第三章-3：文艺复兴.ppt

English Literature of the Renaissance Francis Bacon (1561-1626) Francis Bacon If the imaginative powers of literary creation of this age found their expression in the poetry of Spenser and the drama of Shakespeare, the intellectual energy of this age showed itself in the achievement of Francis Bacon. Thus he is regarded as the first English essayist . Francis Bacon Life: Born in London, the younger son of Sir Nicholas Bacon, Lord Keeper during the reign of Queen Elizabeth; At the age of 12 he was sent to Cambridge university; English ambassador in France for two years; Studied law later; An M.P. in 1584; Appointed Solicitor-General 副检察长 , Attorney-General检察总长, Lord Keeper大臣阁下 , Lord Chancellor（英国上议院的)大法官during the reign of James Ⅰ; Imprisoned for corruption; Literary Career The Advancement of Learning The New Instrument The New Atlantis Essays Bacon’s Chief Contribution He is the founder of English materialist philosophy, and founder of modern science in England. According to Marx, “The real progenitor of English materialism is Bacon. To him natural philosophy is the true philosophy, and physics based upon the experiences of the senses is the chiefest part of natural philosophy….According to him the senses are infallible and the source of all knowledge. All science is based in experience , and consists in subjecting the data furnished by the senses to a rational method of investigation. Induction, analysis, comparison, observation, experiment, are the principal forms of such a rational method.” Bacon’s only predecessor in the field of the essay was Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592), the French country squire; He employs what may be called the dialectical method by balancing opposing arguments before drawing his conclusions. The genre of Essay: it is understood to be a fairly short prose composition, in style often familiarly conversational and in subject either self-revelatory(揭露的, 露真情的;能启示...的)or illustrative(说明性的, 例证性的) ,more or less humorously,