英国文学史全部复习资料

英国文学史全部复习资料内容摘要：

h and Latin: official languages (the end) (6) The 14th century. a. the House of Lords and the House of Commons— conflict between the Parliament and Kings。 b. the rise of towns. c. the change of Church. d. the role of women. e. the Hundred Years’ War — starting. f. the development of the trade: London. g. the Black Death. h. the Peasants’ Revolt — 1381. i. The translation of Bible by Wycliff. (7) The 15th century. a. The Peasants Revolt (1453) b. The War of Roses between Lancasters and Yorks. c. the printingpress— William Caxton. d. the starting of Tudor Monarchy(1485) 2. The Overview of Literature. (1) the stories from the Celtic lands of Wales and Brittany— great myths of the Middle Ages. (2) Geoffrye of Monmouth— Historia Regum Britanniae— King Authur. (3) Wace— Le Roman de Brut. (4) The romance. (5) the second half of the 14th century: Langland, Gawin poet, Chaucer. II. Sir Gawin and Green Knight. 1. a general introduction. 2. the plot. III. William Langland. 1. Life 2. Piers the Plowman IV. Chaucer 1. Life 2. Literary Career: three periods (1) French period (2) Italian period (3) master period 3. The Canterbury Tales A. The Framework。 B. The General Prologue。 C. The Tale Proper. 4. His Contribution. (1) He introduced from France the rhymed stanza of various types. (2) He is the first great poet who wrote in the current English language. (3) The spoken English of the time consisted of several dialects, and Chaucer did much in making the dialect of London the standard for the modern English speech. V. Popular Ballads. VI. Thomas Malory and English Prose VII. The beginning of English Drama. 1. Miracle Plays. Miracle play or mystery play is a form of medieval drama that came from dramatization of the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church. It developed from the 10th to the 16th century, reaching its height in the 15th century. The simple lyric character of the early texts was enlarged by the addition of dialogue and dramatic action. Eventually the performance was moved to the churchyard and the marketplace. 2. Morality Plays. A morality play is a play enforcing a moral truth or lesson by means of the speech and action of characters which are personified abstractions – figures representing vices and virtues, qualities of the human mind, or abstract conceptions in general. 3. Interlude. The interlude, which grew out of the morality, was intended, as its name implies, to be used more as a filler than as the main part of an entertainment. As its best it was short, witty, simple in plot, suited for the diversion of guests at a banquet, or for the relaxation of the audience between the divisions of a serious play. It was essentially an indoors performance, and generally of an aristocratic nature. Chapter 3 English Literature in the Renaissance I. A Historical Background II. The Overview of the Literature (14851660) Printing press— readership— growth of middle class— tradeeducation for laypeoplecentralization of powerintellectual lifeexplorationnew impetus and direction of literature. Humanismstudy of the literature of classical antiquity and reformed education. Literary stylemodeled on the ancients. The effect of humanismthe dissemination of the cultivated, clear, and sensible attitude of its classically educated adherents. 1. poetry The first tendency by Sidney and Spenser: ornate, florid, highly figured style. The second tendency by Donne: metaphysical style— plexity and ingenuity. The third tendency by Johnson: reactionClassically pure and restrained style. The fourth tendency by Milton: central Christian and Biblical tradition. 2. Drama a. the native tradition and classical examples. b. the drama stands highest in popular estimation: Marlowe – Shakespeare – Jonson. 3. Prose a. translation of Bible。 b. More。 c. Bacon. II. English poetry. 1. Sir Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard (courtly makers) (1) Wyatt: introducing sons. (2) Howard: introducing sons and writing the first blank verse. 2. Sir Philip Sidney— poet, critic, prose writer (1) Life: a. English gentleman。 b. brilliant and fascinating personality。 c. courtier. (2) works a. Arcadia: pastoral romance。 b. Astrophel and Stella (108): son sequence to Penelope Dvereux— platonic devotion. Petrarchan conceits and original feelingsmoving to creativeness— building of a narrative story。 themelove originalityact of writing. c. Defense of Poesy: an apology for imaginative literature— beginning of literary criticism. 3. Edmund Spenser (1) life: Cambridge Sidney’s friend “Areopagus” – Ireland Westminster Abbey. (2) works a. The Shepherds Calendar: the budding of English poetry in Renaissance. b. Amoretti and Epithalamion: son sequence c. Faerie Queene: The general endA romantic and allegorical epic— steps to virtue. 12 books and 12 virtues: Holiness, temperance, justice and courtesy. Twolevel function: part of the story and part of allegory (symbolic meaning) Many allusions to classical writers. Themes: puritanism, nationalism, humanism and Renaissance Neoclassicism— a Christian humanist. (3) Spenserian Stanza. III. English Prose 1. Thomas More (1) Life: “Renaissance man”, scholar, statesman, theorist, pro se writer, diplomat, patron of arts a. learned Greek at Canterbury College, Oxford。 b. studies law at Lincoln Inn。 c. Lord Chancellor。 d. beheaded. (2) Utopia: the first English science fiction. Written in Latin, two parts, the second— place of nowhere. A philosophical mariner (Raphael Hythloday) tells his voyages in which he discovers a landUtopia. a. The part one is anized as dialogue with mariner depicting his philosophy. b. The part two is a description o。