英国文学课程教案.doc

课程教案（一）：中古文学PART ONE ANGLO-SAXON MEDIEVAL LITERATURE [内容提要] 中古文学包括盎格鲁-萨克逊文学和中世纪文学两部分。萨克逊文学发生在原始社会，主要文学样式为诗歌（口头为主），分宗教诗歌和非宗教诗歌两种，非宗教诗歌的代表作《贝奥武夫》被称作英格兰民族史诗。中世纪文学的巅峰之作系“英国诗歌之父”乔叟的《坎特伯雷故事集》，在此之前还有一种类似于当代武侠小说的骑士文学。 [学习要点] 《贝奥武夫》的社会意义及文体风格；骑士文学的界定及其特点；骑士文学的主要题材；乔叟创作经历；乔叟对英国诗歌的贡献。 ANGLO-SAXON LITERATURE 1. Anglo-Saxon Conquest In the ancient times, there were three tribes called Angles, Saxons and Jutes in the northern Europe. In the 5th century, they conquered Britain and settled down there. Angles settled in the east midland and built the kingdom of East Angles. Saxons took the southern part of the island and set up some small kingdoms as Wessex, Essex, and Sussex. Jutes occupied the southeastern corner of the island. Several kingdoms arose in Britain. By the 7th century, these small kingdoms were combined into a united kingdom called England. This historical period is known as the Anglo-Saxon period. The language spoken by the people in this period is called Old English. 2. Anglo-Saxon literature With the Anglo-Saxon settlement in Britain, English literature came into being. Anglo-Saxon literature is almost exclusively verse literature in oral form. It was passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth. Its authors are usually unknown. It was written down several centuries later. There are two kinds of English poetry in Anglo-Saxon period: pagan poetry and religious poetry. Pagan poetry is represented by Beowulf and religious poetry is represented by works of Caedmon and Cynewulf. 3. Beowulf：National epic of the English people 3.1 The story Beowulf is the oldest poem in the English language. It is the most important specimen of Anglo-Saxon literature, and also the oldest surviving epic in the English language. It consists of more than 3000 lines. It had been passed from mouth to mouth for hundreds of years before it was written down in the 10th century or at the end of ninth century. The main stories are based on the folk legends of the primitive