英國文學史

Partone:EarlyandMedievalEnglishLiterature

Chapter1TheMakingofEngland

1.TheearlyinhabitantsintheislandnowwecallEnglandwereBritons,atribeofGelts.

2.In55B.C.,BritainwasinvadedbyJuliusCaesar.

TheRomanoccupationlastedforabout400years.

ItwasalsoduringtheRomanrolethatChristianitywasintroducedtoBritain.

Andin410A.D.,alltheRomantroopswentbacktothecontinentandneverreturned.

3.TheEnglishConquest

AtthesametimeBritainwasinvadedbyswarmsofpirates(海盜).TheywerethreetribesfromNorthernEurope:theAngles,SaxonsandJutes.

Andbythe7thcenturythesesmallkingdomswerebinedintoaUnitedKingdomcalledEngland,or,thelandofAngles.

AndthethreedialectsspokenbythemnaturallygrewintoasinglelanguagecalledAnglo-Saxon,orOldEnglish.

4.TheSocialConditionoftheAnglo-Saxon

Therefore,theAnglo-Saxonperiodwitnessedatransitionfromtribalsocietytofeudalism.

5.Anglo-SaxonReligiousBeliefandItsInfluence

TheAnglo-SaxonswereChristianizedintheseventhcentury.

Chapter2Beowulf

1.Anglo-SaxonPoetry

Butthereisonelongpoemofover3,000lines.ItisBeowulf,thenationalepicoftheEnglishpeople.GrendelisamonsterdescribedinBeowulf.

3.AnalysisofItsContent

BeowulfisafolklengendbroughttoEnglandbyAnglo-Saxonsfromtheircontinentalhomes.Ithadbeenpassedfrommouthtomouthforhundredsofyearsbeforeitwaswrittendowninthetenthcentury.

4.FeaturesofBeowulf

Themoststrikingfeatureinitspoeticalformistheuseofalliteration,metaphorsandunderstatements.

Chapter3FeudalEngland

1)TheNormanConquest

2.TheNormanConquest

TheFrench-speakingNormansunderDukeWilliamcamein1066.AfterdefeatingtheEnglishatHastings,WilliamwascrownedasKingofEngland.

TheNormanConquestmarkstheestablishmentoffeudalisminEngland.

3.TheInfluenceoftheNormanConquestontheEnglishLanguage

Bytheendofthefourteenthcentury,whenNormansandEnglishintermingled,Englishwasoncemorethedominantspeechinthecountry.

3)TheRomance

1.TheContentoftheRomance

ThemostprevailingkindofliteratureinfeudalEnglandwastheromance.

4.Malory’sLeMorteD’Arthur

TheadventuresoftheKnightsoftheRoundTableatArthur’scourt

Chapter5TheEnglishBallads

2.TheBallads

ThemostimportantdepartmentofEnglishfolkliteratureistheballad.Aballadisastorytoldinsong,usuallyin4-linestanzas,withthesecondandfourthlinesrhymed.

OfparamountimportancearetheballadsofRobinHood.

3.TheRobinHoodBallads

Chapter6Chaucer

1.Life

GeoffreyChaucer,thefounder/fatherofEnglishpoetry.

3.TroilusandCriseyde

TroilusandCriseydeisChaucer’slongestpletepoemandhisgreatestartisticachievement.

Butthepoetshowssomesympathyforher,hittingthatherfaultspringsfromweaknessratherthanbasenessofcharacter.

4.TheCanterburyTales

TheCanterburyTalesisChaucer’smasterpieceandoneofthemonumentalworksinEnglishliterature.

6.HisLanguage

Chaucer’slanguage,nowcalledMiddleEnglish,isvividandexact.

Chaucer’scontributiontoEnglishpoetrylieschieflyinthefactthatheintroducedfromFrancetherhymedstanzaofvarioustypes,especiallytherhymedcoupletof5accentsiniambicmeter(the“theheroiccouplet”)toEnglishpoetry,insteadoftheoldAnglo-Saxonalliterativeverse.

ThespokenEnglishofthetimeconsistedofseveraldialects,andChaucerdidmuchinmakingdialectofLondonthestandardforthemodernEnglishspeech.

PartTwo:TheEnglishRenaissance

Chapter1OldEnglandinTransition

1.TheNewMonarchy

ThecenturyandahalffollowingthedeathofChaucerwasfullofgreatchanges.

AndHenry7,takingadvantageofthissituation,foundedtheTudordynasty,acentralizedmonarchyofatotallynewtype,whichmettheneedsoftherisingbourgeoisieandsowonitssupport.

