英国文学史纲

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Part Ⅰ Early and Medieval English Literature

1. The Making of England
    a. Roman Conquest (55 B.C.)
        Julius Caesar---the Roman conqueror
        the decline of Roman empire (410 A.D.)
    b. The Formation of English Language
        the three tribes from Northern Europe: Angles,
        Saxons and Jutes;  Anglo-Saxon---Old English
    c. Religious Belief
        heathen异教徒people;  Christianization

2. Beowulf - the National Epic民族史诗 of English People

    English Literature began with the Anglo-Saxon settlement in England
    Beowulf - the national epic; 3183 lines;
    the plot: Hrothgar--- king of the Danes;
                 Beowulf---a brave young man from southern Sweden;
                 Heorot---the great hall;
                 Grendel---a terrible creature;
                 the fire---breathing dragon;
    the artistic features:
        a. the use of alliteration - certain accented words in a line with the same     consonant sound
            e.g. “The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew,
                   The furrow followed free.”
                                                        ----S. T. Coleridge
         b. the use of metaphors and understatements--- the characteristic of English people and their language
             e.g. “swan’s path” or “whale’s road” for sea;
                    “sea-wood” for ship;
                    “not troublesome” for very welcome;

3. Feudal England
    a. Norman Conquest and Its Influence
       Duke William;
       1066;
       battle at Hastings;
       confiscated充公 the lands of English lords;
       bestowed授予 large patches to the Norman barons;
       the establishment of feudalism in England;
       French, English and Latin;
       English---the dominant speech in the country;   

    b. Romance (for the nobles)骑士故事，传奇        
        romance---a long composition sometimes in verse用诗写的,
        sometimes in prose, describing the life and adventures of the noble hero;
        the central character of romance is the knight;
        the theme of loyalty to the king and lord;

<Adventures of King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table>

    c. English Ballads民歌 (people’s literature)
       The Robin Hood Ballads
            partly historical , partly legendary character;
            strong, brave, clever, affectionate, hatred for
            the oppressors and love for the poor;

4. Geoffrey Chaucer (1340?—1400)
    a. His life and literature career
        Chaucer--- “the father of English poetry” and  one of the greatest narrative poets of England; “the founder of English poetry”
        three periods:
            the first period--- works translated from French:
            The Romaunt of the Rose《玫瑰传奇》
        second period:
            Troilus and Criseyde《特罗拉斯与克莱西德》  (Italian)
        third period: no longer a mere interpreter of other poets; a mature poet;
            The Canterbury Tales (Boccaccio’s Decameron)        
           《坎特伯雷故事集》       (意)薄伽丘《十日谈》
             The Canterbury Tales is a 14th-century English collection of stories, mainly in verse,

    b. The Canterbury Tales
        Chaucer’s masterpiece and one of the monumental works in English Literature strung together according to a simple plan;
             29+1 pilgrims朝圣者 to Canterbury;
             only 24 stories were finished;
        two ways to link the all the stories together:
             the host  and  the Prologue序言
        高尔基 Gorky’s comment on Chaucer:  “the founder of English Realism”

    c. Comments
        narrative poetry based on reality; more than a mere collection of true-to-life逼真的，写   
   实的 pictures; a forerunner of humanism人文主义先驱;
        the introduction from France to English poetry the rhymed couplet对韵(两行同长度并押韵的诗句)  of “iambic pentameter”(“五步抑扬格”)or “heroic couplet”（“英雄双行体”);
        the first great poet writing in the current English language: Middle English

      The General Prologue总序
As soon as April pierces to the root
The drought of March, and bathes each bud and shoot
Through every vein of sap with gentle showers
From whose engendering liquor spring the flowers;
                                        ---The Canterbury Tales

