进入中国英美文学选读串讲

2021年1月19日发(作者：交通工具英语)

需要掌握的重点：
英美文学发展史及代表作家的简要介绍和作品选读。
英美
两国文学各个历史时代的主要历史背景、文学文化思潮、文学流派、社会政治、
经济、文化等对 文学发展的影响，主要作家的文学生涯，创作思想，艺术特色及
其代表作品的主题结构、人物刻画、语言 风格、思想意义等。

Part one English Literature
An Introduction to Old and Medieval English Literature
1. Social Background: (paragraph one)
early inhabitants: Celts
three conquests greatly affected English literature
Romans conquests
Anglo-Saxons: Germanic language and culture
Norman: Mediterranean civilization
Supplementary material:
Anglo-Saxon
is
a
general
term
that
refers
to
the
Germanic
settlers
who
came
to
Britain during the 5th
and 6th
centuries.

refers to
the language
spoken at the time in England
, which is now called Old English, and to the culture of
the era, which has long attracted popular and scholarly attention.
Anglo-Saxon language is the basis of Modern English
The Norman conquest of England
began on 28 September 1066
with
the
invasion
of
England
by
William,
Duke
of
Normandy,
who became known as William the Conqueror after his victory
at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating the then
king Harold II of England. By early 1071, William had secured
control
of
most
of
England,
although
rebellions
and
resistance
continued to approximately 1088.
The Norman conquest was a pivotal event in English history. It

largely
removed
the
native
ruling
class,
replacing
it
with
a
foreign,
French- speaking
monarchy,
aristocracy,
and
clerical
hierarchy.
This,
in
turn,
brought
about
a
transformation
of
the
English language and the culture of England in a new era
.
2. Old English Literature

Extends from 450 to 1066
Old English poems (paragraph two)
2.1

religious group: biblical theme

Example: The Dream of the Rood
Supplementary material

The Dream of the Rood is one of the earliest Christian poems in the corpus of Old
English
literature.
Like
most
Old
English
poetry,
it
is
written
in
alliterative
verse.
Rood is from the Old English rod
十字架

the 10th century,
the poem may be considerably older, even one of
the oldest works of Old English literature.
2.2

secular group: national epic poem
example: Beowulf
：

national epic of the Anglo- Saxons
（
paragraph two
and three
）

epic:
An
epic
(from
the
Ancient
Greek)
is
a
lengthy
narrative
poem,
ordinarily
concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant
to a culture or nation.
3. Medieval English Literature
3.1. Background: Norman Conquest
three important changes in society
：

3.2. Medieval period: 1066 ~ Mid-14
th
century

3.3

three greatest poets
3.3.1

John Gower: romance
3.3.2

William Langland: realistic

3.3.3

Chaucer

3.3.3.1

Life
Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1343
–
25 October 1400), known as
the Father of English
literature,

is
widely
considered
the
greatest
English
poet
of
the
Middle
Ages.
Among
his
many
works,
which
include
The
Book
of
the
Duchess, the House of Fame, the Legend of Good Women and
Troilus and Criseyde, he is best loved today for The Canterbury
Tales. Chaucer is a crucial figure in developing the legitimacy of
the
vernacular
方言
,
Middle
English,
at
a
time
when
the
dominant literary languages in England were French and Latin.

3.3.3.2

theme of his works: man
’
s right, humanism
3.3.3.3

important works
3.3.3.4

contribution to English literature: Father of English literature
stanza, octosyllabic couplet, heroic couplet, first modern novel

3.3.3.5

the Canterbury Tales
The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written in Middle
English by Geoffrey Chaucer at the end of the 14th century. The
tales
(mostly
in
verse,
although
some
are
in
prose)
are
told
as
part
of
a
story- telling
contest
by
a
group
of
pilgrims
as
they

travel
together
on
a
journey
from
Southwark
to
the
shrine
of
Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. The Canterbury
Tales
was
Chaucer's
magnum
opus.
He
uses
the
tales
and
the
descriptions
of
the
characters
to
paint
an
ironic
and
critical
portrait
of
English
society
at
the
time,
and
particularly
of
the
Church. It is sometimes argued that the greatest contribution that
this
work
made
to
English
literature
was
in
popularizing
the
literary
use
of
the
vernacular,
English,
rather
than
French
or
Latin.
3.3.3.6
the
heroic
couplet
英雄史诗式两行诗（每句有五音步十音节
,
互相押韵）

