英国浪漫主义时期

英国浪漫主义时期

Chapter III The Romantic Period

一、本章的学习目的和要求

通过本章的学习，了解浪漫主义文学的产生的历史，文化背景，认识该时期文学创作的基本特征，基本主张，及其对时代及后世英国文学用至文化的影响；了解该时期重要作家的文学生涯，创作思想，艺术特色及其代表作品的主题结构，人物刻画，语言风格，思想意义等；同时结合注释，读懂所选作品，了解其思想内容和写作特色，培养理解和欣赏文学作品的能力。

二、本章考核知识点及考核要求

（一）考核知识点

1.浪漫主义时期概述

1）浪漫主义时期英国社会的政治，经济，文化背景

2）浪漫主义文学创作的基本主张

3）英国浪漫主义文学的特色

4）浪漫主义文学对同时代及后世英国文学的影响

2.浪漫主义时期主要作家的文学创作思想及其代表作品的主题结构，人物塑造，语言风格，艺术手法及社会意义等。

威廉.布莱克；威廉.华兹华斯；塞.特.科勒律治；乔治.戈登.拜伦；珀.比.雪莱；约翰.济兹；简.奥斯汀

（二）考核要求

1.浪漫主义时期概述

1）识记：a.浪漫主义时期的界定

b.历史文化背景

2）领会：a.浪漫主义思潮的意义与影响。

b.浪漫主义文学创作的基本主张及对后世文学的影响。、

3）应用：a.名词解释：浪漫主义

b.浪漫主义时期文学特点的分析

2.该时期的重要作家

1）识记：浪漫主义时期的重要作家，代表作品及其主要内容。

2）领会：重要作家的创作思想，艺术特色及其代表作品的主题结构，人物塑造，语言风格，

社会意义等。

3）应用：a.浪漫派诗歌（所选作品）的主题，意象分析

b.小说《傲慢与偏见》的主题和主要人物的性格分析。

一、概述

1. 一般识记

English Romanticism

English Romanticism, as a historical phase of literature, is generally said to have began in 1798 with the publication of Wordsworth & Coleridge''''s Lyrical Ballads & to have ended in 1832 with Sir Walter Scott''''s death & the passage of the first Reform Bill in the Parliament.

2. 识记 Historical & Cultural background

During this period, England had experienced profound economic & social change. The biggest social change in English history was the transfer of large masses of the population from the countryside to the towns. As a result of the Enclosures & the agricultural mechanization, the peasants were driven of their land；some emigrated to the colonies；some sank to the level of farm laborers & many others drifted to the industrial towns where there was a growing demand for labor. But the new industrial towns were no better than jungles, where the law was "the survival of the fittest." The cruel economic exploitation caused large-scale workers'''' disturbances in England.

3. 领会

（1） Influences of the Romantic Movement

Romanticism constitutes a change of direction from attention to the outer world of social civilization to the inner

world of the human spirit. In essence it designates a literary & philosophical theory which tends to see the individual as the very center of all life & all experience. It also places the individual at the center of art, making literature most valuable as an expression of this or her unique feelings & particular attitudes & valuing its accuracy in portraying the individual''''s experiences.

（2） The Romantic views about literature

a. The Romantic period is an age of poetry. Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley & Keats are the major Romantic poets. They started a rebellion against the neoclassical literature, which was later regarded as the poetic revolution.

b. The Romantic period is also a great age of prose. The two major novelists of the Romantic period are Jane Austen & Walter Scott.

c. Besides poetry & prose, there are quite a number of writers who have fried their hand at poetic dramas in this perio

d.

