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1、British literature,c. Romance which uses narrative verse or prose to sing knightly adventures or other heroic deeds is a popular literary form in the medieval period. It has developed the characteristic medieval motifs of the quest, the test, the meeting with the evil giant and the encounter with th
2、e beautiful beloved. The hero is usu. The knight, who set out a journey to accomplish some missionsto protect the church, to attack infidelity, to rescue a maiden, to meet a challenge, or obey a knightly command.,b. Romance: derived from the Medieval Latin word romance, “in the Roman language”. The
3、word roman in Old French was applied to the popular courtly stories in verse which dealt with three traditional subjects: the legends about Arthur, Charlemagne and his knight, and stories of classic heroes esp. Alexander. English correspondents, almost always translations, are found from the 13th c.
4、 Onwards.,There is an often a liberal use of the improbable, sometimes even supernatural, things in romance such as mysteries and fantasies. Romance love / courtly love is an important part of the plot in romance. If the epic reflects a heroic age, the romance reflects a chivalric one.,The romance i
5、s a popular literary form in the medieval period. It uses verse or prose to sing knightly adventures or other heroic deeds. It follows the motifs of the quest, the test, the meeting with the evil giant and the encounter with the beautiful beloved. The hero is usually the knight, who sets out on a jo
6、urney to accomplish some omissions. The romance uses mysteries and fantasies, romantic love, and standardized characterization. Its structure is loose and episodic, and its language is simple and straightforward. The importance of the romance can be seen as a means of showing medieval aristocratic m
7、en and women in relation to their idealized view of the world. The romance reflects a chivalric age,Sonnet,Sonnet is a kind of lyric, consisting of 14 lines,usually in iambic pentameters with considerable variations in rhyme scheme.,(1) the Petrarchan: which comprises an octave,(八行诗节),rhyming abba a
8、bba and a sestet(六行诗节)rhyming cde cde or cd cd cd. (2) the Spenserian of three quatrains(四行诗节) and a couplet(两行诗节), rhyming abab bcbc cdcd ee (3) The Shakespearean, again with three quatrains and a couplet, rhyming abab cdcd efef gg,Three basic sonnet forms,Stanza,Stanza Name,Number of Lines in the
9、stanza,2,3,4,Couplet,5,Tercet,Quatrain,Cinquain,6,Sestet,7,8,Septet,Octer,The heroic couplet ,two rhyming iambic pentameter (抑扬格十音节）lines,is also called a closed couplet because the meaning and the grammatical structure are complete within two lines.,Heroic Couplet,（五音步英雄体两行诗）,Part Two,The Renaissan
10、ce Period,Renaissance refers to the period between the 14th and mid-17th centuries.It marks a transition from the medieval to the modern world. It started in Italy with the flowering of painting, sculpture and literature, and then spread to the rest of Europe. The Renaissance means rebirth or reviva
11、l. It is a movement stimulated by a series of historical events of culture, sciences, religion and economy. In this period, the European humanist thinkers and scholars made attempts to abolish old feudalist ideas in medieval Europe, to introduce new ideas of the rising bourgeoisie, and to carry out
12、religious reformation.,The Renaissance in England,This was Englands Golden Age in literature. There appeared many English literary giants such as Shakespeare, Spenser, Jonson,Sidney, Marlowe, Bacon and Donne.,Humanism,Humanism is the essence of the Renaissance.It sprang from the endeavor to restore
13、a reverence for the Greek and Roman civilization based on the conception that man is the measure of all things. Through this new learning, humanists not only saw the arts of splendor and enlightenment, but the human values represented in works. Contrary to the subordination of individuals to the feu
14、dal rules and the sacrifice of earthly life for a future life in the medieval society, Renaissance humanists found in the classics a justification to exalt human nature and came to see that human beings were glorious creatures capable of individual development for perfection.,By emphasizing the dign
15、ity of human beings and the importance of the present life, they voiced their beliefs that man did not only have the right to enjoy life, but had the ability to perfect himself and to perform wonders. Oxford and Cambridge became the center of English Renaissance. Thomas More, Christopher Marlowe and
16、 William Shakespeare are the best representatives of the English humanists.,2. Renaissance and Humanism:,(1) Renaissance: a French word, meaning “rebirth”. The art and science of ancient Greece and Rome were being rediscovered after long years of neglect. (2) English Renaissance had two impulseshuma
17、nist reverence for the classics and English pride and sense of national identity. (3) Humanism is the essence of the renaissance emphasizing the dignity and potential of the individual and the worth of life in this world.,Protestantism,The religious reformation of Protestantism was initiated by Mart
