英国文学教案Unit-1-Introduction-of-Literature

Unit1IntroductionofLiteratureKeyWords:Introduction,course,EnglishLiterature,historyTarget:Thisunitistoprovideageneralintroductiontothiscourse:thedefinition,value,quality,importance;andtotellthestudentshowtolearnthiscourse.StudyPoints:1.Definitionofliterature;2.Thevalueofliterature;3.Basicqualityofliterature;4.Importanceofliterature;5.Fourgenresofliterature;6.TwoBranchesofLiterature;7.Targetofthiscourse8.TheFrameofHistoryofBritishLiterature.DefinitionofLiterature:LiteratureasMimesis/imitation(Plato/Aristotle/AlexanderPope);LiteratureasFunction(Socrates/Horace/Milton)LiteratureasExpressionofEmotions(Keats/Wordsworth)LiteratureasLiterature(Poe/Swinburne)SuggestedDefinition:Literatureisalinguisticstylizationofexperiencesliftedfrommerebodilyresponsetostimuli,totheplaneofimaginativeandspiritual(psychological)response.TheValueofLiterature:(Literatureisareflectionoflifeandarecordofhumanexperiences.)Artandliteraturerevealtousthethingspeopletreasureandadmire,thethingspeoplepraiseandadvocateasthetrue,thegoodandthebeautiful,aswellasthethingstheyfearandhatemostdeeply,thethingstheydenounceanddoawaywithasthefalse,theevilandtheugly.Artandliteraturearenotonlysomethingwefinddesirableandenjoyable;therearefeelings,emotions,andideasthatcannotbeexpressedinanywayotherthanthroughartandliterature.Artandliteratureprovideanendlessvarietyofinspirationinadditiontoenjoyment,foritisthemeansofmakingpeoplefeeltruthandbeautythroughtheirsenses.Literaturebroadensourperspectivesoftheworld.(e.g.Alice’sAdventuresinWonderland)ImportanceofLiterature:Literaturepreservestheidealsofapeople—love,faith,duty,friendship,freedomreverence,etc.Allourarts,oursciences,evenourinventionsarefoundedsquarelyuponideals.Ourwholecivilization,ourfreedom,ourprogress,ourhomes,ourliferestsolidlyuponidealsfortheirfoundation.Literatureisthestudyofman.Itisthewrittenrecordofman’sspirit,ofhisthoughts,emotions,aspirations;itisthehistory,theonlyhistoryofthehumansoul.FourGenresofLiterature:Fiction:referstonovelsandshortstories.Usuallylong,butnotverydifficult.Thestudentscanreaditasextensivereadings.Buttheyshouldpaymoreattentiontothethemes,charactersandstylesPoetry:usuallydifficultbecauseitslanguageispithyanditsimplicationisrich.Andthewordorderisnotnormal.Thestudentsshouldlearnitasintensivereadings.First,trytoknowthewordorderandthesentencestructure,gettheliteralmeaning,thengodeepertoexploreitsimplication.Essay:shortandterse,richinimplication,butitslanguageiseasierthanthatofpoetry.Thestudentsshouldreadcarefully,payingmoreattentiontotheimportantstatements.Drama:itsremarkablefeatureinlanguageiscolloquialism.Thestudentsshouldpayattentiontotheplot,theme,character,dramaticeffect,dramaticconflictaswellasthespeech.TwoBranchesofLiterature:TargetsoftheCourse:TheHistoryofEnglishLiterature:EnglishLiteratureTheHistoryofEnglishLiteratureSelectedReadingsinEnglishLiteratureThroughthestudyofTheHistoryofEnglishLiterature,thestudentsaresupposedtoobtainsomebasicandimportantknowledgeandinformationaboutEnglishLiteratureanditshistory.Tobemorespecific:thefivemajorperiodsofBritishliterature(RenaissancePeriod,NeoclassicalPeriod,RomanticPeriod,VictorianPeriodandModernPeriod)andtheirindividualcharacteristics,masterrepresentativesandthemasterpieces.Hencethestudentscanobtainsomebasicknowledgeofliteraryappreciationandcriticism.SelectedReadingsinEnglishLiteratureThroughthestudyoftheselectedreadingsfromtherepresentativeworksofsomefamouswriters,thestudentsaresupposedtoobtainsomebasicandimportantknowledgeandinformationabouttheseworksandtheirwriters.A.Comprehensionisthebasicrequirement,which.meansthatthestudentsshouldhaveagoodunderstandingofthetext,includingboththeliteralmeaningofthetextanditsimplications.B.Appreciationisthesecondlevel.Thestudentsshouldbeabletoappreciatethemeritsofthetext.Iftheycanenjoysomebeautifuldescription,orsmileatsomehumorousnarration,orgetsomemeaningfulenlightenment,thentheyareappreciatingthereading.C.Evaluation:isthehighestlevel,requiringthestudentstoanalyzeandcommentonthetexttheoreticallyandsystematically.Itisquitedifficult,butnotimpossible.Inthiscourse,thefirstandthesecondlevels----comprehensionandappreciationmustbeachieved.