英国文学LXW--2012-3-31课件.ppt

2. Have you ever watched any movie that is adapted from British literary works? ____________________________________ 3. Director Feng Xiaogang’s film “The Banquet” has been called the Chinese version of Hamlet. How much do you know about the play Hamlet? ____________________________________ Part 1: Early writing Beowulf It tells the story of the 6th century Swedish warrior Beowulf and his conflict with a terrible monster Grendel and his mother. The main protagonist, Beowulf, a hero of the Geat, comes to the aid of Hrothgar, the king of the Danes, whose great hall, Heorot, is plagued by the monster Grendel. Beowulf kills both Grendel and Grendel’s mother, the latter with a magical sword., Later in his life, Beowulf is himself king of the Geats, and finds his realm terrorized by a dragon, who had stolen Beowulf’s treasure from his hoard in a burial mound. He attacks the dragon with the help of his thegns大乡绅, but they do not succeed. Beowulf decides to follow the dragon into its lair (cave), but only his young Swedish relative Wiglaf dares to join him. Beowulf finally slays the dragon, but is mortally wounded. He is buried in a tomb by the sea. Writing Features of Beowulf 1) It is not a Christian but a pagan poem, despite the Christian flavor given to it by the monastery scribe. It is the product of all advanced pagan civilization. The whole poem presents us an all-round picture of the tribal society and Christian culture. The social conditions and customs can be seen in it. So the poem has a great social significance. 2) The use of the strong stress and the predominance of consonants are very notable in this poem. Each line is divided into two halves, and each half has two heavy stresses. 3) The use of the alliteration is another notable feature. Three stresses of the whole line are made even more emphatic by the use of alliteration. 4) A lot of metaphors and understatements are used in the poem. Geoffrey Chaucer The Canterbury Tales ③The firs