A
heroic
couplet

is
a
traditional
form
for
English
poetry,
commonly used for epic and narrative poetry; it refers to poems
constructed
from
a
sequence
of
rhyming
pairs
of
iambic
pentameter lines. Use of the heroic couplet was first pioneered
by
Geoffrey
Chaucer
in
the
Legend
of
Good
Women

and
the
Canterbury
Tales
.Chaucer
is
also
widely
credited
with
first
extensive use of iambic pentameter.
A frequently-cited example:
O could I flow like thee, and make thy stream
My great example, as it is my theme!

Though deep yet clear, though gentle yet not dull;
Strong without rage, without o'erflowing full.
3.4

popular folk literature

3.4.1

Feature:
lack
of
originality;
medieval
Christian
doctrine
with
personal salvation
3.4.2

Romance: the main literature form of Middle Age

Literal term: As a literary genre of high culture (
高雅文化
),
romance or chivalric romance
（中世纪骑士故事）

is a style of
heroic
prose
and
verse
narrative
that
was
popular
in
the
aristocratic circles of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe.
They were fantastic stories about marvel- filled adventures, often
of a knight errant
（周游）

portrayed as having heroic qualities,
who goes on a quest. Originally, romance literature was written
in Old French, Anglo-Norman, later, in English and German.

Form: narrative verse or prose
Theme: knightly adventures or heroic deeds; romantic love
Structure and language
Chapter 1

The Renaissance Period
1.

Synopsis
1.1

Renaissance

Time span: extends from 14
th
century to mid-17
th
century
Origin
：
Italy

Field
：

painting
，
sculpture and literature
Social Background:
Bourgeoisie is rising; get rid of feudalist ideas; recover the purity of clear
church,
Renaissance in essence: humanism
1.2

Renaissance in England
1.2.1 Before Renaissance came to England: domestic unrest

Example: the War of Roses
The Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars for
the
throne
of
England
fought
between
supporters
of
two
rival
branches
of
the
royal
House
of
Plantagenet:
the
houses
of
Lancaster
and
York
(the

and
the

rose,
respectively).
They
were
fought
in
several
sporadic(
零星的
)
episodes
between
1455
and
1485
The
final
victory
went
to
a
relatively
remote
Lancastrian
claimant,
Henry
Tudor,
who
defeated
the
last
Yorkist
king
Richard
III
and
married
Edward
IV's
daughter
Elizabeth
of
York
to
unite
the
two
houses.
The
House of Tudor subsequently ruled England and Wales for 117
years.
The
name

of
the
Roses
refers
to
the
badges
associated
with the two royal houses, the White Rose of York and the Red
Rose of Lancaster. It is not thought to have been used during the

time
of
the
wars.
Rather,
it
came
into
common
use
in
the
nineteenth century after the publication of
Anne of Geierstein
by
Sir Walter Scott.
1.2.2 The beginning of Renaissance in England
The reign of Henry VIII
Henry
VIII
(28
June
1491
–

28
January
1547)
was
King
of
England
from
21
April
1509
until
his
death.
Henry
was
the
second
monarch
of
the
House
of
Tudor,
succeeding
his
father,
Henry VII.
Besides his six
marriages,
Henry VIII is known for his role in
the
separation
of
the
Church
of
England
from
the
Catholic
Church.
Henry's struggles with Rome led to the separation of the
Church
of
England
from
papal
authority
and
establishing
himself as the Supreme Head of the Church of England. Yet he
remained a believer in core Catholic theological teachings, even
after his excommunication from the Catholic Church.