4.应用

（1） Literary Terms

a. The Romantic Movement

It expressed a more or less negative attitude towards the existing social & political conditions that came with industrialization & the growing importance of the bourgeoisie. The Romantics felt that the existing society denied people their essential human needs, so they demonstrated a strong reaction against the dominant modes of thinking of the 18th-century writers & philosophers. Where their predecessors saw man as a social animal, the Romantics saw him essentially as an individual in the solitary state & emphasized the special qualities of each individual''''s mind. Romanticism actually constitutes a change of

direction from attention to the outer.

b. The Gothic novel

It is a type of romantic fiction that predominated in the late 18th century & was one phase of the Romantic movement, its principal elements are violence, horror & the supernatural, which strongly appeal to the reader''''s emotion. With its descriptions of the dark, irrational side of human nature, the Gothic form has exerted a great influence over the writer of the Romantic period. Works like The Mysteries of Udolpho （1794） by Ann Radcliffe & Frankenstein （1818）by Mary Shelley are typical Gothic romance.

（2） Characteristics of Romantic literature in English history.

The Romantic period is an age of poetry Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley & Keats are the major Romantic poets. They started a rebellion against the neoclassical literature, which was later regarded as the poetic revolution. Wordsworth & Coleridge were the major representatives of this movement. They explored new theories & innovated new techniques in poetry writing. They saw poetry as a healing energy： they believed that poetry could purify both individual souls & the society. The Romantics not only extol the faculty of imagination, but also stress the concept of spontaneity & inspiration, regarding them as something crucial for true poetry. The natural world comes to the forefront of the poetic imagination. Nature is not only the major source of poetic imagery, but also provides the dominant subject matter. Wordsworth is the closest to nature.

To escape from a world that had became excessively rational, as well as excessively materialistic & ugly, the Romantics would turn to other times & places, where the qualities they valued could be convincingly depicted. Romantics also tend to be

nationalistic, defending the great poets & dramatists of their own national heritage against the advocates of classical rules who tended to glorify Rome & rational Italian & French neoclassical art as superior to the native traditions. To the Romantics, poetry should be free from all rules. They would turn to the humble people & their everyday life for subjects, Romantic writers are always seeking for the Absolute, the Ideal through the transcendence of the actual. They have also made bold experiments in poetic language, versification & design, & constructed a variety of forms on original principles of structure & style.

二该时期的重要作家

I. William Blake

1.一般识记： His life

English poet，artist，& philosopher，born in London England， Nov 28， 1757， and died in London， Aug 12，1827. Blake made distinguished contributions to both Literature & art. He ranks with great poets in the English language & may be considered the earliest of the major English Romantic poets. His poems range from lyrics of childlike simplicity to mystical or prophetic works of great complexity. As an artist he is best known for his engravings，which are among the masterpieces of graphic art.

2. 识记 His political， religious & literary views

Blake never tried to fit into the world；he was a rebel innocently & completely all his life. He was politically of the permanent left & mixed a good deal with the radicals like Thomas Paine& William Godwin. Like Shelley，Blake strongly criticized the capitalists'' cruel exploitation，saying that the "dark satanic mills left men unemployed，killed children &

forced prostitution." Meanwhile he cherished great expectations & enthusiasm for the French Revolution，& regarded it as a necessary stage leading to the millennium predicted by the biblical prophets. Literarily Blake was the first important Romantic poet，showing contempt for the rule of reason，opposing the classical tradition of the 18th century & treasuring the individual''s imagination.

3. 领会 His poems

（1） Early works

The Songs of Innocence （1809）is a lovely volume of poems，presenting a happy & innocent world，though not without its evils & sufferings. For instance，" Holy Thursday" with its vision of charity children lit " with a radiance all their own" reminds us terribly of a world of loss & institutional cruelty. The wretched child described in " The Chimney Sweeper，" orphaned，exploited，yet touched by visionary rapture，evokes unbearable poignancy when he finally puts his trust in the order of the universe as he knows it. His Songs of Experience （1794）paints a different world， a world of misery， poverty， disease，war & repression with a melancholy tone. The benighted England becomes the world of the dark wood & of the weeping prophet. The orphans of " Holy Thursday" are now "fed with cold & usurious hand." The little chimneysweeper sings "notes of woe" while his parents go to church & praise "God & his Priest & King"——the very instruments of their repression. In "London"，the city is no longer a paradise， but becomes the seat of poverty & despair，of man alienated from his true self. Blake''s Marriageof Heaven & Hell （1790） marks his entry into maturity. The poem was composed during the climax of the French Revolution & it plays the double role both as a satire & a

revolutionary prophecy. In this poem，Blake explores the relationship of the contraries. Attraction & repulsion， reason & energy，love & hate， are necessary to human existence. Life is a continual conflict of give & take，a pairing of opposites， of good & evil，of innocence & experience，of body & soul. "Without

contraries，" Blake states，"there is no progression." The "marriage，" to Blake，means the reconciliation of the contraries， not the subordination of the one to the other.

