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EnglishLiteratureAnOutlineofEnglishLiteratureI.OldEnglish,orAnglo—Saxon,Era(450-1066)II.MiddleEnglishPeriod(1066-1485)III.TheRenaissancePeriod(1485-early17thcentury)IV.The17thCenturyV.The18thCentury.VI.TheRomanticAge(1789-1837)VII.EnglishLiteratureofVictorianAge(1837-1901)VIII.20thCenturyLiteratureI.OldEnglish,orAnglo—Saxon,Era(450-1066)Thisperiodextendedfromabout450-1066,theyearoftheNorman-FrenchconquestofEngland.TheGermanictribesfromEuropewhooverrunEnglandinthe5thcentury,aftertheRomanwithdraw,broughtwiththeOldEnglish,orAnglo-Saxonlanguage,whichisthebasisofmodernEnglish.Theyboughtalsoaspecificpoetictradition,theformalcharacterofwhichremainedsurprisinglyconstantuntiltheterminationoftheirrulebytheNorman-Frenchinvaders6centurylater.AchievementsPoetryMuchofoldEnglishpoetrywasprobablyintendedtobechanted,withharp(akindofinstrumentinChinesemeans竖琴)accompaniment,byAnglo-Saxonscop(poetinChinesemeans吟游诗人),oftenboldandstrong,butalsomournfulandelegiac(sad)insprit.Majorachievement:BeowulfII.MiddleEnglishPeriod(1066-1485)Extendingfrom1066to1485,thisperiodisnotedfortheextensiveinfluenceofFrenchliteratureonnativeEnglishformsandthemes.AchievementsLiteraryTrends:ArthurianLegendsandTalesofChivalryandAdventure:GeoffreyChaucer:TheCanterburyTalesChaucer(1340-1400)andTheCanterburyTales(1387-1400)founderofEnglishpoetry.founderofEnglishrealism.thefirstgreatpoetwritingintheEnglishlanguage.TheheroiccoupletItisametricalforminEnglishpoetry,developedbyChaucerwhowasthe1stpoettomakeanextensive&successfuluseofitinEngland.Itcomprisesrhymeddecasyllables,nearlyalwaysiniambicpentameters,rhymedinpairs,orsimplycalled“rhymedcoupletofiambicpentameters”TheCanterburyTales1.outline:Onaspringevening,attheTabardInn(泰巴旅店),attheSouthendofLondonBridge,Chaucermeets29pilgrimsreadyforCanterburyandhejoinsthem.Suggestedbythehostoftheinn,eachistotell2storiesgoingand2returning.Thebesttellerwillbetreatedwithafinesupperattheend.Thehostwillbethejudge.Asagiganticplan,124storiesshouldbetoldbutonly24werewritten.Butthesetalescoverpracticallyallthemajortypesofmedievalliterature:a.countryromance;b.folktale;c.beastfable(神话);d.storyoftravelandadventure;e.saint’slife;f.allegoricaltale（寓言）;g.sermon;h.alchemicalaccount（炼丹术）;i.others.Chaucer’sContributiontoEnglishliteratureintroduced(fromFrance)therhymedstanzaofvarioustypesesp.therhymedcoupletof5accentsiniambicmeter(heroiccouplet)insteadoftheoldalliterativeverse.establishedEnglishastheliterarylanguageofthecountry.madethedialectofLondonthestandardforthemodernEnglishspeech.III.TheRenaissancePeriod(1485-early17thcentury)LiteraryTrends:RenaissanceandHumanismTheRenaissancemarksatransitionfromthemedievaltothemodernworld.Thisperiodischaracterizedbytheinfluenceoftheclassics(inliterature,language,andphilosophy),aswellasanoptimisticforward-thinkingapproachtothepotentialofhumans(knownasRenaissancehumanism).WritersandWorks:ThomasMore:Utopia乌托邦EdmundSpenser:FaerieQueene仙后FrancisBacon:Essays论说文集WilliamShakespeareWorks:154sonnets,37plays,2longpoemsComedy:AMidsummerNight’sDream,TwelfthNight,AsYouLikeIt,MerchantofVeniceTragedies:Hamlet,Othello,KingLear,Macbeth,RomeoandJulietHistoryPlays:HenryIV154sonnets2longpoems37playsTragediesComediesHistoryplaysTragi-comediesShakespeare(1564-1616)HISTRAGEDIESamongthemostpowerfulstudiesofhumannatureinallliteratureappropriatelyasthegreatestachievementsofhisdramaticartistryFourGreatTragedies:Hamlet哈姆雷特Othello奥赛罗KingLear李尔王Macbeth麦克白HISCOMEDIESHiscomediescelebratehumansociallifeevenastheyexposehumanfolly.FourGreatComedies:TheMerchantofVenice威尼斯商人AMidsummerNight’sDream仲夏夜之梦TwelfthNight第十二夜AsYouLikeIt皆大欢喜HISHISTORIES2HenryVI3HenryVI1HenryVIRichardIIIRichardIIKingJohn1HenryIV2HenryIVHenryVHenryVIIIShakespeare’sPoetryPoetryVenusandAdonisSonnetsShallIcomparetheetoasummer'sday?Thouartmorelovelyandmoretemperate...LinesfromShakespeare'sSonnet18.[126]AmixofoldandverynewRuralandurbanwords/imagesUnderstandablebythelowestpeasantandthehighestnobleShakespeare’sLanguagethou=you(主格）thy=your（物主代词）thee=you（宾格）thouart=youarethouwilt=youwillthoushalt=youshallthouwert=youwere“Words,words,onlywords,nomatterfromtheheart”Meaning:Emptywords,notrealthoughtsorideasfromtheheart.空话,空话,只是空话,没有一点发自内心.Matchthemeaningwiththequotationandtheplay.Romeo,Romeo,whyareyouRomeo?Denyyourfather,andrefuseyourname…罗密欧,罗密欧,你为什么是罗密欧?否定你的父亲放弃你的姓氏.VersionInmodernEnglish“Neitheraborrowernoralenderbe”Meaning:Itisbestnottolend(money)toothersandnottoborrowfromothers.Whenwelendsth,werisklosingboththethingwelendandthefriendshipwiththeotherperson.别借债,莫放债.“Tobeornottobe:thatisthequestion”Meaning:Thatisaquestionwhethertoliveoninthisworldortodie,thatis,totakeactionortodonothing.生存还是毁灭,这是个问题.InfluenceShakespeare’sworkhasmadealastingimpressiononlatertheatreandliterature.HiswritingiswidelyregardedasoneofthethreemainsourcesoftheEnglishliterature,whiletheothertwoareGreekandRomanmythsandtheBible.Shakespeare’suseoflanguagehelpedshapemodernEnglish.TheTragedyofHamlet,PrinceofDenmark,ormoresimplyHamlet,isbelievedtohavebeenwrittenbetween1599and1601.HamletisregardedasShakespeare