英国文学1

Part I. The Anglo-Saxon Period (449--1066)

I. The Historical Background

1. Who lived in Britain before 1066?

(1) Celts: aborigines on the English Isles

(2) Romans: 55B.C. – 410A.D.

(3) Angles, Saxons and Jutes: 449– 1066

(4) Normans: 1066 the ―Norman Conquest‖

2. What are their social systems?

From late tribalism to early feudalism

3. What are their religions?

the heathen (pagan) mythology was gradually replaced by Christianity

4. What are the major languages used in the literary works of that period?

Latin and Anglo-Saxon(old English)

II. “Beowulf” the national epic of the Anglo-Saxons

1. Importance: the most monumental work

2. Time: at the beginning of the 6th century

3. Place: on the European continent (Denmark and southern Sweden)

4. Summary: the epic contains 3182 lines of alliterative verse telling the story of Beowulf and

his adventures.

?The first adventure: Beowulf fights against Grendel

?The second adventure: Beowulf fights against Grendel‘s mother

?The third and last adventure: Beowulf fights against a fire dragon.

5. Characteristics:

(1) Theme: the primitive people‘s struggle against hostile forces of the natural world.

(2) Origin: part-historical and part-legendary

(3) Language: Anglo-Saxon or Old English

(4) Style: alliterative verse and frequent use of compound words to serve as metaphors

known as “kennings”such as: ―swan-road‖ ―whale path‖, ―wave-travel er‖,

―shield-bearer‖ battle-hero spear-fighter , sword-clashings and ring –mail breast-net III. Minor Anglo-Saxon Poetry

1.Three types of secular poetry in the Anglo-Saxon period

(1)Narrative verse

(2)Lyrical poetry

(3)Anglo-Saxon Riddles

2. Two Christian poets of this period

(1)Caedmon: father of English song

a poetic paraphrase of the Bible masterpiece known as ―Genesis B‖

(2) Cynewulf: poems on religious subjects such as ― Christ‖ --- nativity, ascension and second coming to judge the world

―Juliana‖ ―Elene‖ ―Guthlac‖ and ―Andreas‖---lives of Christian saints.

IV. Anglo-Saxon Prose :

1. The Venerable Bede: the ―Ecclesiastical History of the English People‖ in Latin

“Father of English History”

2. King Alfred of Wessex: three-fold contributions

(1)Numerous translations from Latin

(2)writing in a natural style in English

(3)organizing the compiling of ―Anglo-Saxon Chronicle‖(A.D. 1—A.D. 1154)

3. Aelfric: the greatest prose writer of his time

Exercises:

1. After the fall of the Roman Empire and the withdrawal of Roman troops from Albion , the aboriginal _____ population of the larger part of the island was soon conquered and almost totally exterminated by the Teutonic tribes of ____ , ____ , and _____ who came from the continent and settled in the island , naming its central part _____ , or England.

2. For nearly ____ years prior to the coming of the English , British had been a Roman province . In___, the Rome withdrew their legions from Britain to protect herself against swarms of Teutonic invaders.

3. The literature of early period falls naturally into two divisions,___ and ____.

4.____ can be justly termed England‘s natio nal epic and its hero ____ —one of the national heroes of the English people.

5. The Song of Beowulf reflects events which took place on the ____ approximately at the beginning of the ____ century , when the forefathers of the Jutes lived in the southern part of the ____ and maintained close relations with kindred tribes ,e.g. with the ____ who lived on the other side of the straits.

6. Among the early Anglo-Saxon poets we may mention ____ who lived in the half of the ____ century and who wrote a poetic Paraphrase of the Bible.

7. ____ is the first know religious poet of England . He is known as the father of English song.

8. The didactic poem The Christ was produced by ____ .

9. The most important work of ____ is the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles , which is regarded as the best monument of the old English prose.

a. Alfred the Great

b. Caedmon

c. Cynewulf

d. Venerable Bede

10. Who is the monster half-human who had mingled thirty warriors in The Song of Beowulf?

a. Hrothgat

b. Heorot

c. Grendel

d. Beowulf

11. ____ is the first important religious poet in English literature.

a. Gynewulf

b. Caedmon

c. Shakespeare

d. Adam Bede

12. The epic , The Song of Beowulf ,represents the spirit of ___.

a. Monks

b. romanticists

c. sentimentalists

d. pagan

13. Define the literary terms listed below.

1). Alliteration 2). Epic

14. Please give brief description of The Song of Beowulf.

Part II The Anglo-Norman Period (1066-1350)