（2） Later works

In his later period， Blake wrote quite a few prophetic books，which reveal him as the prophet of universal political & spiritual freedom and show the poet himself as the spokesman of revolt. The major ones are： The Book of Urizen（1794），The Book of Los （1795）。The Four Zoas （1796-1807） & Milton （1804-1920）。

4.领会 Characteristics of Blake''s poems

Blake who lived in the blaze of revelation，felt bound to declare that " I know that This world is a world of IMAGINATION & Vision，" & that "The Nature of my work is visionary or imaginative."

From childhood，Blake had a strongly visual mind；whatever he imagined， he also saw. As an imaginative poet，he presents his view in visual images instead of abstract terms.

Blake writes his poems in plain & direct language. His poems often carry the lyric beauty with immense compression of meaning. He distrusts the abstractness & tends to embody his views with visual images. Symbolism in wide range is also a distinctive feature of his poetry.

5. 应用 Select Readings：

1） The Chimney Sweeper （from Songs of Innocence）

Songs of Innocence is a lovely volume of poems， presenting a happy & innocent world，though not without its evils & sufferings. In this volume， Blake， with his eager quest for new poetics forms & techniques，broke completely with the traditions of the 18th century. He experimented in meter & rhymes & introduced bold metrical innovations which could not be found in the poetry of his contemporaries.

In the 18th century， small boys sometimes no more than 4 or 5 years old， were employed to climb up the narrow chimney flues & clean them，collecting the soot in bags. Such boys，sometimes sold to the master sweepers by their parents were miserably treated by their master & often suffered disease & physical deformity.

This poem，in fact，is a protest against the harm that society does to its children by exploiting them for labor of this kind， The poem was written in the child''s-eye point of view，& the dramatic irony （what the speaker says in the poem is different from what the poet means）arises from the poet''s knowing more or seeing more than the child does.

2） The Chimney Sweeper （from songs of Experience）

Songs of Experience paints a different world，a world of misery， poverty， disease，war & repression with a melancholy tone， The benighted England becomes the world of dark wood & of the weeping prophet. The poem selected here reveals the true nature of religion

which helps bring misery to the poor children. The poem also reveals the relation between are economic circumstance， i.e. the exploitation of child labor & an ideological circumstance，i.e. the role played by religion in making people compliant to

exploitation.

3） The Tyger

The Tyger，included in Songs of Experience，is one of Blake''s best-known poems. It seemingly praises the great power of tiger， but what the tiger symbolizes remains disputable： the power of man？ Or the revolutionary force？ Or the evil？ Or as it is usually interpreted， the Almighty Maker who created both the meek & gentle lamb & the terrible & awesome tiger？ The poem is highly symbolic with a touch of mysticism & it is open to various interpretations. The poem contains six quatrains in rhyming couplets & its language is terse & forceful with an anvil rhythm.

II. William Wordsworth

1.一般识记：His life & career

William Wordsworth （1770-1850）was born at Cockermouth，Cambarland，in the family of an attorney. He received education at St. John''s College，Cambridge. He developed a keen love of nature as a youth. Another important influence on his life was the French Revolution. In 1798 Wordsworth & Coleridge collaborated on a book of poems entitled Lyrical Ballads Robert Southey， Samuel Taylor Colerdge & William Wordsworth are known as the "Lake Poets." In 1842，Wordsworth received a government pension & in the following year he succeeded Southey as Poet Laureate. Wordsworth died at Rydal Mount， April 23， 1850.

As a great Romantic poet， Wordsworth had a long poetic career. His Lyrical Ballads，written together with Coleridge， is generally regarded as the symbol of the beginning of the Romantic period in England. The Prelude is ranked by many critics as his greatest work. In 1807 Poems in Two Volumes was

published. The Excursion was published in 1814.