2.TheReformation

Protestantism

ThebloodyreligiouspersecutioncametoastopafterthechurchsettlementofQueenElizabeth.

3.TheEnglishBible

WilliamTyndall

ThenappearedtheAuthorizedVersion,whichwasmadein1611undertheauspicesofJamesIandsowassometimescalledtheKingJamesBible.

TheresultisamonumentofEnglishlanguageandEnglishliterature.

ThestandardmodernEnglishhasbeenfixedandconfirmed.

4.TheEnclosureMovement

5.ThemercialExpansion

Chapter2More

1.Life

ThomasMore

2.Utopia

UtopiaisMore’smasterpiece,writtenintheformofaconversationbetweenMoreandHythlody,areturnedvoyager.

Thename“Utopia”esfromtwoGreekwordsmeaning“noplace”.

3.Utopia,BookOne

BookOneofUtopiaisapictureofcontemporaryEnglandwithforcibleexposureofthepovertyamongthelaboringclasses.

4.Utopia,BookTwo

InBookTwowehaveasketchofanidealmonwealthinsomeunknownocean,wherepropertyisheldinmonandthereisnopoverty.

Chapter3TheFloweringofEnglishLiterature

3.EdmundSpenser

1)Life

ThePoet’sPoetoftheperiodwasEdmundSpenser.

In1579hewroteTheShepher’sCalendar,apastoralpoemintwelvebooks,oneforeachmonthoftheyear.

2)TheFaerieQueene(masterpiece)

Spenser’sgreatestwork,TheFaerieQueene(publishedin1589-1596),isalongpoemplannedin12books,ofwhichhefinishedonly6.

iambicfeetSpenserianStanza

4.FrancisBacon(father/founderofEnglishessay)

thefounderofEnglishEnglishmaterialistphilosophy

BaconisalsofamousforhisEssays.Whenitincluded58essays.

BaconisthefirstEnglishessayist.

Chapter4Drama

7.ThePlaywrights

Therewasagroupofso-called“universitywits”(Lyly,Peele,Marlowe,Greene,LodgeandNash).

Chapter5Marlowe

1.Life

Themostgiftedofthe“universitywits”wasChristopherMarlowe.

2.Work

Marlowe’sbestincludesthreeofhisplays,Tamburlaine,TheJewofMaltaandDoctorFaustus.

3.DoctorFaustus

Marlowe’smasterpieceisTheTragicalHistoryofDoctorFaustus.

5.Marlowe’sLiteraryAchievement

MarlowewasthegreatestofthepioneersofEnglishdrama.

ItisMarlowewhofirstmadeblankverse(rhymelessiambicpentameter)theprincipalinstrumentofEnglishdrama.

Chapter6Shakespeare

1.Life

WilliamShakespearewasbornonApril23,1564,inStratford-on-Avon.

Afterhisdeath,twoofhisabove-mentionedfellow-actors,HermingeandCondell,collectedandpublishedShakespeare’splaysin1623.Tothisedition,whichhasbeenknownastheFirstFolio.

4.TheGreatedies

AMidsummerNight’sDream,TheMerchantofVenice,AsYouLikeItandTwelfthNighthavebeencalledShakespeare’s“greatedies”.

6.TheGreatTragedies

Shakespearecreatedhisgreattragedies,Hamlet,Othello,KingLearandMacbeth.

7.Hamlet

thesonoftheRenaissance

9.ThePoems

1)VenusandAdonis

2)TheRapeofLucrece

3)Shakespeare’sSonnets

10.FeaturesofShakespeare’sDrama

ShakespeareandtheAuthorizedVersionoftheEnglishBiblearethetwogreatesttreasuriesoftheEnglishlanguage.

ShakespearehasbeenuniversallyacknowledgedtobethesummitoftheEnglishRenaissance.

PartThree:ThePeriodoftheEnglishBourgeoisRevolution

Chapter1TheEnglishRevolutionandtheRestoration

5.TheBourgeoisDictatorshipandtheRestoration

in1688GloriousRevolution

6.TheReligiousCloakoftheEnglishRevolution

PuritanismwasthereligiousdoctrineoftherevolutionarybourgeoisieduringtheEnglishRevolution.Itpreachedthrift,sobriety,hardworkandunceasinglabourinwhatevercallingonehappenedtobe,butwithnoextravagantenjoymentofthefruitsoflabour.

Chapter2Milton

1.LifeandWork

ParadiseLost,ParadiseRegainedandSamsonAgonistes.

