英国文学史上笔记-TheMiddleAges

英国文学史上笔记-TheMiddleAges

The Middle Ages

The Anglo-Saxon Period (449~1066)

Reference: 1) The literature of early period falls naturally into

two divisions, Pagan and Christian.(异教徒文学和基督徒文学)

Pagan represents the poetry which the Anglo-Saxons probably

brought with them in the form of oral sagas (口头诗歌), the crude

material out of which literature was slowly developed on English

soil; Christian represents the writings developed under the

teaching of the monks.(僧侣)

2) Among the early Anglo-Saxon poets we may mention

Caedmon(开德蒙the first important religious poet in English

literature) who lived in the latter half of the 7th century and wrote

a poetic paraphrase of the Bible; Cynewulf(琴涅武甫), the author

of poems on religious subjects.

Beowulf:the national epic of the Anglo-Saxons, represents

the spirit of pagan

Artistic features: 1) Using alliteration押头韵（Definition of

alliteration: a rhetorical device, meaning some words in a

sentence begin with the same consonant sound）

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. 保守的陈述)

Things and Figures mentioned: Beowulf (the Teutonic hero)

Hrothgar (the King of the Danes)

Heorot 鹿厅Grendel (the half-human monster)

Beacon (Beowulf墓上所建) Scyld 赛亚德

Definitions of important literary terms:

1．1)Epic (heroic poetry): An epic is a long oral narrative

poem that operates on a grand scale and deals with legendary

or historical events of national or universal significance. Most

epics deal with the exploits(功勋)of a single individual and also

interlace(交织、交错)the main narrative with myths, legends, folk

tales and past events; there is a composite（复合的）effect, the

entire culture of a country cohering in the overall experience of

the poem. Epic poems are not merely entertaining stories of

legendary or historical heroes; they summarize and express the

nature or ideals of an entire nation at a significant or crucial

period of its history. 史诗是长篇口头叙事诗，内容广泛，通常以重要传说或者重大历史事件为题材。大部分的史诗歌颂个人的英雄事迹，同时也在叙述中插入神话、传说、民间故事以及历史事件；一个民族的整体文化与全诗所讲的经历紧密联系，造成一种复合的效果。史诗不仅仅是愉悦人的传奇故事或者历史英雄事迹，它们总结以及表达了一个民族在其历史上一个重要或者关键时期的本质或者理想。(简要地说就是：a long narrative poem telling about the deeds of a great

hero and reflecting the values of the society from which it

originated.)

2)Alliteration (head rhyme or initial rhyme): the repetition of

the same sounds—usually initial consonants(辅音) of words or

stressed syllables(音节)—in any sequence of neighbouring words.

Now an optional and incidental(附带的) decorative effect in

verse(诗) or prose(散文), it was once a required element in the

poetry of Germanic languages (including old English and old

Norse挪威语) and in Celtic verse (where alliterated sounds could

regularly be placed in positions other than除了the beginning of

a word or syllable). Such poetry, in which alliteration rather than

rhyme is the chief principle of repetition, is known as alliterative

verse; its rules also allow a vowel sound to alliterate with any

other vowel.

Other works: 1)Bede比德(excellent writer in Anglo-Saxon

period)-英吉利人教会史

2) King Alfred the Great艾尔弗雷德大帝(英国散文之父)-盎格鲁撒克逊编年史

The Anglo-Norman Period (1066~1350)

Reference: 1)The literature which Normans brought to

England is remarkable for its bright, romantic tales of love and

adventure, in marked contrast with the strength and

somberness(昏暗、暗淡) of Anglo-Saxon poetry.

2)English literature at the Anglo-Norman period was a

combination of French and Saxon elements.

Works: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight （Alliteration）

Things and Figures mentioned: Gawain(the knight)

Arthur(the king) Camelot(Arthur’s palace)

The Green Knight(a gigantic one) the magic green girdle(绿腰带) Definitions of important literary terms:

1)Canto(诗章): a subdivision of an epic or other narrative

poem, equivalent to a chapter in a

prose work.

2)Legend：A story or group of stories handed down through

popular oral tradition, usually

consisting of an exaggerated or an unrealiable account of

some actually or possibly historical person—often a

saint,monarch, or popular hero. Legends are sometimes

distinguishing from myths in that they concern human beings

rather than gods, and sometimes they have some sort of

historical basis whereas myths do not, but these distinctions are

difficult to maintain consistantly. This term was originally applied

to accounts of saints’ lives, but is now mainly applied to fanciful

tales of warriors (eg. King Arthur and his knights), criminals(eg.

Robin Hood), and other sinners; or more recently to those bodies

of biographical rumour and embroidered anecdote surrounding

dead film stars and rock musicians(eg. John Lennon)

3)Arthurian Legend: A group of tales (in several languages)

that developed in the Middle Ages

concerning Arthur, semi-historical king of Britans, and his

knights. The legend is a complex weaving of ancient Celtic

mythology(神话) with later traditions around a core of possible

historical authenticity(真实性).

Geoffery Chaucer 杰弗里?乔叟1340(?)~1400

Reference: 1)首创“英雄双韵体”Heroic Couplet，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”The father of English poetry.)

2) Chaucer believes in the right of man to earthly happiness.

(世人有谋求世俗幸福的权利。乔叟著作字里行间流露着轻松欢快的思想，这成为了后来文艺复兴时期的主要特征，乔叟也因此成为文艺复兴的先驱。)

3) Chaucer was buried in Westminster Abbey the poet’s

Corner.

