本科-《英美文学选读》-Chapter 3.pptVIP

Chapter Ⅲ The Age of Chaucer 1350-1400 1. Historical background: (1) The Hundred Years War: The result of the war was an awakening of national consciousness in England. And the French language was gradually replaced by English native tongue. (2) The peasant uprising of 1381: It was the result of the conflict between the peasants and feudal lords. (3) 1360-1400????The summit of Middle English literature: 2. The two contemporaries of Chaucer: John Wycliff: The “Father of English prose”. He translated the Bible into Middle English. William Langland: The Vision of Piers Plowman. An allegory. 3. Geoffrey Chaucer (ca. 1343-1400) Life: Born urban middle class； In the service of the ruling class； The diplomatic mission that sent Chaucer to Italy in 1372 was a milestone in his literary development. He had direct contact with the Italian Renaissance. Perhaps he acquired manuscripts of works by Dante, Patriarch, and Boccaccio. 4. The Canterbury Tales: (1) The Canterbury Tales is one of the landmarks of English literature, perhaps the greatest work produced in Middle English; The structure of The Canterbury Tales is indebted to Boccaccios Decameron; (2) The significance of The Canterbury Tales: a. It gives a comprehensive picture of Chaucer’s time; b. The dramatic structure of the poem is highly commended; c. Chaucer’s gentle satire and mild irony made him a pioneering English humorist writer; d. Chaucer wrote in the London dialect of his day. In so doing Chaucer greatly increased the prestige of the English language. 5. “The General Prologue”  Summery: As April comes, the narrator begins a pilgrimage to Canterbury from the Tabard Inn at Southwerk. Twenty-nine people make the pilgrimage toward Canterbury and the narrator describes them in turn. The Host, a bold and merry man, suggests that on their way to Canterbury each pilgrim tell two tales, and on the way back two more. They draw lots to decide who will tell the first tale.