little britain

ownasthefatherofEnglish

estoryisvividlydescribedinBede’sTheEcclesiasticalHistoryoftheEnglish

odmanyotherpoemsbyusingthe

biblicalmaterial.

otherimportantfigureinprowritingof

slatedsomeimportantLatinworks

intoEnglish,amongwhich,okrecords

ebestmonumentoftheOldEnglishpro.

emostimportantspecimenof

Anglo-Saxonliterature,istsof

morethan3,eenpasdformmouthtomouthforhundredsoffyearsbeforeit

nstoriesinthepoem

gFeatures---1)Itisnota

Christianbutapaganpoem,despitetheChristianflavorgiventoitbythemonasteryscribewho

lepoemprentstous

ialconditionsandcustomscanbeclearlyenin

oemhasa

greatsocialsignificance.2)Theuofstrongstressandthepredominanceofconsonantsare

neisdividedintotwohalves,andeachhalfismadetohave

twoheavystress.3)tresd

syllablesofeachlinearearrangedinalliteration,whichmakesthewholelineevenmoreemphatic.

4)Alotofmetaphorsandunderstatementsareudinthepoem.

Romanlong

composition,sometimesinverandsometimesinpro,whichdescribedthelifeandadventures

entialfeaturesarethefollowing:1)Itlacksgeneralremblancetotruthor

reality.2)Itexaggeratesthevicesofhumannatureandidealisthevirtues.3)Itcontainsperilous

adventuresmoreorlessremotefromordinarylife.4)Itlaymphasisonsupremedevotiontoa

fairlady.5)Thecentralcharacteroftheromanceistheknightwhoiscommonlydescribedas

ridingforthtoekadventures,ortakingpartintournaments,

ance,asaliterarygenre,prosperedforabout300

years(1200-1500).Itwaswrittenfortheupperclass,soithadlittletodowiththecommonpeople.

Romancecycles:thematterofBritain,thematterofRome,ter

worksofromanceisSirGawainandtheGreenKnight.

TheNormanconquest----InOctober1066,theDukeofNormandyWilliamtheGreatledthe

ytheEnglish

mandhismenmarchedspeedilyintoLondonandWilliambecamethe

quences---WilliamtheConquerorconfiscatedalmostallthelandand

acedtheweakSaxonrulewithastrongNorman

heNorman

conquest,ghtlycode,theromanticinterestin

women,tendernessandreverencepaidtoVirginMarywerereflectedintheliteratureofthat

hlanguagewasmadeadespidthingastheleadinglanguageudbytheruling

asudbythe

anguagexistedinEnglandthen.

icFeaturesofthepoem---1)Itis

hortellsthestoriesundertheguiofhaving

dreamedthem.2)Thepoemisanallegorythatrelatestruththroughsymbolism.3)Thepoetus

indignantsatireinhisdescriptionofsocialabuscaudbycorruptionprevailingamongthe

rulingclass,ecclesiasticalandcular.4)Significance

ofPiersPlowman----PiersPlowman,theheroofthestory,isnotareprentativeofthepoor

ointentionofupttingthefeudalorderof

society,eof

that,sthepoorpeasants,and

erypopularinthe14thand15thcenturies.

Itplayedanimportantpartinarousingtherevolutionaryntimentontheeveoftheuprisingof

susarealisticsocialpictureofmedievalEngland.

GeoffreyChaucer-------HeisacclaimednotonlyasthefatherofEnglishpoetrybutalsoasthe

erarycareercanbedividedintothreeperiods.1)Thefirstperiod,

about30years,includinghisyouthandearlymanhood,

period,hetranslatedTheRomauntoftheRo,themostpopularpoemofMiddleAges,from

FrenchintoEnglish.2)Thecondperiod,about15years,coversChaucer’sactivelifeasa

period,ItalianinfluenceemedtobestrongerthantheFrench.

terworkisTroilus

andCriyde.3)Thethirdperiod,coveringhislast15years,isgenerallyknownastheEnglish

greatwork,theauthorgiveshisreadera

esofChaucer’swriting-----Chaucer’slanguageis

mildsatirewhenhe

dealswithpeople’rhymingcouplet,whichheintroducedfrom

France,efirstgreatwritertouthedialectofLondonin

ialsignificanceofCanterburyTales-----InTheCanterburyTales,Chaucerdrawsa

thestandoftherisingbourgeoisie,

heaffirmsman’srighttopursuehappinessandopposthedogmaofasceticismpreachedbythe

ftheforerunnersofhumanism,hepraisman’nergy,intellect,quickwitand

iticizethedegeneration

ofthenoble,theheartlessnessofthejudge,andthecorruptionofthechurch.

elittlestoriesinverform,

ginoftheEnglishandScottish

ytheyareanonymous,andarehandeddownorallyformanygenerations.