2.ParadiseLost

1)ParadiseLost

ParadiseLostisMilton’smasterpiece.

blankverse.

Chapter3Bunyan

1.Life

ThePilgrim’sProgresswaspublishedin1678.

2.ThePilgrim’sProgress

1)ThePilgrim’sProgressisareligiousallegory.

Chapter4MetaphysicalPoetsandCavalierPoets

aschoolofpoetscalled“Metaphysical”bySamuelJohnson.

bymysticismincontentandfantasticalityinform

JohnDonne,thefounderoftheMetaphysicalschoolofpoetry.

Chapter6RestorationLiterature

2.JohnDryden

ThemostdistinguishedliteraryfigureoftheRestorationPeriodwasJohnDryden.

DrydenwastheforerunneroftheEnglishclassicalschoolofliteratureinthenextcentury.

PartFour:TheEighteenthCentury

Chapter1TheEnlightenmentandClassicisminEnglishLiterature

1.TheEnlightenmentand18thCenturyEngland

2)TheEnlightenmentinEurope

The18thcenturymarkedthebeginningofanintellectualmovementinEurope,knownastheEnlightenment,whichwas,onthewhole,anexpressionofstruggleofthebourgeoisieagainstfeudalism.Theenlightenersfoughtagainstclassinequality,stagnation,prejudicesandothersurvivalsoffeudalism.

3)TheEnglishEnlighterners

TherepresentativesoftheEnlightenmentinEnglishliteraturewereJosephAddisonandRichardSteele,theessayists,andAlexanderPope,thepoet.

Chapter2AddisonandSteele

1.SteeleandTheTatler

RichardSreele

In1709,hestartedapaper,TheTatler,toenlighten,aswellastoentertain,hisfellowcoffeehouse-goers.

Hisappealwasmadeto“coffeehouses,”thatistosay,tothemiddleclasses,forwhoseenlightenmenthestoodup.

“IssacBickerstaff”

2.AddisonandTheSpectator

Thegeneralpurposeis“toenlivenmoralitywithwit,andtotemperwitwithmorality.”

TheyusheredinthedawnofmodernEnglishnovel.

Chapter3Pope

1.Life

AlexanderPope,themostimportantEnglishpoetinthefirsthalfofthe18thcentury.

3.WorkmanshipandLimitation

PopewasanoutstandingenlightenerandthegreatestEnglishpoetoftheclassicalschoolinthefirsthalfofthe18thcentury.

PopeisthemostimportantrepresentativeoftheEnglishclassicalpoery.

Buthelackerthelyricalgift.

Chapter4Swift

3.BickerstaffAlmanac(1708)

SwiftwrotehisgreatestworkGulliver’sTravelsinIreland.

Chapter5DefoeandtheRiseoftheEnglishNovel

1.TheRiseoftheEnglishNovel

therealisticnovel:Defoe,Swift,RichardsonandFielding

Swift’sworld-famousnovelGulliver’sTravels

Defoe’sRobinsonCrusoe(theforerunneroftheEnglishrealisticnovel)

Richardson:Pamela,ClarissaandSirCharlesGrandison

FieldingwastherealfounderoftherealisticnovelinEngland.

Thenovelofthisperiod…spokethetruthaboutlifewithanunpromisingcourage.”Thenovelistsofthisperiodunderstoodthat“thejobofanovelistwastotellthetruthaboutlifeashesawit.”(Ibid.)ThisexplainstheachievementoftheEnglishnovelinthe18thcentury.

4.RobinsonCrusoe

1)TodayDefoeischieflyrememberedastheauthorofRobinsonCrusoe,hismasterpiece.

Chapter6Richardson

SamuelRichardson

Pamelawas,infact,thefirstEnglishpsycho-analyticalnovel.

AfterPamela,Richardsonwrotetwoothernovels:ClarissaHarloweandSirCharlesGrandison.

ClarissaisthebestofRichardson’snovel.

Chapter7Fielding(thefatherofEnglishnovel)

1.Life

HisfirstnovelJosephAndrewswaspublishedin1742.

HisJonathanWildappearedin1743.Itisapowerfulpoliticalsatire.

In1749,hefinishedhisgreatnovelTomJones.

Ameliawashislastnovel.ItisinferiortoTomJones,buthasmeritsofitsown.

3.JosephAndrews

4.TomJones

1)TheStory

Fielding’sgreatestworkisTheHistoryofTomJones,aFoundling.