I. Historical Background

1. Politically: the development of feudalism

2. Socially: the chief social conflict was between the serfs or peasants and their feudal lords

3. In terms of the languages

(1)Latin

(2)Norman-French

(3)Native English (Middle English) gained supremacy

II. Literature

1. Latin literature

(1) Geoffrey: ― The H istory of the Ki ngs of Britain‖ (earliest account of Arthur and Lear)

(2) Roger Bacon: ―father of experimental science‖ ―Opus Maius‖ ―Opus Tertium‖ ―Opus Minus‖

2. Norman-French Literature: made Arthurian legends popular ―Roman de Troie‖

3. Middle English Literature:

(1) Folk Literature :

●Social satires in verse: ―Song of the Husbandman‖ ―A Song against the Retinues of the

Great People‖―On the Evil Times of Edward II‖―When Holy Church Is Under Foot‖

―Satire on the Monks and People of Kildare‖―The Land of Cokaygne‖

●Popular lyrics:

on nature: ―Cuckoo Song‖ ―Springtime‖

on love: ― Alysoun‖

(2) Religious Literature: didactic poem (教诲诗): ―The Pearl‖

III. Early Alliterative and Metrical Romances

1.Definition: knightly adventures or heroic deeds and chivalric love

2.Themes:

―The Matter of Britain‖ about the Arthurian legend

―The Matter of France‖ about Charlemagne and his peers

―The Matter of Rome and Greece‖ about the tales of antiquity from the Trojan war to the feats of Alexander the Great

3. Works:―Sir Gawain and the Green Knight‖

(1)Summary: Section one: Christmas feast

Section two: Seeking for the Green Chapel

Section three: Stay at the castle

Section four: The return of the blow

(2) Two themes: the test of faith, courage and purity the human weakness for self-preservation

(3) Characteristics: typical of chivalric romances with strong Christian coloring

(4) Merits: the careful interweaving of one episode with another

the elements of suspense and surprise

the psychological analysis of the chief character

the elaborate descriptions of the seasons, places

the simple, straightforward language

(5) Limitation: supernatural and superstitious elements adventures carried out for adventure‘s sake

Exercise:

1.In the year ____, at the battle of ____, the ____ headed by William Duke of Normandy, defeated the Anglo-Saxons.

2. The literature with Normans brought to England is remarkable for its bright, ____ tales of ____

and adventures, in marked contrast with the ____ and ____ of Anglo-Saxon poetry.

3. English literature is also a combination of ____ and ____ elements.

4. Defines the literary terms listed below.

(1) Anglo-Norman Romance

(2) Middle English

Part III. English Literature of the Second Half of the 14th century ---the Age of Chaucer

I. The Political and Social Background

1.The Hundred Year‘s War (1377-1453), the Black Death (1349-50) and mounting feudal and clerical oppression led to the great peasants‘ rising in 1381. The result is the e nd of serfdom and the decline of feudalism.

2. The Renaissance (文艺复兴) started to influence many English writers.

II. Major writers

1. John Wycliffe: ―the father of English prose‖-- earliest translation of the entire Bible and influence on the Lollards

2. William Langland: ―Visions of Piers, the Plowman‖ ,a poem on reli gious theme is developed through allegory and personifications. It holds up a mirror to Langland‘s England. (seven deadly sins)

3. Geoffrey Chaucer (1340--1400): ―father of English poetry‖

(1)Life story (biography):

?Born of a wine-merchant‘s family in London in 1340

?Served as a court page in 1357

?Accompanied the English army to France in 1359

?Received training for a career at the court at the Inner Temple from 1361to 1367

?Entered the service of King Edward III in 1367

?Went to the European Continent nine times for diplomatic missions and made contact with the new tendencies of the Renaissance in literature

?Received the post of Comptroller of Customs in the port of London in 1373

?Elected member of Parliament in 1386

?Died in 1400 and was buried in the Poet‘s Corn er of Westminster Abbey.

(2) Chaucer‘s literary career

?French period (1360 to 1372) : ―Romance of the Rose‖ ―The Book of the Duchess‖?Italian period (1372 to 1386) : ―The House of Fame‖―Troylus and Criseyde‖―The Legend of Good Women‖ (heroic cou plet 英雄双韵体）

?Mature period (1386 to 1400) : The Canterbury Tales

Summery: a general prologue and 24 tales

One night in April,at the Tabard Inn in the southern suburb of London, the poet meets 29 pilgrims all ready to go to St.Thomas Becket‘s tomb at Canter bury. The poet joins them. At the proposal of the host of the inn, all the pilgrims agree that each of them is to tell two stories on the outward trip and two more on the way back. There should be altogether 120 stories in the collection, but only 24 are preserved.

