist “not of an age, but of all time”;
Ø Not only a master of English language but also a genius of character portrayal and plot construction;
Ø A “poet of reality” for his idea that literature should reflect nature and reality.
Ø Four Tragedies: Hamlet; Othello; King Lear; Macbeth
Ø Four Comedies: The Merchant of Venice; Twelfth Night; A Midsummer Night’s Dream; As You Like It (无事生非, 又名皆大欢喜)
· Edmund Spenser (1552—1589)

Ø He was called the Poet’s poet; The greatest non-dramatic poet of his time;
Ø The first master of English verse.
Ø The Shepherd’s Calendar
a pastoral poem of 12 eclogues (牧歌). Its publication in 1579 marked the budding of the Renaissance flower in England;
Ø The Faerie Queene (仙后, 1590): a long poem.
Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
Ø A philosopher, essayist and statesmen;
Ø The Father of Experimental Philosophy, and was a great many years Lord Chancellor under King James I.
Ø Essays (随笔)
III. The Restoration & the 17th Century
· Background in England
Ø Civil War of 1642-1649: Cromwell reigns and monarchy was abolished and England became a commonwealth;
Ø The Restoration: In 1660, after Cromwell’s death, the Parliament recalled Charles and the Restoration period began;
Ø Glorious Revolution: In 1688, James II was expelled and William, Prince of Orange, from Holland, was invited and became the King.
Ø Literature in 17th Century mainly includes Puritan Literature & Classicist Literature.
Ø Puritanism: religious doctrine of the revolutionary bourgeoisie during the Civil War. It preached thrift, sobriety, hard work and unceasing labor in whatever calling but with no extravagant enjoyment of the fruits of labor;
Ø Literature: John Milton, John Bunyan—two representatives of the puritan writers.
· John Milton (1608-1674)
Ø It is said that there were two revolutionary leaders in English Revolution: Cromwell “the man of action” & Milton “the man of thought”;
Ø All his epics were written (actually dictated by him and written by his pupils, nephews or daughters) after he became blind.
· John Milton (1608-1674)
Ø The most important transitional poet of the time.
ü Paradise Lost (1667);
ü Paradise Regained (1671);
ü Samson Agonistes (1671) (Semi-autobiography).
ü The two most essential things are his Puritanism & Republicanism;
ü A great master of blank verse, who learned much from Shakespeare and first used blank verse in non-dramatic works;
ü A great stylist, who has always been admired for his sublimity (崇高) of thought and majesty (雄伟) of expression.
· John Bunyan(1628-1688)
Ø A remarkable figure in the English literature of 17th century;
Ø While Milton voiced the Puritan ideals for the educated class, Bunyan spoke for the common people. 
Ø Major Works
ü The Pilgrim’s Progress (天路历程 1677)
ü Life and Death of Mr. Badman (1680)
ü The Holy War (1682)
ü The Pilgrim’s Progress, Second Part (1684)
· John Donne (1573-1631) and the Metaphysical Poets (玄学派诗人)
Ø Known for their excessive use of philosophy and deliberate show-off of their cleverness and learning;
Ø Great influence on the 20th century poets esp., the imagists (意象派) like T. S. Eliot.
IV. Literature in the 18th Century (1688-1798)
· Historical Background
Ø The Constitutional monarchy set up by parliament in 1688 was a compromise between the bourgeoisie and the aristocrats;
Ø Newton’s scientific discovery affected people’s thinking of the world;
Ø Reason rather than superstition dominated;
Ø Neo-classicism was the leading literary trend in early 18th century.
· Three Stages of the 18th Century English Literature:
Ø 1688-the end of the 1730s: Neo-Classicism;
Ø 1740s-1750s: Realistic Novels;
Ø The last decades: decline of the Enlightenment, the appearance of new literary tendencies of sentimentalism & pre-romanticism.
Ø An intellectual movement beginning in France and then throughout Europe;
Ø A continuation of Renaissance in belief in the possibility of human perfection through education;
Ø The guiding principle/slogan is Ration/Reason, natural right and equality. (American Independence War in 1776; French Revolution in 1789)
· Neoclassicism
Ø Dominated in the 18th century English literature;
Ø It draws its name from the fact that it found in classical literature and in contemporary French neoclassical writings models for its literary expressions and a group of attitudes towards life and art;
Ø It advocated the artistic ideals of order, logic, restrained emotion, accuracy, correctness, good taste.
· Alexander Pope (1688 – 1744)
Ø An outstanding enlightener brought Neo-classicism to its climax;
Ø A technician in English verse, second to Shakespeare, Milton;
Ø In writing heroic couplets, no one has been able to approach him.
