英国文学史上笔记-The Middle Ages.docxVIP

The Middle AgesThe Anglo-Saxon Period (449~1066)Reference: 1) The literature of early period falls naturally into two divisions, Pagan and Christian.(异教徒文学和基督徒文学) Pagan represents the poetry which the Anglo-Saxons probably brought with them in the form of oral sagas (口头诗歌), the crude material out of which literature was slowly developed on English soil; Christian represents the writings developed under the teaching of the monks.(僧侣) 2) Among the early Anglo-Saxon poets we may mention Caedmon(开德蒙 the first important religious poet in English literature) who lived in the latter half of the 7th century and wrote a poetic paraphrase of the Bible; Cynewulf(琴涅武甫), the author of poems on religious subjects. Beowulf:the national epic of the Anglo-Saxons, represents the spirit of pagan Artistic features: 1) Using alliteration押头韵（Definition of alliteration: a rhetorical device, meaning some words in a sentence begin with the same consonant sound）2) Using metaphor and understatement (Definition of understatement: expressing something in a controlled way. Understatement is a typical way for Englishmen to express their ideas. 保守的陈述)Things and Figures mentioned: Beowulf (the Teutonic hero) Hrothgar (the King of the Danes) Heorot 鹿厅 Grendel (the half-human monster) Beacon (Beowulf墓上所建) Scyld 赛亚德Definitions of important literary terms: 1)Epic (heroic poetry): An epic is a long oral narrative poem that operates on a grand scale and deals with legendary or historical events of national or universal significance.Most epics deal with the exploits(功勋)of a single individual and also interlace(交织、交错)the main narrative with myths, legends, folk tales and past events; there is a composite（复合的）effect, the entire culture of a country cohering in the overall experience of the poem. Epic poems are not merely entertaining stories of legendary or historical heroes; they summarize and express the nature or ideals of an en