upheavals and revolution Literary Characteristics 激烈的政治、宗教斗争，不可避免地对当时文学产生影响。 戏剧在经历文艺复兴时期繁荣后走向衰落。散文中围绕政治，宗教问题的论争文章急剧增多。在诗歌方面，出现了玄学派诗和骑士派诗。而17世纪文学最有成就的作家是大诗人弥尔顿。 The Puritans believed in simplicity of life. Puritan Literature is different from the literature of Elizabethan Period in the following three aspects: 1)unity/patriotism and devotion to the Queen; divided /struggling parties. 2)inspiring/youth/hope/vitality(生命力); age/sadness. 3)romantic/cannot find any romantic ardor Why the Revolution period was called the Age of Milton? Paradise Lost; Paradise Regained; Samson Agonistes. Main literary form and characters? Metaphysical Poets: definition; origin and development; under the influence of __?; characteristics; main themes; representatives. John Denne Cavalier Poets: The cavaliers were royalists, whose poetry was marked by courtliness(谦恭，礼让), urbanity(文雅), and polish(优雅，精良). They were lyrical poets and dealt chiefly with the theme of love and the theme of “carpe diem”(及时行乐). Their poetry flourished in the early and middle period of the 17th century at the court and reflected the extravagance and moral looseness(放纵) of court life. Ben Johnson; 主要诗人有罗伯特 赫立克(Robert Herrick); 赫立克的《致少女》(To the Virgins)在17世纪脍炙 人口: Relations between Metaphysical Poets and Cavalier Poets？ Limitation of the metaphysical poems and cavalier poems?

Historical background The Hundred Year’s War; The War of the Roses(1455-1485); The Discovery of America and the New Sea Routes; Reformation of the Church Popular ballads: Definition; The development of ballads; The publications of the ballads; The Characteristics of the Popular Ballads: A ballad usually tells a story, but most of them begin the story in an abrupt way; There are strong dramatic elements; The story is often told through action and dialogue; The theme is often tragic; A ballad has its own metrical structure, called ballad meter; 韵律 Classification of Popular Ballads: a. the ballads of Robin Hood; b. border ballads: age-long struggle between Scots and English; c. the humorous ballads Sir Thomas Malory Early English plays

Historical background The Hundred Years’ War (1,2,) The peasent uprising of 1381 Main figures of this period John Wycliff约翰·威克里夫: 1. “Morning star of the Reformation”. 2. Father of English Prose. William Langland威廉·朗兰德: English poet who is regarded as the authorship of Piers Plowman, a medieval religious allegory. *What is Allegory? 七宗罪？ the Social and Literary Significance of Piers Plowman: 1, 2, 3. Geoffrey Chaucer and the Canterbury Tales Chaucer’s Literary Career: The French Period(1360-1372) The Romaunt of the Rose His chief works during this time: the Book of the Duchess. The Italian Period(1372 -1386) e.g. Troilus and Cryseyde The Parliament of Fowls The House of Fame The British Period(1386 --- 1400) (Mature Period)e.g. The Canterbury Tales Features of the Canterbury Tales Theme Characterization Style: lively and vivid Middle-Age English; satiric and humorous; heroic couplet 乔叟的诗行以五步抑扬格(iambic pentameter)为基本节奏，每两行压韵，铿锵有力，被称为“英雄双韵体”(the heroic couplet)；从乔叟后，它取代了古英语中的头韵(alliteration)，为后来的诗人所沿用。 Comparison between Chaucer and Eliot Social Significance of Canterbury Tales Chaucer’s Contributions: Father of English poetry; Chaucer used for the first time the heroic couplet. A great master of English language.

Historical background: Norman Conquest The influence of the Norman Conquest upon England society, the English language and literature Society: 1) The Normans forced upon England a strong centralized government. 2)Feudalism was firmly established in England, thus a feudal system of hierarchy (king, barons, knights) was formed. Language: Upon grammar: the English language of this period was able to slip the leash of the written and literary English, and many inflectional（曲折的） forms of the words were dropped and formal grammar simplified. Yet the grammar was still Germanic, but not Normanized. Upon vocabulary and idioms— large numbers of French words of warfare and Chivalry, art and luxury, science and law, began to come into the English language. In this sense, English was greatly Normanized. Literature: the body of customs and ideals known as chivalry was introduced by the Normans into England. The knightly code, the romantic interest in women, tenderness and reverence paid to Virgin Mary were reflected in the literature. *religious literature The three centuries after the Norman conquest saw the large scale introduction of French culture and literature. The literature which Normans brought to England is remarkable for its bright, romantic tales of love and adventure, in marked contrast with the strength and somberness of Anglo-Saxon poetry. Normans began to write histories and chronicles. The most prevailing form was romance浪漫传奇. What is Romance? A long medieval narrative in prose or verse that tells of the adventures and heroic exploits of chivalric heroes. Essential Features of the Romances? 1. It lacks a general resemblance to truth or reality; 2. It exaggerates the vices of human nature and idealizes/aɪˈdi:əˌlaɪz/ the virtues; 3. It contains perilous adventures more or less remote from ordinary life; 4. It lays emphasis on supreme devotion to a fair lady; 5. The central character of the romance is the knight, who is devoted to the church and the king; 6. It is only for the noble class. Comparison with Romance and Beowulf? The Anglo-Norman Romances: a. the Matter of France: refer to those romances based on stories about Charlemagne（查理曼大帝） and his circle. b. the Matter of Rome: refer to those romances concerned with classical (ancient Greek and Roman) stories c. the Matter of Britain: the romances concerned with the Ar‘thurian legends The culmination of Arthurian legend: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight * What is Refrain? Plot: feast in the palace; journey to the green chapel; test in the castle; blow in the chapel. Motif: the test of faith, courage and purity--nobility of hero; the human weakness for preservation--humanness