Ø One of the greatest English poets in 18th century;
Ø Main Works:
ü Pastoral (1709) An Essay on Criticism (1711) An Essay on Man (1734)
· Jonathan Swift (1667 – 1745)
Ø An Anglo-Irish writer who is probably the foremost impassioned satirist of the most satirists of human folly and pretension in the English language;
Ø A political pamphleteer, & one of the greatest masters of English prose.
Ø Major Works
ü Gulliver’s Travels; The Battle of the Books; A Modest Proposal; A Tale of a Tub
· Daniel Defoe (1660-1731)
Ø English novelist and journalist, pamphleteer, whose works reflected his diverse experiences in many countries & in many walks of life;
Ø A prolific author, producing more than 500 books and pamphlets.
Ø Masterpiece
ü The Life and Strange Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, Mariner (1719)
ü A fictional tale of a shipwrecked sailor, which Celebrates the 18th century Western civilization’s material triumphs and the strength of human rational will to conquer the natural environment.
V. The Age of Romanticism 1798-1830s
· Romanticism
Ø A literary revolution against restrictions, rules and artificial conventions. Its characteristics include:
ü Romantic love;
ü Adequate imagination & fascination;
ü Liberalism and freedom;
ü An upsurge of nationalism & patriotism;
ü Sympathy for the poor & less fortunate;
ü An appreciation of nature.
· Historical Background
Ø French Revolution (1789-1799);
Ø Industrialization;
Ø Urbanization and shift from agricultural to industrial economy;
Ø Development of industrial capitalism.
· The English Romanticism
Ø The publication of the “Lyrical Ballads” in 1798 marked the break with the conventional poetical tradition of the 18th century and the beginning of the Romantic revival in England;
Ø Ended in 1832 with the death of Sir Walter Scott and the passage of first Reform Bill in Parliament.
· Robert Burns (1759—1796)
Ø An excellent native poet of Scotland;
Ø Remembered mainly for his poems written in Scottish dialect & creation of many lyrics praising nature, love, and friendship.
Ø Major Works:
ü Auld Lang Syne, 1788 The Tree of Liberty, 1794 My Heart’s in the Highlands
A Red, Red Rose, 1794
· Two Groups of Romanticists
Ø The Romanticists split into two groups because of the different attitudes toward the capitalist society.
ü Some romanticists reflected the thinking of those classes which had been ruined by the bourgeoisie. They are called Lake Poets or Passive Romanticists;
ü Others expressed the aspiration of the labouring classes. They are called Active Romanticists.
· Passive Romanticists (Lake Poets)
Ø They idealized the life of the Middle Ages to protest against capitalist development;
Ø Therefore, they stood on the side of the feudal forces and even combined themselves with those forces.
ü William Wordsworth (1770-1850) Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834)
Robert Southey (1774-1843)
· William Wordsworth (1770-1850)
Ø A major English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with the 1798 joint publication Lyrical Ballads.
Ø Poet Laureate from 1843 until his death in 1850.
Ø Main works
Ø We Are Seven 我们是七个 Lines Written in Early Spring 早春遣句
Ø To the Cuckoo 致杜鹃 I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud 我如行云独自游
Ø The Solitary Reaper 孤独的刈麦/割禾女 The Prelude 序曲
· Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834)
Ø An English poet, literary critic & philosopher;
Ø He, with William Wordsworth, was one of the founders of the Romantic Movement in England;
Ø Also a major influence, via Ralph Waldo Emerson, on American transcendentalism.
Ø Main works
ü The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, 1798 《古舟子咏》
ü Christabel, 1816 《克丽斯塔贝尔》 Kubla Khan, 1816忽必烈汗》
· Robert Southey (1774-1843)
Ø One of “Lake Poets”, and Poet Laureate for 30 years from 1813 to his death in 1843;
Ø A prolific letter writer, literary scholar, essay writer, historian and biographer.
· Active Romanticists (Satanic School)
Ø They held out an ideal of future society free from oppression and exploitation;
Ø They were the firm supporters of the French Revolution;
Ø These poets were all rebellious, revolutionary, romantic, & precocious, and had tragically short lives.
· George Gordon Byron (1788-1824)
Ø The most renowned English-language poet of his day;
Ø A leading figure in Romanticism;
Ø Romantic, revolutionary, satiric, proud and angry
Ø Major Works
ü She Walks in Beauty When We Two Parted Childe Herold’s Pilgrimage
Manfred Don Juan
· Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822)
Ø One of the major English Romantic poets and is criti