Epic: long narrative poems that record the adventures or heroic deeds of a hero enacted in vast landscapes. The style of epic is grand and elevated. e.g. Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey Artistic features: 1. Using alliteration Definition of alliteration: a rhetorical device, meaning some words in a sentence begin with the same consonant sound（头韵） Some examples on P5 2. Using metaphor and understatement Definition of understatement: expressing something in a controlled way Understatement is a typical way for Englishmen to express their ideas Geoffery Chaucer 杰弗里•乔叟1340(?)~1400 (首创“双韵体”，英国文学史上首先用伦敦方言写作。约翰·德莱顿（John Dryden）称其为“英国诗歌之父”。代表作《坎特伯雷故事集》。) The father of English poetry. writing style: wisdom, humor, humanity. ① first time to use ‘heroic couplet’(双韵体) by middle English ② ③ Medieval Ages’ popular Literary form: Romance(传奇故事) Famous three：King Arthur Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Beowulf The Renaissance Period A period of drama and poetry. The Elizabethan drama is the real mainstream of the English Renaissance. Renaissance: the activity, spirit, or time of the great revival of art, literature, and learning in Europe beginning in the 14th century and extending to the 17th century, marking the transition from the medieval to the modern world. Three historical events of the Renaissance – rebirth or revival: 1. new discoveries in geography and astrology 2. the religious reformation and economic expansion 3. rediscovery of ancient Roman and Greek culture The most famous dramatists: Christopher Marlowe William Shakespeare Ben Johnson. 1. Edmund Spenser埃德蒙•斯宾塞1552~1599 （后人称之为“诗人的诗人”。） The poets’ poet. The first to be buried in the Poet’s corner of Westerminster Abbey ① The theme is not “Arms and the man”, but something more romantic “Fierce wars and faithfull loves”. Artistic features: 1. Using Spenserian Stanza Definition of Spenserian Stanza:a stanza of nine lines ababbcbcc. Eight lines in iambic pentameter, and last line in iambic hexameter. ② The theme is to lament over the loss of Rosalind. ③ 2. Thomasl More托马斯•莫尔1478~1535 One of the greatest English humanists ① 3. Francisl Bacon弗兰西斯•培根1561~1626 （哲学家、散文家；在论述探究知识的著作中提出了知识就是力量这一著名论断；近代唯物主义哲学的奠基人和近代实验科学的先驱。） Philosopher, scientist, lay the foundation for modern science. The first English essayist.n Writing style:brevity, compactness&powerfulness, well-arranging and enriching by Biblical allusions, metaphors and philosophy to man’s reason. ① ② The theme of Of Studies: uses and benefits of study and different ways adopted by different people to pursue studies. 4. Ben Jonson ① ② 5. Christopherl Marlowe柯里斯托弗•马洛15~1595 “University Wits”, the pioneer of English drama （完善了无韵体诗。） Blank verse: written in unrhymed iambic pentameter. ① ② ③ 6. William Shakespeare威廉•莎士比亚15~1616l ① Historical plays: Henry VI ; Henry IV : Richard III ; Henry V ；Richard II；Henry VIII ②Four Comedies: ③Four Tragedies: ④Shakespeare Sonnet :154 Three quatrain and one couplet, ababcdcdefefgg A sonnet is a lyric consisting of 14 lines, usually in iambic pentameter restricted to a definition rhyme scheme. 英国文学史资料British Writers and Works 2 The Renaissance Period A period of drama and poetry. The Elizabethan drama is the real mainstream of the English Renaissance. Renaissance: the activity, spirit, or time of the great revival of art, literature, and learning in Europe beginning in the 14th century and extending to the 17th century, marking the transition from the medieval to the modern world. Three historical events of the Renaissance – rebirth or revival: 1. new discoveries in geography and astrology 2. the religious reformation and economic expansion 3. rediscovery of ancient Roman and Greek culture The most famous dramatists: Christopher Marlowe William Shakespeare Ben Johnson. 1. Edmund Spenser埃德蒙•斯宾塞1552~1599 （后人称之为“诗人的诗人”。） The poets’ poet. The first to be buried in the Poet’s corner of Westerminster Abbey ① Artistic features: 1. Using Spenserian Stanza ② ③ 2. Thomasl More托马斯•莫尔1478~1535 ① 3. Francisl Bacon弗兰西斯•培根1561~1626 （哲学家、散文家；在论述探究知识的著作中提出了知识就是力量这一著名论断；近代唯物主义哲学的奠基人和近代实验科学的先驱。） Philosopher, scientist, lay the foundation for modern science. The first English essayist.n Writing style:brevity, compactness&powerfulness, well-arranging and enriching by Biblical allusions, metaphors and philosophy to man’s reason.
