A Concise History of British Literature (Part I)
Part One：Early and Medieval English Literature
Section 1: The Old English Period (The Making of England) (Page 1,3)
1 The Britons
Celts:the first inhabitants of the British Isles in recorded history.
One of their tribes, the Britons, came over in the 5th century BC.
2 The Roman Conquest (55BC, Julius Caesar)
3 The English Conquest (the invading Anglo-Saxons in the 5th Century)
4 The Social Condition of the Anglo-Saxons
5 Anglo-Saxon Religious Belief and Its Influence
The mixture of pagan and Christian spirit. (Caedmon: the first known poet in English literary history)
Section 2: Beowulf
Epic: long narrative poems that record the adventures or heroic deeds of a hero enacted in vast landscapes. The style of epic is grand and elevated.
E.g. Homer?s Iliad and Odyssey
The Story of Beowulf:(Page 4)
1.The story takes place in Scandinavia.
2.A two-part narrative (Beowulf?s fight with the sea-monsters Grendel and his mother; killing a fiery dragon and his death.)
3.A basic pagan story with an evident Christian overlay (Page 5)
Artistic features:
1.Half-lines and organization by two stresses per half-line
https://www.sodocs.net/doc/1a1320004.html,ing alliteration（头韵）
Definition of alliteration: a rhetorical device, meaning some words in a sentence begin with the same consonant sound
E.g. Wind whistles, laughing lion
https://www.sodocs.net/doc/1a1320004.html,ing metaphor(“kenning”) and understatement
A kenning is in the form of a compound (usually two words, often hyphenated) that employs figurative language in place of a more concrete single-word noun.
E.g. whale?s way= Sea; Sleep of the sword=Death
Definition of understatement: expressing something in a controlled way. Understatement is a typical way for Englishmen to express their ideas.
Section 3 : Feudal England
1. The Norman Conquest:
①the Danish invasion (vikings)
②the Norman Conquest (1066, William the Conqueror): marks the establishment of feudalism in England(Page 7)
2. Feudal England
The miseries of the peasant: Black Death
3.The Romance (knight)
A long composition, sometimes in verse, sometimes in prose, describing the life and adventures of a noble hero.
The Romance Cycles: “matters of Britain”; “matters of France”; “matters of Rome”.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (Arthurian Legends)
Section 4: William Langland
Piers The Plowman耕者皮尔斯:a picture of feudal England
①the exposure of the ruling classes
②the story of the Cat and Rats
③the marriage of lady Meed
④the condition of the peasants
⑤the search for truth
⑥a representative of the most oppressed section of the peasantry
Artistic features:
It is written in the form of a dream vision
Using symbolism
Section 5: The English Ballads民谣(Oral literature)
A Ballad is a story told in song, usually in 4-line stanzas, with the second and fourth lines rhymed.
The Robin Hood Ballads
Section 6: Geoffrey Chaucer (The founder of English poetry)
英国文学史上首先用伦敦方言写作。
约翰·德莱顿（John Dryden）称其为“英国诗歌之父”。
writing style: wisdom, humor, humanity.
①
Outline of the story
The Wife of Bath
②
③
Contribution:
Chaucer?s language, now called Middle English, is vivid and exact. He is a master of word-pictures. He is the first great poet who wrote in English language.
He introduced from France the rhymed stanze of various types, especially the rhymed couplet of 5 accents in iambic meter (the …heroic couplet?) to English poetry, instead of the Anglo-Saxon alliterative verse.
He did much in making the dialect of London the standard for the modern English speech.
Part Two：The English Renaissance
A period of drama and poetry. The Elizabethan drama is the real mainstream of the English Renaissance.
Section 1 Old England in Transition
1 The New Monarchy
2 The Reformation
3 The English Bible：
John Wycliffe, translated the first complete English Bible
Authorized Version: also called the King James Bible
4 The Enclosure Movement
5 The Commercial Expansion
6 The War with Spain: ended with the rout of the Spanish fleet "Armada"
7 The Renaissance and Humanism
Renaissance: the activity, spirit, or time of the great revival of art, literature, and learning in Europe beginning in the 14th century and extending to the 17th century, marking the transition from the medieval to the modern world. (Two features: a thirsting curiosity for the classical literature; the keen interest in the activities of humanity.) Humanism is the key-note of the Renaissance.
