英国-文学史.doc

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1、精选优质文档-倾情为你奉上Part One The Anglo-Saxon PeriodI. Fill in the following blanks.1. In 55 B.C., Britain was invaded by _, the Roman conqueror, came with the _ into Britain. 2. The _ period witnessed a transition from tribal society to feudalism.3. Angles, Saxons and _ usually known as Anglo-Saxons are th

2、e first Englishmen. Language spoken by them is called the Old English, which is the foundation of English language and literature.4. The literature of the Anglo-Saxon period falls naturally into two divisions, _ and Christian. 5. In the 8th century, Anglo-Saxon prose appeared. The famous prose write

3、rs of that period were Venerable Bede and _.6.Anglo-saxon conquest happened in_. 7. _ is the oldest poem in the English language, and also the oldest surviving epic in the English language.8. _ is the first known religious poet of England. He is known as the father of English song.9. The didactic po

4、em The Christ was produced by _.10. The early inhabitants in the island now we call England were _, a tribe of Celts. From the Britons the island got its name of Britain, the land of Britons. The Britons were a _ people. II. Choose the best answer for each blank.1. When we speak of the old English p

5、rose, the first name that comes into our minds is _, who is the first scholar in English literature and has been regarded as father of English learning.a. William Shakespeare b. Beowulfc. Julius Caesar d. Venerable Bede2. The most important work of Alfred the Great is _, which is regarded as the bes

6、t monument of the old English prose.a. The Song of Beowulfb. The Anglo-Saxon Chroniclesc. The Ecclesiastical History of the English Peopled. Brut3. _ is not only a prose writer but also a king of Wessex.a. Alfred the Great b. Venerable Bedec. Adam Bede d. King Arthur4. _ is the first important relig

7、ious poet in English literature.a. John Donne b. George Herbertc. Caedmon d. Milton5. In Anglo-Saxon period, Beowulf represented the _ poetry.a. pagan b. religiousc. romantic d. sentimental6. Prose literature did not show its appearance until the _century. a. 6th b. 7thc. 8th d. 10th 7. The Anglo-Sa

8、xons were Christianized in the _ century.a. 5th b. 6th c. 7th d. 8th 8. Beowulf describes the exploits of a _ hero, Beowulf, in fighting against the monster Grendel, his revengeful mother, and a fire-breathing dragon.a. Denmark b. Scandinavianc. England d. Norway 9. The Roman occupation lasted for a

9、bout 400 years in Britain, and in _, all the Roman troops went back to the continent and never returned. a. 55 B.C. b. 78 A.D.c.400 A.D d.410 A.D10. English literature began with the _ settlement in England. Of old English literature, Beowulf, the national epic of the English people, is an example o

10、f the mingling of nature myths and heroic legends.a. Anglo-Saxon b. Roman c. Norman d. Britain III. Explain the following terms.1.Epic2.Alliteration3.metaphorIV. Answer the following questions.1. How many groups does the old English poetry fall into? What are they?2. What are the main characteristic

11、s of Anglo-Saxon literature?3. What are the main incidents of the poem Beowulf?4. What are the writing features of Beowulf ?5. What is the theme of Beowulf?Part Two The Anglo-Norman PeriodI. Fill in the following blanks.1. In the year 1066, the Normans defeated the Anglo-Saxons at the battle of _.2.

12、 The fifteenth century has been traditionally described as the barren age in English literature. But it is the spring tide of English _.3. After the _ Conquest, feudal system was established in English society. 4. By the time when England entered into feudal society, the society was divided into two

13、 classes: _ and _.5. The romances were usually composed for the noble, of the noble, and had nothing to do with the _.6.The Norman Conquest brought the body of customs and ideals known as _into England.7. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is the culmination of the romances about_.8. The border area be

14、tween England and Scotland was a particular fertile soil for_.9. Reliques of Ancient English Poetry was written down and recorded in the 18th century by_.10. In English history, Robin Hood is a partly real and partly_figure.II. Choose the best answer for each statement.1. In 1066, _ led the Norman a

