lecture2(revised)讲述.ppt

Lecture 2 Geoffrey Chaucer (1340 — 1400) The English Renaissance Teaching objectives: 1. Know Chaucer’s literary contribution; 2. Know the plot, social significance of The Canterbury Tales; 3. Know the background, the definition of the Renaissance and grasp the striking features of it. Part 1: Geoffrey Chaucer (1340 — 1400) I. Life father of English poetry Founder of English realism First to use the London dialect in writing First great poet to use the English language in writing Master of word picture First to use heroic couplets (a rhymed pair of iambic pentameter lines) The Poet’s Corner in the Westminster Abbey built in Chaucer’s honour II. The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written by Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century. The tales, some of which are originals and others not, are contained inside a frame tale and told by a collection of pilgrims on a pilgrimage from Southwark to Canterbury to visit the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. Boccacio’s Decameron initiates the trend of story-telling by turns in literature The pilgrims on their way to Canterbury 1.The Prologue 2. Significance: Chaucer is the father of English literature, and started a great tradition for English literature: he initiated the realistic tradition in English literature; he initiated the tradition of irony and satire in English literature; though he used London dialect to write The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer contributed a lot to prosody in English poetry, and was the first English poet to write with heroic couplet (two rhyming lines of iambic pentameter). 3. The language 4. Appreciation Questions: 1. In which season did the story happen? 2. Zephyrus: 3. How to understand “the young sun”? 4. How to understand “when they were sick?” 5. What is the symbolic meaning of springtime? 6. Symbolic meaning of pilgrimage in April? 7. A brief summary? The General Prologue Prologue: a separate introductory section of a literary work. Couplet : a s