英美概况 教学配套课件 齐智英 unit 5.pdfVIP

LOGO Unit Five British and American Culture 《英美概况》 主编：齐智英 Contents 1 British and American Literature 2 British and American Radio and Television 3 Sports in Britain and America 4 British and American Scenic Spots 《英美概况》 主编：齐智英 Unit Five  5.1 British and American Literature  5.1.1 British Literature The earliest existing native literature of the territory of the modern United Kingdom was written in the Celtic languages of the isles. The Welsh literary tradition stretches from the 6th century. Irish poetry also represents a more or less unbroken tradition from the 6th century to the present day, with the Ulster Cycle being of particular relevance to Northern Ireland. Unit Five  Anglo-Saxon literature includes Beowulf, a national epic, but literature in Latin predominated among educated elites. After the Norman Conquest Anglo-Norman literature brought continental influences to the isles.  English literature emerged as a recognizable entity in the late 14th century, with the rise and spread of the London dialect of Middle English. Geoffrey Chaucer is the first great identifiable individual in English literature: his Canterbury Tales remains a popular 14th-century work which readers still enjoy today. Unit Five  Fiction  Fiction is the average person’s recreation, reading in his spare time for enjoyment. We are familiar with English literature chiefly through novels, especially modern novels, though poems and songs