英美文学选读 (2)

英美文学选读英美文学选读（英）文艺复兴时期（1）Chapter I The Renaissance Period一、学习目的和要求通过本章学习，了解文艺复兴运动和人文主义思潮产生的历史，文化背景，认识该时期文学创作的基本特征和基本主张，及其对同时代及后世英国文学乃至文化的影响；了解该时期重要作家的文学生涯，创作思想，艺术特色及其代表作品的主题结构，人物刻画，语言风格，思想意义等；同时结合注释，读懂所选作品，了解其思想内容和写作特色，培养理解和欣赏文学作品的能力。二、考核要求（一） 文艺复兴时期概述1. 识记：（1）文艺复兴时期的界定（2）历史文化背景2. 领会：（1）文艺复兴运动的意义与影响（2）文艺复兴时期的文学特点（3）人文主义的主张及对文学的影响3. 应用：文艺复兴，人文主义及玄学诗等名词的解释Brief Introduction to the Renaissance Period1. 应用Definitions of the Literary Terms：1. The Renaissance： The Renaissance marks a transition from the medieval to the modern world. Generally， it refers to the period between the 14th & 17th centuries. It first started in Italy， with the flowering of painting， sculpture & literature. From Italy the movement went to embrace the rest of Europe. The Renaissance， which means rebirth or revival， is actually a movement stimulated by a series of historical events， such as the re-discovery of ancient Roman & Greek culture， the new discoveries in geography & astrology， the religious reformation & the economic expansion. The Renaissance， therefore， in essence is a historical period in which the European humanist thinkers & scholars made attempts to get rid of those old feudalist ideas in medieval Europe， to introduce new ideas that expressed the interests of the rising bourgeoisie， & to recover the purity of the early church from the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church.2. Humanism：Humanism is the essence of the Renaissance. It sprang from the endeavor to restore a medieval reverence for the ancient authors and is frequently taken as the beginning of the Renaissance on its conscious， intellectual side， for the Greek and Roman civilization was based on such a conception that man is the measure of all things. Through the new learning， humanists not only saw the arts of splendor and enlightenment， but the human values represented in the works. Renaissance humanists found in the classics a justification to exalt human nature and came to see that human beings were glorious creatures capable of individual development in the direction of perfections， and that the world they inhabited was theirs not to despise but to question， explore， and enjoy. Thus， by emphasizing the dignity of human beings and the importance of the present life， they voiced their beliefs that man did not only have the right to enjoy the beauty of this life， but had the ability to perfect himself and to perform wonders. Thomas More， Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare are the best representatives of the English humanists.3. Spenserian stanza：Spenserian stanza was invented by Edmund Spenser. It is a stanza of nine lines， with the first eight lines in iambic pentameter & the last line in iambic hexameter， rhyming ababbcbcc.4. Metaphysical poetry：The term metaphysical poetry is commonly used to name the work of the 17th century writers who wrote under the influence of John Donne. With a rebellious spirit， the metaphysical poets tried to break away from the conventional fashion of the Elizabethan love poetry. The diction is simple as compared with that of the Elizabethan or the Neoclassic periods， and echoes the words and cadences of common speech. The imagery in drawn from the actual life. The form is frequently that of an argument with the poet's beloved， with God， or with himself.5. The Renaissance hero：A Renaissance hero refers to one created by Christopher Marlowe in his drama. Such a hero is always individualistic and full of ambition， facing bravely the challenge from both gods and men. He embodies Marlowe's humanistic ides of human dignity and capacity. Different from the tragic hero in medieval plays， who seeks the way to heaven through salvation and god's will， he is against conventional morality and contrives to obtain heaven on earth through his own efforts. With the endless aspiration for power， knowledge， and glory， the hero interprets the true Renaissance spirit. Both Tamburlaine and Faustus are typical in possessing such a spirit英美文学选读（英）新古典主义时期（2） II. Alexander pope1. 一般识记His life & careerEnglish poet & satirist， born in London， England， May 21， 1688， died in Twickenham， England May 30， 1744.Pope is one of the fore-most satirists in world literature as well as a great poet. He wrote witty & polished verses ridiculing the behavior of his day. Pope's mock-heroic poem The Rape of the Lock is one of the finest examples of English comic verse. He made his name as a great poet with the publication of An Essay on Criticism in 1711. His Dunciad is a scathing attack on dullness & pedantry in literature. He also composed verse essays on philosophy， literature， & criticism. In An Essay on Man， he brilliantly expressed the philosophical trends & concepts of his age.2. 