EnglishliteratureAnIntroductiontoOldandMedievalEnglishLiteratureHistoryBackgroundEarlyinhabitantsCeltswereconquered3times:a.Romansb.Anglo-Saxons:Germaniclanguageandculturec.Normans:Mediterraneancivilization(Greekculture,Romanlaw,Christianreligion)OldEnglishLiteratureFrom450to1066

(theperiodwitnessedatransitionfromtribalsocietytofeudalsociety;theyearoftheNormanconquestofEngland)TheGermanictribesfromtheNorthernEuropebroughtwiththem:

Anglo-Saxonlanguage,thebasisofModernEnglishandpoetictraditionOldEnglishpoetryconsistsof

thereligiousgroupandthesecularone.BeowulfAtypicalexampleofOldEnglishpoetry,regardedasthenationalepicoftheAnglo-Saxons.Oralformin6thc.=>Writtenin10thc.Itcontains3183linesofalliterationalverseItdescribestheexploitsofaScandinavianheroThreeconflicts:

a.BeowulfvsGrendel(amonster)b.BeowulfvsGrendel’srevengefulmotherc.Beowulfvsfire-breathingdragonItisaminglingofnaturemythsandheroiclegends.AnalysisofthepoemAfolklegendreflectingthefeaturesoftribalsocietyofancienttimesTheartisticfeaturesofBeowulf:

a.theuseofalliterationb.theuseofmetaphorsandunderstatement“ring-giver”king;“sea-wood”ship;“swan’spath”or“whale’sroad”sea;“nottroublesome”verywelcomeOriginalText:Hw?t!WeGardenaingeardagum,teodcyninga,trymgefrunon,huea?telingasellenfremedon.OftScyldScefingsceatenatreatum,monegumm?gtum,meodosetlaofteah,egsodeeorlas.

Translatedtext:PreludeoftheFounderoftheDanishHouseLO,praiseoftheprowessofpeople-kings

ofspear-armedDanes,indayslongsped,

wehaveheard,andwhathonortheathelings

won!

OftScyldtheScefingfromsquadronedfoes,

frommanyatribe,themead-benchtore,

awingtheearls.Sinceersthelay

friendless,afoundling,faterepaidhim:

forhewaxedunderwelkin,inwealthhethrove,

tillbeforehimthefolk,bothfarandnear,

whohousebythewhale-path,heardhismandate,

gavehimgifts:agoodkinghe!/20110314/n304316372.shtml/20110314/n304316372.shtmlNormanConquestchanges:1.Politically:

feudalistsystem2.Religiously:

Rome-basedCatholicChurch3.Language:

Frenchofficiallanguage

Latinprincipletongueofchurchandunuversities

OldEnglishcommonEnglishpeople

MedievalEnglishLiteratureOEFrom1066tomid-14thcenturyMiddleEnglishliteraturedealswithawiderrangeofsubjects,greaterdiversityofstyles,tonesandgenresRomanceusesnarrativeverseorprosetosingknightlyadventuresorotherheroicdeedsGeoffreyChaucerTheCanterburyTalesChaucer’sLifeBorntoamiddleclassfamily.Hisfatherwasawinemerchantwhobelievedhischildshouldhaveaformaleducation.HebecameapagetoanimportantfamilyandwassorespectedthatwhenhewascapturedasasoldierduringtheHundredYear’swas,akingpaidhisransom.ChaucerwasoneofthefirstwriterstobeburiedinthePoets’CornerinWestminsterAbbey.2023/2/3141.Historicalbackground:

(1)TheHundredYearsWar:TheresultofthewarwasanawakeningofnationalconsciousnessinEngland.AndtheFrenchlanguagewasgraduallyreplacedbyEnglishnativetongue.(2)Thepeasantuprisingof1381:Itwastheresultoftheconflictbetweenthepeasantsandfeudallords.(3)1360-1400