Major Characters:

?Ironical: the Prioress, the fat Monk, the Friar, the Summoner the Pardoner, the Doctor of Physic

?Objective: the worthy knight, the knight‘s son, the knight‘s attendant

?Sympathetic: the Clerk, the Parish Priest, the Shipman, the Miller, the Ploughman, the Franklin

?realistic: the Wife of Bath (rising social status)

Importance:

?The poem serves as a comprehensive picture of the social reality.

?The tales represent the whole range of literary genres in Medieval and early Renaissance Europe, including minstrelsy, chivalric romances, fabliaux, lays, legends, legendary epic

sagas, animal epic, mythology, moral allegories and sermons.

?Chaucer‘s ever-present humor and satire enables him to tower above his contemporaries.

?The heroic couplet was employed with true ease and charm.

Part IV. English Literature of the 15th Century

I. Popular Ballads (1300-1700)

1. Definition: anonymous narrative songs that have been preserved by oral transmission. They are most characteristic of the English-Scottish border region in the later Middle Ages

2. Origin: 1300 to 1700, 18th Century

3. Collectors: Bishop Thomas Percy ―Reliques of Ancient English Poetry‖F.J.Child ―English &Scottish Popular Ballads‖

4. Types : historical, legendary, fantastical, lyrical and humorous

5. Major Works:

―border ballads‖– the struggle between the Scots and the English

―ballads of Robin Hood‖ – the struggle of peasants and artisans

―Arthurian legend‖

―domestic life‖--unnatural family relations

―love‖—poignant emotions

―political treachery‖

― intelligence and ingenuity of the common laboring folk

6. Four Characteristics

(1). Short: brief incidents in brief scenes

(2). Much dialogue

(3). Elaborations and repetitions

(4). Simple language

7. Poetic form of ballads :ballad meter contains 4- line stanzas, with the alteration of 4-and 3- feet verse to the odd and even numbered lines (sometimes all four lines are in octosyllabics), and rhyming on the second and fourth lines.

II. Early English Drama

1. Folk drama: sword dance and Morris dance–mummer‘s plays or St. George plays

2. Church drama: (late Middle Ages)

(1)Mystery plays: stories from the Bible

(2) Miracle plays: legends of the Christian saints

(3) Morality plays: abstractions e.g. vices or virtues as characters

III. English prose of the 15 th century

Sir Thomas Malory‘s ―Le Morted‘ Arthur‖:

1.Final summing-up

2.The swan-song of feudal knighthood and chivalry

3.From late Middle English to early Modern English

Exercise:

1. In the 14th century, the two most important writers are ____ and Chaucer.

2. In the 15th century, there is only one important prose writer whose name is ____ . He wrote an important work called Morte d’Arthur.

3. Geoffrey Chaucer ,the ―____‖ and one f the greatest narrative p oets of England, was born in London in about the year 1340.

4. Chaucer‘s masterpiece is ___,one of the most works in all literature.

5.The ___ provides a frame work for the tales in The Canterbury Tales, and it comprises a group of vivid pictures of various medieval figures.

6. Chaucer created in The Canterbury Tales a strikingly brilliant and picturesque panorama of ____.

7. The Canterbury Tales opens with a general “prologue” where we are told of a company of pilgrims that gathered at ____ Inn in Southwark , a suburb of London.

8. Chaucer believes in the right of man to ____ happiness.

9.The name of the ―jolly innkeeper‖ in The Canterbury Tales is ____, who proposes that each pilgrim of the ____ should tell two tales on the way to Canterbury and two more on the way back.

10.The pilgrims in The Canterbury Tales are on their way to the shrine of ____ at a place named Canterbury.

11.Despite the enormous plan , The Canterbury Tales in fact contains a general ―prologue‖ and only ___ tale , of which two are left unfinished.

12.In contradistinction to the ____ verse of Anglo-Saxon poetry , Chaucer chose the metrical from which laid the foundation of the English _____ verse.

13. Who is the ― father of English poetry ‖ and one of the greatest narrative poets of En glish?

A . Christopher Marlow B. Geoffrey Chaucer

C. W. Shakespeare

D. Alfred the Great

14. When he died, Chaucer was buried in ____ the Poet‘s Corner.

A.Westminster Abbey

B. Normandy

C. Canterbury

D. Southwark

15. Chaucer‘s earliest work of any length is his ____ a translation of the French ―Roman de la Rose‖, which was a love allegory enjoying widespread popularity in the 13th and 14th centuries throughout Europe.

