大学英美文学第一课.ppt

Part I Ancient Literature A. Greek and Roman Origin “Man” or “human” is the core and object of Greek and Roman culture To emphasize that “man”, opposite to “nature” and “society” is powerful and wise though often submissive to “fate”, ancient Greek literature sang highly to individualism and affirm the secular life and the value of individual life B. Judeo-Christian Origin The Bible and Christianity. Westerners give their names out of the Bible, and draw stories and daily epigrams, allusions and proverbs from it. The Bible is a collection of religious writings comprising two parts: 1. The Old Testament: it is about God and the Laws of God and consists of 39 books, the oldest and most important are Pentateuch. (《摩西五经》or 《律法书》) Genesis(《创世纪》): a religious account of the origin of the world, of man, of the career of Issac and the life of Jacob and his son Joseph. B. Judeo-Christian Origin Exodus（《出埃及记》）: a religious history of the Hebrews during their flight from Egypt, the period when they began to receive God’s law Leviticus（《利未记》）: a collection of primitive laws Numbers（《民数记》）: a continuation of the account o the flight from Egypt and more laws Deuteronomy（《申命记》）: the final words of Moses to his people, restating his orders and fifty year’s experiences as a leader its beliefs: monotheism: Jehovah. God is the only ruler of the world and man should be absolutely submissive obedient. B. Judeo-Christian Origin Comparison with Greek mythology Hebrew culture values the soul instead of the flesh, the group vs the individual and the next life vs the secular life. Heroes in Christian literature are godly man while heroes in Greek mythology are manly god. Man’s worship to God was altered and extremized in the Middle Ages B. Judeo-Christian Origin Assignments: Read them in both English and Chinese Greek Mythology Bible stories Homer’s Epics More details on Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides Aesop’s Fables More details on Plato, Aristotle and their works