考研文学.doc

Old English Literature “Beowulf” 名词Epic A long narrative poem in elevated style, about the adventures of a hero whose exploits are important to the history of a nation. Beowulf and Paradise Lost by Milton are the greatest English epics. Medieval English Literature （1） 11-13thcentury: Norman Conquest (history) 　Chivalry (culture) 　romance (literature). 1名词Romance is a medieval tale dealing with the adventures of knights who are loyal to the king and faithful to the lady, including likely and supernatural happenings. The most famous one is Sir Garwain and the Green Knights （2）14th century Geoffrey Chaucer Founder of English poetry The Canterbury Tales 2名词　Geoffrey Chaucer（ A man of thought A man of affairs A man of books） 1.The Romance of Rose (translated from French) 2. Troilus and Criseyde (adapted from Italian) 3. The Canterbury Tales (purely English) (He developed to be the founder of English poetry by practice) 1.Characterization Morsel from her lips did she not let fall, Nor dipped her fingers in the sauce too deep And she wound wipe her upper lips so clean That not a trace of grease was to be seen Upon the cup when she had drunk. 2.Language Whan that aprille with his shower swoote, The drought of March hath perced to the root And bathed every vein in such licour Of which vertu engendered is the flour 3.His contribution (1) Geoffrey Chaucer whose masterpiece is The Canterbury Tales gives us a realistic picture of the society of his time. (2) In his works Chaucer developed his characterization to a higher artistic level by presenting characters with both typical qualities and individual dispositions. (3) Chaucer made a great contribution to English poetry by introducing from France the rhymed couplet of iambic pentameter which was later called the “ heroic couplet ” to replace the Old English?alliterative verse. (4) Chaucer did much in making the dialect of London the foundation for modern English language. That is why John Dryden called him the Fath