A. Troilus and Criseyde

B. A Red Red Rose

C. Romance of the Rose

D. Piers the Plowman

16. Chaucer composes a long narrative poem named _____ based on Boccaccio‘s poem ―Filostrato‖.

A. The Legend of Good Women

B. Troilus and Criseyde

C. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

D. Beowulf

17. In his literary development, Chaucer was influenced by three

literatures. Which one is not true?

A. French literature

B. Italian literature

C. English literature

D. German literature

18. There are various kinds of ballads ____, ____, ____, ____ and _____.

19. In the numerous ____, the age-long struggle between the Scots and the English is reflected.

20. Bishop ____ was among the first to take a literary interest in ballads.

21. Robin Hood, a ____ by birth, was an outlaw, a robber but he robbed only the rich and never molested the poor and needy.

22. The first mention of Robin Hood in literature is in Langland‘s _____.

23. Define the literary terms listed below.

(1) Ballad (2) Heroic couplet

24. Comment on Geoffrey Chaucer and his The Canterbury Tales.

Part V. English Literature of the Renaissance

I.The historical background

1. The Renaissance in Europe

(1) It is an epoch of social and political development embraced all western Europe. (14th—15th—16th)

(2) Six characteristics:

?the centralization of power

?church reformation

?geographical discoveries

?bankruptcy of the peasants

?emergence of the bourgeoisie and the proletariat

?growth of a new culture

(3) In literature: humanists voiced the human desires

2. Stages and trends

(1)Two trends: court literature bourgeois literature

(2) Three stages:

1)From the last years of the 15th century to the first half of the 16th century (Thomas More,

Skelton, Wyatt, Surrey )

2)The ―Elizabethan Age‖ covering the second half of the 16th century ( Sidney, Spenser,

Marlowe, Shakespeare)

3)The first quarter of the 17th century or the Jacobean period (Shakespeare, Ben Johnson,

Francis Bacon)

II Shakespeare’s predecessors

1.Thomas More: “Utopia”

(1)Summary: Part I, social evils; Part II. Utopian socialism

(2)Importance: ruthless expose + Utopian socialist state

(3)Limitation: no sound political economic and social bases; indifferent attitude to slaves

and mercenary soldiers.

2. Sketon:Skeltonic meter, ―doggerel‖ (satire and humor)

3. Wyatt: lyrics on love; introduction of the Italian sonnet or Petrarchan sonnet (abbaabbacdecde); introduction of Dante‘s terza rima (三行连环体诗) aba bcb cdc ded ee; introduction of Serafino‘s strambotti (八行诗) abababcc

4. Surrey: introduced the English form of sonnet (ababcdcdefefgg) and the blank verse （素体诗）

5. Sidney: the earliest writer of a sonnet sequence , Astrophel and Stella a pastoral romance, Acardia a critical essay, The Defence of the Poesie (The mission of poetry is to be an imitation of

nature, to reflect reality, to instruct and amuse)

6. Spenser: ―the poet‘s poet‖The Farie Queen : an epic in the Spenserian stanza (a nine-line stanza / ababbcbcc / the first eight lines in iambic pentameter and the last an hexameter)

7. Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593): the Renaissance spirit

Four tragedies (one man tragedy)

1) Tamburlaine the Great: desire for military power and authority

2) The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus: desire for knowledge

3) The Jew of Malta: desire for wealth

4) Edward the Second: desire for political power

(2) Non-dramatic poems

―The Passionate Shepherd to His Love‖

Come, live with me, and be my love,

And we will all the pleasure prove

That valleys, groves, or hills, or field,

Or woods and steepy mountains yield;

Where we will sit upon the rocks,

And see the shepherds feed our flocks

By shallow rivers, to whose falls

Melodious birds sing madrigals.

And I will make thee beds of roses,

And then a thousand fragrant posies.

A cap of flowers, and a kirtle

Embroidered all with leaves of myrtle;

A gown made of the finest wool

Which from our pretty lambs we pull;

Slippers lined choicely for the cold,

With buckles of the purest gold;

A belt of straw and ivy-buds,

With coral clasps and amber studs:

And if these pleasures may thee move,

Come, live with me, and be my love.

Thy silver dishes for thy meat,

As precious as the gods do eat,

Shall on an ivory table be

Prepared each day for thee and me.

The shepherd swains shall dance and sing,

For thy delight, each May morning.