Humanism: reflected the new outlook of the rising bourgeois class, which saw the world opening before it.
The most famous dramatists:
Christopher Marlowe
William Shakespeare
Ben Johnson.
Section2 Thomas More
One of the greatest English humanists
Utopia乌托邦: an ideal communist society. The name come from two Greek words measing “no place”and was adopted by More as the name of his ideal commonwealth.
Section 3 The Flowering of English Literature
1 The Flourishing of Literature
2 Sir Philip Sidney: a poet and critic of poetry.
Astrophel and Stella《爱星者与星》,
Apology for poetry, one of the earliest English literary essays.
3 Edmund Spenser埃德蒙?斯宾塞1552~1599
The Poets’ Poet. The first to be buried in the Poet?s corner of Westminster Abbey
①
The theme is not “Arms and the man”, but something more romantic “Fierce wars and faithful loves”.
Artistic features:
It is written in a special verse form that consists of eight iambic pentameter lines followed by a ninth line of six iambic feet (an alexandrine), with the rhyme scheme ababbcbcc. This form has since been called the Spenserian stanza.
Spenserian stanza 斯宾塞体每诗节九行，诗格数不限；前八行是抑扬格五音步(十音节)，第九行是抑扬格六音步(十二音节)。这最后一行又称为亚历山大诗行。
②
③
4 Francis Bacon弗兰西斯?培根1561~1626
（哲学家、散文家；在论述探究知识的著作中提出了知识就是力量这一著名论断；近代唯物主义哲学的奠基人和近代实验科学的先驱。）
The founder of English materialist
The founder of modern science in English
Philosopher, scientist, lay the foundation for modern science. The first English essayist.
Writing style:brevity, compactness&powerfulness, well-arranging and enriching by Biblical allusions, metaphors and philosophy to man?s reason.
①
②
Section 4 Drama: the highest glory of the English Renaissance
1 The Miracle Play
2 The Morality Play
3 The Interlude
4 The Classical Drama
5 The London Theatre
Section 5 Christopher Marlowe柯里斯托弗?马洛1564~1595
The most gifted of the “University Wits”; 大学才子派
The pioneer of English drama. He reformed the English drama and perfected the language and verse of dramatic works.
He first made blank verse the principle instrument of English drama.
Blank verse（无韵体诗，素体诗）: written in unrhymed iambic pentameter.
①
②
③
Social Significance of Marlowe?s Plays:
1 The heroes of his plays are generally distinguished by a resolute character, a scorn of orthodox creeds, and an overpowering passion.
2 The theme of Marlowe?s plays is the praise of individuality freed from the restraints of medieval dogmas and law, and the conviction of the boundless possibility of human efforts in conquering the universe.
3 The hero's individualistic ambition often brings ruin to the world and sometimes to themselves.
Section 6 William Shakespeare威廉?莎士比亚1564~1616
Born in Stratford-on-Avon埃文河畔的斯特拉特福镇
37 plays
①Historical plays: Henry VI ; Henry IV : Richard III ; Henry V; Richard II; Henry VIII
②Four Comedies:
③Four Tragedies:
Poems:
1 V enus and Adonis
2 Shakespeare’s Sonnet :154 sonnets
A sonnet is a lyric consisting of 14 lines, usually in iambic pentameter restricted to a definite rhyme scheme.
Three quatrain and one couplet, abab cdcd efef gg
3 The Rape of Lucrece
Features of Shakespeare's Drama:
1 one of the founders of realism in world literature;
2 often used the method of adoptation;
3 his long experience with the stage and his intimate knowledge of dramatic art thus acquired make him a master-hand for playwriting.
4 skilled in many poetic forms: song, sonnet, couplet, dramatic blank verse
5 a great master of the English language
Section 7 Ben Jonson: a prolific dramatist
Every Man in His Humour
Part Three The Period of the English Bourgeois Revolution Section 1 The English Revolution and the Restoration
1 The Weakening of the Tie Between Monarchy and Bourgeoisie
2 The Clashes Between the King and Parliament
3 The Outburst of the English Revolution
4 The Split within the Revolutionary Camp
5 The Bourgeois Dictatorship and the Restoration
6 The Religious Cloak of the English Revolution:
Also called the Puritan Revolution;
Puritanism is the religious doctrine.