His
desire
to
provide
England
with
a
male
heir
—
which
stemmed
partly
from
personal
vanity
and
partly
because
he
believed
a
daughter
would
be
unable
to
consolidate
the
Tudor
Dynasty and the fragile peace that existed following the Wars of
the Roses
—
led to the two things that Henry is remembered for:
his
wives,
and
the
English
Reformation
that
made
England
a

mostly Protestant nation. In later life he became morbidly(
病态
的
) obese and his health suffered; his public image is frequently
depicted as one of a lustful, egotistical, harsh and insecure king.
1.3

The Essence of Renaissance
—
humanism
English
humanist:
Thomas
More,
Christopher
Marlow
and
William
Shakespeare
1.4

Religious Reformation
1.4.1

Martin Luther

1.4.2

Religious reformation in England
The English Reformation started in the reign of Henry VIII.
The
English
Reformation
was
to
have
far
reaching
consequences in Tudor England. Henry VIII decided to rid
himself of his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, after she had
failed to produce a male heir to the throne. He had already
decided
who
his
next
wife
would
be
-
Anne
Boleyn.
By
1527, Catherine was considered too old to have anymore
children. However, a divorce was not a simple issue. Henry
VIII was a Roman Catholic and the head of this church was
the pope based in Rome.


The
Roman
Catholic
faith
believed
in
marriage
for
life.
It
did not recognise, let alone support, divorce. The Roman
Catholic Church simply did not allow it.

This put Henry VIII in a difficult position. If he went ahead
and
announced
that

as
king
of
England
he
was
allowing
himself a divorce, the pope could excommunicate (
逐出教
会
) him.

Another
approach
Henry
used
was
to
make
a
special
appeal to the pope so that he might get a special
Dispensation(
豁免
)
to Henry’s request for a divorce purely because Henry was
king
of
England
but
that
it
would
not
affect
the
way
the
Catholic
Church
banned
divorce
for
others.
The
pope
refused
to
grant
Henry
this
and
by
1533
his
anger
was
such that he ordered the Archbishop of Canterbury to grant
him a divorce so that he could marry
Anne Boleyn
.

This event effectively leads to England breaking away from
the Roman Catholic Church based in Rome. Henry placed
himself as head of the church and in that sense, in his eyes,
his
divorce
was
perfectly
legal.
In
1533,
few
were
brave
enough to tell him otherwise!


1.5

English Renaissance
1.5.1

first period: poems affected by Italy
1.5.2

mainstream: Elizabethan drama





famous dramatists: Christopher Marlowe, William Shakespeare and


Ben Johnson
2.

Representatives
2.1

Edmund Spenser
Masterpiece: The Faerie Queene

The
Faerie
Queene

is
an
incomplete
English
epic
poem
by
Edmund
Spenser.
The
Faerie
Queene

is
notable
for
its
form:
it
was
the
first
work
written
in
Spenserian
stanza
and
is
one
of
the
longest
poems
in
the
English
language.

It
is
an
allegorical
work, written in praise of Queen Elizabeth I. In a completely allegorical context, the
poem follows several knights in an examination of several virtues. As it was published
in 1596, the epic presented the following virtues:
Book I: Holiness
Book II: Temperance
Book III: Chastity
Book IV: Friendship
Book V: Justice
Book VI: Courtesy
Five qualities of his poetry:
Spenserian stanza:

2.2

Christopher Marlowe
University wits:
“
大学才子派
”
是指
16
世纪
80
年代英国出现的一 批受过大学教育的剧作家。
他们
多数确实是大学毕业生，
至少是在伦敦最优秀的学校接 受过人文主义教育的青年
知识分子。这一批作家致力于英国戏剧改革，把戏剧艺术提升到了一个新高度。
该文学流派主要包括克里斯托夫
·
马洛
（
Christopher Marlowe
）
、
李利
（
John Lyly
）
、
基德（
Thomas Kyd
）
、格林（
Robert Greene
）等人。伊丽莎白时代的戏剧 经过
“
大
学才子
”
们的创作实践，题材不断扩大，技巧也更趋成熟， 至莎士比亚而集大成。




