英国文学章节复习(含名词解释).

Part One: Early and Medieval English Literature

What’s epic?

Epic

is

one

of

the

ancient

types

of

poetry

and

plays

a

very

important

role

in

early

development of literature and civilization. An epic is a long narrative poem of great

scale and grandiose style about the heroes who are usually warriors or even demigods.

It deals with noble characters and heroic deeds.

Basically, it is a story about hero, more significantly, it reflects national history.

The significance of

Beowulf

:

It sings of the exciting adventures of a great legendary hero whose physical strength

demonstrates

his

high

spiritual

qualities,

i.e.

his

resolution

to

serve

his

country

and

kind

folk,

his

true

courage,

courteous

conduct,

and

his

love

of

honor.

In

the

poem,

Beowulf is strong, courageous, selfless, and ready to risk his life in order to rid his

people evil monsters.

Geoffrey Cha ucer

杰佛利

?

乔叟

1340-1400

长诗：

The House of Fame

声誉之堂

;Troilus and Criseyde

特罗勒斯与克丽西德

小说：

Canterbury Tales

坎特伯雷故事集

----

英国文学史上现实主义第一部杰作

（他是最早有人文主义思想的作家，现实主义文学的奠基人< /p>

Father

of

English

poetry & Founder of English realism

）

(Boccacio

薄伽丘

The Decameron

十日谈

)

The significance of

The Canterbury Tales

is as follows:

gives a comprehensive picture of Chaucer?s time.

dramatic structure of the poem has been highly commended by critics.

r?s humour: Humour is a characteristic feature of the English literature.

r?s contribution to the English language.

Heroic couplet

英雄双行体

Part Two: The English Renaissance (1550-1642)

Renaissance is commonly applied to the movement or period in western civilization,

which marks the transition from the medieval to the modern world. It first started in

Florence and Venice.

Humanism

According to them it was against human nature to sacrifice the happiness of this life

for an after life. They argued that man should be given full freedom to enrich their

intellectual and emotional life.

In

religion,

the

H

thinking

was

a

relation

against

the

narrow

mindedness

of

the

Catholic Church; they demanded the information of the church.

In art and literature, instead of singing praise to God, they sang in praise of man and

of the pursuit of happiness in this life. H shattered the shackles of spiritual bondage of

man?s

mind

by

the

Roman

Catholic

Church

and

opened

his

eyes

to

“a

brave

new

world” in front

of him.

Edmund Spenser

(1552?-1599) The Fearie Queene

仙后

Christopher Marlowe

(1564-1593) They were predecessors to Shakespeare and were

later called the University Wits

（大学才子派）

.

Francis Bacon

培根

1561-1626

essayist

散文家

(the chief figure in English Prose

in

the

first

half

of

the

17

th

century

and

his

essays

began

the

long

tradition

of

the

English essay in the history of English literature.)

Advancement of Learning

学术的

进展

;Novum

Organum

新工具

;New

Atlantic< /p>

新大西岛

;Essays

论文集（

Of

Studies

论学习

;Of Wisdom for a Man?s Self

）

Of

Studies

purpose:

This

essay

is

intended

to

tell

people

how

to

be

efficient

and

make their way in public life.

1

Language Appreciation:

Parallel structure; succinct

（简明的）

expression; long complex sentences side by side

with short simple ones; classical diction

（发音）

; good and clear logical reasoning,

with examples and facts; objective impersonal, persuasive writing without “we”, “I”.

William Shakespeare

莎士比亚

1564-1616

“He was not of an age, but for all time.”

The Tempest

暴风雨

The Two Gentlemen of Veronaz

维罗纳二绅士

The Mercy Wives of Windsor

温莎的风流妇人

Measure for Measure

恶有恶报

The Comedy of Errors

错中错

Much Ado about Nothing

无事自扰

Love?s Labour?s Lost

空爱一场

The Winter?s Tale

冬天的故事

The Taming of the Shrew

驯悍记

All?s Well That Ends Well

如愿

The Merchant of Venice

威尼斯商人

As You Like It

皆大欢喜

Twelfth Night

第十二夜

A Midsummer Night?s Dream

仲夏夜之梦

The

Life

and

Death

of

King

John/Richard

the

Second/Henry

the

Fifth/Richard

the

Third

约翰王

/

理查二世

/

亨利五世

/

理查三 世

The

First/Second

Part

of

King

Henry

the

Fourth

亨

利

四

世

（

< br>上

、

下

）

;The

First/Second/Third Part of King Henry the Sixth

亨利六世

（上、

中、

下）

;The Life of

King Henry the Eighth

亨利八世；

Troilus and Cressida

脱爱勒斯与克莱西达

The Tragedy of Coriolanus

考利欧雷诺斯

Titus Andronicus

泰特斯

?

安庄尼克斯

Romeo and Juliet

罗密欧与朱丽叶

Timon of Athens

雅典的泰门

The Life and Death of Julius Caesar

朱利阿斯

?

凯撒

Hamlet

哈姆雷特

King Lear

李尔王

Othello

奥塞罗

Macbeth

麦克白

Antony and Cleopatra

安东尼与克利欧佩特拉

Cymbeline

辛白林

Pericles

波里克利斯

Venus and Adonis

维诺斯

?

阿都尼斯

Lucrece

露克利斯

The Sonnets

十四行诗

Shakespeare’s achievements:

1.

Shakespeare

represented

the

trend

of

history

in

giving

voice

to

the

desires

and aspirations of the people.

2.

Shakespeare?s humanism

3.

Shakespeare?s characterization

4.

Shakespeare?s originality

5.

Shakespeare as a great poet

6.

Shakespeare as master of the English language

Hamlet

as

a

Character

(Hamlet?s

theme

is

revenge

interrelated

with

theme

of

faithlessness, love and ambition.)

Soliloquy

（自言自语，< /p>

独白）

is a dramatic speech delivered by on character speaking

aloud while under the impression of being alone. The soliloquist thus reveals his or

her inner thoughts and feelings to the audience, either direct address. It is also known

as interior monologue.

“To be, or not to be.” The speech conveys a sense of world weariness as well as

the author?s.

Sonnet

A sonnet is a short song in the original meaning of the word. Later it became a poem

of 14 lines, usually in iambic

（长短格，抑扬格，抑扬格诗）

pentameter

（五步格

诗）

< br>

with various rhyming schemes.

2

Conceit(

高傲，骄傲自大

)

Conceit originally means “concept” or “idea” and later came to mean “fanciful idea”.

A conceit is a metaphor or simile that is mad elaborate (far-fetched), often extravagant

（奢侈的，夸张的）

. The difference between a conceit and a metaphor or simile is

largely to degree. A metaphor or simile appeals mainly to the reader?s 5 senses and is

easier to understand; a conceit may strike the reader as weird.

Founder

of

the

Metaphysical

school

——

John

Donne

;

features

of

the

school:

philosophical poems, complex rhythms and strange images; the most famous preacher

of his time. (In the first stage he was Donne the courtier, the lover, and the soldier. In

the second stage he was Dr. John Donne, Dean of St. Paul?s Cathedral.)

John

Milton