6.Summary

2)FieldingastheFounderoftheEnglishRealisticNovel

Asanovelist,Fieldingisverygreat.HeisthefounderoftheEnglishrealisticnovelandsetsupthetheoryofrealisminliterarycreation.

Hehasbeenrightlycalledthe“fatheroftheEnglishnovel.”

Chapter10Johnson

1.Life

SamuelJohnson,lexicographer,criticandpoet.

2.Johnson’sDictionary

In1755hisDictionarywaspublished.

HisDictionaryalsomarkedtheendofEnglishwriters’relianceonthepatronageofnoblemenforsupport.

Chapter13SentimentalismandPre-RomanticisminPoetry

1.Life

ThomasGray

2.Pre-Romanticism

Inthelatterhalfofthe18thcentury,anewliterarymovementaroseinEurope,calledtheRomanticRevival.

Pre-RomanticismwasusheredinbyPercy,MacphersonandChatterton,andrepresentedbyBlakeandBurns.

Chapter14Blake

1.Life

WilliamBlake

2.SongsofInnocenceandSongsofExperience

4.Blake’sPositioninEnglishLiterature

Forthesereasons,BlakeiscalledaPre-RomanticoraforerunneroftheRomanticpoetryofthe19thcentury.

Chapter15Burns

1.Life

HisPoemsChieflyintheScottishDialectwereprinted.(masterpiece)

TheScotsMusicalMuseumandSelectCollectionofOriginalScottishAirs

2.ThePoetryofBurns

1)BurnsisrememberedmainlyforhissongswrittenintheScottishdialectonavarietyofsubjects.

3.FeaturesofBurns’Poetry

BurnsisthenationalpoetofScotland.

PartFive:RomanticisminEngland

Chapter1TheRomanticPeriod

theIndustrialRevolutiontheFrenchRevolution

Amidthesesocialconflictsromanticismaroseasanewliterarytrend.ItprevailedinEnglandduringtheperiod1798-1832.

Theseweretheeldergenerationofromanticists,sometimescalledescapistromanticists,includingWordsworth,ColeridgeandSouthey,whohavealsobeencalledtheLakePoets.

ActiveromanticistsrepresentedbyByron,ShelleyandKeats.

Thegeneralfeatureoftheworksoftheromanticistsisadissatisfactionwiththebourgeoissociety,whichfindsexpressioninarevoltagainstoranescapefromtheprosaic,sordiddailylife,the“prisonoftheactual”undercapitalism.

Poetry,ofcourse,isthebestmediumtoexpressallthesesentiments.

TheonlygreatnovelistinthisperiodwasWalterScott.

Scottmarkedthetransitionfromromanticismtotheperiodofrealismwhichfollowedit.

Chapter2Wordsworth

Coleridge

In1798theyjointlypublishedtheLyricalBallads.

ThepublicationoftheLyricalBalladsmarkedthebreakwiththeconventionalpoeticaltraditionofthe18thcentury,i.e.,withclassicism,andthebeginningofRomanticrevivalinEngland.

ThePrefaceoftheLyricalBalladsservedasthemanifestooftheEnglishRomanticMovementinpoetry.

Wordsworth,ColeridgeandSoutheyhaveoftenbeenmentionedasthe“LakePoets”becausetheylivedintheLakeDistrictinthenorthwesternpartofEngland.

HisdeeplovefornaturerunsthroughsuchshortlyricsasLinesWritteninEarlySpring,TotheCuckoo,IWanderedLonelyasaCloud,MyHeartLeapsUp,IntimationsofImmortalityandLinesposedaFewMilesAboveTinternAbbey.Thelastiscalledhis“lyricalhymnofthankstonature”.

Wordsworth’spoetryisdistinguishedbythesimplicityandpurityofhislanguage.

Chapter3ColeridgeandSouthey

1.Coleridge

Coleridge’sbestpoems,TheRimeoftheAncientMariner.

Chapter4Byron

1.Life

ChildeHarold’sPilgrimage

HefinishedChildeHarold,wrotehismasterpieceDonJuan.

2.ChildeHarold’sPilgrimage

Thislongpoemcontainsfourcantos.ItiswrittenintheSoenserianstanza.

3.DonJuan

ByronremainsoneofthemostpopularEnglishpoetsbothathomeandabroad.

Chapter5Shelley

4.PromethusUnbound

Shelley’smasterpieceisPromethusUnbound,alyricaldramain4acts.

6.LyricsonNatureandLove

OdetotheWestWind

Chapter6Keats

2.LongPoems

Keatswrotefivelongpoems:Endymion,Isabella,TheEveofSt.Agnes,LamiaandHyperion.