马洛（
1564
—
1593
）是
“
大学才子
”
中最有才华、成就最大的一个， 在文学史

上享有
“
诗剧的晨星
”
、
“
英 国悲剧之父
”
的美誉。他是莎士比亚以前英国戏剧界最
重要的人物，
也是英国 文艺复兴戏剧的真正创始人。
马洛和莎士比亚生于同一年，
故乡是古老的坎特伯雷（
C anterbury
）城。他的父亲是一个鞋匠，马洛的出身寒
微和莎士比亚十分相似，
但他却在莎士比亚被迫辍学的同时幸运地进入了剑桥大
学，
得以系统地学习拉丁文、
希腊文和神学课程，
这为他早莎士比亚一步从事戏
剧和诗歌创作并声名鹊起奠定了基础。
就在莎士比亚恋爱、
结婚、
生子的那段日
子里，
马洛连续拿到了艺术学士和 硕士两个学位。
父母本希望他做一名神父，
可
是马洛天性狂放不羁，
既无心献 身神坛，
也不愿走上仕途。
他那份独异的才情使
他毕业后步入了戏剧的殿堂。



马洛是一位戏剧天才，
23
岁便写出了第一部作品《帖木儿》< br>（
Timur
）
，立刻
轰动了整个英国文坛。
《帖木儿》是一 部英雄剧，塑造了一个叱咤风云却又野心
勃勃的征服者形象，
充分体现了文艺复兴时期的巨人精 神。
剧中的帖木儿和马洛
本人一样，
是个热情的自由思想者。
在这部史诗般宏 伟的悲剧中，
回响着文艺复
兴时期一个典型的主题：
歌颂人间的生活，
现世的 快乐。
这个剧本被认为是英国
的人文主义戏剧繁荣的发端。



《帖木儿》的巨大成功，激励着马洛立即又写出了《浮士德博士的悲剧史》
（
The
Tragical
History
of
Doctor
Faustus
）和《马耳他岛的犹太人》
（
The
Jew
of
Malta
）等剧。前者以浮士德博士对知识和经济的渴求和获取为题材，后者 则表
现了作者对人类的另一种探求
——
金钱的批判。马洛以创作壮丽激荡的悲剧见长，
他的所有作品都是在
5
年之内完成的。
马洛用自己的天才使英国戏剧 在短短
几年之内便一下子提高到了真正艺术品的水平，为后人留下了宝贵的精神财富。



1593
年，也就是马洛
29
岁那年，在伦敦郊区的一 家酒吧里，马洛遇到了三
个熟人，
其中一个是秘密警察。
在酒后付钱而引起的角斗中，
马洛被其中的一个
人刺中要害，
当场殒命。
就这样，
英国文坛上一个 年轻而有价值的生命像流星划
过夜空，转瞬即逝。直到
1925
年，美国的雷斯里·
霍特逊（
Leslie
Hotson
）教授
在英国的档案库（
Public Record Off ice
）中发现了一份文件，其中记载道，马洛
是被伊丽莎白女王的秘密厅杀害的，当时有一位 秘密警察波莱（
Robert
Poley
）
在场。至此，马洛之死才真相大白。

Masterpiece:

Marlowe
’
s achievements:

blank verse
—
the medium of English drama;

creation of hero for English drama
—
individualistic and full of ambition;
theme--humanistic ideal of human dignity and capacity;
2.3

William Shakespeare
2.3.1

life
2.3.2

dramatic career

Period I: apprenticeship
Period II: style and approach became highly individualized
Period III: greatest tragedies or so-called dark comedies
Period IV: romantic tragicomedies
2.3.3