Part Ⅱ English Renaissance

1. The Historical Background
    a. Situations before and during the reign of Queen Elizabeth
        the breaking up of feudal relations and the establishing of the foundations of capitalism;
         “The Enclosure Movement”;圈地运动
         “sheep devoured men羊吃人” (Thomas More)托马斯莫尔是英国最主要的早期人文主义者，他的《乌托邦》批评了当时的英国和欧洲社会批判，特别是英国都铎王朝的君主专制制度。莫尔生于资本主义原始积累时代，他在“乌托邦”这本书中批判了新生的资本主义关系，描写了人民的痛苦。他以无比激动的心情揭露圈地运动的结果--“羊吃人”的名言成了当时民歌中经常引用的佳句
         the Hundred Year’s War; the War of the Roses; the defeat of the Spanish Armada西班牙无敌舰队 in 1588

    b. The Renaissance文艺复兴 and Humanism
         an intellectual movement originating from Italy in the 14th century and gradually spreading all over Europe
    two striking features显著的象征 of Renaissance:
    a) the thirsting curiosity of classical literature
        the general revival of the study of Greek and Latin authors;
        the love of classics was practically an expression of the general dissatisfaction with Catholic and feudal ideas;
    b) a keen interest in life and human activities
        no longer living for God or the future world;
        the new feeling of admiration for human beauty, human achievements, human wisdom and intellect instead of religious doctrines;
        Both man and world are hindered from被…阻碍 improvement only  by external checks. Men could mould塑造 the world according to his desires and attain happiness by removing all external checks;
        the key-note主题 of Renaissance is Humanism

2.  English Literature in the Renaissance Period
General Introduction
    the highlight in the history of English literature;
    English literature developed with a great speed and made a magnificent achievement in Elizabethan period (the second half of 16th century);
    English literature burst into a flowering of literature and England became “a nest of singing bird”;
    translation from French and Italian works; history of the past; discoveries and adventures;
    The greatest and most distinctive achievement of Elizabethan literature is the drama; Elizabethan poetry is also remarkable for its variety, its freshness, its youthfulness and its romantic feeling;

Poetry of Renaissance
    Sonnet - an exact form of poetry of 14 lines of iambic pentameter intricately rhymed间隔押韵, was first introduced to England from Italy by Sir Thomas Wyatt托马斯怀特爵士 and a few other poets.

    The Petrarchan Sonnet彼特拉克十四行诗 [亦称作 Italian sonnet]
        the octave十四行诗的前八行 (abba abba) + the sestet意大利十四行诗的)最后六行  (cde cde, cdc dcd, cde edc);
        There is often a transition where the first eight lines are finished.

    The Shakespearean Sonnet莎士比亚式十四行诗,英国十四行诗[亦称作 English sonnet, Elizabethan sonnet]
        3 quatrains 四行诗 + a couplet; rhyme scheme: abab cdcd efef gg;

    Spenserian Sonnet斯宾塞体十四行诗
        3 quatrain + a couplet; rhyme scheme: abab bcbc cdcd ee

    On His Blindness ---John Milton
When I consider, how my light is spent
Ere half my days in this dark world and wide,
And that one talent which is death to hide
Lodg’d with me useless, though my soul more bent
                                                  ( ----a Petrarchan Sonnet)

     Sonnet 18 ---William Shakespeare  
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date:
…
    So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
    So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

Edmund Spenser埃德蒙·斯宾塞 (1552-1599)
    “the poet’s poet” (Charles Lamb);
    The Shepherds’ Calendar《牧人日历》 in 1579, a poem in the traditional pastoral田园诗 form, the first important work;
    The Faerie Queene《仙后》 (1589, 1596)  epic史诗 - a long poem planned in 12 books, of which he finished only 6; a dedication to Queen Elizabeth;

the plan of the poem:
    The Faerie Queene (who represents Queen Elizabeth) holds a feast of twelve days; on each day a stranger in distress appears telling a woeful story and asking the Queen to send a knight to right the  wrong; then a knight is assigned to each guest, and the 12 books are to describe the 12 adventures; each knight represents a virtue, as Holiness, Temperance, Chastity, Friendship, Justice and Courtesy, etc.;
    the long poem is a continued allegory; the knights as a whole symbolize England , and the evil figures stand for her enemies;

    The dominating thoughts of the poem are:
        nationalism as shown in the celebration of Queen Elizabeth) ;
        humanism as shown in its strong opposition of Roman Catholicism;
        Puritanism as shown in its moral teachings;

    The Writing Features of the Poem
        The whole poem is written in the form of allegory;

    Spenser invented a new special metre for The Faerie Queene:
        Each stanza has 9 lines, each of the first eight lines is in iambic pentameter, and the ninth line is in iambic hexameter六步; the rhyme scheme/plan is ababbcbcc;

        Because of its rare beauty, this verse form , the Spenserian Stanza斯宾塞诗体, was extensively used by nearly all the late poets, especially imitated by the romantic poets of the 19th century;

    Other Poems by Spenser:
         Amoretti《小爱神》 (a collection of 89 sonnets addressed to his  second wife)

    Characteristics of Spenser’s poetry:
        a perfect melody (musicality);
        a rare sense of beauty;
        a splendid imagination;
        a lofty崇高的 moral purity and seriousness;
        a delicate realism;
        It is his idealism, his love of beauty and his exquisite melody that made him known as “the poet’s poet”.
        The language Spenser used is called modern English different from Middle English used by Chaucer.

