2012-013 英美文学史及选读 Homework 1.doc

英美文学史及选读 Homework (1) Selected Readings of British Literature Name____________ Student No __________Mark _____________ Ⅰ.Fill in the blanks In 55 B. C., Britain was invaded by Julius Caesar , the Roman conqueror. Along with the invasion came the Roman mode of life into Britain. The Anglo-Saxon period witnessed a transition from tribal society to feudalism. Angles, Saxons and Jutes usually known as Anglo-Saxons are the first Englishmen. Language spoken by them is called the old English, which is the foundation of English language and literature. The literature of the Anglo-Saxon period falls naturally into two divisions, pagan and Christian. Among the early Anglo-Saxon poets there was one poet whose name is Caedmon. He wrote a poetic Paraphrase of the Bible. In the 8th century, Anglo-Saxon prose appeared. The famous prose writers of that period were Venerable Bede and Alfred the Great. The Song of Beowulf is the oldest poem in the English language, and also the oldest surviving epic in the English language. Caedmon is the first known religious poet of England. He is known as the father of English song. The didactic poem The Christ was written by Cynewulf. The early inhabitants on the island now we call England were Britons, a tribe of Celts. From the Britons the island got its name of Britain, the land of Britons. The Britons were a primitive people. In the year 1066, the Normans defeated the Anglo-Saxons at the battle of Hastings. In the 14th century, the two most important writers are Geoffrey Chaucer and Langland (William (c.1330–c.1400), English poet. He is best known for Piers Plowman (c.1367–70), a long allegorical poem which takes the form of a spiritual pilgrimage朗兰，威廉（约1330—约1400，英国诗人，以刻画精神世界成长过程的长篇寓言诗《耕者皮尔斯》［约1367—1370]最为著名）). Today Chaucer is acclaimed not only as the father of English poetry but also as the father of English fiction. His masterpiece is The Canterbury Tales. The fifteenth century has been traditionally