Section 2 John Milton约翰?弥尔顿1608~1674
（诗人、政论家；失明后写《失乐园》、《复乐园》、《力士参孙》）
①Epics:
In the poem god is no better than a despot. God is cruel and unjust. Adam and Eve embody Milton?s belief in the powers of man.
The description of hell, Satan is the real hero of the poem. Satan is the spirit questioning the authority of God.
②Dramatic poem: < Samson Agonistes>力士参孙:
A poetical drama modelled on the Greek tragedies.
③
a weapon in the later democratic revolutionary struggles.
④
This sonnet is written in iambic pentameter rhymed in abba abba cde cde, typical of Italian sonnet.
Its theme is that people use their talent for God, and they serve him best who can endure the suffering best.
Brief Summary:
1 Milton was political in both his life and his art. He was a militant pamphleteer of the English Revolution, and the greatest English revolutionary poet in 17th century.
2 He wrote the greatest epic in English literature. He and Shakespeare have always been regarded as two patterns of English verse.
3 He first used blank verse in non-dramatic works. In Paradise Lost, he acquires an absolute mastery of the blank verse.
4 He is a great stylist, famous for his grand style.
5 He has always been admired for his sublimity of thought and majesty of expression. Section 3 John Bunyan约翰?班扬1628~1688
（代表作《天路历程》，宗教寓言，被誉为“具有永恒意义的百科全书”，是英国文学史上里程碑式著作。与但丁的《神曲》、奥古斯丁的《忏悔录》并列为世界三大宗教题材文学杰作。）
Puritan poet(清教徒派诗人)
①Religionary Allegory:
Section 4 Metaphysical Poets and Cavalier Poets
Besides Milton and Bunyan, there also existed poets and writers whose works express quite different ideas and sentiments. They are called “Metaphysicals” by Samuel Johnson.
1 John Donne
the Metaphysical poet(玄学派诗人).
Metaphysical Poetry(玄学诗)：（用语）the diction is simple, the imagery is from the actual, (形式)the form is frequently an argument with the poet’s beloved, with god, or with himself.（主题：love, religious, thought）
Artistic features:
1.conceits or imagery奇思妙喻
2.syllogism三段论
① Meditations 沉思录
The Flea 虱子
② Songs And Sonnets
Holy Sonnets
③Valediction（告别演说，告别辞）:
2 Andrew Marvell (a puritan)
To his coy mistress
Section 5 Restoration Literature
1 Restoration Comedy:
The restoration comedy is notorious for its licentiousness, being full of love intrigue, and seduction and promiscuity.
2 John Dryden
the forerunner of the English classical school of literature in the next century.
All For Love
Absalom and Achitophel
An Essay of Dramatic Poesy：established his position as the leading critic of the day.
Part Four The 18th Century
A revival of interest in the old classical works, order, logic, restrained emotion(抑制情感) and accuracy.
The Age of Enlightenment/Reason: the movement was a furtherance of the Renaissance of the 15th and 16th centuries, a progressive intellectual movement, reason(rationality), equality&science(the 18th century).
Section 1 The Enlightenment and Classicism in English Literature
1 The Enlightenment and 18th Century England
①"Glorious Revolution"
Industrial Revolution
②The Enlightenment in Europe: an expression of struggle of the bourgeoisie against feudalism.
③The English Enlighteners
2 Classicism:
The classicists modelled themselves on Greek and Latin authors, and tried to control literary creation by some fixed laws and rules drawn from Greek and Latin works. The English classicists followed these standards in their writings.
But the basic difference between Dryden and the 18th century enlighteners lies in the fact that the former wrote to please the declining aristocracy during the Restoration period while the latter wrote for the rising bourgeoisie to tidy up the capitalist social order. Section 2 Addison and Steele
1 Steele and The Tatler
2 Joseph Addison and The Spectator
To sum up Addison's and Steele's contribution to the English literature:
①Their writings afford a new code of social morality for the rising bourgeoisie;
②They give a true picture of the social life of England in 18th century;
③In the hands of Addison and Steele, the English essay had completely established itself as a literary genre. Using it as a form of character sketching and story-telling, they ushered in the dawn of modern English novel.
Section 3 Alexander Pope亚历山大?蒲柏1688~1744
（18世纪英国最伟大的诗人，其诗多用“英雄双韵体”/ “ heroic couplets”；词句工整、精练、富有哲理性。）
One of the first to introduce rationalism to England.