18、in Luther(1483-1546), a German Protestant. Luther believed that every true Christian was his own priest and was entitled to interpret the Bible for himself. The Protestant movement was seen as a means to recover the purity of the early church from the corruption and superstition of the middle Ages.B
19、y the middle of Elizabeths reign, Protestantism had been firmly established.The religious reformation was actually a reflection of the class struggle waged by the new rising bourgeoisie against the feudal class and its ideology.,Literary Genres in the English Renaissance,(1) The first period of the
20、English Renaissance was one of imitation and assimilation(同化). Petrarch and his successors established the language of love poetry of the Renaissance and greatly influenced the English writers.,(2) Poetry and poetic drama were the most outstanding literary forms and they were carried on especially b
21、y Shakespeare and Ben Jonson. But the poetry by John Donne, George Herbert and others like them represented a sharp break from the poetry by their predecessors and most of their contemporaries.,(3) The real mainstream of the English Renaissance is the Elizabethan drama.It drew influences from the me
22、dieval interludes and morality plays as well as the Greek and Roman classics.The most famous dramatists in the Renaissance England are Christopher Marlowe, William Shakespeare, and Ben Jonson.,(4) The essay was another main literary form in the English Renaissance. Francis Bacon was the best known e
23、ssayist of this period. He was also the founder of modern science in England.,Christopher Marlowe(1564-1593),The achievements of Marlowe in Literature,(1) He perfected the blank verse and made it the principal medium of English drama.It is Marlowe who brought vitality and grandeur into the blank ver
24、se with his “mighty lines,” which carry strong emotions.He employed hyperbole as his major figure of speech, which indicates the poetic energy and intensity conveyed through the verse.,(2) The second one is his creation of the Renaissance hero for English drama .Such a hero is always individualistic
25、 and full of ambition, facing bravely the challenge from both gods and men. The hero embodies Marlowes humanistic ideal of human dignity and capacity .,Dr.Faustus,Theme,Dr.Faustus is the greatest play written by Christopher Marlowe, one of the most famous dramatists of the Renaissance period.The mai
26、n theme of the play is human rather than religious.It lays its focus on the passion for knowledge, power and happiness that are the true spirit of the Renaissance.,(1) It is based on the German legend and reshapes it freely.It is a legend of a magician aspiring for knowledge and finally meeting his
27、tragic end as a result of selling his soul to the devil.,Main features,(3) Blank verse is employed.,(2) The moral of the play is human rather than religious.,(4)hyperbole,(5) Marlowe created the Renaissance hero in the play.,1564-1616,Shakespeares Life 莎 士 比 亚 生 平,Shakespeares Writing Career 莎士比亚写作生
28、涯的四个阶段,Birthplace 出生地,The Royal Theatre 皇 家 剧 院,William Shakespeare (1564-1616):,Life: 1564, Born in Stratford-on-Avon, Ca. 1588-1592, in London as actor and playwright; Ca. 1592-98, devotes himself mainly to chronicle histories and comedies; Ca. 1601-1609, period of the greatest tragedies and roman
29、tic comedies Ca. 1610, retires to Stratford; 1616, died.,The birthplace of Shakespeare at Stratford,Royal Shakespeare Theatre,Shakespeare wrote altogether 154 sonnets in his life. His sonnets are the only direct expression of the poets feelings.His sonnets are usually written in the popular English
30、form, of three quatrains(四行诗) and a couplet, which were first fully developed by Surrey.,Shakespeares Sonnets,Shakespeares sequence, is divided into four parts. The first three parts are each four lines long, and are known as quatrains, the rhyme pattern is abab cdcd efef gg, with the final couplet
31、used to summarize the previous 12 lines or present a surprise ending. The Shakespearean sonnet is often used to develop a sequence of metaphors or ideas, one in each quatrain, while the couplet offers either a summary.,Shakespeares sonnets: Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets: Sonnets 1126, which the poet
32、 addressed to a Mr. W. H, and Sonnets 127154, which are concerned with the poets relationship with a woman, variously referred to as the Dark Lady, or as his mistress. Shakespeares sequence suggests a story. Certain motifs are evident.,“Sonnet 18”: the immortality of Art; “Sonnet 29”: eulogy of frie
33、ndship; “Sonnet 66”: criticizing social injustice.,Shakespeare wrote 37 plays in all. His writing career can be roughly divided into four stages: 1. 1592-1594: a period of experimentation. (The Comedy of Errors, The Taming of the Shrew) 2. 1595-1600: period of rapid growth and development (Middle Su
