主要英语国家概况chapter6Literature教学课件.ppt

Literature Excerpt from the epic poem Beowulf HW?T, WE GAR-DEna in geardagum, teodcyninga trym gefrunon, hu ea ?telingas ellen fremedon! oft Scyld Scefing sceatena treatum, monegum m?gtum meodosetla ofteah, egsode eorlas, syeean?rest wearefeasceaft funden; he t?s frofre gebad,weox under wolcnum weoremyndum tah,oe t?t him ?ghwylc ymbsittendraofer hronrade hyran scolde, gomban gyldan; t?t w?s god cyning! D?m eafera w?s ?fter cenned geong in geardum, tone God sende folce to frofre; fyreneearfe ongeat,  The English language before 1066 was quite different than what it is today Native English speakers cannot read or speak Old English unless they have studied it The epic poem Beowulf came from this period before 1066 An epic poem telling of the rise to power and eventual death of the warrior king Beowulf The poem is named after it’s central character and hero Set in an area probably not within England Is 3183 lines long The story could have first existed in either England or Scandinavia The only surviving manuscript was probably written around 1000 AD No one can be sure when the story originated Is not considered a great piece of literature, but the first major work in something resembling English 1) Beowulf fights the monster Grendel to save a foreign kings people 2) Beowulf fights Grendel’s mother who is seeking revenge 3) Fifty years later, after being king of the Geats for that time, Beowulf fights the Fire Dragon- Beowulf kills the dragon, but also is killed himself As we can see, Beowulf bases most of it’s action on violence against monsters and dragons This perhaps reflects the harsh and superstitious life that people in early England lived in at that time While Beowulf is not considered a great piece of art, it did contribute a great deal to the English literary tradition The King Arthur legends, The Lord of the Rings, and the Harry Potter novels can trace their roots back to Beowulf In other words, while it is not considered to be a fantasy, it doe