Prose散文 of Renaissance

Francis Bacon弗朗西斯·培根  (1561-1626)
    the founder of English materialist唯物主义 Philosophy, a scientist, an essayist;
    philosophical works: The advancement of Learning 《学术的进步》; The New Instrument《新工具》：induction强调了归纳法
    Essays (1597,1612,1625), includes 58 essays covering a wide variety of subjects like love, hate, truth, death, friendship, revenge, etc.;
    brevity简洁, compactness紧密 and forcefulness有力;

Men fear death as children fear to go in the dark.(Death)
Revenge is a kind of wild justice. (Revenge)
If a man be gracious to strangers, it shows he is a citizen of the world. (Goodness)
That is the best part of beauty which a picture cannot express. ( Beauty)
Some books are to be read only in parts; others to be read, but curiously; and some few to be read wholly. (Studies)
A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds. (Ceremonies and Respects)

The drama during the Renaissence
The highest glory of the English Renaissance,which was from the establishment of the Tudor Dynasty in 1485 to the English Bourgeois Revolution(资产阶级革命) in 1642, was unquestionably its drama.

When the Great Britain defeated the Spanish invisible armade(无敌舰队) in 1588, the national spirit ran unprecedentedly high. Meanwhile the literature became tremendous booming, and the drama was highly developed.

Drama of Renaissance
    The highest glory of Renaissance is doubtlessly its drama.
    The development of English drama:
   
    Miracles Plays奇迹剧 of the middle ages-- simple plays based on Bible stories;
    the Morality Plays道德剧-- was developed through the preaching ceremony(布道仪式) of the churches and presented the conflict of good and evil with allegorical(寓意的) personages;
    Interludes插剧-- It was emerged at around 15th century. The plots of it were quite simple and the charaters were few.It was a short performance slipped into a play to enliven(娱乐) the audience after a solemn scene.;
    Classical Plays (Greek and Latin);
    Comedies and tragedies--- the two original play types of Ancient Greece;
    the orderly division into five acts;

     London Theatre --- the centre of English drama;
     The Audience --- “the theatre mad”; the only source of intellectual pleasure;

     The Playwrights剧作家 --- constant need of plays on the part of the theatrical troupes; “the University wits” （There was a group of so-called “university wits”(大学才子),(Lyly, Peele, Marlowe, Greene, Lodge and Nash) who wrote for the stage of the time. ;）

All these came together and made plays the most  important artistic form in Renaissance.

Christopher Marlowe（1564-1593）克里斯托弗·马洛
Life and literary creation
    Marlowe was stabbed to death in a pub when he was only 29;
    the youngest and most gifted of the “University Wits”;

    created altogether 6 plays and several poems;
        Tamburlaine《帖木儿大帝》  (1587), the Mongol conqueror’s  insatiable贪得无厌的 greed for power;
        The Jew of Malta《马尔他岛的犹太人》 , Barabas, a rich merchant’s  insatiable greed for riches;
         Doctor Faustus《浮士德博士的悲剧》（, a young and brilliant scholar’s insatiable greed for knowledge;

    Social significance of Marlowe’s plays
        His plays show, in various ways, the spirit of the rising capitalist class, its eager curiosity for knowledge, its pride and its insatiable appetite for power whether that be won by military might, knowledge or gold;
        The theme of Marlowe’s plays is the praise of individuality freed from the restraints of medieval dogmas and laws , and the conviction of the boundless possibility of human efforts in conquering the universe.  
        However, the heroes in Marlowe’s plays are merely individualists. Their individualistic ambition often brings ruins to the world and to themselves;

