英国文学简史期末考试复习要点 刘炳善版(英语专业大三必备).doc

英国文学史资料British Writers and Works I. Old English Literature The Late Medieval Ages Beowulf贝奥武夫: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. Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey Artistic features: Using alliteration Definition of alliteration: a rhetorical device, meaning some words in a sentence begin with the same consonant sound（头韵） Some examples on P5 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 杰弗里?乔叟1340(?)~1400首创“双韵体”，英国文学史上首先用伦敦方言写作。约翰·德莱顿（John Dryden）称其为“英国诗歌之父”。代表作《坎特伯雷故事集》。the first time in English literature, presented to us a comprehensive (综合的，广泛的)realistic picture of the English society of his time and created a whole gallery of vivid characters from all walks of life. ( A ) A. Geoffrey Chaucer B. Matin Luther C. William Langland D. John Gower writing style: wisdom, humor, humanity. ① The Canterbury Tales坎特伯雷故事集‘heroic couplet’(双韵体) by middle English ②Troilus and Criseyde特罗伊拉斯和克莱希德 The House of Fame声誉之宫’ popular Literary form: Romance(传奇故事) Famous three：King Arthur Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Beowulf II 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. Two features a thirsting curiosity for the clasical literature the keen interst in the activities of humanity. The Renaissance marks a transition from the medieval to the modern world. The Renaissance is a historical period in which the European humanist thinkers and scholars made attempts: to get rid of tho