2. 识记：His poetic outlook

Wordsworth is regarded as a " worshipper of nature." He can penetrate to the heart of things & give the reader the very life of nature. "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" is perhaps the most anthologized poem in English literature， & one that takes us to the core of Wordsworth''s poetic beliefs. To Wordsworth， nature embodies，human beings in their diverse circumstances. It is nature that gives him "strength & knowledge full of peace."

Common life is Wordsworth''s only subject of literary interest. The joys & sorrows of the common people are his themes. His sympathy always goes to the suffering poor.

Wordsworth is a poet in memory of the past. To him， life is a cyclical journey. Its beginning finally turns out to be its end. Wordsworth''s deliberate simplicity & refusal to decorate the truth of experience produced a kind of pure & profound poetry which no other poets has ever equaled. Poetry，he believes originates from "emotion recollected in tranquility." Rejecting the contemporary emphasis on form & intellectual approach that drained poetic writing of strong emotion， he maintains that the scenes & events of everyday life & the speech of ordinary people are the raw material of which poetry can & should be

made.

3. 领会His poetical works

1） Lyrics

Lyrical Ballads differs in marked ways from his early poetry，notably the uncompromising simplicity of much of the language，the strong sympathy not merely with the poor in general but with particular，dramatized examples of them，& the fusion of natural description with expressions of inward states of mind. The

poems Wordsworth added to the 1800 edition of the Lyrical Ballads are among the best of his achievements.

"Tintern Abbey" remains a profoundly original & imaginative achievement； the valley of the Wye itself， the quiet center of the returning wanderer''s thoughts is described with a detail that conveys a sense of natural order at once vivid & eternal. Beyond the pleasures of the picturesque with their emphasis on the eye & the external aspects of nature，however， lies a deeper moral awareness，a sense of completeness in multiplicity. But the poem progresses beyond such moral reflections. As he is aware of his own sublime communion with all things， nature becomes an inspiring force of rapture， a power that reveals the workings of the soul. T o Wordsworth，nature acts as a substitute for imaginative & intellectual engagement with the development of embodied human beings in their diverse circumstances. It''s nature that gives him "strength & knowledge full of peace."

2） The Prelude

Wordsworth is a poet in memory of the past. To him， life is a cyclical journey. Its beginning finally turns out to be its end. His philosophy of life is presented in his masterpiece The Prelude. It opens with a literal journey whose goal is to return to the vale of Grasmere. The journey goes through the poet''s personal history，carrying the metaphorical meaning of his interior journey & questing for his lost early self & the proper spiritual home. The poem charts this growth from infancy to manhood. We are shown the development of human consciousness under the sway of an imagination united to the grandeur go nature. Later books of The Prelude describe Wordsworth''s experiences in France，his republicanism，his affair with Annette Vallon，his "substantial dread" during the Terror & his continuing support of

the ideals underlying the Revolution. The concluding description of the ascent of Snowdon becomes a symbol of the poet''s climb to the height of his inspired powers & to that state of vision in which， dedicating himself to humanity， he becomes one of the " Prophets of Nature."

4.领会Characteristics of Wordsworth Poems & His Achievements.

William Wordsworth is the leading figure of the English romantic poetry， the focal poetic voice of the period. His is a voice of searchingly comprehensive humanity & one that inspires his audience to see the world freshly，sympathetically & naturally. The most important contribution he has made is that he has not only started the modern poetry， the poetry of the growing inner self，but also changed the course of English poetry by using ordinary speech of the language & by advocating a return to nature.

5. 应用：Selected Readings

1） I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud

Wordsworth is regarded as a "worshipper of nature." He can penetrate to the heart of things & give the reader the very life of nature. "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" is perhaps the most anthologized poem in English literature， & one that takes us to the core of Wordsworth''s poetic beliefs. Wordsworth wrote this beautiful poem of nature after he came across a long belt of gold daffodils tossing & reeling & dancing along the waterside. There is a vivid picture of the daffodils here， mixed with the poet''s philosophical & somewhat mystical thoughts.

