英国文学及选读知识要点I.docVIP

Part I The Anglo-Saxon Period(449-1066) I Background 449 the Teutons ( the Jutes, the Anglos, the Saxons) II Literature The literature of this period falls into two divisions—pagan and Christian Two Anglo-saxon Christian poets: Caedmon （凯德蒙，公元7世纪盎各鲁－萨克逊基督教诗人）who lived in the latter half of the 7th century and who wrote a poetic Paraphrase of the Bible. Cynewulf （基涅武甫,盎各鲁――萨克逊诗人，生活在公元9世纪，其古英语诗稿于10世纪被发现，有《埃琳娜》,《使徒们的命运》，《基督升天》和《朱莉安娜》）, the author of poems on religious subjects III The Song of Beowulf( Beowulf, 公元7-8世纪之交开始流传于民间的同名史诗中的主人公，曾与水怪，火龙搏斗) Status: England’s national epic Written at the beginning of the tenth century Composed much earlier Length:3182 The whole song is essentially pagan in spirit and matter. Features : alliteration; metaphors; understatement Subject matter Part II The Anglo-Norman Period (1066—1350) I historical background: The Norman Conquest II. The Literature The literature which they brought to England is remarkable for its bright, romantic tales of love and adventure. III. Romance 1. Romance was the prevailing form of literature in feudal England. 2. Definition and features(理解) IV. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight a late-14th century middle-English outlining an adventure of Sir Gawain, a knight of King Arthur’s Round Table. It was a verse romance of 2530 lines, considered as the best of Arthurian romances. Part III Geoffrey Chaucer(1340?-1400) I Major works The Romaunt of the Rose《玫瑰传奇》 is a translation from a French poem. His masterpiece: The Canterbury Tales II Contributions 1. Chaucer—the forerunner of Renaissance 2. Chaucer –a master of realism 3 Chaucer—“father of English poetry” ①In contradistinction to the alliterative verse of the Anglo-Saxon poetry, Chaucer chose the metrical form which laid the foundation of the English tonic-syllabic verse. ② He introduced from France the rhymed couplet (two successive lines of verse equal in length and with thyme) of iambic pentameter which is to be called later the he