英国文学史及作品选读--Chapter-3.pptVIP

Chapter Ⅲ The Age of Chaucer 1350-1400 1. Historical background: (1) The Hundred Years War(1337-1453): The result of the war was an awakening of national consciousness in England. And the French language was gradually replaced by English native tongue. (2) The peasant uprising of 1381: It was the result of the conflict between the peasants and feudal lords. (3) 1360-1400????The summit of Middle English literature: 2. The two contemporaries of Chaucer: John Wycliff: The “Father of English prose”. He translated the Bible into Middle English. William Langland: The Vision of Piers Plowman. An allegory. 3. Geoffrey Chaucer (ca. 1343-1400) Life: Born urban middle class； In the service of the ruling class； The diplomatic mission that sent Chaucer to Italy in 1372 was a milestone in his literary development. He had direct contact with the Italian Renaissance. Perhaps he acquired manuscripts of works by Dante, Petriarch, and Boccaccio. 4. The Canterbury Tales: (1) The Canterbury Tales is one of the landmarks of English literature, perhaps the greatest work produced in Middle English; The structure of The Canterbury Tales is indebted to Boccaccios Decameron; (2) The significance of The Canterbury Tales: a. It gives a comprehensive picture of Chaucer’s time; b. The dramatic structure of the poem is highly commended; c. Chaucer’s gentle satire and mild irony made him a pioneering English humorist writer; d. Chaucer wrote in the London dialect of his day. In so doing Chaucer greatly increased the prestige of the English language. 5. “The General Prologue”  The prologue is a splendid masterpiece of realistic portrayal, the first of its kind in the history of English literature Summery: As April comes, the narrator begins a pilgrimage to Canterbury from the Tabard Inn at Southwerk. Twenty-nine people make the pilgrimage toward Canterbury and the narrator describes them in turn. The Host, a bold and merry man, suggests that on their