英国文学史及选读--PartVIThe18thcentury1.pptVIP

Part VI The 18th century The Age of Enlightenment in England I. Historical background --- political parties 1. Political parties, political writings and newspapers The Glorious Revolution of 1688 firmly established a Protestant monarchy together with effective rule by Parliament. With a weak ruler and the belief that true power rested in the hands of the leading ministers, the two factions of politics stepped up their opposition to each other, and Whig（辉格党） and Tory （托利党）were at each others throats. I. Historical background --- political parties The liberal Whigs were determined to safeguard popular liberty while the conservative Tories would leave as much authority as possible in the royal hands. On the extreme of Toryism was a third part of zealots, called Jacobites（英王詹姆斯二世James II的拥护者）, who aimed to bring the Stuarts back to the throne, and who for 50 years filled Britain with plots and rebellion. I. Historical background --- political writings The literature of the age was at times dominated by the interests of the contending factions. Both parties were looking for writers who could best give voice to their policies. Most of the great writers were, on occasion, the willing servants of the Whigs or the Tories, or hack writers (受人雇用的穷文人), or “Grub Street writers” for many of them lived on Grub Street. Historical background --- newspapers With the coming of the 18th century a new mass media came into being. Both parties printed newspapers as a means to express their views. Besides, the rise of the middle class also helped the growth of the newspapers. For the middle class demanded entertainment and education. They also demanded a means by which they could express their opinions on political and moral problems. 1. Historical background --- newspapers→essays So in the 18th century newspapers and journals flourished and with them prose became for a time the predominant genre of the writing. Many great writers of the century were great essayists, as essays