è±è¯æå¦å²åæ¶ææ»ç»ä½å®¶ä½å
<Beowulf>è´å¥¥æ¦å¤«:the national epic of the Anglo-Saxons
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. Homerâs Iliad and Odyssey
Artistic features:
1. Using alliteration
Definition of alliteration: a rhetorical device, meaning some words in a sentence begin with the same consonant soundï¼å¤´éµï¼
Some examples on P5
2. Using metaphor and understatement
Definition of understatement: expressing something in a controlled way Understatement is a typical way for Englishmen to express their ideas
Geoffery Chaucer æ°å¼é•ä¹å1340(?)~1400
(é¦åâåéµä½âï¼è±å½æå¦å²ä¸é¦å
ç¨ä¼¦æ¦æ¹è¨åä½ã约翰·德è±é¡¿ï¼John Drydenï¼ç§°å
¶ä¸ºâè±å½è¯æä¹ç¶âã代表ä½ãåç¹ä¼¯é·æ
äºéãã)
The father of English poetry.
writing style: wisdom, humor, humanity.
â <The Canterbury Tales>åç¹ä¼¯é·æ
äºéï¼
first time to use âheroic coupletâ(åéµä½) by middle English
â¡<Troilus and Criseyde>ç¹ç½ä¼ææ¯åå
è±å¸å¾·
⢠<The House of Fame>声èªä¹å®«
Medieval Agesâ popular Literary form: Romance(ä¼ å¥æ
äº)
Famous threeï¼King Arthur
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Beowulf
The Renaissance Period
A period of drama and poetry. The Elizabethan drama is the real mainstream of the English Renaissance.
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.
Three historical events of the Renaissance â rebirth or revival:
1. new discoveries in geography and astrology
2. the religious reformation and economic expansion
3. rediscovery of ancient Roman and Greek culture
The most famous dramatists:
Christopher Marlowe
William Shakespeare
Ben Johnson.
1. Edmund Spenseråå¾·è•æ¯å®¾å¡1552~1599
ï¼å人称ä¹ä¸ºâè¯äººçè¯äººâãï¼ The poetsâ poet. The first to be buried in the Poetâs corner of Westerminster Abbey
â <The Faerie Queene>ä»å(for Queen Elizabeth)
The theme is not âArms and the manâ, but something more romantic âFierce wars and faithfull lovesâ.
Artistic features:
1. Using Spenserian Stanza
Definition of Spenserian Stanza:a stanza of nine lines ababbcbcc. Eight lines in iambic pentameter, and last line in iambic hexameter.
â¡ <The Shepherds Calendar>ç§äººæ¥å
The theme is to lament over the loss of Rosalind.
⢠<Amoretti>ç±æ
å°å±n
2. Thomasl Moreæ马毕è«å°1478~1535
One of the greatest English humanists
â <Utopia>ä¹æé¦n
3. Francisl Baconå¼å
°è¥¿æ¯•å¹æ ¹1561~1626
ï¼å²å¦å®¶ãæ£æ家ï¼å¨è®ºè¿°æ¢ç©¶ç¥è¯çèä½ä¸æåºäºç¥è¯å°±æ¯åéè¿ä¸èå论æï¼è¿ä»£å¯ç©ä¸»ä¹å²å¦çå¥ åºäººåè¿ä»£å®éªç§å¦çå
驱ãï¼
Philosopher, scientist, lay the foundation for modern science. The first English essayist.n
Writing style:brevity, compactness&powerfulness, well-arranging and enriching by Biblical allusions, metaphors and philosophy to manâs reason.
â <The Advancement of Learning>å¦æ¯çæ¨è¿
â¡<Essays>éç¬(famous quotas: <Of studies>)n
The theme of Of Studies: uses and benefits of study and different ways adopted by different people to pursue studies.
4. Ben Jonson
â <Comedy of Humours>
â¡<Volpone, or the fox>çç¸
5. Christopherl Marloweæ¯éæ¯æ引马æ´1564~1595
âUniversity Witsâ, the pioneer of English drama
ï¼å®åäºæ éµä½è¯ãï¼
Blank verse: written in unrhymed iambic pentameter.
â <The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus>浮士德å士çæ²å§ï¼æ ¹æ®å¾·å½æ°é´æ
äºä¹¦åæï¼
â¡<Tamburlaine>å¸æ¨è³å¤§å¸n
â¢<The Jew of Malta>马è³ä»çç¹å¤ªäºº
6. William Shakespeareå¨å»•è士æ¯äº1564~1616l
â Historical plays: Henry VI ; Henry IV : Richard III ; Henry V ï¼Richard IIï¼Henry VIII
â¡Four Comedies: <As You Like It>ç大欢å; <Twelfth Night>第åäºå¤; <A Midsummer NightâS Dream>仲å¤å¤ä¹æ¢¦; <Merchant Of Venice>å¨å°¼æ¯å人
â¢Four Tragedies: <Hamlet>åå§è±ç¹; <Othello>奥èµç½; <King Lear>æå°ç; <Macbeth>麦å
ç½
â£Shakespeare Sonnet :154 <The Sonnets>
Three quatrain and one couplet, ababcdcdefefgg
A sonnet is a lyric consisting of 14 lines, usually in iambic pentameter restricted to a definition rhyme scheme.