英国文学选读

1. 英国文学选读 主讲教师：林春阳

2. 本节课讲授重点： • The Renaissance • Poets: 1. William Shakespeare 2. France Bacon

3. Part ⅣThe Renaissance • History Background • Literary Characteristic

4. Ⅰ. History Background The 16th century in England was a period of the breaking up of feudal relations and the establishing of the foundations of capitalism. ☺The manufactories were developing and the wool trade was rapidly growing in bulk. ☺At the beginning of the 16th century absolute monarchy(君 主专制) was formed in England. King Henry Ⅷ (亨利八世)—1509—1547 A. The consolidations of ecclesiastical (基督教会) and secular (非天主教会) power under one King that can greatly furthered the strengthening of English monarchy.

5. (1) broke off with the Pope(天主教皇) (2) dissolved all the monasteries and abbeys in the country (3) confiscated their lands (4) proclaimed himself head of the Church of England (英国 国教) B. At the same time, in order to undermine the power of the independent feudal lords and strengthen his own role, King Henry disbanded their feudal bodyguard. C. Supporters of the Absolute Monarchy (1) The old English aristocracies having been exterminated in the course of the War of the Roses(玫瑰战争), a new nobility, totally dependent on the King’s power, came to fore. They are the gentry, the main supporters of the absolute monarchy.

6. (2) At the same time Henry Ⅷ policy found support among the rich townsfolk—the merchants and handicraftsmen who were developing into a new class—the class of bourgeoisie(资 产阶级). Because the rapid growth of trade and the formation of the national market demanded political centralization and consolidation of monarchy. ☺Absolute monarchy in England reached its summit during the reign of Queen Elisabeth (1558—1603) ☺The progress of bourgeois economy made England a power- -ful state and enabled her in 1588 to inflict a defeat on Spanish Invincible Armada(西班牙无敌舰队). ☺We can see the aggravation of the contradiction between the wealth of the ruling class and the poverty of the people.

7. Ⅱ. Literature Renaissance ☺Together with the development of bourgeois relationships and the formations of the English national state this period is marked by the flourishing of national cultures known as the Renaissance(文艺复兴). ☺It originally indicated a revival of the classical (Greek and Rome) arts and sciences after the dark ages of medieval. ☺The study and propagation of classical learning and art was carried on by the progressive thinkers of the humanists. ☺They held their chief interest in man, his environment and doings and bravely fought for the emancipation of man from the tyranny of the church and religious dogmas.

8. Humanist ☺Thomas More (托马斯·莫尔) (1) time: at the beginning of the 16th century (2) work: Utopia(乌托邦) (3) contents: the profound and truthful pictures of the people’s sufferings and put forward his ideal of a future happy society. ☺Francis Bacon (弗朗西斯·培根)—a great English scientist and philosopher (1) time: at the end of the century (2) content: his famous philosophical and literary works

9. Literary Forms • Lyrical Poems • Novels • Drama

10. Lyrical Poems A. In the first half of the 16th century there appeared in Britain. (1) source: the new poetical forms that borrowed freely from English popular songs and Italian and French poetry. (2) poets: ☺Thomas Wyatt (托马斯·怀亚特) —the first to introduce the sonnet(十四行诗) into English literature ☺Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey (萨利伯爵亨利·霍华德) B. In the second half of the 16th century it became widespread in England. ☺Philip Sidney(菲利普·锡德尼) ☺Thomas Campion (托马斯·坎皮恩) ☺ Edmund Spenser (埃德姆·斯宾塞)—wrote the greatest epic poem “The Fairy Queen” (仙后)

11. Novels– according to the content, it divided into two kinds. A. about the court life (1) content: dealing with the court life and gallantry (2) writers ☺John Lyly (约翰·利力) “Eupheus”(尤菲斯)—he gives the term “euphuism” (绮丽体) designating an affected style of court speech ☺Thomas Loge (托马斯·洛基) B. the realistic tendencies (1) content: devoted every day's life of craftsman, merchants and other representatives of the lower class (2) writers ☺ Thomas Deloney (托马斯·德洛尼) ☺ Thomas Nashe (托马斯·纳什)

12. Drama—witness a particular development in Renaissance ☺Christopher Marlowe (克里斯托弗·马洛)—the greatest of the pioneer of English drama (1) reform the genre in England (2) perfect the language and verse of dramatic works (3) make blank verse as the principal vehicle of expression in drama ☺Robert Greene (罗伯特·格林) (1) “George Green”(乔治格林) (2) “The Pinner of Wakefield”(威克菲尔德的别针人)

13. William Shakespeare(威廉·莎士比亚)(1564—1616) • Brief Account of Author's Life • The Main Literary Work

14. The greatest of all English authors, William Shakespeare belongs to those rare geniuses of mankind who have become landmarks in the history of world culture. The literary work of William Shakespeare are the great landmark in the history of world literature for he was one of the first founder of realism, a master hand at realistic portrayal of human characters and relations. No wonder Shakespeare’s works were so fondly cherished by the greatest minds of mankind, and among them by—Karl Marx (卡尔·马克思), who regarded Aeschylus (埃斯库罗斯) and Shakespeare as “the two greatest dramatic geniuses of the world has ever known”. It is well known in what high esteem Shakespeare was held by such giants of world literature as for Milton (弥尔顿), Goethe (歌德), Stendhal (斯丹达尔), and Pushkin(普希金).

