the author of ―Utopia‖.
41. English Renaissance: The first period is called the beginning of the Renaissance.
It started in 1516 and came to an end in 1578. The second period is known as the flowering time of the Renaissance. It was from 1578 to 1625. The third period between 1625 and 1660 is the epilogue of the Renaissance.
42. Shakespeare’s four periods of career: 1) Pre-1594 it is a period of apprenticeship.
For example, The Comedy of Errors 2)1594-1600 The second period showed more growth in style. The histories of this period are Shakespeare's best His comedies mature in this period as well, portraying more characterization in their subjects than previously. For example, Midsummer Night’s Dream 3)1600-1608 The third period marks the great tragedies, and the principal works which would earn the Bard his fame in later centuries. For example, Hamlet 4) After 1608 The fourth period encompasses romantic tragicomedy. Shakespeare at the end of his career seemed preoccupied with themes of redemption. For example, the Tempest
43. Shakespeare’s main tragedies were written during the period of gloom and
depression which dated from 1600 to 1607. His great tragedies are associated with a period of gloom and sorrow in his life. During this period, England witnessed a general unrest, social contradictions became very sharp. What caused the writers personal sadness is unknown to us. It is generally attributed to Earl of Essex, the political misfortune of his friend and patron who was killed by the Queen. His main tragedies are: ―Hamlet‖, ―Othello‖, ―King Lear‖, and ―Macbeth‖. All of these plays express a profound dissatisfaction with life. They show the struggle and conflicts between good and evil of the time, between justice and injustice. In these plays, the writer Shakespeare condemns the dark and evil society.
44. Shylock’s claim: Shylock lends money to Antonio. On the condition that he may
cut a pound of flesh from Antonio’s body if the loan is not paid in three months. Shylock demands his pound of flesh. Portia undermines his plan. Antonio’s life is saved and Shylock suffers a big loss.
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45. The theme of Sonnet 18: It is the Eternity of this beauty. In admiring the eternal
beauty of his friend, Shakespeare is actually singing the eternal beauty of human being. This reflects Shakespeare’s ideal of the humanism.
46. The implication of ―Nor shall Death brag thou wander’ st in his shade‖: Death
shall not brag that you will go to the underworld. The implication of this sentence lies in the next three sentences, that is, my poem will make your beauty eternal.
Chapter Three
English Literature in the Seventeenth Century
主要内容:
1. Historical background: the Glorious Revolution and the Restoration period 2. John Milton：Paradise Lost, Samson Agonistes 3. John Bunyan：Pilgrim’s Progress 4. Metaphysical Poets
5. Andrew Marvell: To His Coy Mistress 6. Cavalier Poets
7. John Donne: representative of Metaphysical Poets 8. John Dryden (他的贡献) 重点掌握:
1. New literary forms that came into vogue during the Puritan Revolution period are
heroic couplet, ode, satire and pamphlet.
2. One of the characteristics of the English bourgeois revolution was that it was
carried out under the cloak of religion.
3. John Milton wrote his masterpieces Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained, and
Samson Agonistes after blindness.
4. Milton was nicknamed ―the lady of Christ’s‖ because he was as handsome as a
lady.
5. Satan tempts Eve to eat an apple from the forbidden tree. 6. John Milton was the greatest English poet after Shakespeare.
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7. Milton was born in a Roman Catholic family and both his parents were
understanding parents.
8. Milton’s masterpiece is Paradise Lost.
9. Milton is a great stylist. He is famous for his grand style for its dignity and polish ,
which is the result of his life-ling classical biblical study 10. Satan is a character with a strong desire for freedom. 11. The ―mighty line‖ refers to the poem of Milton.
12. The one who translated Homer’s epics into English is Chapman. 13. Metaphysical Poetry is characterized by fantastically mysticism. 14. Herrick belongs to the Cavaliers school.
15. ―Conceit‖ is a term applied in particular to the metaphysical school. 16. Bunyan’s style is marked by dignity and simplicity.
17. It is in The Pilgrim’s Progress that Christian and Faithful are trapped and chosen
as the lord.