识记Pope's literally outlookAs a representative of the Enlightenment， Pope was one of the first to introduce rationalism to England. He was the greatest poet of his time. He strongly advocated neoclassicism， emphasizing that literary works should be judged by classical rules of order， reason， logic， restrained emotion， good taste & decorum. According to Pope， almost every genre of literature should have some fixed laws & rules. Prose should be precise， direct， smooth & flexible， Poetry should be lyrical， epical， didactic， satiric or dramatic， & drama should be written in the Heroic Couplets （iambic pentameter rhymed in two lines）； the three unities of time， space & action should be strictly observed； regularity in construction should be adhered to， & type characters rather than individuals should be represented.3. 识记His major works1） The Rape of the LockA delightful burlesque of epic poetry， it ridicules the manners of the English nobility. The poem is based on an actual incident in which a young nobleman stole a lock of a lady's hair.2） An Essay on CriticismHis first important work， An Essay on Criticism was a long didactic poem in heroic couplets. In this work， he reflected the neo-classical spirit of the times by advocating good taste， common sense & the adherence to classical rules in writing & criticism. The whole poem is written in a plain style， hardly containing any imagery or eloquence &therefore makes easy reading.3） The DunciadGenerally considered Pope's best satiric work， The Dunciad goes deep in meaning & works at many levels. Its satire is directed at Dullness in general， & in the course of it all the literary men of the age. Poets mainly who had made Pope's enemies， are held up to ridicule. But the poem is not confined to personal attack.Dullness as reflected in the corruptness of government， social morals， education & even religion， is expertly exposed & satirized.4. 领会His language stylePope's works are still enjoyed for their sparkling wit， good sense & charm of expression. After Shakespeare， he is the most widely quoted poet in English literature. He worked painstakingly on his poems， developed a satiric， concise， smooth， graceful &well-balanced style.5. 应用Selected ReadingsAn Excerpt from Part 2 of An Essay on Criticism.An Essay on Criticism is a didactic poem written in heroic couplets. It consists of 744 lines &is divided into three parts. It sums up the art of poetry as up held & practiced by the ancients like Aristotle， Horace， Boileau， etc. & the eighteenth century European classicists.In Part 2， Pope advises the critics not to stress too much the artificial use of conceit or the external beauty of language but to pay special attention to True wit which is best set in a plain style.III. Daniel Defoe1. 一般识记His lifeEnglish novelist & journalist， born in London， England， 1660， and died in London， Apr. 26，1731.Like Pope， he never went to university， but he received a good education in one of the best Dissenting academies. He started as a small merchant & all his life his business underwent many ups & downs & yet he was never beaten. Defoe also had a zest for politics. He wrote quite a number of pamphlets on the current political issues.2. 识记His social outlookAs a member of the middle class， Defoe spoke for & to the members of his class & his novels enjoyed great popularity among the less cultivated readers. In most of his works， he gave his praise to the hard-working， sturdy middle class & showed his sympathy for the downtrodden， unfortunate poor.3. 识记His major worksDefoe is generally considered the first great realistic novelist in English fiction. He based his stories on current events & materials， such as the maps & logs of actual sea voyages， personal memoirs& historical or eyewitness reports.Perhaps his most popular novel is Robinson Crusoe （1719）， an adventure story based partly on the actual experience of a man who had been trapped on a deserted island. A Journal of the Plague Year （1722）， sometimes considered his best work， has such a colorful & detailed account of the London plague of 1664 & 1665 that it seems to have been written by an observer on the scene. Defoe's third masterpiece， Moll Flanders （1722）， is a lively novel tracing the adventures of a female rogue. Told in the form of confessions， the narrative includes vivid descriptions of the courts， prisons， & other social institutions of Defoe's era.4. 领会Characteristics of his worksDefoe was a very good story-teller. He had a gift for organizing minute details in such a vivid way that his stories could be both credible& fascinating. His sentences are sometimes short， crisp & plain， & sometimes long & rambling， which leave on the reader on impression of casual narration. His language is smooth， easy， colloquial & mostly vernacular. There is nothing artificial in his language： it is common English at its best.5. 应用Selected ReadingAn Excerpt from chapter IV of Robinson Crouse.Robinson Crouse， an adventure story very much in the spirit of the time， is universally considered his masterpiece. In the novel， Defoe traces the growth of Robinson from a na？