英美文学各章学习重点.doc

英国文学— The old and medieval periods 1．Beowuf这部作品Romance是这个时期最流行的文学形式；Chaucer第一个引进“英雄偶句”诗体。 Beowulf（贝奥武甫(八世纪初的一篇古英语史诗; 该史诗中的主角)）, a typical example of old English poetry, is regarded today as the national epic (民族史诗) of the Anglo-Saxons. Literary position: The poem was originally in an oral form, it is written down in the 10th century. Thematically the poem presents a vivid picture of how the primitive people wage heroic struggles against the hostile forces of the natural world under a wise and mighty leader. Romance (骑士抒情诗)，a popular literary form in the medieval period) uses narrative verse or prose to sing knightly adventures or other heroic deeds, whose motifs（主题, 主旨） of the quest is for truth, beauty and kindness. Chaucer(乔叟): whose masterpiece is The Canterbury Tales《坎特伯雷故事集》. The famous character of his works is the Wife of Bath. Chaucer employed the heroic coupletverse form (英雄双韵诗形式) with true ease and charm for the first time in the history of English literature. He is the father of English poetry. 英国文学—The renaissance periods 1.《仙后》一部寓言(allegory), 人物象征意义与主题. The Faerie is an allegory. The Red-crosse Knight stands for St.George, the patron saint of England, and he also represent Holiness. A lovely Ladie, virgin Una, symbolizes the thruth or the true faith of religion. A milke white lambe reprents the God. Dragon and infernall feend refer the Satan The theme is not “Arms and the man,” but something more romantic—“fiece warres and faithful loves”. 2. 斯宾塞的诗歌特点 The five main quailites of spenser’s poetry are: 1) a perfect melody; 2) a rare sense of beauty; 3) a splendid imagination; 4) a lofty purity and seriousness; 5) a dedicated idealism. 3.《浮士德》的主题 Dr. Faustus is a play based on the German legend of a magician aspiring for knowledge and finally meeting his tragic end as a result of selling his soul to the Devil. The play’s dominant moral is human than religious. It celebrates the human passion for knowledge, power and happiness; it also reveals man’s frustr