①
②
③
Pope was an outstanding enlightener and the greatest English poet of the classical school in the first half of the 18th century. Frequently writing in the form of heroic couplets
Section 4 Jonathan Swift乔纳森?斯威夫特1667~1745
（十八世纪杰出的政论家和讽刺小说家，a master satirist）
①
Four parts:
Lilliput 小人国Brobdingnag 大人国
Laputa (Flying Island) 飞岛Houyhnhnms 马岛
②
④
His language is simple and clear and vigorous. He is a master satirist, and his irony is deadly.
Section 5 Daniel Defoe丹尼尔?笛福1660~1731
Defoe?s Robinson Crusoe was one of the forerunners of the English realistic novel. It creates the image of an enterprising Englishman, typical of the English bourgeoisie of the 18th century.
①
It praise the fortitude of the human labor and the Puritan.
Robinson grew from a naive and artless youth into a shrewd and hardened man, tempered by numerous trials in his eventful life.
It is an adventure story, Robinson, narrates how he goes to sea, gets shipwrecked and marooned on a lonely island, struggles to live for 24-years there and finally gets relieved and returns to England.
Robinson Crusoe is representative of the English bourgeoisie at the earlier stages of its development.
②
③
④
Section 6 Samuel Richardson: Pamela
Section 7 Henry Fielding亨利?菲尔丁1707~1754
He is the founder of the English Realistic novel. He was the first to write a “Comic epic in prose”(散文体史诗), and the first to give the modern novel its structure and style.
① Novels:
② Plays:
He was a novelist, dramatist, essayist, and political pamphleteer.
He developed his narrative in the fullest, freest, clearest and most straightforward manner, and also affords him opportunities of giving, at suitable places, personal explanations. Satire abounds everywhere in his works. Humorous satire and a kind of grim satire
He believed in the educational function of the novel.
He is a master of style. His style is easy, unlaboured and familiar,but extremely vivid and vigorous.
Sympathy for the working people, contempt for the parasites, the exploiters and the oppressors.
Section 8 Smollett and Sterne
1 Tobias Smollett：
Roderick Random(a picaresque novel) 蓝登传，流浪汉体小说
Pererine Pickle
Hunphry Clinker
2 Laurence Sterne
Tristram Shandy 项狄传
A Sentimental Journey感伤之旅
Section 9 18th Century Drama and Sheridan
The english drama of the 18th doesn't reach the same high level as its novel. One reason: the Licensing Act of 1737.
Richard Brinsley Sheridan理查德?布林斯利?施莱登1751~1816
①
②
The Rivals and The School for Scandal are in historical perspective two of the three best comedies to come out of the 18th century, the other being Goldsmith’s She Stoops to Conquer.
Section 9 Samuel Johnson塞缪尔?约翰逊1709~1784
Lexicographer, critic and poet
Dictionary =英语大词典
James Boswell:Life of Johnson(a classic of English biography)
Section 11 Oliver Goldsmith奥利弗?格尔德斯密斯1730~1774
①Poems:
Both written in heroic couplet,consisting of two iambic pentameter lines linked by rhyme.
②Novel:
③Comedies:
The Good Natured Man
She stoops to Conquer 屈身求爱
④Essay: The Citizen of the World
Section 12 Sentimentalism and Pre-Romanticism in Poetry
1 Sentimentalism in English Poetry
The representatives of sentimentalism continued to struggle against feudalism, but they sensed at the same time the contradictions in the process of capitalist development.
The appearance and development of sentimentalism poetry marks the midway in the transition from classicism to its opposite romanticism.
2 Thomas Gray:Elegy, Written in a Country Churchyard, 墓园挽歌
Section 13 William Blake威廉?布莱克1757~1827
①
A happy and innocent world from children?s eye.
②
A world of misery, poverty, disease, war and repression with a melancholy tone from men?s eyes.
Lamb is a symbol of peace and purity
Tyger is a symbol of dread and violence
③
He identifies classicism with formalism.
He is called a Pre-Romantic or a forerunner of the Romantic poetry of the 19th century. Section 14 Robert Burns罗伯特?彭斯1759~1796
The greatest Scottish poet in the late 18th century.
Poems Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect主要用苏格兰方言写的诗
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③
④ 不管那一套
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⑦