If these delights thy mind may move,

Then live with me, and be my love

Exercise:

1.The 16th century in England was a period of the breaking up of ____ relation and the

establishing of the foundations of ____.

2. Because the wool trade was rapidly growing in bulk , it was s time when , according to Thomas More , ―____ ‖.

3. ____ broke off with the Pope , dissolved all the monasteries and Abbeys in the country , confiscated their lands proclaimed himself head of ____.

4. Absolute monarchy in England reached its summit during the reign of ____.

5. ____ is the earliest writer of a sonnet sequence, a pastoral romance and a critical essay.

6. Together with the development of bourgeois relationships and formation of the English national state this period is marked by a Flourishing of national culture known as the ____.

7.___wrote his ___in which he gave a profound and truthful picture of people‘s sufferings and put forwards his ideal of a future happy society.

8.___was the first to introduce the Italian sonnet into English literature.

9. Edmund Spenser was the author of the greatest epic poem of ____.

10. ____ introduced the blank verse into English poetry.

10. Define the literary terms listed below.

(1)Renaissance (3) Blank verse

(2)Spenserian Stanza (4) One-man tragedy

III. William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

1.Shakespeare’s Life

(1)born in Stratford-on-Avon in 1564.

(2)spent his early youth in an affluent bourgeois family

(3)went to a local grammar school at seven

(4)quit school and entered his father‘s trade in 1577

(5)married Anne Hathaway in 1582

(6)left Stratford for London in 1585

(7)began writing plays in 1588-1590

(8)retired from the stage and returned to Stratford in 1612

(9)died in 1616

2. Shakespeare’s literary career: 37 plays, 2 narrative poems and 154 sonnets

(1)Two narrative poems:

1)―Venus and Adonis‖

2)?The Rape of Lucrece‖

(2) Sonnets (1593-98)

1)Themes: love, friendship, contemporary events and personal life

2)Form: the English or Shakespearan sonnet form (ababcdcdefefgg)

(3) Dramas

1)Early period of Shakespeare‘s plays(1590-1600):

?1590 The Second and Third Parts of King Henry VI

?1591 The First Part of King Henry VI

?1592 The Life and Death of King Richard III The Comedy of Errors (EC)

?1593 Titus Andronics (T) The Taming of the Shrew (C)

?1594 The Two Gentlemen of Verona (EC) Love‘s Labor‘s Lost (EC) Romeo and Juliet (T)

?1595 The Life and Death of Richard II A Midsummer Night‘s Dream (C )

?1596 The Life and Death of King John The Merchant of Venice (MC)

?1597 The First and Second Parts of King Henry IV

?1598 Much Ado About Nothing (MC) The Merry Wives of Windsor (C) The Life of

King Henry V

?1599 The Life and Death of Julius Caesar (T) As You Like It (MC)

?1600 Twelfth Night (MC)

①Romeo and Juliet

?Summary:

?Purpose of drama: to attack the feudal family feud

?Causes of the tragedy: the conflict between the bondage of family feud and the young lovers‘ attempt to shatter the bondage

?Highlights: the balcony scene and the parting scene

②The Merchant of V enice

?Summary:

?Theme: the triumph of love and friendship over insatiable greed and brutality

?Shakespeare‘s attitude towards Shylock:He condemns the Jew and sympathizes with him as well

?Analysis of Portia: great heroine/ a new woman of Renaissance active, vivacious, capable, clever and serious-minded/ outshining men

2) Mature Period of Shakespeare‘s Plays (1601-1608)

1601 Hamlet, Prince of Denmark

1602 Troilus and Cressida (TC) All‘s Well That Ends Well (TC)

1604 Measure for Measure (TC) Othello, the Moore of Venice

1605 King Lear The Tragedy of Macbeth

1606 Antony and Cleopatra

1607 The Tragedy of Coriolanus Timon of Athens

1608 Pericles, Prince of Tyre

①“Hamlet”

?Major characters:

Hamlet: the protagonist , an embodiment of Shakespeare‘s ideals: personal ideal-- filial piety and a strong sense of justice ; social and political ideals– he sees the infinite capabilities of man and he hopes to eliminate social evils.