The poem consists of four 6-lined stanzas of iambic tetrameter with a rhyme scheme of ababcc in each stanza. The last stanza describes the poet''s recollection in tranquility from

which this poem arose. The poet thinks that it is a bliss to recollect the beauty of nature in his mind while he is in solitude 2） Composed upon Westminster Bridge， September 3，1802

This sonnet， written on the roof of a coach as Wordsworth was on his way to France，was published in Poems in Two Volumes，1807. The poem presents the speaker''s view of London in the early morning. The speaker is not only profoundly touched by its beauty & tranquility of the morning， but even surprised to realize that London is part of Nature just as much as is his own beloved Lake Country.

Wordsworth is regarded as a " worshipper of nature." Even in this poem， though he is looking at London， he is thinking of home where the sun steeps in his first splendor，valley， rock，or hill."

The poem is written after the pattern of the Italian sonnet. The octave recreates the experience of London at morning， and the sestet enlarges on his reaction to the scene. The rhyme scheme of the poem is abbaabba， cdcdcd.

3） She Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways

This is one of the "Lucy poems，" written in 1799. The "Lucy Poems" describe with rare elusive beauty of simple lyricism & haunting rhythm a young country girl living a simple life in a remote village far from the civilized world. They are verses of love & loss which hold within their delicate simplicity a meditation on time & death which rises to universal stature.

4） The Solitary Reaper

Wordsworth thinks that common life is the only subject of literary interest. The joys & sorrows of the common people are his themes.

"The Solitary Reaper" is an example of his literary views. It describes vividly a young peasant girl working alone in the fields & singing as she works. The plot of the little incident is told straightforwardly in stanzas 1，3，& 4. Stanza 2，with its comparison of the girl''s song to the cuckoo & the nightingale cannot be dismissed as vaguely ornamental

comparisons. They are much more than that，& the impression of the girl''s singing on the traveler is heightened through these comparisons.

This poem is an iambic verse. Most of the lines in the poem are octosyllabics. The rhyme-scheme for each stanza is ababccdd.

III Samuel Taylor Coleridge

1.一般识记 His Life & Literary Career

Samuel Taylor Coleridge （1772-1834）, poet & critic, was born in Ottery St. Mary, Devonshire, the son of a clergy man. He received education at Cambridge but left without a degree. Inspired by the radical thinkers with their idealism, Coleridge joined Robert Southey in a utopian plan of establishing an ideal democratic community in America, named "Pantisocracy." In the spring of 1797, Coleridge met & began his long friendship with William Wordsworth. The following year, they published a joint volume of poetry, Lyrical Ballads, which become a landmark in English poetry. Coleridge''s poem, " The Rime of the Ancient Mariner，" was included in the volume. The years 1797 &1798 were among the most fruitful of Coleridge''s life. In addition to " The Ancient Mariner，" he wrote " Kubla Khan，" began writing " Christabel，" & composed "This Lime-Tree Bower My Prison，" "Frost at Midnight，" & " The Nightingale", which are considered to be his best "conversational" poems.

In 1798, he traveled with the Wordsworths to Germany. In

1810, Coleridge quarreled seriously with Wordsworth. Although they reconciled with each other later on, their friendship had never reached its former intimacy. In 1813, his tragic drama Remorse received popular welcome. In 1816, he wrote his major prose work, Biographia Literaria （1817）, a series of autobiographical notes & dissertations on many subjects, including some brilliantly perceptive literary criticism.

2.识记 His Literary Outlook & Philosophy

Philosophically & critically, Coleridge opposed the limitedly rationalistic trends of the 18th-century thought. He courageously stemmed the tide of the prevailing doctrines derived from Hume & Hartley, advocating a more spiritual & religious interpretation of life, based on what he had learnt from Kant & Schelling. He believed that art is the only permanent revelation of the nature of reality. A poet should realize the vague intimations derived from his unconsciousness without sacrificing the vitality of the inspiration.