34、mmer Nights Dream, Romeo and Juliet, As You Like It ) 3. 1601-1608: period of gloom and depression, (Hamlet, King Lear, Othello, Macbeth) 4. 1608-1612: restored serenity, a period of calm (The Winters Tale, The Tempest ),Shakespeares Plays:,Shakespeares Tragedies,(1) Hamlet 哈姆雷特 (2) Othello 奥塞罗 (3)
35、King Lear 李尔王 (4) Macbeth 麦克白,Characteristics of Tragedies,(1)It portrays some noble hero, who faces the injustice of human life and is caught in a difficult situation and whose fate is closely connected with the fate of the whole nation.,(2) Each hero has his weakness of nature: Hamlet,the melancho
36、lic ( 忧郁的)scholar-prince, faces the dilemma between action and mind; Othellos inner weakness is made use of by the outside evil force; King Lear suffers from treachery(不忠) and infidelity; and Macbeths lust for power stirs up his ambition and leads to incessant(连续的) crimes.,(3) It describes the sharp
37、 conflicts between the individual and the evil force in the society.,Shakespeares Character Portrayal,His major characters are neither merely individual ones nor type ones ; they are individuals representing certain types.Each characters has his or her own personalities;meanwhile,they may share feat
38、ures with others. By applying a psycho-analytical approach, Shakespeare succeeds in exploring the characters inner mind.The soliloquies(独白) in his plays fully reveal the inner conflicts of his characters. Shakespeare also portrays his characters in pairs.,Hamlet,(1) Hamlet: It supports a massive var
39、iety of interpretations and understandings; It reflects the nature of humanity in the universe; the play is about the relationship in human life between thought and action. (2) Hamlets tragic flaw”: the imbalance between his active and passive natures; the moral question of suicide in a malevolent u
40、niverse; the question of Hamlets sanity (3) “To be or not to be” soliloquy: Its human nature to feel cowardly and ineffective when youre unable (or too smart) to take decisive (or rash) action.,Romeo and Juliet :,Shakespeares earliest success in tragedy; Setting: Verona, a city in Italy; Two familie
41、s in feud: Montague, Capulet Main characters: Romeo, Juliet, Friar Laurence Romeo sees Juliet at the Capulets ball, falls in love with her and stands beneath her balcony. Despite the family feud, a pair of innocent lovers express their love for each other. Butterfly Lovers is often considered as A C
42、hinese Version of Romeo and Juliet . Make a comparative study of the two.,Shakespeares Views on Literature,(1)Shakespeare has accepted the Renaissance views on literature. He believes that literature should be a combination of beauty, kindness and truth, and should reflect nature and reality.,(2) Sh
43、akespeare believes that literary works that have truly reflected nature and reality can reach immortality.,Francis Bacon(1561-1626),Main features : (1) an important landmark in the development of English prose. (2) brevity , compactness and powerfulness (3) the sentences in the first edition are cha
44、rged and crowded with symmetries(对称). (4) the final edition enlarges the range of theme and brings forth the looser and more persuasive style. (5) the essays are well-arranged and enriched by Biblical allusions, metaphors and cadence(抑扬顿挫).,Of Studies,“Of Studies” is the most popular of Bacons 58 es
45、says.It analyzes the main functions of studies, the different ways adopted by different people to pursue studies, and how studies exert influence over human character. Being forceful and persuasive, compact and precise, “Of Studies” reveals to us Bacons mature attitude towards learning.,Francis Baco
46、n and Montaigne,(1) Montaignes essays show a strong personal touch, stressing on the tentative nature of his mind. His writing is informal thus arouses readers active response and makes them probe into the true nature under human experience.,(2) Bacon is very much concerned about public life and pub
47、lic duty.He likes to present the mode of thought and interest of the ruling class in his day.,Metaphysical Poetry,The term “metaphysical poetry” is commonly used to name the work of the 17th century writers who wrote under the influence of John Donne.Metaphysical poets tried to break away from the c
48、onventional fashion of the Elizabethan love poetry.,Main Features,(1) The diction is simple as compared with that of the Elizabethan or the Neoclassic periods, and echoes the words and cadences of common speech.,(2) The imagery is drawn from the actual life, yet the images are so subtly drawn that t
49、hey call for great imagination and intellectual challenge. The extended metaphors for such images are typically called “ metaphysical conceits.”,(3) The form is frequently that of an argument with the poets beloved, with God, or with himself.,John Donnes poetry,His poetry shows a seemingly unfocused diversity of experiences and attitudes, and a free range of feelings and moods, and thus gives a more inherently theatrical impression. The mode is dynamic rather than static, with ingenuity of speech, vividness of imagery and vitality of rhythms. The most striking feat