En glish Lite ra ture a nd the Se le cte d Re a dingsDe ve lopm e nt of English Lite ra ture1 . Ea rly a n d M e die va l English lite ra ture ( -1 4 8 5 )2 . The English Re na is sa nce (15 5 0 -16 4 2 ? )3 . Th e 1 7 th Ce ntu ry –Th e Pe riod of Re volu t ion a n d Re stora t ion4 . The 1 8 th Ce ntu ry –T h e Age of Enlighte nm e nt5 . Th e Rom a ntic Pe riod (1 7 9 8 -1 8 3 2 )6 . Th e Victoria n Age (1 8 3 2 -1 9 0 1 )7 . Th e 2 0 th Ce n t u ry Lit e ra t u re –M o d e rn is m a n d Po s t- M o d e rn is mCha pte r 1 Ea rly a nd M e die va l En g lish lite ra ture一． Ep ic （史诗）A poe m th a t ce le bra te in the form of a co ntinu ous n a rra t ive the a chie ve m e nts of o ne or m ore he roic pe rsona ge s of history or t ra d it ion.Am ong the gre a t e pics of the w orld m a y be m e ntione d the Ilia d, Odysse y a nd Ae ne id of cla ssica l.Be ow ulf1 . H istorica l Ba ckgro u n d1)) Thre e Inva s ions:A.The Rom a n Conq u e st ( 5 5B. C - 4 10 A. D)B.The English Conqu e s t ( The Anglo-Sa xon Pe riod)C.The Norm a n Conq u e st (The Anglo-Norm a n Pe riod)2)) Tw o W a rs:A.The Hundre d Ye a rs W a r (1 3 37 -1 4 5 3 )B.The W a r of th e Rose (1 4 5 5 -1 4 85 )a . Anglo-Sa xo n Poe t ry : Pa ga n(异教的） &Christia n Be ow ulf /w orks of Ca e d m on a nd Cy ne w u lf.b. Anglo-Norm a n Poe t ry : Rom a ncec.Poe try in Age of Cha u ce r：d.. Popula r Ba lla ds: Ba lla d s of Ro binHood 2 . 评价1） Be ow u lf is a n a t i o na l e pic（史诗） of English pe o ple .2） It is the re pre se nta t ive w ork of th e e a rly English lit e ra tu re w ith 3 0 00 lin e s .3 ） It s w rit e r is u nknow n.4 ） Be ow u lf is a folk le ge nd brou g ht to Engla nd by the Anglo Sa xon from the ir prim it ive Northe rn Eu rope .5 ） Be ow u lf w a s pa sse d do w n fro m m o uth to m outh.6 ）Be ow u lf w a s w rit te n dow n in the 1 0 t h ce n tu ry .3 . Ch a ra cte rs in th e s to ry :Be ow u lf: a ne p he w of king of Ge nts, a pe ople in De nm a rk.Hrothga r: king of De nm a rk.Gre nde l: a m onste r.She -m onste r(女妖怪 ): Gre nde l’s m othe r.Dra go n: a fire dra gon, a m onste r.4. Ou t line o f Th e Son g o f Be o w u lfTe u tonic(日耳曼的） h e ro Be ow u lf, the ne phe w of the king of the Ge a t la nd, he lpe d Hrothga r kill the m onste r ha lf-hu m a n ,Gre nd e l a s w e ll a s his viciou s m oth e r. W ith his he roic de e ds, he w a s m a de the king of Scyldings (Sw e d e n) for 5 0 ye a rs.The n in orde r to ga in m ore tre a sure for his pe ople , h e fought ha rd w ith a fie ry fire dra ke a nd w a s d e a d ly w o und e d , e ve ntu a lly d ie d . His la st w ill w a s to a sk his pe ople to b u ild his to m b in to a be a con for the se a fa re rs w ho sa ile d a long the co a st.5. The w rit in g fe a tu re s o f Be o w u lf ?1 ） The m ost im porta nt is in a llit e ra t ive (头韵的 ) ve rse a nd in a rt is t ic form .Eg：Thus m a d e the ir m ourning the m e n of Ge a t la nd,Fo r th e ir h e ro ’s p a ssin g, h is h e a r th-co m p a n io n s2 ） An othe r is the fre q u e nt u se of m e ta p hors a nd unde rsta te m e nts(低调陈述 ) for ironica l hu m or.ring-give r: king he a rth-com pa nions: a t te nd a nt w a rriors w ha le ’s roa d : se a -w oo d:not t rou ble som e : ve ry w e ll二 Rom a nce （传奇）1 ．