    Literary achievements
        the greatest pioneers of English drama, paved the way for the plays of the greatest English dramatist--Shakspeare;
        The first who made the blank verse (unrhymed iambic pentameter) the principal instrument of English drama;
        the creation of Renaissance heroes for English drama. They are always individualistic and full of ambition, facing bravely the challenge from both gods and men. These images embody体现 Marlowe’s humanistic ideal of human dignity and capacity.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
Life story
    born on April 23, 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon; died on April 23,1616;
    the First Folio in 1623;
    “…Soul of the age!
             The applause! delight! the wonder of our stage!
        My Shakespeare, rise, I will not lodge thee by
             Chaucer, or Spenser, or bid Beaumont lie
        A little further, to make thee a room:
             Thou art a Monument, without a tomb,
        And art still alive, while Book doth live,…”

Three periods of his dramatic creation
    the first period(1590-1600), the period of apprenticeship学徒 or the period of comedies (20 plays: 9 histories. 1 tragedy  and 10 comedies);
    the second period(1601-1608), the period of tragedies,the period of achievement ( Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, King Lear);
    the third period (1609-1612), a falling of from his height, the period of Romance;

Shakespeare’s Comedies
    the general spirit of the comedies is Optimism;
    characterization of the heroines, a new type of women
        image: witty, bold, loving, optimistic and faithful;

    comedies of the first period:
        A mid-summer Night’s Dream,    Twelfth Night,
        As You Like It,     The Merchant of Venice, etc.;

The Histories
    the political plays;
    the principal idea of these historical plays: the necessity for national unity under one sovereign;
    Dramatization改编 of the English history of two centuries from Richard Ⅱ to Henry Ⅷ;
    the one ideal king in his plays: Henry Ⅴ;

The Tragedies
   《Romeo and Juliet》, Shakespeare’s early success in tragedy;
    the images of true love, symbols of faithfulness;
    it’s optimistic in spirit; a romantic tragedy;

   《Hamlet》, the summit of Shakespeare’s art;
    the tragic weakness of Hamlet: the hesitation and inability to act when action is needed; Oedipus complex the hero of the Renaissance, a thinker rather than a doer实干家 or actor;

The Sonnets
    altogether 154 sonnets and two long poems;
    rhyme scheme: abab cdcd efef gg;
    two types: one type is dedicated to W.H, a young man of superior beauty and rank (1-126); the other type is dedicated to a “dark lady”(127-152);  last two are translations or adaptations of Greek versions;
    depth of sentiment, mastery of diction, and perfection of finish;

Features of Shakespeare’s Artistic Creation
    one of the founders of realism in world literature;
    variety, prolificity (38 plays), familiarity, complexity;
    a master of various poetic forms: song, sonnet, couplet, dramatic blank verse, esp. the blank verse;
    a great master of English language: 20,000 vocabulary; two great treasuries of English language: Authorized  version of the Bible and Shakespeare’s plays;
    the summit of the English Renaissance and one of the greatest writers throughout the world;

Ben Jonson本·琼生 (1572-1637)
Decline of the English drama and poetry:
     the vacancy left by Shakespeare (the genius, clarity and moral insight into life);
     the changing social condition that finally brought about a great revolution;
Ben Jonson - the most well-known contemporary and successor of Shakespeare:
     Everyman in His Humour (1598)
     Everyman out of His Humour (1599)
     Volpone 《狐狸》 (1606), one of his best known comedies

humour--- a predominant pecularity of character, which determines a person’s behaviors, thoughts and manner of speech; all the characters should be selected to illustrate particular humours, or in other words, everyman in Jonson’s comedies personifies a definite humour, e.g. greed, vanity, etc.

his adherence to the unity of time, place and action;
one of the best producers of masques (假面剧);

the author of that beautiful little lyric抒情诗 --- To Celia《致西丽娅》

                To Celia
Drink to me only with thine eyes,
And I will pledge with mine;
Or leave a kiss but in the cup,
And I will not look for wine.
The thirst that from the soul doth rise
Doth ask a drink divine
But might I of Jove’s nectar sup,
I would not change for thine.
I sent thee late a rosy wreath
Not so much honoring thee
As giving it a hope, that there
It could not wither’d be
But thou thereon didst only breath,
And sent’st back to me;
Since when it grows, and smells, I swear,
Not of itself, but thee.               

