英国文学85149.ppt

English LiteratureChapterⅠ The Middle Ages 1. Historical Background(1) Origin of the English Nation(2) the three ConquestRoman Conquest 55BC. Julius CaesarEnglish Conquest 4th and 5th centurythe Angles, the Saxons and the JutesNorman Conquest 10662. The Literature of the Old English Period (1) Beowulf : It is the first great English literary work and is regarded as the national epic of the Anglo-Saxon. It consists of more than 3,000 lines; it has been passed from mouth to mouth for hundreds of years before it was written down in the 10th century.Main contents (page114)The scene of Beowulf is not England but Denmark. The poem tells how the great feasting hall of King Hrothgar, the Dane, is raided repeatedly by Grendel, a frightful sea monster. Beowulf comes from Sweden to aid Hrothgar. He slays Grendel and, in an undersea struggle, also kills Grendel’s equally dangerous mother. In later years Beowulf, king of his own land, dies in the act of killing a fire dragon that is menacing his people. (2) Bedethe Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation (731) (3) Sir Gawain and the Green Knightthe best worth reading of all Arthurian romances.On New Year’s Day, King Arthur and his knights are holding a feast, a giant in green enters the banquet hall on horse back and with a battle axe in his hand. The big man comes to challenge every knight of the hall to give him a blow with the battle axe. The condition is that a return stroke be permitted a year later at the Green Chapel. There isn’t any knight who dares to accept the challenge given by the giant. Seeing that, the king is very angry and wants to accept the challenge himself. Just then, the King’s nephew—Gawain stands up and takes up the challenge. With one blow he sends the giants head rolling through the hall, and the green giant who is evident terrible magician picks up his head from ground and mounts his horse and runs away. He holds up his head and ghastly lips warns Gawain to be faithful to the promis