15、rmy to invade and defeat England.a. William the Conqueror b. Julius Caesarc. Alfred the Great d. Claudius2. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a verse romance of_. a. over 3000 lines b. over 2000 lines c. over 1000 lines d. over 4000 lines3. The prevailing form of Medieval English literature is the

16、_.a. French b. Latin c. romance d. science4. After the Norman Conquest, three languages existed in England at that time. The Norman spoke _.a. French b. Englishc. Latin d. Swedish 5. The most famous cycle of English ballads centers on the stories about a legendary outlaw called _. a. Morte dArthur b

17、. Robin Hoodc. The Canterbury Tales d. Piers the PlowmanIII. Explain the following terms:1.Romance2.BalladIV. Answer the following questions.1. What is the influence of the Norman Conquest upon English language and literature?2. Make comments on the romance Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.3. How man

18、y groups do the great majority of the romances fall into? What are they?4. What is the most important department of English folk literature? And make comments on its most famous cycle: the Robin Hood Ballads.5. Make comments on the ballad “ Get up and Bar the Door”.Part Three The Age of ChaucerI. Hi

19、storical Background1 .The Hundred Years War with France (1337-1453)Disputes between England and France were common. A war with France lasted, on and off, for a hundred years. It was fought entirely in France, where English bowmen defeated the heavily armed French knights in the famous battle of Crec

20、y and Agincourt, and the whole of France were nearly fell into English hands. Eventually, however, partly through the inspiration of the brave girl Joan of Arc, and partly through the effective use of guns, which had only just been invented, the French drove the English from their country for good.

21、England became completely severed from France.2. The peasant Uprising of 1381Mounting feudal oppression in the second half of the 14th century led to the peasants revolts. The ruling class thrice passed the so-called Statutes of Labourers in parliament, stipulating that all able-bodied men and women

22、 under sixty be required to work for any one at the rate of wages fixed in 1347 or before, and those who refused to do so be arrested or declared outlaws. On top of this, heavy land-rents and enforced services were practiced as before, and consequently many peasants fled from the land to the towns w

23、hile some went to forests and organized themselves as bandits or outlaws. All these events led inevitably to the great peasants rising in 1381. The fourteenth century is remarkable historically for the decline of feudalism for the growth of the English national spirit during the Wars with Frances, f

24、or the prominence of the House of Commons, and for the growing power of the labouring classes. II. The Development of literatureIn the second half of the 14th century, English literature flourished after three centuries of comparative lull.The age produced five writers of note. They are William Lang

25、land who voiced the social discontent, preached the equality of men and dignity of labour ; John Wyclif, the greatest of English religious reformers and the first translator of the Bible; John Gower, the scholar and literary man, criticizing the social life; John Mandeville, the traveler, romancing

26、about the wonders to be seen broad. Above all there is Chaucer. He was the representative writer of the century. Therefore, the 14th century is usually called “ The Age of Chaucer”. William Langland and His Piers the Plowman Piers the Plowman exists in three versions. It is a long poem of 7, 000 lin

27、es. The poem describes a series of wonderful dream the author dreamed. The poem is in two distinct parts. The first contained the vision of Piers. The Second contained a series of visions called “ The Search for Dowel, Dobet, Dobest”. “Piers Plowman” is an allegory of life. In it Langland presents a

28、 vivid picture of the life in feudal England. Its artistic merit may be shown by its portraits of the Seven Deadly Sins. It was very popular throughout the 14th century and 15th century. Geoffrey Chaucer (13401400) In the period of Medieval English, literature found its best expression mainly in poe

29、try. The most famous and the greatest poet of the time was Geoffrey Chaucer, who is often called the father of English poetry.1. Chaucers Life ( p.11)2. His Literary CareerChaucers literary careers are roughly divided into three parts, corresponding to the three periods of his life.(1)The French Per

30、iod The Romaunt of the Rose, a translation from the French poem “ Roman de la Rose”The Book of the Duchess, Chaucers first important original work.(2)The Italian PeriodThe House of Fame The Assembly of Fouls Troilus and Cryseyde The Legend of Good Women (3)The English Period The Canterbury Tales - C