ThesummitofMiddleEnglishliterature:Althoughtheworkwasnevercompleted,TheCanterburyTalesisconsideredoneofthegreatestworksintheEnglishlanguage.GeoffreyChaucerThegreatestwriterofthisperiodInfluencedbyRenaissanceTheCanterburyTalesTheseTalestellofanimaginarygroupofpilgrimstravellingfromLondontoCanterburytovisitthetombofSt.Thomas.Toentertainoneanotherduringthejourney,Thepilgrims,whocomefromalllayersofsociety,

tellsastory,therebyprovidingawonderfulmirroroflifeinMedievalEngland.Theme:Chauceraffirmedman’srighttopursueearthlyhappinessandopposedasceticism;hepraisedman’senergy,intellect,quickwitandloveoflife;heexposedandsatirizedthesocialvices,includingreligiousabuses.Chaucerboremarksofhumanismandanticipatedaneweratocome.(whatera?)2023/2/318Chaucer’sContributiontoEnglishliteratureintroduced(fromFrance)therhymedstanzaofvarioustypesesp.therhymedcoupletof5accentsiniambicmeter(heroiccouplet)insteadoftheoldalliterativeverse.establishedEnglishastheliterarylanguageofthecountry.madethedialectofLondonthestandardforthemodernEnglishspeech.2023/2/319ArtisticFeatures(1)MessengerofHumanismAffirmman'srighttopursueearthlyhappinessPraiseman'senergy,intellect,quickwitandloveoflifeExposeandsatirizethesocialvices,includingreligiousabuses2023/2/320(2)ThefirstimportantrealisticwriterPresentacomprehensiverealisticpictureoftheEnglishsocietyCreateawholegalleryofvividcharactersfromallwalksoflifeExplorethethemeoftheindividual'srelationtothesociety 2023/2/321(3)“Father”ofEnglishpoetryIntroducetherhymedstanzasofvarioustypestoEnglishpoetry(e.g.heroiccouplet)DevelophisartofpoetryMasteroftheEnglishlanguage2023/2/322TheCanterburyTalesoutline:Onaspringevening,attheTabardInn(泰巴旅店),attheSouthendofLondonBridge,Chaucermeets29pilgrimsreadyforCanterburyandhejoinsthem.Suggestedbythehostoftheinn,eachistotell2storiesgoingand2returning.Thebesttellerwillbetreatedwithafinesupperattheend.Thehostwillbethejudge.Asagiganticplan,124storiesshouldbetoldbutonly24werewritten.Butthesetalescoverpracticallyallthemajortypesofmedievalliterature:a.countryromance;b.folktale;c.beastfable(神話);d.storyoftravelandadventure;e.saint’slife;f.allegoricaltale（寓言）;g.sermon;h.alchemicalaccount（煉丹術）;i.others.2023/2/3232.features:Alltalesbuttwoarewritteninverse(poetry);Connectedintwoways:thehost’scriticizing;intimateconnectionbetweenthetalesandthePrologue.inordertogetabetterunderstandingofeachtale,readershavetoreadbackthecorrespondingportionofthePrologue.3.thePrologue:aframeworkforthetales;The30palmersrepresentallclassesoftheEnglishfeudalsocietyexcepttheroyaltyandthepoorestpeasant.Thereareknight,squire治安官,prioress,proprietor經營者,tradesman,drunkencook,humbleplowman,doctor,lawyer,monks,nuns,priests,summoner,sailor,miller,carpenter,yeoman自耕農,anOxfordscholar,andinthecenterofthegroup,thewifeofBath,whoistheownerofalargeclothfactory.AminiatureoftheEnglishsocietyofChaucer’stime.

Ofallthetales,thoseoftheknightandthewifeofBathareamongthebest.

2023/2/324TheThree“Estates”(status)1.Thenobility(thosethatfought)2.Theclergy(thosethatprayed)3.Thepeasantry(thosewhoproducedthefoodwhichsupportedthosewhofoughtandprayed)GENERALPROLOGUE:INTRODUCTIONTHEKNIGHT’STALE

THEMILLER’STALE

WIFEOFBATH’STALE

1Prologue+THEPARDONER’STale24tales

THENUN’SPRIEST’STALEChaucer’sContributionsIntroducedfromFrancetherhymedstanzasofvarioustypestoEnglishpoetrytoreplacetheoldEnglishalliterativeverseHeroiccouplet:therhymedcoupletofiambicpentameterTheCanterburyTalesJohnDrydencalledChaucer:

theFatherofEnglishpoetryHomework:iambicpentameter

IambicPentameter&HeroicCoupletiambicpentameter

iambic/iamb:anunitofrhythminpoetry(rhythm:theregularrepeatedpatternofsounds)thathasoneweakbeat/

oneunstressedsyllabusfollowedbyonestrongbeat/onestressedsyllabus

pentameter:alinewithfivemainbeatsacommonpatternofbeatsinpoetry,inwhicheachlinehasfiveiambs抑揚格五音步Heroiccouplet:2consecutiverhyminglinesinIP

stressed,unstressed

Whohasseenthewind?

