-
When April with his showers sweet with
fruit
The drought of March
has pierced unto the root
And bathed each vein with liquor that
has power
To generate
therein and sire the flower;
When Zephyr also has, with his sweet
breath,
Quickened again, in
every holt and heath,
The
tender shoots and buds, and the young sun
Into the Ram one half his
course has run,
And many
little birds make melody
That sleep through all the night with
open eye
(So Nature pricks
them on to ramp and rage)-
Then do folk long to go on pilgrimage,
And palmers to go seeking
out strange strands,
To
distant shrines well known in sundry lands.
And specially from every
shire's end
Of England they
to Canterbury wend,
The
holy blessed martyr there to seek
Who helped them when they lay so ill
and weak
.
夏雨给大地带来了喜悦，
送走了土壤干裂的三月，
沐浴着草木的丝丝经络，
顿时百花盛开，生机勃勃。
西风轻吹留下清香缕缕，
田野复苏吐出芳草绿绿；
碧蓝的天空腾起一轮红日，
青春的太阳洒下万道金辉。
小鸟的歌喉多么清脆优美，
迷人的夏夜怎好安然入睡
,
美丽的自然撩拨万物的心弦，
多情的鸟儿歌唱爱情的欣欢。
香客盼望膜拜圣徒的灵台，
僧侣立愿云游陌生的滨海。
信徒来自全国东西南北，
众人结伴奔向坎特伯雷，
去朝谢医病救世的恩主，
以缅怀大恩大德的圣徒。
Comments:
A: Notes of the
First Stanza
：
When
April
pierce
s(
穿透
)
to
the
root
of
March’s
long
period
of
dry
weather
and
washes
each
bud(
花蕾
)and
shoot(
芽
)gently
through every vein(
叶脉
)of
sap(
树液
)with rain, whose
producing liquor make the flowers to
bloom; when the west wind (the gentle
breeze) blows softly everything to encourage every
wood and field to
sprout , and the
young sun has run halfway of his journey in the
first sign of the Zodiac, when little birds who
sleep the whole night with open eyes
are busy with making
melodies(
悦耳的调
), because the
nature moves the
birds hearts and makes
them excited, then people long to go on
pilgrimage(
朝圣
)and
pilgrims(
朝圣者
)long to
set
out
for
distant
shores
and
foreign
holy
places(
国外的或外地的圣地
)
which
is
famous
in
many
lands
，
especially,
people who come from every countryside of England
ride to Canterbury to visit the blessed holy
person there who gave them the strength
and help when they got sick.
B. A Brief Analysis of the First Stanza
1). The first eleven lines
are a chant of
with its
harmonious marriage between heaven and
earth which mellows vegetations, pricks
birds and stirs the heart of man with a renewing
power of nature. Thus,
the
pilgrimage
is
treated
as
an
event
in
the
calendar
of
nature,
an
aspect
of
the
general
springtime
surge
of
human energy which wakens
man's love of Venus (natural love). The pilgrimage
is also treated as an event in
the
calendar of divinity, an aspect of religious piety
which draws pilgrims to holy places.
2).
It
is
a
model
of
,
with
an
18-line
that
composes
of
a
subordinate
clause
(line
1-11)
and
a
main
clause
(line
12-
18),
expressing
the
essential
idea
of
the
whole
work
and
the
transition from
to
.
1
Chapter 2 The English Renaissance
(1485-1625)
I. Historical
Background:
1. The Tudor
Dynasty
founded by King
in 1485: a transitional
period from
to
capitalism
(1) Henry VII: (1485-1509)
(2) Henry VIII: (1509-1547)
(3) Edward VI: (1547-1553)
(4) Mary I: (1553-1558)
(5)
Elizabeth I: (1558-1603)
2.
Religious
Reformation:
In
1532,
Henry
VIII
broke
with
Roman
Catholic
Church
and
established
.
He
declared
himself
as
the
Supreme
Head
of
the
Church
instead
of
the
Pope in Rome.
3.
The Enclosure Movement
4. The
Commercial Expansion
5. The
introduction of
into England by William Caxton
6. The War with Spain (1588):
ended with the defeat of Spain, which
declared the triumph of the
over the declining old
feudalism.
7. Renaissance
?
―Renaissance‖
is a French word which means ―
‖ or
―
‖.
?
It refers to the period between the
,
which marks the transition from the
medieval to the modern world.
?
It
first started in
and came to
England in the
century.
?
It was
characterized by a revival of interest in ancient
.
?
This movement aimed to get rid of those
old
ideas and introduce new ideas that
expressed
the interests of the rising
?
is
the essence of the Renaissance.
It
emphasizes
the
and
the
.
Humanists voiced their beliefs that man
was the
and
man did not only have the
right to
, but had the ability to
.
II. The Flowering of
English Literature:
1.
The English Bible
?
The first
complete English Bible was translated by
.
?
The
Authorized
Version
was
made
in
under
the
auspices
of
and
so
was
sometimes called the King James Bible.
2.
Prose
(1) Thomas More
(1487-1535)
?
A
humanist
?
Major
works:
Utopia
The Life of
John Picus, Earl of Myrandula
The
History of King Richard III
?
Analysis of
Utopia
Written in
the form of a
between More and Hythloday, a returned
voyager.
―
Utopia
‖
, Book One:
2