5)TheunfinishedlongepicHyperionhasbeenregardedasKeat’sgreatestachievementinpoetry.

3.ShortPoems

1)Hisleadingprincipleis:“Beautyintruth,truthinbeauty.”

3)OdetoAutumn,OdeonMelancholy,OdeonaGrecianUrnandOdetoaNightingale

Chapter10Scott

2.HisHistoricalNovels

Scotthasbeenuniversallyregardedasthefounderandgreatmasterofthehistoricalnovel.

Accordingtothesubjet-matter,thegrouponthehistoryofScotland,thegrouponEnglishhistoryandthegrouponthehistoryofEuropeancountries.

Infact,Scott’sliterarycareermarksthetransitionfromromanticismtorealisminEnglishliteratureofthe19thcentury.

PartSix:EnglishCriticalRealism

Chapter2Dickens

CharlesDickenscriticalrealism

Dickens:PickwickPapers,AmericanNotes,MartinChuzzlewitandOliverTwist

4)DickenshasoftenbeenparedShakespeareforcreativeforceandrangeofinvention.“HeandShakespearearethetwouniquepopularclassicsthatEnglandhasgiventotheworld,andtheyarealikeinbeingrememberednotforonemasterpiecebutforcreativeworld.”

DavidCopperfield

Chapter3Thackeray

2.VanityFair:ANovelWithoutaHero

VanityFairisThackeray’smasterpiece.characters:AmeliaSedleyandRebecca(Becky)Sharp

ThackeraycanbeplacedonthesamelevelasDickens,asoneofthegreatestcriticalrealistsof19th-centuryEurope.

Chapter4SomeWomenNovelists

1.JaneAusten(1775-1817)

Sheherselfparedherworktoafineengravingmadeuponalittlepieceofivoryonlytwoinchessquare.

JaneAustenwrote6novels:NorthangerAbbey,SenseandSensibility,PrideandPrejudice,MansfieldPark,EmmaandPersuasion.

2.TheBronteSisters

Charlotte’smaidenattemptatprosewriting,thenovelProfessor,wasrejectedbythepublisher,buthernextnovelJaneEyre,appearingin1847,broughtherfameandplacedherintheranksoftheforemostEnglishrealisticwriters.Emily’snovelWutheringHeightsappearedin1847.

Anne:AgnesGrey

4.GeorgeEliot

MaryAnnEvans

threeremarkablenovels:AdamBede,TheMillontheFlossandSilasMarner

3)SilasMarner:CriticalrealismwasthemaincurrentofEnglishliteratureinthemiddleofthe19thcentury.

PartSeven:Prose-WritersandPoetsoftheMidandLate19thCentury

Chapter1Carlyle

theVictorianAge

Chapter3Tennyson

theVictorianAgeproseespeciallythenovel

1.Tennyson’sLifeandCareer

AlfredTennyson,themostimportantpoetoftheVictorianAge.

Inthesameyear(1850)hewasappointedpoetlaureateinsuccessiontoWordsworth.

Chapter7LiteraryTrendsattheEndoftheCentury

1.Naturalism

NaturalismisaliterarytrendprevailinginEurope,especiallyinFranceandGermany,inthesecondhalfofthe19thcentury.

2.Neo-Romanticism

Stevensonwasarepresentativeofneo-romanticisminEnglishliterature.

TreasureIsland(masterpiece)

3.Aestheticism

AestheticismbegantoprevailinEuropeatthemiddleofthe19thcentury.Thetheoryof“artforart’ssake”wasfirstputforwardbytheFrenchpoetTheophileGautier.

ThetwomostimportantrepresentativesofaestheticistsinEnglishliteratureareWalterPaterandOscarWilde.

2)OscarWildedramatist

LadyWindermere’sFan,1893;AWomanofNoImportance,1894;AnIdealHusbandandTheImportanceofBeingEarnest,1895

TheImportanceofBeingEarnestishismasterpieceindrama.

PartEight:TwentiethCenturyEnglishLiterature

(Modernism)

Chapter2EnglishNovelofEarly20thCentury

3.HenryJames

Heisregardedastheforerunnerofthe“streamofconsciousness”literatureinthe20thcentury.

Chapter3Hardy

1.LifeandWork

Amonghisfamousnovels,TessoftheD’UrbervilliesandJudetheObscure.

2.TessoftheD’Urbervillies

characters:Tess,AlecD’UrbervilliesandAngelClare

Chapter6BernardShaw

Chapter8ModernisminPoetry

1.I