From millions and thousands and hundreds of works, we draw every lesson we need in our life.
• Hamlet (drama)
to be decisive & certain of truth can cost our dearest; to love others and be loved by others, we must not lose ourselves; the life of an individual is revealed in its relations with social, political and historical surroundings;
Welcome to the world of
Oh literature, oh the glorious Art, how it preys upon the marrow in our bones. It scoops the stuffing out of us, and chucks us aside. Alas! --D. H. Lawrence (1885-1930) English writer Literature is analysis after the event. --Doris Lessing (1919-?) British writer If a nation's literature declines, the nation atrophies and decays. --Ezra Pound (1885-1972) American poet, critic and intellectual
History & Anthology of English Literature
Presented by Sarah Sun
References: Classical Readings of English Literature
A Concise History of English Literature
What is Literature?
• • • • • • Novels? Poems? Essays? Dramas? All above? Or others?
YES, all of them are parts of literature. BUT NONE of them is
In fact, literature is not only past, but also the present and future.
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• To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is spelled out is a spark. --Victor Hugo (1802-1885) French poet, dramatist and novelist • When you reread a classic, you do not see more in the book than you did before; you see more in you than there was before. --Clifton Fadiman (1904-1999) American editor and writer • Early in the morning, at break of day, in all the freshness and dawn of one's strength, to read a book --I call that vicious! --Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) German-Swiss philosopher and writer
• Jane Eyre (novel)
• Don Juan (poem) don juan
Literature can help us:
• Read the most beautiful English • Learn English literary knowledge, improve appreciative ability • Broaden horizon & know more English culture and thoughts • Enrich sensational feelings & cultivate humanities
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Literature is a defense against to life: ''You can't deceive me. I know your habits, foresee and enjoy watching all your reactions, and steal your secret by involving you in cunning obstructions that halt your normal flow.'' --Cesare Pavese (1908-1950) Italian poet, critic, novelist, and translator