英国文学史middle ages.doc

Middle Ages (5th century-1485) Outline of literary achievements Beowulf Geoffrey Chaucer The Canterbury Tales Historical Background in Middle Ages(beginning to 1485) Beginning of Britain: 1. From the recorded history, Celtic first occupied England. 2. from 55-54BCto 410AD, Rome invaded Britain Language: still Celtic 3. 449-1100, Anglo-Saxon invaded Britain (Anglo-Saxon period) Language: Old English 4 1066-1485, the Norman Conquest（ended Anglo-Saxon period and started medieval period) Literary Achievement in Anglo-Saxon Period Beowulf: an epic of Anglo-Saxon 2007-11-16 美国 Beowulf 1 a heroic Scandinavian epic legend told in old English (epic: a long narrative poem telling of a heros deeds) 2 time : around AD700 3 author: unknown 4 length: altogether over 3000 alliterative long lines Alliteration a figure of speech in which consonants, especially at the beginning of words are repeated. It is a very old device in English verse and is common in poem ,occasionally in prose. Alliteration became rare after the end of 15th century. Eg: P5 Beowulf e.g. He claps the crag with crooked hands. Word pictures: Literary Achievement in Anglo-Saxon Period 5 content: Beowulf ‘s heroic deeds in Danish society Plot overview and characters: Grendel-- a giant monster of human shape who kills people Grendel’s mother—also a monster who revenged after her son was killed by Beowulf Beowulf Danish king, a dragon Analysis of major character: (Beowulf) faithful to his people, forgetting himself in face of death, a courageous warrior, wise ruler, a brave fighter, the product of a primitive, tribal society on the continent, Literary Achievement in Anglo-Saxon Period 6 religion: full of paganism (belonging?to?a?religion?which?worships?many?gods,?especially?one?which?existed?before?the?main?world?religions)多神教, heroism and fatalism and blended with Christian color 7 theme: more than a fairy story of heroes combating monsters but a recollection of the