4) Chaucer was influenced by 3 literatures:①French

literature(in this period, he wrote in the manner of the French

poets(仿效), and translated various works of French authors,

Book of Duchess悼公爵夫人(创作); Romance of the Rose玫瑰传奇（伦敦方言cockneyese译作）→八音节对偶句) ②Italian

literature (The Legend of Good Women好女人的故事→首次使用英雄双韵体; Troislus and Criseyde特洛伊勒斯和克莱西德—Chaucer

composed this long narrative poem based on Boccaccio’poem

Filostrato菲洛斯特拉托; The Parliament of Fowls百鸟会议→讽刺寓言诗，讨论了权贵缔婚问题。沿用了动物寓言animal fables和爱情幻

境的艺术手法)③English literature （Oops! I don’t know which

category The

House of Fame声誉殿堂belongs to!→乔叟唯一的教诲类长诗，采用了中世纪法国盛极一时的“爱情幻景”和八音节双韵诗体）

writing style: wisdom, humor(描述朝圣者们的外貌、职业、举止和爱好等),humanity, sarcasm(eg. She had so wide a brow I think

her head /Was nearly a span broad, for certainly)

Works：坎特伯雷故事集：first time to use ‘heroic

couplet’(英雄双韵体，即五步抑扬格对偶句) by middle English;

realism(现实主义手法)

1) It is Geoffrey Chaucer alone who, for the first time in

English literature, presented to us a comprehensive realistic

picture of the English society of his time and created a whole

gallery of vivid characters from all walks of life. (a strikingly

brilliant and picturesque panorama of 14th century)

2)The Prologue(总引) provides a framework for the The

Canterbury Tales, and it comprises a group of vivid pictures of

various medieval figures.

3) The pilgrims being 32in all the total number of tales,

according to Chaucer’s plan,was to surpass that of Baccoccio’s

Decameron(薄伽丘《十日谈》), in which ten different narrators

each tell a tale a day for ten days, but the author failed to carry

out his plan and only 24 tales were written, of which two are left

unfinished.

4) The canterbury tales opens with a general

“Prologue”where we are told of a company of pilgrims that

gathered at Tabard Inn in southwark萨瑟克, a suburb of London.

The pilgrims are on their way to the shrine圣龛of St. Thomas

Becket 殉道者托马斯?贝克特at a place named Canterbury. Harry

Baily proposes that each pilgrim of the 32 should tell two tales

on the way to Canterbury and two more on the way back.

Things and Figures mentioned: a Knight and his son a

servant(乡勇)→these three: positive

a nun,a prioress(修女，院长嬷嬷)→sarcasm

Harry Baily(“jolly innkeeper”快活人, the keeper of Tabard

inn泰巴小旅馆)

Medieval Ages’ popular Literary form: Romance(传奇故事)

e.g. Famous three: King Arthur

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Beowulf

Definitions of important literary terms:

1)Romance: a long composition, in verse or in prose,

describing the life and adventures of a

noble hero, especially for the knight. The most popular

theme employed was the legend of King Arthur and the round

table knight.

2)Heroic Couplet: a couplet consisting of two rhymed lines

of iambic pentameter, and written

in an elevated style.

3)Iambic Pentameter五步抑扬格: a poetic line consisting of

five verse feet, with each foot an

unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable, that is,

with each foot an iamb.

Popular Ballads 大众民谣

Reference: 1) different kinds of ballads: historical历史;

legendary传奇; fantastical神话; lyrical 抒情; humorous幽默

2) Bishop主教Thomas Percy was the first to take literary

interest in ballads. →Reliques of Ancient English Poetry《英诗辑古》

3) Robin Hood is a partly historical and partly legendary

character. He was a Saxon by

birth, was an outlaw, a robber but he robbed only the rich

and never molested骚扰the poor and needy. The first mention

of him in leterature is in William Langland’s The Vision of Piers

the Plowman 威廉?兰格伦，中古英语头韵诗《农夫皮尔斯》

Definitions of important literary terms:

1)Ballad(民谣): Ballads are anonymous narrative songs that

have been preserved by oral

transmission. They are usually in four-line stanzas(诗节), with

the second and fourth lines rhymed. Common traits of the ballad

are that (a) the beginning is often abrupt ,(b) the story is told

through dialogue and action (c) the language is simple or

“folksy,” (d) the theme is often tragic---though comic ballads

do exist (e) the ballad contains a refrain(n.叠句、副歌) repeated

several times. The ballad became popular in England in the late

14th century and was adopted by many writers. One of the most

important anthologies of ballads is F. J. Child’s The English and

Scottish Popular Ballads. 四行叙事诗。一、三行各有四个重音，不押韵；

二、四行各有三个重音，押韵。民谣的共同特色包括：（a）诗歌的起首通常十分出其不

意。（b）故事通过对话和行为讲述。（c）语言简单，民风十足。（d）尽管存在喜剧民谣，但大多数民谣的主题具有悲剧意味。（e）民谣通常包含重复多遍的叠句。民谣这种诗歌形式在14世纪晚期的英格兰十分盛行，从此以后许多作家对其进行模仿创作。历史上最为知名的民谣集之一为恰尔德收集出版的《英格兰和苏格兰流行歌谣》。

2)Border ballads:A number of ballads narrating incidents on

the English border deal with

bloody battles fought on the border of England and Scotland.

They reflected the age-long struggle between the scots and the

English.

3)Fable: It is a short literary composition in prose or verse,

conveying a universal cautionary or

moral truth. The moral is usually summed up at the end of

the story, which generally tells of conflict among animals that are

given the attributes of human beings.

Works: Robin Hood and Allin-a-Dale 罗宾汉和阿林代尔

Get Up and Bar the Door 起来，去关门(humourous ballad.

They revealed the unbounded optimism, ingenuity and

resourcefulness of common people)

Sir Patrick Spens 派屈克?斯宾塞爵士