English Literature
沈鹏，姚丞杰，董航，王飞，张迅
. Old and Medieval English Literature
Important Literary Terms
  Old English:
  Language spoken by the Anglo-Saxon is called the Old English, which is the foundation of English language and literature.
  Romance:
  The Romance was the prevailing form of literature in the Middle Ages. It was a long composition, sometimes in verse, sometimes in prose, describing the life and adventures of a noble hero.
Important Writers and Literary Works
1． Beowulf
Beowulf is the oldest poem in the English language and the most important specimen of Anglo-Saxon literature. The main stories are based on the folk legends of the primitive northern tribes.
2． Religious Poets
Caedmon(610-680)
Caedmon is the first known religious poet of England. He is known as the father of English song.
Cynewulf:
Cynewulf lived in the 9th century. He produced four poems, of which The Christ is the most characteristic.
3． Prose Writers
    Venerable Bede(673-735)
    Alfred the Great(848-901)
4． The Romance
    Sir Gawin and the Green Knight
    It is a verse-romance of 2,530 lines derived from Celtic legend.
5． Age of Chaucer
  The 14th century is called “Age of Chaucer”. Chaucer and Langland were the most important writers of the age.
    Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400)
    Geoffrey Chaucer is acclaimed not only as “the Father of English poetry”, but also as “the Father of English fiction”.
    The Canterbury Tales
6． The 15th Century Ballads
  Tomas Malory(1395-1471)
  Morte d’Arthur
陈梦佳，竹娉娉，陆艳华，茅青云，余彦菁
The Renaissance
Philip Sidney
  --represents the Renaissance ideal of “the complete man”
Arcadia《阿卡迪亚》
Astrophel and Stella《阿斯特罗菲尔与斯特拉》
Defense of Poetry《为诗歌辩护》
Edmund Spenser
  --“the poets’ poet” in English literature
  --a perfect melody; a rare sense of beauty; a splendid imagination, a lofty moral purity and seriousness, and a dedicated idealism
  --Spenserian stanza
Epithalamion《贺新婚曲》
The Faerie Queene《仙后》
Thomas More
  --English humanist
Utopia《乌托邦》
William Shakespeare
  --dramatist
  --37 plays and 154 sonnets
Henry VI《亨利六世》
A Midsummer Night’s Dream《仲夏夜之梦》
The Merchant of Venice《威尼斯商人》
As You Like it《皆大欢喜》
Twelfth Night《第十二夜》
Hamlet《哈姆雷特》
Othello《奥赛罗》
King Lear《李尔王》
Mecbeth《麦克白》
Romeo and Juliet《罗密欧与朱丽叶》
The Tempest《暴风雨》
Sonnet 18十四行诗第18首
Francis Bacon
  --a philosopher, a scientist and the first English essayist
  --foundation for modern science
Essays《论说文集》
Of studies《论学习》
The Advancement of Learning《论学问的进步》
Novum Organum《论新工具》
John Donne
  --“metaphysical school”
  --a religious poet obsessed with death
  --love is the union of soul and body
The Sun Rising《升起的太阳》
The Holy Sonnets《神圣体十四行诗》
The Songs and Sonnets《歌谣与十四行诗》
Death, Be Not Proud《死亡，你别骄傲》
John Milton
  --a real revolutionary, a master poet and a great prose writer
Areopagitica《论出版自由》
Paradise Lost《失乐园》
Paradise Regained《复乐园》
Samson Agonistes《力士参孙》
.The Period of Revolution and Revolution and Restoration
1. Literature of the 17th Century Revolution Period(17世纪资产阶级革命时期的文学)
Literature of the Revolution Period (Age of Milton)
Poetry was the main literary form of this period. Among the poets, Milton was the greatest. Besides, there were two other groups of poets, the Metaphysical(玄学派) and the Cavalier poets(骑士派).
Literature of the Restoration Period (Age of Dryden)
Restoration literature is characterized by a cliquish(小集团的) culture centering on the court and deeply influenced by French classical taste. The writers of the age developed two marked tendencies, tendency to Realism(现实主义) and tendency to Formalism(形式主义).
2. Literary Term(文学术语)
Metaphysical poetry(玄学派诗歌)
It typically employs unusual verse forms, complex figures of speech applied to elaborate and surprising metaphorical conceits, and learned themes discussed according to eccentric and unexpected chains of reasoning. As the leading figure of the “metaphysical poetry”, Donne’s poetry exhibits each of these characteristics.
3. Poets in Revolutionary Period(资产阶级革命时期的诗人)
1) John Milton
He’s a master of the blank verse(无韵诗) and a great stylist(文体学家). He towers over his age just as Shakespeare towers over the Elizabethan Age and Chaucer over the medieval Age.
steeleParadise Lost《失乐园》: It is Milton’s masterpiece. It is about Satan’s rebellion against God and the expulsion(驱逐) of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. It is the greatest, indeed the only generally acknowledged epic in English literature since Beowulf.
Paradise Regained《复乐园》: It is the sequel of Paradise Lost. It tells how Christ overcame Satan.
Samson Agonistes《力士参孙》: It is in the form of Greek tragedies, from the “Book of Judges”(《士师记》), in the “Old Testament”(《旧约全书》) and the most powerful dramatic poem on the Greek model. It is the most perfect example of the verse drama after the Greek style in English.

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