15. Ⅰ. Brief Account of Author’s Life ☺He was born on the 23nd of April, 1564, in the Stratford-on- Avon (在埃文河畔斯特拉特福), Warwickshire (沃威克). His father, John Shakespeare, the son of the small farmer, settled in Stratford and entered into trade. ☺At the age of 7 Shakespeare was sent to the local grammar school, which he attended for six years. Besides reading and writing he was taught Latin and Greek. ☺In 1577 he was taken from the school and for some time had to help his father in the trade. ☺In his younger years, he was the schoolmaster in the country school.

16. ☺On the other hand, there is a legend according to which the Shakespeare had poached upon the lands of Sir Thomas Lucy, a rich landlord and country magistrate. Once Shakespeare was caught by Lucy’s keepers and severely punished Shakespeare avenged himself by composing a satirical ballad; very soon it became so popular throughout the countryside that whenever Sir Thomas Lucy appeared he was met with the strains of the ballad. Sir Thomas was enraged and redoubled his persecution to such a degree that Shakespeare was compelled to leave his hometown—Stratford and seed refuge in London.

17. ☺In 1582 Shakespeare married a farmer’s daughter Anne Ha- -thaway(安妮哈斯维). ☺When in the year 1585 a son was born to Shakespeare, the boy was named Hamnet, obviously after Hamlet, the hero of the tragedy written by Thomas Kyd (托马斯·基德) , a gifted playwright and predecessor of Shakespeare. ☺Shakespeare arrived in London in the year 1586 or 1587. At that time the dramas was rapidly gaining popularity among the people.

18. ☺During first years of Shakespeare's life in London he had to go through many hardships. In one way or another he became acquainted with certain theatrical companies. ☺By the end of the 1580 Shakespeare is known to have been one of actor and playwright in one of the leading companies of player — “Lord Chamberlain‘s Company” (坎伯莱勋爵公司 公司) directed by James Burbage. ☺Later on he became a shareholder of the theatre and having proved himself to be a practical and just man, he soon won the respect and love of his fellows.

19. ☺Shakespeare’s activities as a dramatist, poet, actor and the proprietor, lasted till the year 1612 when he retired form the stage and returned to Stratford. ☺Shakespeare died on the 23rd of April, 1616.

20. Ⅱ. The Main Literary Works ☺For more than 25 years Shakespeare had associated with the best theaters of England. ☺His earliest task at theatre was the remodeling and partially rewriting of old plays. He continued to do it for several years which may be termed his years of apprenticeship in dramatic art. ☺During twenty-two years of his literary work he produced 37 plays, 2 narrative poems and 154 sonnet. ☺His literary works may be divided into three major periods: the first period from 1590 to 1600; the second from 1601 to 1608; the third from 1609 to 1612.

21. ☺His first original play written in about 1590 was King Henry Ⅵ (亨利六世), parts tow and three, the first part having been written earlier by another dramatist and only retouched by him. ☺In the first period: 1590 The Second Part of King Henry Ⅵ(亨利六世中) The Third Part of King Henry Ⅵ (亨利六世下) 1591 The First Part of King Henry Ⅵ (亨利六世上) 1592 The Life and Death of King Richard Ⅲ (理查三世) The Comedy of Errors (错误喜剧) 1593 Titus Andronicus (泰马斯安东尼) The Taming of the Shrew (驯悍记)

22. 1594 The Two Gentlemen of Verona (维洛那二绅士) Love’s Labor’s Lost (爱的徒劳) Romeo and Juliet (罗密欧与朱丽叶) 1595 The Life and Death of Richard Ⅱ (理查三世) A Midsummer Night’s Dream (仲夏夜之梦)* 1596 The Life and Death of King John (约翰王) The Merchant of Venice (威尼斯商人)* 1597 The First Part of King Henry Ⅳ (亨利四世上) The Second Part of King Henry Ⅳ (亨利四世下) 1598 Much Ado About Nothing (无事生非) The Merry Wives of Windsor (温莎的风流女人) The Life of King Henry Ⅴ (亨利五世)

23. 1599 The Life and Death of Julius and Caesar (尤利乌斯凯 撒) As You Like It (皆大欢喜)* 1600 Twelfth Night, or, What You Will (第十二夜)* 注：*号作品为莎士比亚四大喜剧 ☺In the second period: 1601 Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (哈姆雷特)* 1602 Troilus and Cressida (特洛伊斯与克里西德) All’s Well That Ends Well (终成眷属) 1604 Measure for Measure (一报还一报) Othello, the Moore of Venice (奥赛罗)* 1605 King Lear (李尔王)* The Tragedy of Mecbeth (麦克白)* 注：*号作品为莎士比亚四大悲剧

