英国文学课程教案

英国文学课程教案内容摘要：

llect, wit and love of life. Chaucer offers a panorama of his time. In his Canterbury Tales, people from all walks of life except the royal family and the beggars are involved. 2. Chaucer makes English the language of literature. The language he used, known as Middle English now, is vivid and smooth. 3. Chaucer‘s contribution to English poetry is that he greatly enriched the rhyme schemes by introducing from France the rhymed stanzas of various types. Heroic couplet, or the rhymed couplet of iambic pentameter, is the form he was most at home with. SELECTED READINGS The Canterbury Tales (excerpt) by Geoffrey Chaucer There was an Oxford Cleric too, a student, Long given to logic, longer than was prudent。 The horse he had was leaner than a rake, And he was not too fat, I undertake, But had a hollow look, a sober stare。 The thread upon his overcoat was bare. He had found no preferment in the church And he was too unworldly to make search. He thought far more of having by his bed His twenty books bound in black and red, Of Aristotle and philosophy Than of gay music , fiddles or finery. Though a philosopher, as I have told, He had not found the stone for making gold. Whatever money from his friends he took He spent on learning or another book And prayed for them most earnestly, returning Thanks to them thus for paying for his learning. His only care was study, and indeed He never spoke a word more than was need, Formal at that, respectful in the extreme, Short, to the point, and lofty in his theme. The thought of moral virtue filled his speech And he would gladly learn, and gladly teach. QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. What are the characteristics of AngloSaxon literature? 2. Give a brief ment on Beowulf. 3. What is romance? How many cycles can romance be divided into? What are they? 4. Give a brief ment on Chaucer’s literary career and his contribution. 课程教案（二）：文艺复兴 PART TWO ENGLISH RENAISSANCE [内容提要 ] 文艺复兴系英国文学的第一个高潮。 伊丽莎白女王的英明统治、《圣经》的英译以及古希腊罗马文学的引进，促进了人文主义思想的萌生以及文学艺术的发展。 文艺复兴的最高成就是戏剧，涌现出莎士比亚、马洛、琼生等世界闻名的大作家；其次是诗歌，涌现出锡德尼、斯宾塞等大诗人，此外，上述三位剧作家也都是杰出的诗人。 散文虽然无法与戏剧、诗歌媲美，但也异彩纷呈，诞生了培根等杰出的散 文家。 [学习要点 ] 文艺复兴；人文主义；钦定本《圣经》对文学的影响；戏剧发展历程；马洛的文学成就；莎士比亚作品分类；莎士比亚四大悲剧、四大喜剧、历史剧、青春偶像剧及其代表作；哈姆雷特的忧患意识；奥塞罗的悲剧根源；伊阿古的双重性；鲍西娅的女性形象分析；夏洛克的双重性； 亨利五世性格分析；《罗密欧与朱丽叶》与《梁山伯与祝英台》之对比研究；莎士比亚十四行诗的特点；莎士比亚的文学成就。 Historical introduction The century and a half following the death of Chaucer was full of great changes. England was involved in the Hundred Years‘ War with France from 1337 to 1453. When the war ended, England was blown into the War of Roses from 1455 to 1485 between the House of Lancaster and the House of York. The two noble families struggled for the crown for about 30 years. They suffered great losses in the selfdestruction. Henry VII, taking advantage of the situation, founded the Tudor dynasty, which met the needs of the rising bourgeoisie. In religion, the farreaching movement of Reformation began in England during Henry VIII‘s reign. He declared the break with the Roman Catholic Church and confiscated the property of the Church. Protestantism began to gain ground among the English people. Protestants were persecuted during the reign of Queen Mary. And the bloody persecution came to a stop due to the church settlement of Queen Elizabeth. In 1611, King James Bible appeared in England. It was the work of many learned scholars headed by Bishop Lancelot Andrews, an eloquent orator with an exquisite ear for the cadences of language. King James Bible became the monument of English language and literature. England witnessed a series of great social changes and political events in this period: the enclosure movement, the mercial expansion and the war with Spain. England became a great power in the world. Renaissance And Humanism Renaissance sprang in Italy and spread to France, Germany, the Low Countries, and lastly to England. Two features are striking of this movement. One is the thirst for classical literature, the other is the rise of Humanism. In Renaissance period, ancient Greek and Latin works were studied and rediscovered. Humanism became the keynote of the Renaissance. People ceased to look upon themselves as living only for God and a future world. They began to admire human beauty and human achievement. Man is no longer the slave of the external world. He can mould the world according to his desires, and attain happiness by removing all external checks. Representative Writers English Renaissance can be divided into 3 periods. The first period started in 1516 and ended in 1578. Thomas More wrote his great work Utopia in this period. The second period (15781625), known as Elizabethan period, is the most important period in English literary history. The period witnessed the flowering of English literature, esp. drama and poetry. England became ― a nest of singing birds‖. Marlowe, Shakespeare, Ben Jonson and Spenser wrote their best works in this period. The third period, from 1625 to 1660, is the epilogue of English Renaissance. The best English poets in this period are Edmund Spenser and Philip Sidney. The best English essayists are Francis Bacon and Thomas More. The best dramatists are Christopher Marlowe, William Shakespeare and Ben Jonson. Drama: Its Origin and Development There is no doubt that the highest glory of the English Renaissance was its drama. Early English drama can be dated back to the miracle plays in the Middle Ages. The miracle plays were simple plays based upon the Bible or the lives of saints. They were played in churches at first. Then with the increasing numbers of actors and plays, the players went to the market places. A little later, morality plays came into being. Morality plays focused on the conflict between good and evil through alleg。