ve & simple youth into a mature & hardened man， tempered by numerous trials in his eventful life. The realistic presentation of the successful struggle of Robinson single-handedly against the hostile nature proves the best part of the novel. Robinson is here a real hero： a typical eighteenth-century English middle-class man with a great capacity for work， inexhaustible energy， courage， patience & persistence in overcoming obstacles， in struggling against the hostile natural environment. He is the very prototype of the empire builder， the pioneer colonist. In describing Robinson's life on the island， Defoe glorifies human labor &the puritan fortitude， which save Robinson from despair & are a source of pride &happiness .He toils for the sake of subsistence， & get his reward.VI. Jonathan Swift1. 一般识记His lifeEnglish author， born in Dublin， Ireland， Nov. 30， 1667， and died in Dublin， Oct. 19， 1745.Swift is generally considered the greatest prose satirist in English literature. Through fables， allegories， & pamphlets he savagely exposed the vices &follies of mankind &championed common sense.2. 识记Swift's humanist viewSwift was a man of great moral integrity & social charm. A man with bitter life experience， he had a deep hatred for all the rich oppressors & a deep sympathy for all the poor & oppressed. His understanding of human nature is profound. In his opinion， human nature is seriously & permanently flawed. To better human life， enlightenment is needed， but to redress it is very hard. So， in his writings， although he intends not to condemn but to reform & improve human nature &human institutions. There is often an Under-or over tone of helplessness & indignation.3. 领会His styleSwift is a master satirist. His satire is usually masked by an out word gravity &an apparent earnestness which renders his satire all the more powerful.Swift is one of the greatest masters of English prose. He is almost unsurpassed in the writing of simple， direct， precise prose. He defined a good style as proper words in proper places. Clear， simple， concrete diction， uncomplicated sentence structure， economy & conciseness of language mark all his writings-essays， poems & novels.4. 应用Selected readingAn Excerpt from Chapter III， Part I of Gulliver's Travels.Gulliver's Travels， Jonathan Swift's best fictional work， contains four parts， each about one particular voyage during which Gulliver has extraordinary adventures on some remote island after he has met with shipwreck or piracy or some other misfortune. As a whole the book is one of the most effective & devastating criticisms & satires of all aspects in the then English & satires of all aspects in the then English & European life - socially， politically， religiously， philosophically， scientifically， & morally. Its social significance is great & its exploration into human nature profound.Gulliver's Travels is also an artistic masterpiece. Here we find its author at his best as a master of prose. In structure， the four parts make an organic whole， with each contrived upon an independent structure， & yet complementing the others & contributing to the central concern of study of human nature & life. The first two parts are generally considered smallness in Part I words just as effectively as the exaggerated largeness in Part 2. The similarities between human beings & the Lilliputians & the contrast between the Brobdingnagians & human beings both bear reference to the possibilities of human state. Part 3 furthers the criticism of the western civilization & deals with different malpractices & false illusions about science， philosophy， history & false illusions about science， philosophy， history & even immortality. The lost part， where comparison is made through both similarities &differences， leads the reader to a basic question： What on earth is a human being？英美文学选读（英）新古典主义时期（3） V. Henry Fielding1. 一般识记：His life & careerEnglish author， born in Sharpham Park， England， April. 22. 1707， and died in Lisbon， Portugal， Oct. & 1754.During his career as a dramatist， Fielding had attempted a considerable number of forms of plays. Witty comedies of manners or intrigues in the Restoration tradition， farce or ballad operas with political implication， & burlesques & satires that been heavily upon the status quo of England. Of all his plays， the best known are The coffee-House Politician （1730）， The Tragedy of Tragedies （1730）， Pasquin （1736） & The Historical Register for the Year 1736（1737）。Fielding started to write novels when he was preparing himself for the Bar. In 1742 appeared his first novel， The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews & of his friend Mr. Abraham Adams， Written in Imitation of the Manner of Cervantes， which was first intended as a burlesque of the dubious morality & false sentimentality of Richardson's Pamela. The next year came The History of Jonathan Wild the Great， a satiric biography that harks back to Fielding's early plays. The novel was followed by The History of Tom Jones， a Foundling （1749） & The History of Amelia （1751）。 