Ophelia: heroine, a timid and na?ve girl

Claudius: the antagonist, the absolute villain, occasionally conscience –striken

Polonius: a garrulous old man and a foolish fawning courtier

Laertes: son of Polonius

Queen Certrude: Hamlet‘s mother

Hor atio: Hamlet‘s friend

?Summary:

?The chief elements of the play:

The story of murder and revenge

The appearance of a ghost

The performance of a play within a play

The pretended insanity and the real madness

The use of numerous soliloquies to reflect the inner workings

?The cause of tragedy: hesitation

②“Othello”

?Major characters

Othello: protagonist, a Renaissance humanist and a idealist

He proceeds from absolute faith in Desdemona‘s ―honesty‖ through his first suspicions of her disloyalty to his conviction of her falseness and his final decision to smother her. Desdemona: resolute to social conventions and submissive to her husband

Iago: the most powerful villain, much more intelligent, insightful, sensitive and imaginative than his victim

Cassio: a rash young lieutenant

Emilia:

?Summary:

?Theme: the struggle of an upright man and a pure woman against a treacherous villain and his tricks

?Cause of tragedy: jealousy

③“King Lear”

?Major characters:

King Lear: a symbol of absolutism

Goneril and Regan: symbols of treachery, hypocrisy, flattery, selfishness and distrust

Cordelia: symbol of one who is always true; true, tender, simple as a child

Edmund: a minor Iago, a intriguer, treacherous to his father and brother and double-dealing to Goneril and Regan

Cornwall: extremely cruel tyrant

?Summary:

?Theme: reflection of Renaissance England

?Chief elements: psychological study/ Lear‘s real insanity and Edgar‘s pretended madness

?Cause of tragedy: loss of human nature

④“Macbeth”

?Major characters

Macbeth: a man of wild and treacherous ambition

Lady Macbeth: first appears as a strong-willed woman but ends in being an insane sleep-walker ?Summary:

?Chief elements: superstitious elements

3) Last period of Shakespeare‘s dramatic career(1609-1612)

1609 Cymbeline, King of Britain

1610 The Winter‘s Tale

1612 The Tempest The Life of King Henry VIII.

3. General Comments on Shakespeare

(1)Progressive significance and limitations

1)the greatest playwright in the whole globe, past and present

2)see and condemn social evils/ sense of justice

3)limitations due to his social status

(2) Character-creations

1)not ― the mere mouthpieces of the spirit of the times‖

2)―Sharply differentiated and contrasted‖

3)emphasis on the psychological make-up

4)involved in the most intense social conflicts

(3) Plot construction

1)three or four threads of story

2)element of suspense

3)much clowning

4)―dramatic irony‖ (disguise)

(4) Mastery of language

1) a large vocabulary (16,000)

2)forming very new and striking expressions out of common words

3)Masterful at different poetic styles and prose as well

(5) Shakespeare‘s literary influence

1)in thought content or poetic and dramatic forms or language

2)widely translated

Exercise:

1.Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and _____ are gener ally regarded as Shakespeare‘s four great tragedies.

2. During the 22 years of his literary work, Shakespeare produced ____ plays, ____ narrative poems and _____ sonnets.

3. The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus is one of _____‘s best plays.

4. ____ is often referred to as ― the poet‘s poet‖.

5. ―Shall I compare thee to a summer‘s day‖ is one of ____ best known sonnets.

6. In the ____ Period, William Shakespeare is the greatest writer of England.

7. Define the literary terms listed below: Dramatic Irony

8. Comment on Shakespeare‘s The Merchant of Venice.

9. Comment on Shakespeare‘s Hamlet.

IV.Shakespeare’s Contemporaries

1.Ben Jonson (1573-1637): first poet laureate

(1)Prose: ―Timber; Discoveries Made Upon Men and Matter‖

(2)Non-dramatic poetry ―Song To Celia‖ or ― Drink to me only with thine eyes‖

(3)Drama: ―comedy of humors‖

①Two tragedies ― Sejanus, His Fall‘― Catiline, His Conspiracy‖

②Two earlier comedies, ― Every Man in His Humor‖― Every Man out of His Humor‖

③Best known comedy ― V olpone, or the Fox‖

Song to Celia

Drink to me only with thine eyes,

And I will pledge with mine;

Or leave a kiss but in the cup,

And I‘ll not look for wine.

The thirst that from the soul doth rise

Doth ask a drink divine;

But might I of Jove‘s nectar sup,

I would not change for thine.

I sent thee late a rosy wreath,

Not so much honoring thee

As giving it a hope, that there

It could not wither‘d be.

But thou thereon didst only breathe,

And sent‘st it back to me;

Since when it grows, and smells, I swear,

Not of itself, but thee.

2. Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626) scientist, philosopher, and essayist

(1)Life Story

(2)Works

①The philosophical works The Advancement of Learning

The Novum Organum

The De Augmentis

②The professional works Maxims of the Law

Reading on the Statute of Uses

③The Literary works

1)The New Atlantis

2)Essays

?first collection of essays in English

?on political social and personal problems

?conciseness and brevity, simplicity and forcefulness

Part VI. English Literature of the 17th Century

The Period of Revolution and Restoration

I.The Historical Background

1. Absolute monarchy hindered the further development of capitalism in England

2. James I (1603—1625)

3. Charles I (1625– 1649)

4. Conflicts arose between the Throne and the Parliament

between the Cavaliers and the Republicans

between the Anglicans and the Puritans

4. Civil war, or the English bourgeois revolution broke out in 1642 and ended in 1649.

5. Republic– Commonwealth– the Restoration (1660)

6. ―Glorious revolution‖ took place in 1688.

II. Literary Characteristics of the 17th Century: four main streams of poetry

1.The Spenserians: the Fletcher brothers (弗莱彻) continued and imitated the poetry of the

preceding age, using allegories and ornate language to write poems.

2.The “metaphysical” school(玄学派): John Donne (多恩) and George Herbert. Their

poems contain much intricate reasoning mixed with emotional outburst and metaphysical ―conceits‖ .

3.The Cavalier poets: ―sons of Ben‖ or the ―Tribe of Ben‖ represented by Robert Herrick.

They pursue the theme of hedonism (行乐主义).

4.The Puritan poets: John Milton and John Bunyan( 班扬). They strive for freedom

against political and religious tyranny.

Ⅲ. Literary works of the 17th century

1.The King James Bible: (1611 Authorized Version) The biblical language is simple and direct containing the flavor of the far away and the long away.

2. Francis Bacon

3. Robert Burton(伯顿)‘s The Anatomy of Melancholy

Introduction: melancholy as ―an inbred malady in every one of us

Part I: definition, causes, symptoms and properties

Part II. Cure

Part III. The melancholy of love and of religion

The work reveals the decline of humanism in the last stage of the English Renaissance.

4. John Donne: metaphysical school

(1) Forms: satires, elegies, epistles and lyrics

(2)Theme: life

(3) Characteristics: frankness and penetrating realism

cynicism

novelty of subject matter and point of view

diversified stanza forms

fantastic metaphors and extravagant hyperboles

(4) Limitations: he was censured for trying to show his learning, trying to pursue novelty, for his far-fetched conceits and for the ruggedness of his verse. All these are signs of decadence.

(5) Donne‘s works

①Songs and Sonnets: 55 short love lyrics ---- ― The Relic‖ (P133) and ― The Flea‖

②Divine Poems: 26 ―holy sonnets ---- ―Death be not proud‖

③Sermons:160 poems on religious subject demonstrating his spiritual struggle

5. John Milton(1608-1674): Puritan poet and pamphleteer

(1) Milton’s life

?born of a well-to-do bourgeois family in London

?studied in St. Paul‘s (boy‘s school) from 8 to 16

?studied in Cambridge University for his B. A and M. A for seven years (1625-1632)

?retired to his father‘s country h ouse at Horton and devoted himself entirely to poetry

for over 5 years

?traveled on the European Continent from 1638 to 1639

?married Mary Powell in 1643

?accepted the post of Latin Secretaryship (1649 to 1660)

?spent his last years in poverty after being arrested, fined but released

(2) Milton’s Early Works (Cambridge and Horton)

①His Ode ― On the Morning of Christ‘s Nativity‖

②His 16-line epigram in heroic couplet ― On Shakespeare‖

③His earliest Sonnets ― On His Having Arrived at the Age of Twenty-th ree‖

④― L‘allegro‖ (the cheerful man) ― Il Penseroso‖ ( the meditative man)

⑤― Lycidas‖ an elegy upon the death of Edward

(3)The Middle Period of Milton’s Literary Career( from his return from the journey to Restoration)

①20 pamphlets: for freedom against tyranny

1) 8 religious tracts:1641 ― Of Reformation‖: calls for greater freedom in religious worship and against the tyrannous interference of the bishops

2) 4 divorce tracts: 1643 ― The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce‖: indicates his desire for freedom in marriage and divorce

3) 6 political tracts: 1649 ― The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates‖: made a courageous defense of regicide

4) 2 other tracts:

1644 ― Of Education‖ : fought against the scholastic system of education and for the freedom in the field of education

1644 ― Areopagitica‖ : defenses the freedom of press (most famous)

②24 sonnets : ― On His Blindness‖ – sadness, submission and pride

(4) Last Period of Milton’s Literary Career

①“ Paradise Lost” ( an epic)

1) Theme: the fall of man

2) Purpose: to ―assert eternal providence and justify the ways of God to man.‖

3) Structure: 12 books

?Book I. Satan and his followers call for a meeting

?Book II. Satan is sent to work for revenge

?Book III. God sees Satan flying to Earth and foretells his success

?Book IV. Satan first sees the Garden of Eden

?Book V and VI. Rapheal sent by God to warn Adam tells the story of Satan.