NeitherInoryou;

Whohasseenthewind?

NeitherInoryou;Note:itisnotiambicExceptfromTheCanterburyTalesWheninAprilthesweetshowersfallAndpiercethedroughtofMarchtotherootandallTheveinsarebathedinliquorofsuchpowerAsbringsabouttheengenderingoftheflower,WheninAprilthesweetshowersfallWhen/in/Ap/ril/the/sweet/show/ers/fallWhen/in/

Ap/ril/the/

sweet

/show/ers/fallAndpiercethedroughtofMarchtotherootandallAndpiercethedroughtofMarchtotherootandall

2023/2/331“TheGeneralPrologue”

Summery:AsAprilcomes,thenarratorbeginsapilgrimagetoCanterburyfromtheTabardInnatSouthwerk.Twenty-ninepeoplemakethepilgrimagetowardCanterburyandthenarratordescribestheminturn.The

Host,aboldandmerryman,suggeststhatontheirwaytoCanterburyeachpilgrimtelltwotales,andonthewaybacktwomore.Theydrawlotstodecidewhowilltellthefirsttale.2023/2/332InTheGeneralPrologue,Chaucersetsupthegeneralstructureofthetalesandintroduceseachofthecharacterswhowilltellthetales.Thecharacterswhotelleachofthetalesareasimportantasthecharactersinthetalesthattheytell;asignificantportionoftheactionofTheCanterburyTalestakesplacewithintheprologuetoeachofthetales.TheGeneralPrologueinessenceservesasaguide.Chauceronlylivedtowrite24tales.Someofthestoriesthatremainareonlyfragmentswhichhaveeitherbeenlostorwerenevercompletedbytheauthor.2023/2/333CharacterAnalysis:Chaucer’spilgrimnarratorsrepresentawidespectrumofranksandoccupations.Thegreatvarietyoftalesismatchedbythediversityoftheirtellers;talesareassignedtoappropriatenarratorsandjuxtaposedtobringoutcontrastsingenre,style,tone,andvalues.Thesepilgrimsexistalmostentirelyintermsoftheirprofession.Chaucergivesonlyafewofthemcharacternames.2023/2/334Thepilgrimnarratorsrepresentawidespectrumofranksandoccupations—diversityThePrioressTheWifeofBath2023/2/3352023/2/336Theprioress2023/2/337TheWifeofBath2023/2/338TheKnight2023/2/339TheOxfordClerk2023/2/3402023/2/3412023/2/3422023/2/343Summoner2023/2/3442023/2/3452023/2/3462023/2/347TheMiller2023/2/3482023/2/3492023/2/3502023/2/3512023/2/3522023/2/3532023/2/354Chaucer2023/2/355TheParsonThePlowmanThePardoner,TheHost2023/2/356Notes(1)prioress:(MadamEglantyne)Anuninchargeofaprioryorrankingnextbelowtheabbessofanabbey.

小女隱修院院長或大女隱修院副院長parson:AnAnglicanclericwithfulllegalcontrolofaparishunderecclesiasticallaw;arector.

教區牧師英國英車圣公會牧師，在基督教法律下擁有對一個教區的完全的法律控制權；教區長

2023/2/357Notes(2)pardoner:Amedievalecclesiasticauthorizedtoraisemoneyforreligiousworksbygrantingpapalindulgencestocontributors.

出售免罪符的人中世紀獲準出售教會的赦免書而為宗教事務籌錢的神職人員2023/2/358QuestionsonChaucer

(1)

Which,accordingtoChaucer,ismoreimportant,divineloveorsecularlove?Why?(2)

Whatkindofmotivationsdomostofthepilgrimshave,toshowpietytoGodortoenjoythebeautyofnature?Why?(3)