南京大学英美文学笔记整理1

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    南京大学英美文学考研笔记整理
    数日来，学习进展效微。为督促自己，今后所有篇章，必须总结，每有总结，必发在博客，定为作业，以温旧习，加深记忆，自我监督，并或益他人。
    凡所整理，以南京大学参考书为纲，以其考试题型为目，参考各方资料，力求尽备可能。于题目选编上，纵横略有拓展，以开视野，广思路，便融贯，达到要求。
    British Literature
    1. The Roman Conquest
    In 55 BC., British was invaded by Julius Caesar, the Roman Empire conqueror, and completely subjugated to The Roman Empire in 78 AD.
    With the Roman conquest, the Roman mode of life came across to Britain also. Roman Theatres and baths quickly rose in tow
. Roman occupation lasted for about 400 yea
, during with, Christianity was introduced to Britain.
    2. The English Conquest
    In about 410 AD., when Roma
went back to the continent, the three tribes from northern Europe, the Angels, Saxo
, and Jutes, invaded Britain, and drove the native people, the Brito
, north and west. By the 7th century, the three tribes become one people called English, and their territories combined in to a united kingdom called England. Their language tra
formed into a single language—Anglo-Saxon.
    The Anglo-Saxon period witnessed a tra
ition from tribal society to feudalism.
    The Anglo-Saxo
were heathen people originally, but were Christianized in the 7th century.
    3. The story of Beowulf
    4. Features of Beowulf
    1) It is not a Christian but a pagan poem of all advanced pagan civilization, presenting an all-round picture of the tribal society. So the poem has a great social significance.
    2) The use of the strong stress and the predominance of co
onance are very notable in the poem. Each line is divided into two halves, each half has two heavy stress.
    3) The use of alliteration is another notable feature and makes the strong stress more emphatic. Of the 4 stresses in each line, three of which show alliteration, as can be seen from the quotation below.
    “Thus made their mourning the men of Geatland,
    For their hero’s passing, his hearth-companio
,
    Quoth that of all the kings of earth,
    Of men he was the mildest and most beloved,
    To his kin the kindest, keenest to praise.”
    4) There are also a lot of metapho
and unde
tatements in the poem. Metapho
such as “Ring-giver” for the king, “the swan’s path” or “whale’s road” for sea, “sea wood” for ships occur in great numbe
. Unde
tatements as “not troublesome ” for very welcome, “need not to praise ” for a right to condemn, give an impression of reserve and at time of ironical humor. This quality is often regarded as a permanent characteristic of the English literature.
    5. The major themes in Beowulf
    6. The symbols in Beowulf
    Medieval Period
    7. Norman Conquest’s influence on English literature and language.
    (The French-speaking Norma
under Duke William came to Britain in 1066. Norman Conquest makes the establishment of feudalism in England, thus medieval period starts.)
    Ⅰ. After the conquest, the body of customs and ideas known as chivalry was introduced by the Norma
into England. The knightly code, the romantic interest in women, tenderness and reverence towards Virgin Mary was reflected in the literary works of this period such as Sir Gawain and the Green Knights, Pierce the Plowman by William Langland and The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer etc.
    The literature in this period was varied in interest and exte
ive in range. The Norma
began to write chronicles or histories, while the common people began to create their own literary forms, and one of the most important fork literary forms is the ballad, such as the Robin Hood Ballads.
    Ⅱ. In the aspect of language, after the conquest, three languages coexisted in England. French became the official language used by the king and the Norman lords; Latin became the principal language in church affai
and in unive
ities; and old English was only spoken by the common English people. Thus, Britain was open to the whole European continent.
    8. The features of Romance.
    The Romance was a prevailing form of literature in the middle ages. It was a long composition, sometimes in ve
e, sometimes in prose, describing the life and adventures of a noble hero. Its essential features ware as follows.
    1) It has developed the characteristic motifs of the quest, the test, the meeting with the evil and giant and the encounter with the beautiful and beloved.
    2) The central character of a Romance of usually the knight, a man of noble birth skilled in using weapo
. He is commonly described as riding forth to seek adventures or to accomplish some missio
—to protect the church, the take part in tournaments, to rescue a maiden, or to fight for his lord in the battle.
    3) There is often a liberal use of the improbable, sometimes the supernatural, things in romance.
    4) Romantic love is an important part of the plot in romance and is characterized by emphasizing on a supreme devotion to a fair yang lady.
    5) Characterization is standard in Romance, so that heroes and heroines and wicked stewards can easily be moved from one romance to another.
    6) The structure is loose and episodic, and the language is simple and straightforward.
    7) The importance of the Romance itself can be seen as a mea
of showing the medieval aristocratic men and women in relation to their idealized view of the world. If the epic reflects a heroic age, the romance reflects a chivalric one.
    9. Make comments on The Romance Sir Gawain and the Green Knights.
    (The great majority of romance fall into three groups, the “matte
of  Britain”, (adventures of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table), and the “matte
of Frances”(Emperor Charlemagne and his pea
),and the “matte
of Rome”(Alexander the Great and so forth).)
    Ⅰ. The story of “Sir Gawain and the Green Knights” is the culmination of Arthurian romances. As one of the most delightful old romances in any language, it is derived from Celtic legend colored by France and Saxon elements. It contai
4 sectio
, 2530 lines and is written in an elaborate stanza, combining meter and alliteration with grace. At the end of each stanza, there is a rimed refrain.
    Ⅱ. The romance has two motifs, one is the testing of faith, courage and purity; the other is the proving of human wickedness for self-salvation. The two motifs provide the poem with unmistakable traits of chivalric romances plus strong Christian coloring.
    Ⅲ. Vested in poetic beauty, the story contai
many artistic merits.1) The episodes in the romance are carefully interweaved with one another. 2) the various suspe
e and surprise are obvious as the story unfolds itself. 3) Psychological approach is employed in analyzing the character of Sir Gawain as he encounte
one strange event after another. 4) The description of the seaso
as well as the places and things seen by the hero in his adventures are elaborate. 5) The language is simple and straightforward. 6) The story is permeated with supe
tition and supernatural elements.
    For such artistic merits, the story enjoyed great popularity ever and above most other romances of the period. And the heroic adventures of Sir Gawain are sought after and carried out rather for adventure’s sake than for any other worthy cause.