英美文学.docx
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英美文学.docx
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英美文学
HighlightsinEnglishLiterature
TheearliestliteratureoftheEnglishpeople,likethatofmanyotherpeoples,originatedfromthecollectiveeffortsofthepeople,usuallywhentheywereworkingorrestingfromtheirlabors.Storiesbasedonhistoryorlegendorcontemporaryeventswerenarratedorallyandoftensungduringfestivitiesandotheroccasions,chieflyforentertainment.Someofthemoreinterestingofthesenarrativeswerepassedfrommouthtomouthandfromgenerationtogeneration,andastheyweretoldandsungbydifferentsingersatdifferenttimes,additionsweremadetothemordeletionsweretakenfromthem.
ThemostmonumentalliteraryworkinEnglishliteratureintheOldEnglishorAnglo-Saxonperiod(fromthe5thcenturyto1066)isBeowulf.Itistheonlyimportantsinglepoemhandeddowninthewrittenformandispreservedintact.Probablyexistinginoralforminthe6thcentury,itisbelievedtohavebeenwritteninthe7thor8thcenturyalthoughitsmanuscriptextantnowcanbedatedbacktothe10thcentury.Composedof3183linesofalliterativeverse(Alliteration,alsoknownas“headrhyme”or“initialrhyme,”isaverseformwhichmeanstherepetitionofthesamesounds,usu.initialconsonantsofwordsorofstressedsyllablesinanysequenceofneighboringwords,e.g.“lordoflanguage.”Alliterativeverseisaverseinwhichthechiefprincipleofrepetitionisalliterationratherthanrhyme),itisthelongestoftheearlyEnglishpoemspreservedtoday.
Beowulfisanepic,tellingthestoryofBeowulf,anationalhero,whowenttofightagainsttheenemiesindefenseofhiscountry.
Anepicisalongnarrativepoemcelebratingthegreatdeedsofoneormorelegendaryheroesinagrandceremoniousstyle,whowasusu.protectedordescendedfromgods,performedsupernaturalexploitsinbattleorinmarvelousvoyagesinsavingorfoundinganation.
Aromanceisaversenarrativethatsingsofknightlyadventuresorotherheroicdeeds,andusu.emphasizesthechivalricloveoftheMiddleAgesEurope.
Althoughromanceswerestillwritteninthesecondhalfofthe14thcenturytocelebratetheknightlydeedsofthepast,chivalrywasrapidlylosingitsglamour.TheearlyfloweringoftheRenaissance,whichbeganfirstinItalyinthe14thcentury,soonspreadtoFranceandbytheendofthe14thcenturythewritingsof(FrancescoPetrarca)Petrarch(1304-74,poetandscholar)and(Giovanni)Boccaccio(1313-75,writer)alreadystartedtoexerttheirinfluenceonmanyEnglishwriters.SuperstitionprevalentthroughtheMiddleAgeswasbeginningtolosegroundinthemindsofthepeoplewiththegradualdawningofscienceinEurope.Thesecondhalfofthe14thcenturymarkedthedeteriorationanddeclineoffeudalisminEnglandandthegreateconomicandpoliticalchangeshadtheirimpactonliterature,andEnglishliteratureflourishedafterthreecenturiesofcomparativelull.
WilliamLanglandiswellrememberedforhiswork,PiersthePlouman,(whichhebeganprobablyin1362andwaspreoccupiedinhislasttwentyyears)whichcanbedividedintotwoparts:
thevisionofPiersthePloumanandthevisionofDo-wel,Do-bet,andDo-best.“PiersthePlouman”containstwothemes:
theexposureofthecorruptionoftheCourtandtheChurch(therulingclass)andtheexpressionofthemiseryoftheexploitedandoppressed(theruledclass),andthusholdsupamirrortoEnglandinLangland’stime.
GeoffreyChaucerwasthegreatestwriterinthesecondhalfthe14thcentury.Bornofawine-merchant’sfamily,heservedasacourtpagein1357.HewasintheEnglisharmyfightinginFrancein1359,andafterbeingtakenprisoner,hewasreleasedandreturnedtoEnglandin1360.HetookeducationattheInnerTemplewherehereceivedtrainingforacareeratthecourtfrom1361to1367.HeenteredtheserviceofKingEdwardIIIandwenttotheEuropeanContinentninetimesonsomediplomaticerrandsfrom1367to1377.HejourneyedtoGenoaandFlorenceinItalyfromDecembertoMay1373andwasmadeControllerofCustomsandSubsidyofWools,SkinsandHidesintheportofLondonin1374.HewasappointedControllerofthePettyCustomsonWinesandothermerchandisein1382andbecameoneofthejusticesofthepeaceforKentin1385andwaselectedM.P.forKentin1386.Hediedin1400andwasburiedinthePoet’sCornerofWestminsterAbbey.Chaucerservedinhislifetimeinagreatvarietyofoccupations,workingascourtier,office-holder,soldier,ambassadorandlegislator.Hehadbroadandintimateacquaintancewithpeoplehighandlowinallwalksoflifeandknewwellthewholesociallifeofhistime.Hisvariedcareerhaditsimpactonhiswriting,whichisquiteevidentinhismasterworkTheCanterburyTales.