Shakespeare
’
s poetry
Narrative poems and sonnets
2.3.4

Masterpieces
2.3.4.1

history play
—
Henry VIII
2.3.4.2

romantic comedies
—
The Merchant of Venice
2.3.4.3

romantic tragedy
—
Romeo and Juliet
The
play,
set
in
Verona,
begins
with
a
street
brawl
between
Montague
and
Capulet
supporters who are sworn enemies. The Prince of Verona intervenes and declares that
further breach of the peace
will be punishable by
death.
Later,
Count
Paris
talks
to
Capulet about marrying his daughter, but Capulet is wary of the request because Juliet
is only thirteen. Capulet asks Paris to wait another two years and invites him to attend
a planned Capulet ball. Lady Capulet and Juliet's nurse try to persuade Juliet to accept
Paris's courtship.
Meanwhile,
Benvolio
talks
with
his
cousin
Romeo,
Lord
Montague's
son,
about
Romeo's
recent
depression.
Benvolio
discovers
that
it
stems
from
unrequited
infatuation for a girl named Rosaline, one of Capulet's nieces. Persuaded by Benvolio,
Romeo attends the ball at the Capulet house in hopes of meeting Rosaline. However,
Romeo instead meets and falls in love with Juliet. After the ball, in what is now called
the
her balcony vowing her love to him in spite of her family's hatred of the Montagues.
Romeo makes himself known to her and they agree to be married. With the help of
Friar Laurence, who hopes to reconcile the two families through their children's union,
they are secretly married the next day.
Juliet's
cousin
Tybalt,
incensed
that
Romeo
had
sneaked
into
the
Capulet
ball,
challenges him to a duel. Romeo, now considering Tybalt his kinsman, refuses to fight.
Mercutio is offended by Tybalt's insolence, as well as Romeo's
accepts
the
duel
on
Romeo's
behalf.
Mercutio
is
fatally
wounded
when
Romeo
attempts
to
break
up
the
fight.
Grief-stricken
and
wracked
with
guilt,
Romeo
confronts and slays Tybalt.
Montague argues that Romeo has justly executed Tybalt for the murder of Mercutio.

The Prince, now having
lost a kinsman in
the warring families' feud, exiles Romeo
from
Verona
and
declares
that
if
Romeo
returns,

hour
is
his
last.
Romeo
secretly spends the night in Juliet's chamber, where they consummate their marriage.

Capulet,
misinterpreting
Juliet's
grief,
agrees
to
marry
her
to
Count
Paris
and
threatens to disown her when she refuses to become Paris's
then pleads for the marriage to be delayed, her mother rejects her.
Juliet visits Friar Laurence for help, and he offers her a drug that will put her into a
death-like coma for
inform Romeo of the plan, so that he can rejoin her when she awakens. On the night
before the wedding, she takes the drug and, when discovered apparently dead, she is
laid in the family crypt.
The messenger, however, does not reach Romeo and, instead, Romeo learns of Juliet's
apparent
death
from
his
servant.
Heartbroken,
Romeo
buys
poison
and
goes
to
the
Capulet
crypt
. He encounters Paris who has come to mourn Juliet privately. Believing
Romeo
to
be
a
vandal,
Paris
confronts
him
and,
in
the
ensuing
battle,
Romeo
kills
Paris. Still believing Juliet to be dead, he drinks the poison. Juliet then awakens and,
finding
Romeo
dead,
stabs
herself
with
his
dagger.
The
feuding
families
and
the
Prince meet at the tomb to find all three dead. Friar Laurence recounts the story of the
two

lovers
The
families
are
reconciled
by
their
children's
deaths
and
agree to end their violent feud. The play ends with the Prince's elegy (
哀歌，挽歌
)for
the lovers:
2.3.4.4

four greatest tragedies
2.3.4.5

Hamlet
The
protagonist
of
Hamlet

is
Prince
Hamlet
of
Denmark,
son
of
deceased
King
Hamlet and his wife, Queen Gertrude.
Hamlet is a tragedy and it is the most famous play of Shakespeare. The story is about
the revenge of Prince Hamlet.

The
late
King
of
Denmark
died
suddenly
while
the
prince
Hamlet
was
away
from
home at a foreign University. When Hamlet came back, he attended the wedding of
his mother and his uncle Claudius instead of father's funeral. One night, his father's
ghost appeared and told Hamlet that he was murdered by Claudius. So Hamlet made
up his mind to avenge his father, and he decided to pretend that he had gone mad in
order to
have a better
chance to
kill
Claudius.
He started to
estrange
疏远

himself
from his friends, including his lover Ophelia. Hamlet invited a company of traveling
performers to play the scene of his father's murder to test Claudius's reaction. Then
Claudius figured out his real motivation, and sent him to England. At the same time,
Claudius sent a letter to the king of England and asked him to kill Hamlet. But on the
way
to
England,
their
ship
was
attacked
by
pirates,
and
Hamlet
was
returned
to
Denmark.
When
Hamlet
returned
home,
he
learned
of
Ophelia's
death.
Ophelia's
brother Laertes requested to fight with Hamlet. Claudius arranged a fencing match for
them. And he attempted to let Laertes kill Hamlet with a poisoned sword. In the match,