英美文学选读笔记.docx

1、英美文学选读 笔记英美文学选读 笔记+考题Lecture 1 William Shakespeare1. Introduction of the course(1) This course is called Selected Readings in English and American Literature, a compulsory course for you. It will be finished in 12 weeks. And in each week well meet each other two times.(2) In this course, you will ha

2、ve to read some original works taken from English and American classics. It may be a little bit difficult for you. However, its also a chance for you to know some great treasury in world literature and Ill help you understand them.(3)Comparing with the literary history courses, this course mainly fo

3、cuses on original productions. The course book is a nice one with classical works and detailed notes.(4) For the final test, 10% will be decided by your attendance, 20% by your homework and 70% by the test paper. About the homework, after we finish each writer, Ill give you a name list of recommende

4、d works written by the writer. In the whole semester, you should choose at least one piece of English writers works and one piece of American writers works recommended by me. And then you should write a small paper on the piece of works you chose. That means you should turn in two papers in the whol

5、e semester. (5) A very important suggestion: preview the productions before the class; otherwise itll be very difficult for you to catch me in the class.2. William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)(1) Historical BackgroundA. Queen Elizabeth I: a powerful England with the fast development of capitalismB. Ren

6、aissance: an intellectual movement sprung first in Italy in the 14th century and gradually spread all over Europe. Two features are striking of this movement. The one is a thirsting curiosity for the classical literature. Another is the humanism, which means the new feeling of admiration for human b

7、eauty and human achievement. C. Shakespeare lived in such a period and also such a period made him the most famous and most important English writer.(2) Life(Read paragraph 1 and 2 on page 1 after class. These two paragraphs are the introduction of the great writers life.)A. His complete works inclu

8、de 37 plays, 2 narrative poems and 154 sonnets.B. He is mainly famous for his great plays, especially the outstanding Four Great Tragedies. (Hamlet, King Lear, Othello and Macbeth) He is also the author of some other famous plays, such as Romeo and Juliet, but today well learn the excerpt from one o

9、f his great comedies - The Merchant of Venice, which well talk about a little bit later.C. Shakespeares sonnets are also very good. Well first introduce Sonnet 18, the most famous sonnet written by Shakespeare.(3) Sonnet 18A. A sonnet is a lyric poem consisting of a single stanza of fourteen iambic

10、pentameter lines linked by an intricate rhyme scheme. It was introduced to England from Italy by Sir Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey. (It is a very popular poem form and used widely in English literature. In the Elizabeth era, Edmund Spenser was also famous for his sonnets. And later,

11、John Milton, Byron and Keats all contributed excellent sonnets.)B. Though the sonnet is a fixed form, but the rhyme scheme of the sonnet is not fixed. (few minutes for students to find out this poems rhyme scheme.)Answer: abab cdcd efef gg. This is a typical rhyme scheme used by Shakespeare in all h

12、is sonnets. C. Explain the poem sentence by sentence.temperate: moderate or mild; rough winds: strong winds; darling: lovely; lease: 租约;complexion: appearance; dim: darken with cloud; brag: boast; D.(discuss) Theme: expressing the deep love to his friend(4) The Merchant of VeniceA. Famous comedy wri

13、tten by Shakespeare in his youthB. Setting: Venice, the Middle AgeC. Characters: Bassanio, Antonio, Shylock, Portia (let students discuss the characters)Portia: Shakespeares ideal woman, beautiful, intelligent, cultured, gracious, independent, a daughter of RenaissanceShylock: most successful charac

14、ter, a Jew, a greedy and merciless usurer and also a victim of racial discrimination and religious persecution (sympathy)D. Plot: Read the introduction from P3 to P4.E. (Discuss)Theme: Mercy wins over malice.F. The selection is the most famous scene of the whole play and also the climax of the play.

15、 (Ask students to read it thoroughly after the class.) In the class, well learn a short part taken from the scene. (P10 to P11, the famous statement about mercy made by Portia)G. (the last but not least) form of the play: verse drama written in blank verse mostlyblank verse: unrhymed iambic pentamet

16、er. Soon after blank verse was introduced by Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey in his translation of Virgils works, it became the standard meter for Elizabethan and later poetic dramas and some poets, such as John Milton, also employed this form to write their long poems.(5) Recommended ReadingSonnet 29;

17、 Sonnet 73; Sonnet 116; Four great tragedies; Romeo and Juliet; A Midsummer Nights Dream3. Homework1. Preview the next chapter about John Milton.2. Find out the form and rhyme scheme of the poem To Cyriack Skinner on P23.Lecture 2 John Milton (1608 0 1674)(Comparing with William Shakespeare, few peo

18、ple read his great productions today. However, he is also a classical writer in English Literature.)1. Historical Background(Discussion: Any important event happened during Miltons life time in Britain )English Bourgeois RevolutionThe conflicts between King (James I and then Charles I) and the Parli