24. 1606 Antony and Cleopatra (安乐尼和克莉奥佩拉) 1607 The Tragedy of Coriolanus (科里奥那斯) Timon of Athens (雅典的戴蒙) 1608 Pericles, Prince of Tyre (伯利克利) ☺In the third period: 1609 Cymbeline, King of Britain (辛白林) 1610 The Winter’s Tale (冬天的故事) 1612 The Tempest (暴风雨) The Life of King Henry Ⅷ(亨利八世) ☺Other poems written during the three periods: Venus and Adonis (1592维纳斯与安东尼) Lucrece (1592—1593鲁克丽丝受辱记) Sonnets(1593—1598十四行诗)

25. Francis Bacon (弗朗西斯·培根)(1561—1626) • Brief Account of Author's Life • The Main Literary Work • Commentary

26. Ⅰ. Brief Account of Author’s Life A study of Bacon takes us beyond the limits of the reign of Elizabeth, but not beyond the continued influences of the reign. Bacon belongs with Sidney(锡德尼) and Raleigh(拉雷) in that groups who aimed to be men of affairs, reformers, explorers, politicians rather than writers of prose or poetry. ☺He was of noble birth, and from an early ages was attached to Elizabeth’s court. ☺Bacon was the son of Sir Nicholas Bacon (尼古拉斯培根), Lord Keeper of the Seal (掌玺大臣), and of the learned Ann Cook (安·库克), sister-in-law to Lord Burleigh (伯雷勋爵), greatest of the queen’s statesmen.

27. ☺From these connections, as well as from native gift, he was attracted to the court, and as a child was called by Elizabeth her “Little Lord Keeper”. ☺At 12 he went to Cambridge, and after graduating at 16 he took up law. ☺At seventeen he was in France, in the trains of the English ambassador, when his father suddenly died, and leaving him without adequate means. ☺Bacon completed his legal education, was called to the bar, and at the age of 26 was elected to Parliament. ☺He made little progress during Elizabeth’s reign. ☺He received a knighthood(骑士) during JamesⅠ reign.

28. ☺After a few years he obtained an important office of states, and between 1612 and 1621 he rose through a succession of stages until he became Lord High Chancellor(大法官兼上院 议长), the head of the legal system of England, and made peer with the titles of Baron Verulam and Viscount St Albans(弗鲁 兰姆男爵及圣阿尔贝子爵). ☺He was an admirable judge, but in the course of his raising he have made enemies who finally combined to bring against him charge of bribery and the betrayal of justice. Bacon's guilt lay less in financial corruption than in great readiness to allow court influence to affect a legal decision but he was convicted, deprived of his offices, and banished form London.

29. ☺Five years later, in 1626, he died. ☺The remaining of his life were spent in literary and philoso- -phical work. ☺Pope(蒲柏) describe him as “the wisest, brightest, meanest of mankind”.

30. Ⅱ. The Main Literary Works Bacon’s works may be divided into three classes: ☺the philosophical work Advancement of Learning(学术进展)—publish in English in 1605 Novum Organum(新工具)—publish in Latin in 1620 De Augmentis(大西洋)—publish in Latin in 1623 ☺the professional work—the largest and most important Maxims of the Law(法律箴言) Reading on the Statute of Uses(谈使用法则)

31. ☺the literary work Essays(随笔)—the most important one A. time (1) Tens of these he published in 1597 (2) They are reissued and extended in 1612 and again in 1625. B. content—they deal with a great various subjects (1) Some quite general like those Of Truth (论真理)and Of Death (论死亡). (2) Some on questions of individual behavior like Of Revenge (论报复)and Of Friendship(论友谊) (3) Many on problem of statesmanship like Of the True Great- -ness of Kingdoms and Estates(论治国之道)

32. Ⅲ. Commentary Of Essays The essays of Bacon are so highly esteemed that the critics Hallam(哈莱姆) declares it would be “derogatory to a man of the slightest claims to polite letters” to be unacquainted with them. His first venture was tiny volume called Essays, Religi- -ous Meditations, Places Persuasion and Dissuasion(随笔,宗 教思考、说服与讨论). This was modeled upon French work by Montaigne(蒙田Essais, 1580) and was considered of small consequences by the authors. As times went on, his ambitious works were overlooked in favor of his essays, so he paid more attention to the latter, revising and enlarging his work until the final edition of 58 essays appeared in 1625. Then it was Bacon

33. wrote, “I do publish my Essays, which of all my works have been most current；for that, as it seems, they come home to men’s business and bosoms.” If one must choose out of such a storehouse, we would suggest Studies (论读书), Goodness (论 善良), Riches(论财富) , Atheism (论无神论),Unity in Religion (论宗教合一), Adversity (论逆境), Friendship (论友谊), and Great Place(伟大的复兴) as introduction to Bacon’s worldly- -wise philosophy.