I. Early and Medieval Literature
1. England’s inhabitants are Celts. And it is conquered by Romans, the Teutonic tribes of Angle, Saxons and Jutes. In 1066, at the battle of Hastings(黑斯延斯), the Normans headed by William, Duke of Normandy, defeated the Anglo-Saxons. The Anglo-Saxons brought the Germanic language and culture to England, while Normans brought the Mediterranean civilization(地中海文明), including Greek culture, Rome law and the Christian religion. It is the cultural influence of the two conquests that provided the source for the ri and growth of English literature.
2. Jutes lived and maintained clo relations with kindred(相似) tribes.
3. The old English literature extends from about 449 to 1066, the year of the Norman conquest of England虎奔.
4. Three kinds of languages in the Anglo-Norman period: Norman---French, English---English, Religious---Latin. Two kinds of literature: Romans and 单向放纵Ballads. “Romans” is about upper class, and nothing to do with Romans.
5. The old English poetry that has survived can be divided into two groups: The religious group and the cular one.
6. The literature of this period falls naturally into two divisions――pagan and 怎么学好物理Christian.
遥控直升飞机
7. The national epic of the English people, which belongs to the primitive(原始，早期) literature; Romance cycles, which belong to the feudalist(封建) literature; Folk literature who subjects are from the lower class
8. Caedom is the first known religious poet of England, he is known as the father of English song.
9. The didactic poem The Christ was produced by Cynewulf.
10. The Song of Beowulf
It describes the most heroic man of the Anglo-Saxon times. It is a Denmark(丹麦) story which ud alliteration , metaphors(隐喻) and understatements(飘扬造句轻描淡写).
• It is the first literature, England’s national epic; it was written by an unknown scribe at the beginning of the 10th century and was not discovered until 1750
• It consists of 3182 lines
垃圾分类方案• Telling a story about an ancient hero Beowulf’s fight against a lake monster, Grendel, and his mother, a monster, too; Beowulf’s battle against a fire dragon.
• The poem is an example of the mingling of the nature myths and heroic legends.
12. The literature which they brought to England is remarkable for its bright, romantic tales of love and adventure, in marked contrast with the strength and somberness(严峻) of Anglo-Saxon poetry.
The great majority of Romances mainly fall into 3 cycles.
A. The matters of Britain: About King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table
B. The matters of France: About Charlemagne and his peers
C. The matters of Greece and Rome: About Alexander, and about the fall of Troy (特洛伊城的陷落)
Of the three cycles, the matters of Britain is the most important one. There were many cycles of Arthurian romances, Chief of which are tho of Gawain, Launcelot(朗斯洛特), Merlin(默林), the Quest of the Holy Grail(寻找圣杯), and the Death of Arthur
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
13. Geoffrey Chaucer
• He is the father of English poetry写给领导的感谢信 in that he introduces rhymed ver, especially couplet, into Britain to replace alliterative ver formerly prevailing in British poetry and making English the literary language.
• He is also the founder of English realism becau The Canterbury Tales, his masterpiece, provides a panorama of the life in the medieval England.
• He is the forerunner of humanism for in his masterpiece the keynote is humanism. He prais human intellect, human beauty, human passion and human living environment, and affirms human rights to pursue earthly happiness.
• 写作的三个时期：Translate from French; French; Write in his own words: English
• The Canterbury Tales
Three features: Plot; Prologue; Language (iambic pentameter)
The Prologue is a splendid masterpiece of realistic portrayal, the first of its kind in the history of English literature. The Prologue is a splendid masterpiece of realistic portrayal, the first of its kind in the history of English literature.
Heroic couplet is a rhymed couplet of iambic pentameter(五音步抑扬格). It is Chaucer who ud it for the first time in English in his work The Legend of Good Woman.
励志小短文14. Popular Ballads
• Literature of the lower class in the feudalist society includes written folk literature and oral folk literature.
• As for the written folk literature, the most important writer is William Langland, who masterpiece is The Vision of Piers, the Plowman.
• Among the ballads published, the Robin Hood ballads are of special significance.
• The best known of the earliest collections was given by Bishop Thomas Percy, named Reliques of Ancient English Poetry.
II. Literature of the Renaissance Period
1. Renaissance: general spirit---humanism
2. Absolute monarchy in England reached its summit during the reign of Queen Elisabeth.
3. Thomas More, Christopher Marlowe(克里斯托弗 马洛) and William Shakespeare ar
e the best reprentatives of the English humanists.
