英美文学选读(二专).ppt

Anthology of English—American Literature William Shakespeare 一. The dramatic career : (4 periods ) 1. Apprenticeship period 2. High individualized period 3. Greatest stragedies and dark comedies period . 4. Romantic tragicomedies period . 二. The themes of Shakespeares works 1. The history plays : A. The theme Shakespeares history plays are mainly written under the principle that national unity under a mighty and just sovereign is a necessity . B. The examples : Henry VI (I,II, III ) are the beginning of Shakespeares epic treatment of English history . Henry IV (I,II,III) are undoubtedly the most widely read among his history plays . 2. The romantic comedies : A . The theme : …takes an optimistic attitude toward love and youth , and the romantic elements are brought into full play . The example : The important play among the comedies is the Merchant of Venice . a. The traditional theme : to praise the friendship between Antonio and Bassanio, to idealize Portia as a heroine of great beauty , wit and loyalty , and to expose the insatiable greed and brutality of the Jew . b. The modern theme : to regard the play as a satire of the Christians hypocrisy and their false standards of friendship and love , their cunning ways of pursuing worldiness and their unreasoning prejudice against Jews . 3. The tragedies : A . The theme : The play, though a tragedy, is permeated with optimistic spirit . B. The example : The successful romantic tragedy is Romeo and Juliet, which praises the faithfulness of love and the spirit of pursuing happiness . 三. The greatest tragedies : 1. The common features : Shakespeare s greatest tragedies are : Hamlet , Othello , King Lear , and Macbeth . They have some characteristics in common . Each portrays some noble hero , who faces the injustic of human life and is caught in a difficult situation and whose fate is closely connected with the fate of the whole nation . 2. The realistic spirits Along with the portrayal of the weakn