The Neoclassical Period The Neoclassical Period Between the return of the Stuarts to the English throne in 1660 and the full assertion of Romanticism which came with the publication of lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge in 1798 恪守希腊罗马时期的古典美学原则形式上强调体裁的既定形式，主题上强调文学的道德说教性与文艺复兴的最大区别：后者更注重古典文艺中的人文主义精神 John Dryden (1631―1700)约翰??德莱顿 John Dryden 1. An English poet, dramatist, and critic. 2. He first came to notice: Heroic Stanzas, which memorized the death of Oliver Cromwell. 3.He later sang for the Royalists and became an Anglican(英国圣公会教徒)being a Cavalier poet. 4. He became a poet laureate(桂冠诗人). John Dryden’s Works Changeable, a time-server(随波逐流的人): 1. an elegy on Cromwell’s death: “Herioick Stanza””英雄诗辩” 2. An Ode on Charles II: “Astraea Redux””伸张正义” 3.a didactic poem when James II in reign “The Hind and the Panther”“牝鹿与豹” John Dryden’s Works: 3. tragedy and blank-verse masterpiece: “All for Love”“一切为了爱情” 4. critical works: “Essay of Dramatic Poesy”“论戏剧诗”约翰??德莱顿 5. political satires: 1) “Absolom and Achitophel”“押沙龙与阿托奈拖菲尔” Its subject is politics and written in heroic couplet. 6. a comedy Marriage a la Mode 《时尚婚姻》《现代婚姻》 Comments 1. Dryden made his prose precise, concise and flexible, and raised English literary criticism to a new level. 2. Following the standards of classicism, he established the heroic couplet. John Dryden was the forerunner of the English classical school of literature in the 18th century. John Bunyan约翰??班扬 John Bunyan(1628―1688) John Bunyan: a Puritan poet His Works: 1. Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinner (written in prison) 《罪人受恩记》《功德无量》 2. Pilgrim’s Progress (masterpiece) 《天路历程》 John Bunyan: a Puritan poet 3. The Life and Death of Mr. Badman 《恶人先生的生平和死亡》《贝德曼先生的一生》 4.The Holy War 《神圣战争》 Analysis: The Pi lgrim’s Progress Analysis: The Pilgrim’s Progress 1. The Pilgrim’s Progress is a religious allegory. 2. Though an allegory, its characters impress the reader like real persons. In reality, the Celestial City in The Pilgrim’s Progress is the vision of an ideal happy society dreamed by a poor tinker in the 17th century, through a veil of religious mist（迷雾）Analysis: The Pilgrim’s Progress Analysis: The Pilgrim’s Progress 3. “Vanity Fair” is a remarkable passage. It is an epitome of the English society after the Restoration. Everything can be sold or bought in this fair and the persecution of Christian and Faithful is described. Analysis: The Pilgrim’s Progress 4. Bunyan cherished a deep hatred of both the king and his government. 5. Bunyan’s prose is admirable. It is popular speech ennobled by the solemn dignity and simplicity of the language of the English Bible. John Bunyan 6.Symbolism is another feature in The Pilgrim’s Progress. Bunyan’s language: 1.Bunyan’s language is chiefly plain and colloquial and quite modern in comparison with that of the writers of the Renaissance. 2. His language is clear, vivid, natural, homely (朴实的), fluent, musical and powerful. Bunyan’s language: 3.He paved the way not only in language style but also in writing technique of novels, for the novelists of the 18th century as Swift and Defoe. Alexander Pope亚历山大??薄伯（1688―1744） Alexander Pope 亚历山大??薄伯 Alexander Pope 亚历山大??薄伯1) Pope is a classical poet in the period of English Enlightenment. (At the age of 12, he contracted得病tuberculosis结核 of the spine脊骨 that left him dwarfed变矮小, twisted and hunchbacked驼背.) 2) Pope’s Works: (1) Pastorals《田园组诗》 (2) Essay on Criticism《论批评》a didactic poem in heroic couplets (3) The Rape of the Lock《夺发记》, the masterpiece, which is worth reading for its description and satire of the dull court life of England of that time. Pope’s Works: (4) Translations, in heroic couplet The Iliad of Homer 《荷马的伊里亚特》 The Odyssey of Homer 《河马的奥德赛》(5)The Works of Shakespeare 《莎士比亚全集》 Pope’s Works:(6) “The Dunciad”“愚人志”, a satirical poem. (7) “Moral Essays”“道德论”, a philosophic poem. (8) “An Essay on Men”“人论”, a philosophic poem. Workmanship 1. Pope was an outstanding enlightener and the greatest English poet of the classical school in the first half of the 18th century. 2.He became so perfect in using heroic couplet. 3. He was a diligent reader. Workmanship 4. His style depends upon his patience in elaborating his art. 5. He was at his best in satire and epigram (警句). Limitation 1. He lacked the lyrical gift.2. He sometimes becomes artificial and obscure (difficult to understand).3. His satire was not always just, often caused by personal grudge (resent). Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift ( 1667-1745) Irish satirist best knownfor Gulliver's Travels. Jonathan Swift For the most part, other than “A Modest Proposal” and Gulliver’s Travels, Swift is out of critical vogue now. There’s not a lot of work being done on him (relatively speaking). But if Swift only wrote these two pieces, he’d be considered a genius today. Gulliver's Travels (1726) Gulliver's Travels was Jonathan's first big dive into prose. Defoe's novel about Robinson Crusoe had appeared in 1719 and in the same vein Swift makes Lemuel Gulliver, a surgeon and a sea captain。