英美文学选读-介绍篇.pptVIP

The Influence of N.C Politically, a feudalist system was established in England Religiously, the Rome-backed Catholic Church had a much stronger control over the country On language, three languages co-existed in England. French became the official language used by the king and the Norman lords; Latin became the principal tongue of church affairs and in universities; old English was spoken only by the common English people. The Medieval English Literature With the Norman Conquest starts the medieval period in English literature, which covers about four centuries( from 1066 up to the mid-14th century) Middle English literature deals with a wider range of subjects, is uttered by more voices and in a greater diversity of styles, tones and genres. Popular folk literature also occupies an important place in this period. Middle English literature strongly reflects the principles of the medieval Christian doctrine, which were primarily concerned with the issue of personal salvation. Romance Romance which used narrative verse or prose to sing knightly adventures or other heroic deeds is a popular literary form in the medieval period. Hero: usually the knight, a man of noble birth, skilled in the use of weapons, who sets out on a journey to accomplish some goal—to protect the church and the king, to attack infidelity, to rescue a maiden, to meet a challenge, or to obey a knightly command. Romantic love is an important part of the plot in romance. Characterization is standardized. The structure is loose and episodic, the language is simple and straightforward. It contains perilous adventures more or less remote from ordinary life, even describes supernatural things. If the epic reflects a heroic age, the romance reflects a chivalry one. The great majority of the romances fall into three cycles : the matters of Britain ( adventures of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table), and the matters of Frances (Emperor charlemagne and his peers), and the matters of Rom