The former is a masterpiece on the subject of human nature & the latter the story of the unfortunate life of an idealized woman， a maudlin picture of the social life at the time.2. 识记： His major works1） Joseph AndrewsIn this novel， Joseph supposedly the young handsome & chaste brother of Richardson's virtuous heroine Pamela， is tempted by his amorous mistress， supposedly aunt of Pamela's husband， Mr. B. Here， instead of being rewarded for his virtue， Joseph is turned out of doors by his mistress. But the burlesque ends here； the book quickly turns into a great novel of the open road， a comic epic in prose， whose subject is the true ridiculous in human nature， as exposed in all its variety as Joseph & the amiable quixotic parson journey homeward through the heart of England. The dominating qualities of the novel are its excellent character-portrayal， timely entrances & exits， robustness of tone &hilarious， hearty humor.2） The History of Jonathan Wild the GreatIt's a satiric biography that harks back to Fielding's early plays. It takes the life of a notorious real-life thief as a theme for demonstrating the petty division between a great rogue & a great politician such as Sir Robert Walpole， the Prime Minister. The ironical praises for the very qualities of the unscrupulous self-aggrandizement of wild point out the way the Prime Minister had achieved his greatness. The Great Man， properly considered， is no letter than a great gangster.3. 领会：His achievement in English novelFielding has been regarded by some as Father of the English Novel， for his contribution to the establishment of the form of the modern novel. Of all the eighteenth-century novelists he was the first to set out， both in theory & practice， to write specifically a comic epic in prose， the first to give the modern novel its structure & style. Before him， the relating of a story in a novel was either in the epistolary form （a series of letters）， as in Richardson's Pamela， or the picaresque form （adventurous wanderings） through the mouth of the principal character， as in Defoe's Robinson Crusoe， but Fielding adopted the third-person narration， in which the author becomes the all-knowing God. He thinks the thought of all his characters， so he is able-to present not only their external behaviors but also the internal workings of their minds. In planning his stories， he tries to retain the grand epical form of the classical works but at the same time keeps faithful to his realistic presentation of common life as it is.4. 领会：Characteristics of his languageHis language is easy， unlabored & familiar， but extremely vivid & vigorous. His sentences are always distinguished by logic & rhythm， & his structure carefully planned towards an inevitable ending. His works are also noted for lively， dramatic dialogues & other theatrical devices such as suspense， coincidence & unexpectedness.5.应用：Selected ReadingAn Excerpt from chapter VIII， Book Four of Tom Jones.Tom Jones， generally considered Fielding's masterpiece， brings its author the name of the ose Homer. The panoramic view it provides of the 18th century English country & city life with different places & about 40 characters is unsurpassed. The language is one of clarity & suppleness. And last of all， the plot construction is excellent. Its 18 books of epic form are divided into 3 sections， 6 books each， clearly marked out by the change of scenes： in the country， on the high way & in London. By this， Fielding has indeed achieved his goal of writing a comic epic in prose.VI. Samuel Johnson1. 一般识记：His life & literary careerSamuel Johnson， English writer， critic， & lexicographer， born in Richfield， England， Sept. 18.1709， and died in London. England， Dec， 13，1784.Samuel Johnson， commonly called Dr. Johnson， was one of the greatest figures of 18th-century English literature. He was an energetic & versatile writer. He had a hand in all the different branches of literary activities. He was a poet， dramatist， prose romancer， biographer， essayist， critic， lexicographer & publicist.2. 识记：His major worksHis major works include poems： London（1738）， & The vanity of Human Wishes（1749）； a romance： The History of Rasselas， Prince of Abyssinia （1759）； a tragedy： Irene （1749）； several hundred essays which appeared in the two periodicals under his editorship-The Rambler & The Idler； & literary criticism as found in the preface to his edition of Shakespeare & in his comments on 52 poet in Lives of the Poets （1779-1781）。 As a lexicographer， Johnson distinguished himself as the author of the first English dictionary by an Englis