3.识记 His Major Works

（1）"The Rime of the Ancient Mariner，" told an adventurous story of a sailor. By neglecting the law of hospitality, the mariner cruelly shot an albatross which flew to the ship through thick fog. Then disaster fell onto the ship. The breeze died down； the ship stopped； the hot tropical sun shone all day long. The other sailors died of thirst one after another, while the mariner alone was alive, being tortured all the time with thirst & the horror of death. Only when the mariner finally repented & blessed for the water snake did the spell break & the ship was then able to go back home. The story moves on through a world of wonder, from mysterious preface to inevitable close. Each incident stands out

clear & vivid； each corresponding change in the soul of the mariner is registered. The whole experience is an ordeal of oppressive weariness.

（2） "Kubla Khan" was composed in a dream after Coleridge took the opium. The poet was reading about Kubla Khan when he fell asleep. The images of the river, of the magnificent palace & other marvelous scenes deposited in his unconsciousness were expressed into about two or three hundred lines. But when he was writing them down, a stranger interrupted him & the vision was never recaptured. Only 54 lines survived.

（3） "Christabel" uses a freer version of the ballad form to create an atmosphere of the Gothic horror at once delicate & sinister. The tale is an old one of a serpent disguised as a beautiful lady to victimize an innocent maiden. The standard trappings of Gothic horror——the remote castle & the wood, the virgin Christabel in peril & the subtly wicked Geraldine —— dramatize a confrontation with evil through disturbing suggestions of the sexual, supernatural & fantastic elements of dream. The moaning of the owl & the crowing of the cock, together with the response of the dog to the regular strokes of the clock, produced the effect of mystery & horror in the dead night. Opposed to the nightmarish are images of religious grace & the spring of love that had gushed from the poet''s heart. It has been said that the thing attempted in "Christabel" is the most difficult in the whole field of romance, & nothing could come nearer the mark. The miraculous element, which lies on the face of " The Ancient Marines，" is here driven beneath the surface.

（4） Biographia Literaria, his major prose work is a series of autobiographical notes & dissertations on many subjects, including some brilliantly perceptive literary criticism. The

sections in which he expresses his views on the nature of poetry & discusses the works of Wordsworth are especially notable.

4.领会 Characteristics of His Poems

Coleridge was esteemed by some of his contemporaries & is generally recognized today as a lyrical poet & literary critic of the first rank. His poetic themes range from the supernatural to the domestic. His treatises, lectures, & compelling conversational powers made him one of the most influential English literary critics & philosophers of the 19th century.

5.领会：His Achievements

His actual achievement as a poet can be divided into two remarkably diverse groups：the demonic & the conversational. The demonic group includes his three masterpieces： "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner，" "Christabel" & "Kubla Khan." Mysticism & demonism with strong imagination are the distinctive features of this group. Generally, the conversational group speaks more directly of an allied theme： the desire to go home, not to the past, but to " an improved infancy." Each of these poems bears a kind of purgatorial atonement, in which Coleridge must fail or suffer so that someone he loves may succeed or experience joy.

Coleridge is one of the first critics to give close critical attention to language, maintaining that the aim of poetry is to give pleasure "through the medium of beauty." In analyzing Shakespeare, Coleridge emphasizes the philosophic implication, reading more into the subject than the text & going deeper into the inner reality than only caring for the

outer form.

6. 应用Selected Reading

Kubla Khan （1）

"Kubla Khan" is one of the best-known poems written by

Coloridge. It is a vision, a fragment painting, a gorgeous Oriental picture. When the poem was published in 1816, Coleridge prefaced it explaining that the poem came to him in 1797, as he lay asleep at the moment when he was reading a story from Maco polo in an old travel book named Purcha''s Pilgrimage. Though the poet calls this poem a fragment, there is a wholeness in the poem & it is highly symbolic. The places symbolize conflicting forces ——Xanadu, which represents a beautifully cultivated & ordered product of the rational will, is opposed to Alph''s wild & savage chasm which represents an irrationally mysterious creative energy or inspiration. The speaker realizes that the opposites can be reconciled through the creative imagination. "Ancestral voices prophesying war" confirms that the conflict is always present；the "pleasure-dome，" the product of human imaginative vision is the device （poetry）which will reconcile the opposites； & "a damsel with a dulcimer" is anything which releases the poetic vision.