Historical background: three conquests Two Highlights in the Development of Anglo-Saxon Literature The influence of the Christi’anity upon language and culture. The Song of Beowulf--England’s national epic *Epic? Features of An Epic? The hero; the setting; the action; supernatural forces; the style; objectivity. Beowulf: creation time; plot and theme? Characteristics of Beowulf a. the mixture of pagan elements with Christian coloring. b. the frequent use of metaphors and understatements.（保守的陈述） what is Kenning? c. Beowulf is written in alliterative verse. Its rhythm depends upon accent and alliteration. What is Aliteration? Alliteration is a form of initial rhyme, or “head rhyme”. It is the repetition of the same sound or sounds at the beginning of two or more words that are next to or close to each other. Alliteration is a characteristic of Anglo-Saxon poetry. d. Beowulf towers above all other Anglo-Saxon literature, not only because it is a powerful poem about people’s hero written in true epic style, but also because it tells in artistic form the tale in a leisurely way, full of elaborations精心制作 in legendary details, and the verse rises at places to heights of poetic grandeur (magnificence). The significance of Beowulf a. This glorious epic pre’sents us a vivid picture of the life of Anglo-Saxon people and highly praises the brave and courageous spirit of the fighting against the elemental forces （自然力）. b. The epic reflects the situations the epoch（时代） of pagan tribalism and of the era of the Christianized feudal society c. The epic gives the vivid portrayal of a great national hero, strong and courageous people and his kinfolk（亲属）.

Ten periods 1.The Anglo-Saxon Period(450-1066) 2.The Norman Period(1066-1350) 3.The Age of Chaucer(1350-1400) 4.The Fifteenth Century(1400-1550) 5.The English Renaissance(1550-1642) 6.The Seventeenth Century(1603-1688) 7.The Eighteenth Century(1688-1798) 8.The Age of Romanticism(1798-1832) 9.The Victorian Age(1832-1901) 10.The Twentieth Century 1-4 中世纪文学（5世纪-1485）：代表作Beowulf，popular literary form，流传最广的故事，the culmination，杰弗利·乔叟及其代表作 5 文艺复兴时期文学：！思想体系humanism，代表人物埃德蒙·斯宾塞Edmuund Spenser，《仙后》The Faerie Queene；威廉·莎士比亚Willian Shakespeare，代表作，评价 6 17世纪文学：约翰·弥尔顿John Milton，代表作；另一派：玄学派诗人约翰·邓恩John Denne，特点 7 启蒙时期文学（17世纪后期-18世纪中期）：新古典主义neoclassicism，代表人物Alexander Pope，诗体，代表作；乔纳森·斯威夫特Jonathan Swist，代表作，satire；丹尼尔·笛福Daniel Defoe，代表作；感伤主义sentimentalism：托马斯·格雷，代表作；诗风变化 8 浪漫主义时期文学（1798-1832）：罗伯特·彭斯Robbert Burns；威廉·布莱克William Blake；威廉·华兹华斯William Wordsworth，塞缪尔·泰勒·柯勒律治Samuel Talor Coleridge，代表作；浪漫主义时期文学特点和变化 9 现实主义时期文学（19世纪30年代-1918）：诗歌；小说家查尔斯·狄更斯Charles Dickens，代表作；勃朗特三姐妹the Brontě Sisters；幻灭：托马斯·哈代Thomas Hardy，代表作；戏剧奥斯卡·王尔德Oscar Wilde和萧伯纳George Bernard Shaw 10 现代主义文学时期（1918-1945）：意识流：詹姆斯·乔伊斯James Joyce，代表作；T.S. 艾略特 T.S. Eliot，代表作；angry young men；塞缪尔·贝克特Samuel Beckett，代表作

1⃣What is literature? Content, genre, character, shows…? 2⃣What is English literature? 3⃣Why we read literature? 4⃣How we study literature?