Part Ⅲ.  The 17th Century - The Period of Revolution and Restoration
1.Historical background
a. the revolution
    --the contradiction between the bourgeoisie资产阶级 and feudalism;
    --the outburst of the revolution(1642-1649);
    --Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658); New Model Army; the  victory in Naseby in 1645;
    --the execution of Charles Ⅰ in 1649; a commonwealth
    --the abolishment of monarchy and the establishment of a commonwealth, a republic;
b. the bourgeois dictatorship资产阶级专政 and the revolution
    a split in the revolution camp;
    the Lord Protector of English Commonwealth; the calling back of Charles Ⅱ in 1660 (the Restoration);
    the dethronement of James Ⅱ, and invitation of William from Holland (the Glorious Revolution) in 1688;
c. the Puritanism
    the Puritan Age or the Puritan Revolution;
    the adherents of the doctrines of Puritanism;
    the preacher of thrift, sobriety, hard work, but refusal of enjoyment of pleasures;

2. Literature of the Revolution Period
General features:
    Elizabethan literature had a marked unity and the feeling of patriotism爱国主义 and devotion to the Queen; but in the Revolution period, all this was changed by hatred, struggle and division;

    Elizabethan literature is generally inspiring with youth and hope and vitality; but literature in the Puritan Age expressed age and sadness. Even its brightest hours were followed by gloom and pessimism;
    Elizabethan literature was intensely romantic. The romantic sprang from the heart of youth. People believed  all things, even the impossible. But literature of the Puritan Period was lack in romantic ardor and was filled with skepticism;

Metaphysical poetry玄学派诗歌

John Donne 约翰·邓恩  (1573-1631)
    breaking away from the conventional fashion of Elizabethan poetry;
    the diction is simple; the imagery is taken from actual life and the form is frequently a syllogistic三段论法的 argument;
    the most obvious feature is the use of wit措辞巧妙  and conceit牵强附会的比喻  (the extended metaphor扩展隐喻);  

                         Me it sucked first, and now sucks thee,
                         And in this flea our two bloods mingled be;
                          …
                         Oh stay, three lives live in one flea spare.
                         Where we almost, nay more than married are.
                         The lea is you and I, and this
                         Our marriage bed and marriage temple is;
                                                    ******
                              Thy beams, so reverend and strong
                              Why shouldst thou think?
                        I could eclipse and cloud them with a blink,
                        But that I would not lose her sight so long.

            Go and Catch a Falling Star
       Go and catch a falling star,
            Get with child a mandrake root,
       Tell me where all past years are,
             Or who cleft the Devil's foot,
       Teach me to hear mermaids’ singing,
       Or to keep off envy's stinging,
                    And find
                    What wind
        Serves to advance an honest mind.

John Milton约翰·弥尔顿 (1608-1674)
His life
    “the lady of the Christ’s” at Cambridge
    the spokesman of the revolution and official of Cromwell
    his blindness in 1651
    the creation of his greatest works:
        Paradise Lost (1665) 《失乐园》
        Paradise Regained (1671) 《复乐园》
        poetic tragedy ： Samson Agonistes --- the end of his writing life《力士参孙》

Paradise Lost
the masterpiece and the greatest English epic
a long epic in 12 books, done in blank verse
the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden
the theme, the Fall of Man; to justify the way of God to Man and to preach submission to the Almighty;
the characterization描述特性
the image of Satan
freedom, choice and humanity

Milton’s achievements
a great revolutionary poet (the inspiration)
a great stylist ( the familiarity of classical and biblical literature; the sublimity of thoughts and majesty of expression)
a great master of blank verse (the pioneer to introduce blank verse into non-dramatic poetry);

John Bunyan约翰·班扬(1628-1688)
His life
    born in a tinker’s family;
    enlisted in the Parliamentary army;
    an influential preacher;
    jailed for 12 years after Restoration in 1660 for his  preaching;
    wrote  and published 《The Pilgrim’s Progress》 in 1678;

