英国文学史-小结,超级有用的复习资料哈.doc

History and Anthology of English LiteraturePart I: The Anglo-Saxon Period--- Key Word: Beowulf Beowulf is the first great literary work and the national epic of the Anglo- Saxons and the oldest surviving epic of any Germanic people， Alliteration（头韵）（头韵）: the repetition of the initial consonant sounds. In Old English alliterative meter, alliteration is the principal organizing device of the verse line, such as in Beowulf.Part II: The Anglo-Norman Period---The Norman Conquest The Duke of Normandy William was an able general and statesman. In 1066, he led the Norman army to invade England. After the conquest, the English social life greatly changed. Feudal system was established in English society. The Anglo-Saxons sank to the position of slaves. The Norman Conquest brought a great change to the English language and literature. The Romance In Anglo-Norman period, the feudal system promoted the growth of the romance of chivalry. Part III: The Medieval Period- Geoffrey Chaucer’s Age Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400) lived in the 14th century. His writings brought about the first harvest in English Poetry. He towers above all the other writers of this century. So, the 14th century has been traditionally called Age of Chaucer. Geoffrey Chaucer is often called the father of English poetry. His Canterbury Tales: The Canterbury Tales total about 17000 lines --- about a half of Chaucer’s entire literary production, created a whole gallery of vivid characters from all walks of life Part IV The Fifteenth Century The 15th century was a period of general unrest. There were no great names in poetry except a group of Chaucerian (Chaucer’s followers). But it is a period in which folk literature flourished, especially ballads. A ballad is a story told in song, usually in 4-line stanzas, with the second and fourth lines rhymed. The most famous cycle of the English ballads deal with the stories of a legendary outlaw named Robin Hood. Part V The Renaissance (the period of poetry and drama) (The Elizabethan Age) The Renaissance had its origin in north Italy in the 14th century, and spread northward to other European countries to France, to Germany, to the Low Countries, and lastly to England. The Renaissance reached England in the 1500's It revived the study of Roman and Greek classics, and marked the beginning of the bourgeois revolution. During Renaissance Period, England enjoyed stability and prosperity. It was the strongest power in Europe. Reformation of the church was carried out in England. The Renaissance, therefore, in essence is a historical period in which the European humanist thinkers Richard II; King Richard III; Henry IV; Henry VIII . Shakespeare’s sonnets, apparently written over a long period at the beginning of his career and printed in 1609, were mainly dedicated to a “W.H.” and many others about “a dark lady” who is thought to be the poet’s ideal woman Sonnet 18 “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day”Meter and Rhyme scheme: abab cdcd efef ggTheme: The message is that in this world no beauty (in Nature) can stay except poetry or art; and your beauty can only last if I write it down in my poetry, praises the power of artistic creation Also notice the love play. Apparently the poet is addressing a man of his heart, the wooing sounds more like a game play than anything real and sincere. The love here is too conditional to be genuine.Structure: proposal(1-2) argument (3-12) conclusion(13-14)Ben Jonson (1572 ~1637) “The Silent Woman”, “The Alchemist”… Other… Sonnet: The term sonnet normally designates a lyric of fourteen iambic pentameter lines rhyming in one of several ways. Two basic forms, distinguished by their rhyme schemes and by their logical development, are frequent in English. The Petrarchan or Italian sonnet rhymes a b b a, a b b a, c d e, c d e. (The rhyming of the last six lines may vary; for example, c d, c d, c d is possible ) Such a sonnet tends to fall into two stages: the first eight lines form the octave, and the last six the sestet. This formal division is frequently reflected in the logical progress of the content. The octave will pose a problem, depict a situation, or offer an observation. The sestet will provide a resolution of this opening and bring the matter to a conclusion, somewhat in the manner of a responsive reading in a church service.At the end of the century the great English scientist and philosopher Francis Bacon (1561 - 1626) wrote his famous philosophical and literary works. He introduced essay form into English literature. “Of Truth” “Of Studies” Studies serve for delight, for ornament, and for ability. Their chief use for delight , is in privateness and retiring; for ornament, is in discourse; and for ability, is in the judgment and disposition of business. 读书足以怡情，足以傅彩，足以长才。

其怡情也，最见于独处幽居之时；其傅 彩也，最见于高谈阔论之中；其长才也，最见于处世判事之际Part VI The17th Century It covers two historical periods: the period of the English bourgeois Revolution and the period of the Restoration. Poetry was the m。