英國(guó)文學(xué)簡(jiǎn)史 Part I-history.ppt

1、Part I Early and Medieval English Literature,Objectives II、 The Influence of these invasions; III、 Beowulf IV. Have a good mastery of several literary terms: alliteration, Romance, Ballad,Preview Question: How does English culture come into being?,The English people areof a mixed blood:,English,+,+,

2、+,+,=,Early settlers / Britons(-55 B.C.),Time : Great Britain became an island 8,000 years ago. Who are natives of Britain? Tribal society of Celts/ Iron Age Where were they from? Celts from north-western Europe, bringing iron-working, Gaelic language. War-like people,The Celtic Civilization,Stonehe

3、nge 巨石陣 -Giant rock slabs for religious purposes/ almost no literary records Celtic name Britain got its name from early settlers-Britons,Roman Invasion (55 B.C410),Time: 55BC_411AD, Julius Caesar Britain remained part of the Roman Empire for almost 400 years. Influence: Roman mode of lifetheatres a

4、nd bath, laws, architecture (ROMAN ROADS), social system, Latin and more important -Christianity, churches .,Anglo-Saxon Britain (410-871),Background The Roman army left Britain in about A.D.410 Invasion Who- the Angle, Saxon, and Jute tribes When- 5th and 6th centuries Where- The Anglo-Saxons left

5、their home in northern Germany and Denmark.,The English (Anglo-Saxon) Conquest,Influence: English was made into being as a nation. Left behind rich Northern-European myths(warriors,half-human monster, fate goddess.), Language: The Anglo-Saxons language was called Old English (“England”- “Angle-land”

6、) Wednesdayday of Woden, father of the gods Thursdayday of Thor, god of war,The Danish Invasion/Viking (871-1042),Invasion time 8-9th centuries Influence From 1017 to 1041, England was ruled by Danish kings. Left behind rich Danish legends inspiring the following writers, such as William Shakespeare

7、s Hamlet, prince of Denmark.,The Norman Conquest,The Normans, from Northern France, Duke William,in 1066,battle in Hastings,King of England,revolts suppressed; conquest completed; The Norman Conquest ended the Anglo-Saxon period.,The Norman Conquest,Norman Conquest,ended the Anglo-Saxon established

8、the feudalism,confiscated the lands （沒收）,Anglo-Saxon lords(貴族),a great survey,The “Domesday Book” 地籍簿,bestowed (贈(zèng)送給),William I pushed England into the feudal society,The Influence of the Norman Conquest,French ruling and living style The next 300 years may be thought of as a time of Norman nobles ru

9、ling a largely Saxon population. Establishment of Feudalism in England Language,Battle of Hastings 1066,The Influence of the Norman Conquest on the English Language,French,nobles, lords,English subject(臣民),scholar,romances,No written,chronicles, religious poems,literature,language,speaker,English,La

10、tin,at first,The Anglo-Saxons, low position; English, despised thing. French words of Warfare and chivalry, art and luxury, science and law, began to come into the English language.,English absorbed almost the whole body of French words and became the language of the land.,Guide map,I. the Old Engli

11、sh Period (449-1066) aboriginal : Britons/Celts The Roman Conquest The Anglo-Saxon Invasion The Christianization of the Anglo-Saxons The Danish Invasion II. The Middle English Period (1066-1485) The Norman Conquest The All-prevailing Influence of the Medieval Church,No written literature English lit

12、erature began “Beowulf” Religious poetry King Alfred the Great the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The Romances; popular ballads; Piers the Plowman; Geoffrey Chaucer;,History,literature,the social condition of Anglo-Saxon,“ The military democracy grown out of the gens” Heathens / old Northern Mythology Christ

13、ianized in 7th C Literature Northumbrian: monasteries/ Bible & religious books Anglo-Saxon Poetry Epic Beowulf,Beowulf,heroic epic a long poem telling the story of the deeds of gods and great men and women, or the early history of a nation. national epic of the English people a folk legend brought t

14、o England by Anglo-Saxons from Northern Europe passed from mouth to mouth for hundreds of years before written down in the 10th century the most important work of the Old English literature. 3182 lines,Beowulf,Plot: fight with Grendel fight with Grendels mother fight with firedragon death and funera

15、l,Beowulf battles Grendels mother,Questions for discussion,What kind of person Beowulf is? What can we get from the story?,The significance of Beowulf,a. This glorious epic presents us a vivid picture of the life of Anglo-Saxon people and highly praises the brave and courageous spirit of the fightin

16、g against the elemental forces. b. The epic reflects the situations the epoch 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.,Characteristics of “Beowulf”,a. the mixtu

17、re of pagan elements with Christian coloring. b. the use of alliteration c. the use of metaphors and understatements,Alliteration,Alliteration is regular repetition of the same sounds-usu. Initial consonants of words or of stressed syllables- in Old and Middle English verse. (詩行中的詞或重讀音節(jié)的第一個(gè)輔音字母或音韻的重

18、復(fù)出現(xiàn)-參見P.6) E.G. first and foremost (with）might and main saints and sinners (in) weal and (or) woe,首先,盡全力地,圣人與罪人,無論是福是禍,“Thus made their mourning the men of Geatland, For their heros passing, his hearth-companions Quoth that of all the kings of earth, Of men he was the mildest and most beloved, To hi

19、s kin the kindest, keenest to praise.” (in modern translation),墳?zāi)怪車?，勇士們?yōu)槭湃サ膰?guó)王唱起挽歌 人們稱你為世界上最可親，最可敬的國(guó)王 你對(duì)人們總是最仁愛，最熱心，你最渴望的是人們對(duì)你的贊揚(yáng),Alliteration in Beowulf (p. 4),Pls figure out where alliteration is applied?,Alliteration,Like rhyme, alliteration is a great help to memory: it is catchy, and frequently

20、used in news headlines, corporate names, literary titles, advertising, buzzwords, and nursery rhymes.,Common Examples,Big Ben boom or bust Coca-Cola Do or die Donald Duck Green as grass Hale and hearty making magic Mickey Mouse As dead as a doornail,The more the merrier pay the price peer-to-peer Po

21、or but proud Sink or swim It takes two to tango Watchful waiting Now and never Penny wise, pound foolish.,metaphor,A figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between two unlike things that actually have something in common. A metaphor expresses the unfamiliar (the tenor本體) in terms of the familiar (the vehicle喻體). Love