The Pilgrim’s Progress
    a religious allegory;
    the major work and one of the most popular books;
    telling of Chritian’s pilgrimage朝圣之行 from his home to the  Celestial City, and of his experiences and adventures on his journey;
    Christian, with the Bible in his hand and a great burden on his back, the weight of worldly cares and concerns; the City of Destruction; his friend, Plible; Faithful, a neighbour and Hate-Good in Vanity Fair; Hopeful in Doubting Castle; entered the Celestial City and enjoyed eternal life;
    a strong realistic and panoramic全景的 reflection of the 17th century England;
    the true-to-life characters, the biblical language and the  satires on the upper class people;
    to urge people to abide by the Christian doctrines and seek salvation through constant spiritual struggles with their own weaknesses and all kinds of social evils;
    Life is a journey;

Part Ⅳ The18th Century English Literature
    The 18th century is sometimes called the period of Enlightenment, for in this period most writers put some emphasis on or had in their writings something to do with reason, knowledge, education, morality, social order, justice and the dignity of human nature

Historical background
    England developed into a powerful naval country;
    Tories and Whigs greatly influenced the country (both supported commerce);
    the ruling class had desire as well as power to put the country into order;
    development of science and technology (the law of gravitation by Isaac Newton; John Locke);
    the French influence: Classicism古典主义 originated first in  France during the reign of Louis ⅩⅣ when France was the most powerful country in the world.

L’ Art Poetique (Boileau)
    In this book Boileau insisted that  dramatists should follow the rules set down by Roman writers, and his L’Art Poetique in fact became a declaration of Classicism.

Literature of the period - The Enlightenment movement
    the Age of Enlightenment or Age of Reason理性时代;
    a progressive intellectual movement flourished in France and swept to the whole Western Europe;
    a furtherance of the Renaissance;
    the aim was to enlighten the whole world with modern philosophical and artistic ideas;
    the great emphasis on reason, equality and science;
    universal education (didactic and moralizing);

Neoclassicism新古典主义
    In the field of literature, the Enlightenment Movement brought about a revival of interest in the old classical works, which is called neoclassicism.
    all forms of literature should be modeled after the classical works of the Greek and Roman writers and the contemporary French ones;
    belief in order, logic, restrained emotion and accuracy;
    all literature should be judged in terms of its service, mainly moralization教化 and entertainments to human beings;

The major characteristics of Neoclassicism:
   a) an interest in fixed rules;
   b) an emphasis on reason;
   c) an aim to instruct;
   d) an interest in urbanity;
   e) a revolt against subjectivity主观性

Sentimentalism感情主义
    weary of the artificiality of neoclassicism and absolute emphasis on reason;
    something more natural and spontaneous in thought and language;
    emotion, sentiments, nature, and natural relations between man and man;
    a reaction to and revolt against neoclassicism, and a gradual development to Romanticism, thus a bridge between Neoclassicism and Romanticism;

The Rise of the Novel
    the mid century witnessed the rise of a new literary genre:
    modern English fiction;

Definition
    “A novel is a prose work of some length, which tells a story, attempts rounded characterization, amuses, shocks and entertains the reader. In a narrow sense, a novel is a realistic fiction, complete in itself and contains the essential elements of story, character, and setting.”
    “A novel is a work of fiction which relates the story of a plain human life, under stress or emotion, and which depends for its interest not on character-portrayal or plotting of incident or adventure, but on its faithfulness to nature, its realistic representation or exact documentation of life as it is.”

Origin
    Originated from the combination of two traditional
literary forms:
    Moral fables that came from medieval morality plays, religious sermons, and allegorical stories
    Picaresque stories that came from Spanish stories about social outcasts and tramps in the 14th and 15th centuries: e.g. Don Quixote by Cervantes

Background
    different from the traditional romance of aristocrats, modern English novels give a realistic representation of the life of the common English people;
    a natural product of the Industrial Revolution and the symbol of the growing importance and strength of the English middle-class;
    a rapid growth of a middle-class reading public

Gothic Novel
    the shift of interest from the classic literary tradition to originality and imagination, from society to individual and from the didactic说教的  to the confessional忏悔的，自白的，坦白的 , inspirational and prophetic预言的 brought about the flourish of Gothic Novel.
    stories of mystery and horror which take place in some haunted or dilapidated Middle Age castles;

