英国文学史 The 17th Century.pptVIP

Chapter 5 I. The 17th Century: the Period  of Revolution and Restoration 1. Historical background (1) Absolute monarchy impeded the further development of capitalism in England. (2) The bourgeoisie could no longer bear the sway of landed nobility. II. John Donne (1573-1631) the leading figure of “Metaphysical School” or “Metaphysical Poetry” 1. Donne’s extraordinary frankness and penetrating realism; the cynicism. 2. an emotional intensity and a spiritualized ardor in his serious love- poems III. John Milton (1608-1674) the third greatest English poet after Chaucer and Shakespeare the most important writer of the 17th century in England the most outstanding poet in Europe of his time Paradise Lost — the great epic consisting of 12 books, marked for its intricate and contradictory composition based on the biblical legend of the imaginary progenitors of the human race — Adam and Eve, and involves God and his eternal adversary Satan in its plot IV. John Bunyan (1628-1688) a poor, uneducated tinker received an excess of the spiritual independence from the reformation He and Milton, representing the extreme of English life in the 17th century, wrote the two works that stand for the mighty Puritan spirit. The Pilgrim’s Progress《天路历程》 — his masterpiece  The Pilgrim Progress is a religious book telling us how a person moves from this world to another. The publication of The Pilgrim’s Progress made him the most popular writer in England. The book was written in the old-fashioned, medieval form of allegory and dream; intended to teach people to be faithful to God and win salvation by constantly purging one’s heart of worldly evil. * * (3) The contradictions between the feudal system and the bourgeoisie had reached its peak and resulted in a revolutionary outburst. (4) The effects of the revolution A. the supremacy of Parliament B. the beginning