介绍1 ）T he lite r ature for the uppe r class2 ）A long composition in ve rse or prose , a bout knights—adve nture s3 ）S ubje ct matters: about the matte r of Britain, the mate r of Fra nce , the m atte r of Rome4 ）c onte nt :love chivalry a nd re ligion5 ）骑士精神：l oyalty,brave l y.hone s ty2 . 代表作1 ） King Arthur a nd His Knights of the Round Ta ble :the most importa nt roma nce of the pe riod 2）Sir Gawa in a nd the Gre e n Knight : The best Arthuria n rom ance , a nonymous, in a l lite rative ve rseIts chara cte rs : King Arthur, Sir Gawain, the Gre e n Knight三 Ba lla d（民谣）1 . A ba lla d is a story told in song, u sua lly in 4 -line sta nza s, w ith the2 nd a nd 4 th rhym e d .2 .The Su bje cts of English Ba lla ds1 ) stru ggle of you ng lo ve rs2 ) the conflict be tw e e n love a nd w e a lth3 ) the crue lty of je a lo usy4 ) the criticism of th e civil w a r5 ) the m a t t e rs of cla ss s t ru ggle3 .代表作Robin ho od ba lla ds四．Ge offre y Cha uce r1 . 评价1 ） Th e first gre a t English po e t2 ） Th e fa th e r of English poe t ry3 ） Th e re pre se nta t ive w rite r in the M e d ie va l English lit e ra tu re2 . C ha u ce r’s thre e lit e ra ry pe riod s :1 ） Th e first or th e Fre nch pe riod:The Rom a u nt of the Rose 《玫瑰传奇》 a t ra nsla t ion, po pu la r in M iddle a ge sThe Book of the Duche ss 《悼公爵夫人》 , the be st w ork of the t im e Cha uce r’s lite ra ry ca re e r2 ） Th e se cond or the It a lia n p e riod:Troilus a nd Crise yde 《特罗伊拉斯和克莱西德》a poe m of a love story3 ） The third or the English pe riod, his be st pe rio d :The Ca nte rbury Ta le s《坎特伯雷故事集》 , i s m a s te rpie ce a nd a re pre se nta t ive w orks of th e M id dle Age s.The Ca nte rbury Ta le s1. O u t lin eIt op e ns w ith a ge ne ra l prologu e w he re w e a re told of a com pa ny of pilgrim s , 3 2 one s th a t ga the re d a t Ta b a rd Inn in Sou th w a rk, a su bu rb of Londo n. The y a re on the ir w a y to the shrine of St. Thom a s Be cke t a t Ca nte rbu ry . Th e y se t ou t tog e the r w ith the jo lly innke e pe r, Ha rry Ba ily , w ho prop ose d tha t e a ch pilgrim sh ou ld te ll tw o t a le s on the w a y to Ca nte rbury a nd tw o m ore on the w a y ba ck. But , tota lly only 2 4 ta le s a re finishe d . The pilgrim s a re from va riou s pa rts of Engla nd, re pre se n ta t ive s of a ll w a lks of life a nd socia l grou ps, knigh ts, m onks, w id ow s a n d prie st e tc. His w ork show e d a strikingly brillia nt a nd pictu re sq u e pa nora m a of his t im e a nd his country.2. C h a u ce r’s la n g u a g e :1) His la ngu a ge is fu ll of hu m or a nd sa t ire .2) His la ngu a ge is vivid, e xa ct a nd sm o oth, a m a ste r of w ord-pictu re s .3) He is the first to u se h e roic co uple t w hich he introduce d from Fra nce .4)He is the first gre a t poe t w ho w rote in the English la ngu a g e , m a king the dia le ct of London the sta n d a rd for th e m ode rn English spe e ch.Ps:1 . W h a t is t h e “h e ro ic co u p le t ”?Th e h e roic cou ple t is a ve rse form in e pic poe try, w ith lin e s of te n sylla ble s a nd five stre sse s , in rhym ing pa irs .(英雄诗体：用于史诗或叙事诗，每行十个音节，五个音部，每两行押韵。