英国文学选读 第三版 王守仁chapter 1-Early literature.pptVIP

Introduction The functions of literature Requirements Final exam British Literature Part One The Middle Ages Part Two The English Renaissance Part Three The Restoration Part Four The Age of Romanticism Part Five The Victorian Age Part Six The 20th-Century Literature Early English LiteratureBeowulf The national epic Lines The first long poem in English Character Three episodes related in the career of Beowulf 1. The fight with the monster, Grendel 2. The fight with Grendel’s mother, a still more frightful she-monster 3. The mortal combat with the Fire Dragon, (after being the king of the Geats for 50 years) Beowulf The meaning of Beowulf Four important features Alliteration Metaphors Understatements The mixture of pagan and Christian elements Alliteration: The matching or repetition of consonants is called alliteration, or the repeating of the same letter (or sound) at the beginning of words following each other immediately or at short intervals. For example: sweet smell of success a dime a dozen bigger and better Metaphor is defined as the substitution of one idea or object with another, used to assist expression or understanding. A figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily designates one thing is used to designate another, thus making an implicit comparison, as in a sea of troubles or All the world is a stage Shakespeare. The Internet is an information superhighway. Compound words are used to serve as indirect metaphors in Beowulf. “ring-giver” “swan’s path” or “whale’s road” “battle-hero”, “shield-bearer” or “spear-fighter” Understatement is used to make something appear smaller or less important than it really is. It can be used to entertain or to reduce the importance of the truth. In Beowulf, “not troublesome” is for very welcome; “need not praise” for a right to condemn. Non-Christian elements: the observing of omens, the attribution of power to fate, cremation, blood-revenge, the praise of worldly glory Christian: God’s