Either ways, however, the description of Xanadu, the pleasure dome, the chasm the sacred river Alph bursts out of, along with the speaker''s reaction to this revision of them is exotic & vivid. This poem can be a source of pleasure of verbal music or of freely associated & impressive images. Notice how the meter of the poem supports its shifting ideas： lines 1 through 11 are orderly Iambic tetrameter broken only in line 5； lines 12 through 30 are iambic pentameter which is poly-rhythmic in its diversity； lines 31 through 34 are in a lilting iambic tetrameter shifting to a couplet of iambic pentameter in lines 35 & 36. The poem ends with tetrameter iambic occasionally interrupted by trochaic. The rhymes are also arranged haphazardly to accommodate the idea.

IV George Gordon Byron

1. 一般识记 His Life

English poet, born George Gordon Byron, in London, England, Jan. 22, 1788, and died in Missolonghi, Greece, April 19, 1824.

Lord Byron was perhaps the most fascinating & influential literary personality of the Romantic age. An eloquent poet, handsome nobleman, & political rebel, he was one of the most popular & notorious figures of the 19th century.

He was educated first at Harrow & then Cambridge. In 1807, a volume of Byron''s poems, Hours of Idleness, was published. A very harsh review of this work in the Edinburgh Review prompted a satirical reply from Byron in heroic couplets, entitled English Bards & Scotch Reviewers （1809）, in which Byron lashed not only his reviewers, but also the conservative schools of contemporary poetry, showing his lasting contempt for what he considered the commonplace & vulgarity of the " Lake Poets."

In 1811, Byron took his seat in the House of Lords, & made vehement speeches, attacking

the reactionary policy of the English government, & showing his great sympathy for the oppressed poor. At the news of the Greek revolt against the Turks, Byron not only gave the insurgent Greeks financial help but plunged himself into the struggle for the national independence of that country. In July 1823, Byron joined the Greek insurgents at Missolonghi. The Greeks made him commander in chief of their forces in January 1824. Because of several months'' hard work under bad weather, Byron fell ill & died. The whole Greek nation mourned over his death.

2. 识记 His Literary Career

In 1807, a volume of Byron''s poems, Hours of idleness, was published. In 1809, he wrote a satirical reply to a harsh review in the Edinburgh Review in heroic couplets, entitled English Bards

& Scotch Reviewers. The publication in 1812 of the first two cantos of Childe Harold''s Pilgrimage, a poem narrating his travels between 1809 & 1811 in Europe, brought Byron fame. In the following two years. He had written a number of long verse-tales, generally known as the Oriented Tales, with similar kind of heroes. In 1816, he wrote the third canto of Childe Harold & the narrative poem The Prisoner of Chillon. From 1816 to 1819, he produced, among other works, the verse drama Manfred （1817）, the first two cantos of Don Juan （1818-1819）, & the fourth & final canto of Childe Harold （1818）。 In 1821, Byron wrote the verse drama Cain & the narrative poem The Island. He published, in 1822, one of the greatest political satires, The Vision of Judgment, with its main attack on Southey, the Tory Poet Laureate. Don Juan, a mock epic in 16 cantos, was finished in 1823.

3. 识记His Major works

（1） Childe Harold''s Pilgrimage

The poem is about a gloomy, passionate young wanderer who escaped from the society he disliked & traveled around the continent, questing for freedom. It teems with all kinds of recognizable features of Romantic poetry —— the medieval, the outcast figure, love of nature, hatred of tyranny, preoccupation with the remote & savage, & so on. It also contains many vivid & exotic descriptive passages on mountains, rivers & seas. With his strong passion for liberty & his intense hatred for all tyrants, Byron shows his sympathy for the oppressed Portuguese under French occupation； he gives his strong support to the Spanish people fighting for their national independences；he laments over the fallen Greece, expressing his ardent wish that the suppressed Greek people should win their freedom； he glorifies