An Overview of English Literature





The literature of Middle Age (5th-1485) The literature of The Renaissance (15th-1603) The literature of the 17th Century The literature of the Enlightenment (17th 后期——18th 中期) The literature of Romanticism (1798-1832) The literature of Realism (19世纪30年代—一战） The literature of Modernism （1918-1945） The contemporary literature （1945-）

The structure
The poem can be divided into four parts: 1) The fight against Grendel 2) The fight against Grendel's mother 3) The fight against the Dragon 4) Death and funeral
The literature of Middle Age (5th-1485)
Anglo-Saxon Invasion of Britain

Angles, Saxons, Jutes, and other Germanic tribes
Vengeanceel
Beowulf fights against Grendel
Beowulf fights against Grendel’s Mother
Dragon
Beowulf fights against the Dragon
Major Themes (1) Goodness conquers evil. (Beowulf stands for all that is good, brave and proper, while the monsters stand for evil.) (2) Men against nature (The poem presents a vivid picture of how the primitive people wage heroic struggles against the hostile forces of the natural world under a wise and mighty leader.)
What is epic? Do you know about the story of The Iliad and The Odyssey?

Further reading :
《伊利亚特》和《奥德修斯》 “金苹果的故事” “阿喀琉斯的脚踝” Achilles 【əˈkɪliːz】
海藻： 如果把我比作你身体 的一个 部分，你认 为是什么？ 宋思明： 你是我的脚踝！
英国文学
English Literature
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
British Isles

Albion, Celtic 43 AD (Claudius) 410,The Fall of the Roman Empire 449,Angles, Saxons ,Jutes( Teutons)

1. National epic Beowulf is a part of the epic tradition like Homer’s The Iliad and The Odyssey, and Virgil’s Aeneid It is the national epic of the Anglo-Saxons.
Beowulf
1. Beowulf is a folk legend brought to England by the Anglo Saxon from their primitive Northern Europe. 2. Beowulf was passed down from mouth to mouth. 3. Beowulf was written down in the 10th century.
Epic
A long narrative poem telling about the deeds of great hero and reflecting the values of the society from which it originated. It is a narrative of heroic action, often with a principle hero, usually mystical in its content, grand in its style, offering inspiration and ennoblement within a particular culture or national tradition.