31、haucers masterpiece.3. Selected Reading An Excerpt from the General Prologue of The Canterbury TalesThe whole work consists of a prologue and twenty-four tales. Twenty-two tales were written in verse form, two in prose form. In the prologue, the author reveals his plan for writing this work , and vi

32、vidly describes the teller of each tale. In The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer uses lines of ten syllables and five accents each, and the lines run in couplets.4. The Social Significance of The Canterbury Tales(1)He is a first realistic writer. In his masterpiece, Chaucer gives us a true to life picture

33、of the society of his time. It is Chaucer who created a whole gallery of vivid characters from all walks of life.(2)As a forerunner of humanism, he praises mans energy, intellect, quick wit and love of life. His tales exposes and satirizes the evils of his time.(3)Chaucer used for the first time in

34、English the rhymed couplet of iambic pentameter which is to be called later as the heroic couplet.His language is vivid and exact. He is a master of word-pictures.5. Language of The Canterbury Tales In Chaucers age the English language was still divided by dialects, though London was rapidly making

35、East-Midland into a standard language. Chaucers English was the London dialect. He is considered to be a great master of the English language, for he greatly increased the prestige of English as a literary language and extended the range of its poetic vocabulary and meters.III. Literary Term Allegor

36、y : A tale in verse or prose in which characters, actions, or settings represent abstract ideas or moral qualities. Thus, an allegory is a story with two meanings, a literal meaning and a symbolic meaning. The most famous allegory in English literature is John Bunyans The Pilgrims Progress. Bunyans

37、hero, Christian, makes s journey to the Celestial City, during which he meets such characters as Hope, Shame, and Despair. Heroic Couplet : The rhymed couplet of iambic pentameter. IV Suggested Questions1. What is the function of the Prologue to The Canterbury Tales?2. What is Chaucers contribution

38、to English language?3. What is the social significance of The Canterbury Tales?Part Four The Age of English RenaissanceI. Fill in each blank.1. The Wars of the Roses (1455-85) between the House of _ and the House of _ struggling for the Crown continued for 30 years. 2. Because of the conflict betwee

39、n the Roman Catholic Church and the King of England, hence the far-reaching movement of _ took place in England, started by Henry VIII. 3. The introduction of _ to England by William Caxon (1476) brought classical works within reach of the common multitude. 4. The 16th century in England was a perio

40、d of the breaking up of feudal relations and the establishing of the foundations of _. 5. In Elizabethan Period, _ wrote more than fifty excellent essays, which made him one of the best essayists in English literature. 6. _ is often referred to as “the poets poet”. 7. Spenser is generally regarded a

41、s the greatest non-dramatic poet of the Elizabethan Age. His fame is chiefly based on his masterpiece _. 8. From the first half of the 16th century, _ began to develop into a flowering of literature and then England became “a nest of singing birds”. 9. Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and _ are generally

42、regarded as Shakespeares four great tragedies. 10. _ was the most gifted of the university wits. He produced in all six plays and several poems. II. Choose one or more than one suitable answers for each statement.1. The first complete English Bible was translated by _a. William Tyndal b. James Ic. J

43、ohn Wycliffe d. Bishop Lancelot Andrewes2. _was the first to introduce the sonnet into English literature. a. Thomas Wyatt b. William Shakespearec. Philip Sidney d. Thomas Campion3. The epoch of Renaissance witnessed a particular development of English drama. It was _ who made blank verse the princi

44、pal vehicle of expression in drama. a. Christopher Marlowe b. Thomas Logec. Edmund Spenser d. Thomas More4. From the following, choose the one which is not Edmund Spensers work: _. a. The Shepherds Calendar b. Epithalamionc. The Faerie Queene d. Amorettie. Astrophel and Stella5. At the beginning of the 16th century the outstanding humanist _ wrote his Utopia in which he gave a profound and truthful picture of the peoples suffering and put forward his ideal of a future happy society.a. Thomas More b.