?Book VII. Rapheal continues to tell why and how the world was created.

?Book VIII. Adam tells of what he remembers

?Book IX. Satan disguised as a serpent induces Eve to eat the forbidden fruit and Eve …

?Book X. God sends his son to judge the sinners (Adam, Eve, Satan and his followers) ?Book XI. and XII. Michael sent to drive A and E out of Paradise

4)Contradictions

?Milton, the Puritan vs. Milton, the revolutionist

As a Puritan, Milton held a strong belief in Christianity and God.

As a bourgeois revolutionist, he could not help showing his revolutionary sympathy for Satan.

?Milton, the Puritan vs. Milton, the Renaissance humanist

Puritans advocated asceticism while humanist strengthened hedonism.

Puritans‘s first law of importance is submission to God‘s will while

Renaissance humanists hold strong and insatiable desire for knowledge.

5)Miltonic Style: strict blank verse:

?long, complex and seeming interminable sentence construction

?sound oratorical, logical or picturesque

?the extreme variety of pauses

6) Importance: the greatest epic in the English language beauty in the verse form humanist and revolutionary ideas

②“ Paradise Regained‖: shorter, simpler and more straightforward

1）Theme: the triumph of Christian virtue over evil

2）Summary: how Christ in the forty days in the wilderness resists one temptation after another

and finally Satan the tempter falls into crushing defeat.

③“Samson Agonistes”( Samson the Athlete‖) (tragedy in verse)

1）Theme:

? A strong man betrayed and made a slave, but finally rising up to bring destruction to his enemies.

?the poet‘s personal feelings of his last days

2）Form: tragic form modeled after the ancient Greek tragedy

(5) Importance of Milton: a prominent figure in politics, a great poet and a important prose writer. He shall be remembered for his Puritanism and Republicanism

Exercises:

1.Pope described Francis Bacon as ― the ___, ___, ___ of mankind‖.

2.Bacon‘s works may be divided into three classes, the ___, the ___, the ___ works.

3. The final edition of Bacon‘s essays contains ___ essays.

4. The 17th century was a period when ___ impeded the further development of capitalism in England and the ___ could no longer bear the sway of ___.

5. The government of James I was a ___ based on the theory of the divine right of kings.

6. There were religious division and confusion and a long bitter struggle between the people‘s Parliament and the Throne--- ___ fighting against the ___ who helped the king.

7. England became a commonwealth under the leadership of ___.

8. After ___‘s death, monarchy as again restored (1660). It was called the period of the ____.

9. The Glorious Revolution in ___ meant three things the supremacy of ___, the beginning of ___, and the final triumph of the principleof ___.

10. The Puritans believed in ___ of life.

11. The Revolution Period is also called ___, because the English Revolution was carried out under a religious cloak.

12. Define the literary term – Blank verse.

13. The first thing to strike the reader is Donne‘s extraordinary ___ and penetrating ___. The next is the ___ which marks certain of the lighter poems and which represents a conscious reaction from the extreme ____ of woman encouraged by the Petrarchan tradition.

14. Donne entered the church in 1615, where he rose rapidly to be Dean of ___, and the most famous preacher of his time.

15. Milton‘s father was a ___, but not so harsh as most o f the ___ of his day.

16. Milton opposed the ___ party and gave all his energies to the writing of ___ dedicated to the people‘s liberties.

17. Paradise Lost tells how ___ rebelled against God and how ___ and ___ were driven out of Eden.

18. Paradise Lost presents the author‘s view in an ___, ___ form.

19. The poem Paradise Lost consists of ___ books.

20. Paradise Lost is based on the ____ legend of the imaginary progenitors of the human race --- ___ and ___ , and involves God and his eternal adversary ___ in its plot.

21. In Revolution period ____ towers over his age as William Shakespeare towers over the Elizabethan Age and as Chaucer over the Medieval period.

22. During the civil war and the commonwealth, there were two leaders in England, Cromwell, the man of action, and ___ the man of thought.

23. In 1637Milton wrote the finest pastoral elegy in English, ―___‖ to memorize the tragic death of a Cambridge friend.

24. Milton wrote his masterpiece ___ during his blindness.

25. Comment on John Milton and his Paradise Lost.