Literary figures文学人物 of the time

Alexander Pope亚历山大·蒲柏  (1688-1744)
    Essay on Criticism论批评  (1711), a didactic poem of 744 lines in heroic couplet;
        “To err is human, to forgive, divine.”
        “A little learning is dangerous thing.”
    An Essay on Man人论, written in heroic couplet , dealing with man’s relation to the universe, to society, to himself, and to happiness;
        “One truth is clear: Whatever is , is Right.”
    The Rape of the Lock夺发记(史诗名) (1714)
    lacked the lyrical gift but had an extraordinary technical skill in versification诗律, the master of heroic couplet and shows excellent artistry in diction;

Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)
    a dramatist剧作家, lexicographer词典编纂者, critic, essayist, poet;
    Lives of Poets 《诗人传》(1779-1781), biographies and comments of 52 early English poets;
    Dictionary of the English Language (1755);
  《Letter to Lord Chesterfield》, a masterpiece in English prose;
    the preface前言 and comments of Shakespeare’s plays;
    Life of Johnson by James Boswell (1740-1794), the best biographer in English literature;

丹尼尔·笛福 Daniel Defoe (1661-1731)
a) Life
    ---the son of a butcher;
    ---a versatile man: a merchant, solider, economist, politician, journalist, pamphleteer, publicist and novelist;
    ---great in at least two occupations: journalism and authorship;
    ---language: simple, concise, smooth, easy, crisp, colloquial, and nothing artificial;
    ---subject matter主旨: an enormous capacity for observing, organizing and memorizing;
    ---credibility: the ability to make his writings vivid and credible by a skillful use of circumstantial details;
His novels
    --- Robinson Crusoe (1719);  鲁宾逊漂流记
    --- Captain Singleton (1720);
    --- Moll Flanders (1722);
    --- Colonel Jacque (1722);
    --- Roxana (1724);

Robinson Crusoe
--based on the real story of Alexander Silkirk, a Scottish sailor, who was marooned on a desolate island in the Atlantic alone for 4 or 5 years (1704-1709);
--a young man running away from home to be a sailor;
--the adventures on the sea; the shipwreck; life on the island;
--taken back to England by an English ship;
--the realistic account of Robinson’s single-handed struggle against the pitiless forces of nature is the best part;
-- a hero with best qualities: marvellous capacity for work, boundless energy and persistence in overcoming difficulties;
-- the glorification赞颂 of  human labor: labor saves Robinson from despair and is the source of pride and happiness;
-- an image of a Puritan, an empire builder, a colonizer, a capitalist , an imperialist, and a foreign trader;
-- the forerunner of English realistic novel;

乔纳森·斯威夫特 Jonathan Swift (1667-1745)
-- born in Dublin , Ireland;
-- the experience of being a secretary for a distant relative;
-- A Modest Proposal;散文“一个小小的建议"
-- Gulliver’s Travels 《格利佛游记》  1726, a satirical depiction of the vices of his age;
    -- travel to Lilliput; travel to Brobdingnag; travel to Flying Island (Laputa); travel to Houyhnhnm (the Yahoos);
--a man with bitter life experience had a deep hatred for all rich oppressors and a deep sympathy for the poor and oppressed
--his understanding of human nature is profound: human nature is seriously and permanently flawed. To better human life, enlightenment is needed, but to redress it is hard; a touch of helplessness and indignation;
--one of the most effective and devastating criticism and satires of all aspects in the then English and European life--- socially, politically, religiously, philosophically, scientifically and morally.
--its social significance is great and exploration into human nature profound;
--a great master of English prose: his language is simple, clear, and vigorous; no ornaments装饰 in his writing; In simple, direct and precise prose, Swift is unsurpassed in English literature;
   “Proper words in proper place, makes the true definition of a style.”

Henry Fielding亨利·菲尔丁  (1707-1754)
His Life
    born in a poor, retired general’s family in 1707;
    educated at Eton and Leyden University;
    one of the most popular dramatists in London;
    the comedies to satirize the parliamentary system议会制, the corruption of the state officials, and the hypocrisy, greed and cruelty of the aristocracy贵族;
    an act in 1737 was introduced  to limit the number of theatres in London to two and brought plays under direct censorship审查制度, which ended Fielding’s career as a dramatist;
    the estate房产 got from his wife’s mother after his marriage;
    the four great novels from 1742:
        Joseph Andrews (1742);小说《约瑟夫

522416249

非常感谢

callmevivivian

522416249 发表于 2018-4-9 17:16
非常感谢

学姐，这个是全部的了吗，我看最后感觉应该还有一部分