18. The book carried by Christian is supposed to be Bible.
19. The Revolution Period is also called the Puritan age, because the English
Revolution was carried out under a religious cloak.
20. The Revolution period produced one of the most important poets in English
literature, whose name is Milton.
21. Milton was a master of blank verse. He first used it in Paradise Lost.
22. Milton is the great writer of the seventeenth century, and one of the giants of English
literature.
23. Milton is the glorious pioneer to introduce blank verse into non-dramatic poetry. 24. Samson Agonistes is a poetical drama. It deals with the story of Samson from the
Book of Judges in the Old Testament.
25. The most striking similarities between Milton and Samson Agonistes are their
blindness and unhappy marriage.
26. Dryden is the glorious pioneer to introduce blank verse into non-dramatic poetry. 27. Metaphysical poetry is a kind of realistic, often ironic and witty, verse combing
intellectual ingenuity and psychological insight written partly in reaction to the
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conventions of Elizabethan love poetry by such seventeenth-century poets as John Donne, George Herbert, Richard Crashaw, Thomas Traherne, and Andrew Marvell. One of its hallmarks is the metaphysical conceit, a particularly arresting and ingenious type of metaphor.
28. Iambic pentameter is a poetic line consisting of five verse fee, with each foot an
iamb – that is, an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. Iambic pentameter is the most common verse line in English poetry. For example, in Paradise Lost, the author adopted this kind of figure of speech.
29. Dryen’s contribution to England literature: A. he established the heroic couplet as
one of the principal English verse forms B. he clarified the English prose C. he raised the English literary criticism to a new level
Chapter Four
English Literature in the Eighteenth Century
主要内容:
1. Literary background: Enlightenment 2. Neo-classicism
3. Alexander Pope：An Essay On Criticism; The Rape of the Lock 4. Richard Steele and Joseph Addison; The Spectator 5. Samuel Johnson：Dictionary of the English Language 6. irony
7. Jonathan Swift：―A Modest Proposal‖； The Gulliver’s Travels 8. Realism
9. Daniel Defoe：Robinson Crusoe 10. Henry Fielding：Realism; Tom Jones 11. Sentimentalism
12. Samuel Richardson：Pamela 13. Goldsmith： The Vicar of Wakefield
14. Thomas Gray：\
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15. Richard Sheridan 重点掌握:
1. The Enlightenment was a progressive intellectual movement which began in
France and had a wide impact throughout Europe in 18th century.
2. People in 18th century believed in reason and their watchword was ―common
sense‖.
3. Mr. Spectator stands for the ideas of the 18th century. 4. The Spectator was published in the early 18th century. 5. In 1704, Defoe founded the periodicals ―the Review‖. 6. Swift wrote Gulliver’s Travels and ―A Modest Proposal‖.
7. Swift is known as a pioneer novelist of English and also a prolific writer of books
and pamphlets on variety of subjects.
8. Defoe is best known for his novels about the adventure
9. The first place visited by Gulliver in Gulliver’ s Travels is Lilliput.
10. The Houyhnhnms represent an ideal rational existence, a life governed by sense. 11. The figure of speech used in ―A Modest Proposal‖ is called irony. 12. Apology for Poetry is a criticism.
13. The Rape of the Lock gives an account of an anecdote of the court. 14. Pope was a poet, critic and a translator. 15. Dryden is called ―time server‖.
16. The greatest achievement in the 18th century England in literature was poetry. 17. The main theme of Letter to Lord Chesterfield is anger.
18. Richardson was noted as story-telling, letter writer and a moralizer. 19. ―Virtue Rewarded‖ is the sub-title of Pamela.
20. In the 18th century, satire was much used in writing; English literature of this age
produced some excellent satirists, such as Defoe. 21. The main literary stream of the 18th century was realism. 22. Fielding was considered as ―father of English Novel‖.
23. Sentimentalism found its representative writers in the field of poetry, such as
Young and Gray, but it manifested itself chiefly in the novels of Sterne and
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