Theyares15th

century,therewereveralkindsofballads:historical,legendary,fantastical,lyricalandhumorous.

PopularballadswerefoundalloverEuropeinthatperiod,butaparticularlyfertilesoilwasthe

borderareabetweenEnglandandScotland,foroncemanybloodybattleswerefoughtbetweenthe

EnglishandScotsthere,suchasRobinHood.

ramatizationofthebattlebetweenthe

-knownexampleisEveryman.

Renaissance-------Theoriginalmeaningoftheword“renaissance”wasthe“rebirth’ofclassical

miscommonlyappliedtothehistoricalperiodwhichfollowed

sanceperiodwasthoughttobeincontrastwiththeMiddleAges,which

sancewaxtolledaslearned,civilized,

broad-minded,progressive,scustomarilytakenasthestarting

,themovementspreadnorthwardtootherEuropeancountries—to

France,toGermany,totheLowCountries,hRenaissancestartedin

issanceperiod,greatachievementswere

madebypainters,writers,sculptors,architects,scientists,

famouswritersinthisperiodare:Dante,Petrarch,BoccaccioinItaly;ErasmusintheNetherlands;

Montaigne,RabelaisandthepoetsofthePleiadinFrance;LopedeVegaandCervantesinSpain;

SirThomasMore,ThomasWyatt,EdmundSpenr,PhilipSidney,ShakespeareandFrancis

BaconinEngland.

SirPhilipSidney------Heisknownforthreeprincipalworks.1)Arcadia----Itisalongpro-ver

pastoralromance,writtenfortheentertainmentofSidney’romance,thepoetprais

thedelightsofrurallifeandtheloveoftheyoungpeople,andexpresshisaspirationfora

peacefulandhappylife.2)AstrophelandStella-----Thisworkisacollectionofsongsandsonnets.

Itconsistsof108sonnetsand11songs.3)AnApologyforPoetry---ItisoneoftheearliestEnglish

rittentoanswerapamphletcalledTheSchoolofAbu,anattack

onpoetryanddrama.

Universitywits:anamegiventoagroupofwriterswhoflourishedinLondoninthelast20years

embersofthisgroupwereoxfordorCambridgeuniversity

graduates,themostnotableofthemwere:Marlowe,Nash,Greene,Lyly,

werefamousforwritingcomediesandtragedies.

EdmundSpenr:Heisoftenreferredtoas“thepoets’poet”becauofhisinfluenceonlater

nerallyacknowledgedtobethegreatestnon-dramaticpoetofthe

ork:TheShepherd’sCalendarpastoralpoemintwelvebooks,onefor

enr’s

firstimportantpoem,12

eclogues,withtheexceptionofthefirstandthelast,meofloveisthe

m

demonstratesSpenr’sskilfulmasteryofavarietyofmetersandhisinnovativeeffortsalso

showedthatthetraditionalformofpastoralcouldbeadaptedtoavarietyofsubjects,moralor

rieQueenisalongpoemplannedin12books,

nofthewholepoemisastrangerindistress

appears,tisassignedtoeachguest,andthe12

booksweretodescribethe12adventuresof12knightswhostandfor12differentvirtues,as

Holiness,Temperance,Chastity,Friendship,inatingthoughtsofthe

poemarenationalism,FaerieQueen,Spenroriginateda

has8iambicpentameterlinesfollowedbya9thlineof6iambic

feet,r,the“SpenrianStanze”isjustlyfamousand

hasoftenbeenudsince.(characteristicsofSpenr’spoetry:en

atedidealism.

