英国早期作品.ppt

British Literature Early Writing Much early British writing was concerned with Christianity: Anglo-Saxons produced beautifully illustrated (or” illuminated”) version of the Bible: the most famous of these is the Book of Kells.(凯尔经) Today it is kept in the library of Trinity College(三一学院) in Dublin（都柏林）, the capital of Ireland. Early “Old English” Literary Works 《Beowulf》: a long poem Beowulf(贝奥武甫)是公元700年左右用古代英语（Old English）写成的史诗（epic poem），是现存最早的英语著作，作者不详。现存的唯一古本为1010年的，全诗共有3183行；但并没有标题，从19世纪早期，人们习惯以其中的英雄Beowulf来命名这一史诗。Beowulf是关于盎格鲁撒克逊人（Anglo-Saxon）的伟大文学杰作，所以主要记录的是关于发生在现在丹麦和瑞典的古代事件。 在史诗中，Beowulf是1个耶阿特人（Geats，现瑞典南方）的传奇英雄。他的事迹包括打败了怪物格伦德尔（Grendel）和他的母亲；在Geatland（现丹麦）成为了国王并统治耶阿特人50年；和在他最后1战和龙（dragon）的战斗中受了致命伤，被有毒的角刺中死了，被他的亲戚Wiglaf（唯一跟随他去和龙战斗的人）埋葬在了Geatland。 Middle Ages With the Norman Conquest in 1066 Britain entered the Middle Ages(1066-1485), and the language of the royal court became French. So literature of that period was written in French or Latin. The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer(1343-1400) The Canterbury Tales The procession that crosses Chaucers pages is as full of life and as richly textured as a medieval tapestry. The Knight, the Miller, the Friar, the Squire, the Prioress, the Wife of Bath, and others who make up the cast of characters -- including Chaucer himself -- are real people, with human emotions and weaknesses. When it is remembered that Chaucer wrote in English at a time when Latin was the standard literary language across western Europe, the magnitude of his achievement is even more remarkable. But Chaucers genius needs no historical introduction; it bursts forth from every page of The Canterbury Tales. In 1138 The legend of King Arthur History of the Kings of Britain, by Geoffrey of Monmouth（蒙茅斯的杰弗里 ） * 1.Britain’s artistic output is famous for literature.The major literature competition is the annual Booker Prize(布克文学奖，为世界最受关注的文学奖项之一)。 2.The rich variety of theatre performance available in London is one of its ma