19、amentProfound conflicts: the Old Feudalism and New CapitalismIn religion: The Anglican Church and the PuritanThe consequence of those contradictions: the Civil War (1642 - 1649)The King was executed in 1649 and monarchy was abolished.Oliver Cromwells dictatorship (1649 - 1660)The Restoration: Charle

20、s II and then James IIGlorious Revolution (1688)2. Lifeborn in a rich and cultured family - handsome and hardworking - graduated from Cambridge University and got master degree - six years private study and the most knowledgeable poet in Britain - writing pamphlets for the Commonwealth - blind in 16

21、52 - arrested and fined after restoration - produced three great poems in plain lifeMost important works - three great poems: Paradise Lost (1667); Paradise Regained (1671); Samson Agonistes (1671) (poetic drama)Besides three great poems in his late years, he also wrote some excellent sonnets includ

22、ing the one well learn today.3. To Cyriack Skinner (Ask the questions of homework) (Answer: Sonnet; abba abba cdcdcd)(1) Form: Sonnet(2) Rhyme scheme: abba abba cdcdcd (different with William Shakespeares sonnets)(3) Explain the poem sentence by sentence(4) (Discussion) Theme: the authors positive a

23、ttitude towards his blindness (another sonnet on blindness seems more discouraged.)4. Paradise Lost (失乐园)(1) Miltons masterpiece; greatest epic written in the English language*epic(史诗): it is a long verse narrative on a serious subject, told in a formal and elevated style, and centered on a heroic o

24、r quasi-divine figure on whose actions depends the fate of a tribe, a nation, or the human race. Notice the differences between traditional epics and literary epics. Paradise Lost is a literary epic.(2) Its a long epic including 12 books. The plot is taken from the Old Testament of Holy Bible.*Holy

25、Bible对于理解西方文化最重要的经典,分为旧约(The Old Testament)和新约(The New Testament)两部分,这两部分写于不同的时期,而且使用的文字不同,旧约主要用希伯莱语写成,新约则用希腊文写成.圣经最早曾被翻译成希腊文,然后是拉丁文,在欧洲各国通行.圣经英译始自8世纪,但各种版本都不算通行,直到Martin Luther宗教改革之后,1611年出现的Authorized Version至今通行,对英国的语言和文学影响极大.推荐阅读英文版圣经节选或房龙圣经的故事中文版.Plot: (paragraph two on P24) revolt of Satan and

26、 some other angels 0 their defeat and throwing into the Hell 0 temptation of Adam and Eve 0 expulsion of Adam and Eve(3) Theme: to justify the ways of God to man (submission to the Almighty) (Discussion: Is this the real theme of the poem )Real theme: praising the rebellious spirits against the desp

27、ot(4) CharacterizationGod: the despot, selfish, cruel and unjust (King of Britain)Satan: real hero, dare to revolt against the despot, persevering but not discouraged after the failure (Republicans including Milton)(Milton is a pious Christian. This epic is the production of the conflicts between hi

28、s religious belief and political belief. )(5) (P26 Learn a short excerpt from Paradise Lost) Form: blank verse(6) Explain the excerpt sentence by sentence.(7) (Do you think John Miltons works difficult ) Miltonic style: to express the sublimity of thought, sonority, eloquence, majesty and grandeur s

29、tyle(Latin words and Latin sentence structure, inversion, archaism, long sentence and mostly formal words, thus the style formed and his English rather difficult)5. Recommended ReadingJohn Miltons two sonnets: On his blindness; On his deceased wife6. HomeworkPreview the next chapter including the li

30、fe of Daniel Defoe, the introduction of Robinson Crusoe and the excerpt Chapter VIII from P33 to P37.Lecture 3 Daniel Defoe (1660 0 1731)(He is a very famous novelist around the world because of his popular novel Robinson Crusoe.)1. Historical Background(1) Comparing with the 17th century, the 18th

31、century is a period for peaceful development.(2) The constitutional monarchy has been set up by parliament in 1688. After the Glorious Revolution, the monarch was deprived of ruling power and in his place Parliament became the actual leader of the country. The Tory and the Whig, as two major parties

32、 in England, competed with each other in politics. (Discussion: What do you know about the Whig and the Tory )* 辉格党(Whig)和托利党(Tory)是17世纪末在英国出现的两个正在形成中的政党.1679年,当议会讨论詹姆士公爵(即后来的詹姆士二世)是否有权继承英国王位时,议员们展开了激烈争论.赞成的人被对方称为托利,反对的人则被对方称为辉格.渐渐地,双方各自都以此自称.后来,双方的观点都发生了变化,辉格党对君主不再持完全的否定态度,因为光荣革命后英国君主的权力已经受到种种限制;托利党也逐渐改变了坚决拥护专制君主制的立场,因为他们几次恢复旧王朝的企图都因遭到了大多数人的反对而失败.久而久之,国王发现,无论是辉格党还是托利党,当其中一个在议会中占多数时,就最好任命这个党的成员为内阁大臣,内阁就不会同议会闹矛盾.18世纪上半期,辉格党在政治上占优势,是议会多数党,故此,辉格党执政近半个世