Inadditiontoabove,Spenrusstrangeformsofspeechandobsoletewordsinordertoincrea

hisrusticeffect.)WilliamShakespeareThecondperiod:hewrotefourhistories:RichardⅡ,

HenryⅣ,partⅠ＆Ⅱ,andHenryⅴ;6comedies:AMidsummerNight’sDream,TheMerchant

ofVenice,MuchAdoAboutNothing,AsYouLikeIt,TwelfthNightandTheMerryWivesof

Windsor,andtwotragedies:eriodof“great

Comedies”me,

thereissorrow,thereispathosandthereissin;theinnocentmaysuffer,theguiltymaygo

unpunishedforatime,andevenfindgoodfortune;butvirtue,nevertheless,shallhaveitsreward

andtriumphintheend,istorical

playsofthisperiod,differentphasofEnglishlifeareshownbeforeus:kingsandprinces,

statesmenandcourtiers,therichcitizenlifeandthelifeofthetavern,andtheadventuresofrogues

andcheats,asawhole,thisperiodisShakespeare’ssweetandjoyfultime,inwhichhesucceedsin

portrayingamagnificentpanoramaofthemanifoldpursuitsofpeopleinreallife.(greattragedies:

Hamlet,Othello,KingLear,Macbethgreatcomedies:Asyoulikeit,Twelfthnight,A

mid-summernight’sdream,MerchantofVenice)FeaturesofShakespeare’sDramatic

Works---1)

playsaremirrorsofhisage,ribedthe

decayingofthefeudalsocietyandtherisingofthebourgeoisspirit.2)Inhisplays,Shakespeare

edhissympathyto

thepoorpeopleanddisclodthegreedandcrueltyoftheupperclass.3)Thestoryof

Shakespeare’splaysoftentookplaceinothercountriesorinthepastinsteadofinEnglandorin

hisownage.4)Shakespeare’etypical

undamentaltraitsarerevealedtheirconflictswiththeirsurroundings,intheir

relationswiththeyfellowmen.5)Shakespeare’sdramaticformfitsthecontentofhisplaysvery

ysarenotcontrolledbytherulesoftheclassicalunitiesoftime,placeandaction.A

playscoversveraldaysoryears.6)Inordertoreproducethemanifoldimagesoflife,

Shakespeareudpeculiarcombinationinhisdrama:combinationofmajesticandfunny,ofpoetic

andprosaic,oftragicandcomic.7)

languageofeachofhischaractersfitshispositioninsocietyandrevealsthepeculiaritiesofhis

andedavocabularylargerthananyotherEnglishwriter.8)Shakespeareis

dwritesongs,lyrics,sonnets,

couplets,quatrains,nce------1)ius

eengiventhehighestpraibyvarious

scholarsandcriticsallovertheworld.2)Shakespeare’splayshavebeensowidelyreadandso

carefullystudiedthatallEnglishwritersofanyimportancecannotescapeformShakespeare’s

influence,eitherdirectlyorindirectly,eitherinthought,content,orinpoeticformorlanguage.

Moreover,hehasbeenknownalltheworldandhisworkshavebeentranslatedintomanydifferent

languagesandconquentlyexertedgreatinfluencesuponmanywritersinmanycountries.3)Asa

greatartist,son’s

famousobrvationthat“hewasnotofanage,butforalltime”hasstoodthetestofmorethan

threecenturies.

Restorationcomedy:thekindofdramawhichprevailedbetweentherestorationoftheEnglish

hieflyconcernedwithprentingasocietyof

ractersweregallants,ladiesandgentlemenoffashionandrank,

fops,rakes,,urbaneandsometimeslicentious,itdealt

withtheintricaciesofxualandmaritalintrigueandalsowithadulteryandcuckoldry.

Wycherley’sTheCountryWifeandThePlainDealer;andCongreve’sTheDoubleDealerandThe

WayoftheWorldareexample.

FrancisBacon------WhenBaconpublishedin1597hisfirstcollectionofshortEssays,hebecame

thefirstEnglish“essayist”.His“scientific”styleintroducedtoEnglandaformofwritingthatwas

easytounderstand,roteproinanageof

poetry,whenmenaroundhimwerecomposingsongs,sonnetsandplaysinver,hispioneering

effortsmadeessaywritingapopularforminEngland.

Bacon’sworks-----1)thephilosophicalworks:TheAdvancementofLearning(Inthiswork,it

dealswiththeaccomplishmentsofscienceuptohistime.)TheNewInstrument(Bacon

describesthemethodbywhichknowledgecouldbeuniversalized,)2)theliteraryworksofBacon

ethefirst

trueEnglishproclassics.3)theprofessionalworks:Essays(amongtheessaysthefamous

piecesareOfStudy,OfTravel,andOfWisdom)Generallyspeaking,Bacon’sliterarystylehas

threeprominentqualities:directness,ternessandforcefulness.