Chaucer’sgreatestcontributiontoEnglishliteratureliesinthefactthatheintroducedtheheroiccouplet(tworhymedlinesofiambicpentameter)intoEnglishliterature.
TermsConcerningthePoem
Heroiccouplet:
Heroiccoupletisarhymedpairofiambicpentameterlinessuchas“LetObservationwithextensiveView/SurveyMankind,fromChinatoPeru.”ItisnamedfromitsusebyJohnDrydenandothersintheheroicdramaofthe17thcentury,theheroiccouplethadbeenestablishedmuchearlierbyGeoffreyChaucerasamajorEnglishverse-formfornarrativeandotherkindsofnon-dramaticpoetry:
itdominatedEnglishpoetryofthe18thcenturybeforedeclininginimportanceintheearly19thcentury.
Meter:
Meterreferstothepatternofmeasuredsound-unitsrecurringmoreorlessregularlyinlinesofverse.Poetrymaybecomposedaccordingtooneoffourprincipalmetricalsystems:
Quantitativemeter(usedinGreekandLatin):
thepatternisasequenceoflongandshortsyllablescountedingroupsknownasfeet;Syllabicmeter(asinFrenchandJapanese):
thepatterncomprisesafixednumberofsyllablesintheline;Accentualmeter(or“strong-stressmeter”),foundinOldEnglishandinlaterEnglishpopularverse,thepatternisaregularnumberofstressedsyllablesinthelineorgroupoflines,regardlessofthenumberofunstressedsyllables;andAccentual-syllabicmeter:
thepatternconsistsofaregularnumberofstressedsyllablesappropriatelyarrangedwithinafixedtotalnumberofsyllablesinthelines(withpermissiblevariationsincludingfeminineendings),bothstressedandunstressedsyllablesbeingcounted.
Thefourthsystem----accentual-syllabicmeter----istheonefoundinmostEnglishverseintheliterarytraditionsinceChaucer;someflexibleusesofitinclinetowardtheaccentualsystem.However,thedescriptivetermsmostcommonlyusedtoanalyseithave,confusingly,beeninheritedfromthevocabularyoftheverydifferentGreekandLatinquantitativesystem.ThusthevariousEnglishmetersarenamedaftertheclassicalfeetthattheirgroupingsofstressedandunstressedsyllablesresemble,andthelengthofametricallinestilloftenexpressedintermsofthenumberoffeetitcontains:
adimeterhastwofeet,atrimesterthree,atetrameterfour,apentameterfive,ahexametersix,andaheptameterseven.Asimplerandoftenmoreaccuratemethodofdescriptionistorefertolineseitheraccentualoraccentual-syllabicmeteraccordingtothenumberofsyllables:
thusanEnglishtetrameterisafour-stressline,andapentameterafive-stressline.
Englishaccentual-syllabicmetersfallintotwogroups,accordingtothewayinwhichstressed(/)andunstressed(×)syllablesalternate:
induplemeters,stressedsyllablesalternatemoreorlessregularlywithsingleunstressedsyllables,andsothelineistraditionallydescribedasasequenceofdisyllabic(2-syllable)feet;whileintriplemeters,stressedsyllablesalternatewithpairsofunstressedsyllables,andthelineisseenasasequenceoftrisyllabic(3-syllable)feet.
Ofthetwoduplemeters,byfarthemorecommoninEnglishistheiambicmeter,inwhichthestressedsyllablesareforthemostpartperceivedasfollowingtheunstressedsyllableswithwhichtheyalternate(×/×/×/etc.)althoughsomevariationsonthispatternareaccepted.Theotherduplemeter,usedinEnglishlessfrequentlythantheiambic,isthetrochaicmeter,inwhichtheiambicpatternisreversedsothatthestressedsyllablesarefelttobeprecedingtheunstressedsyllableswithwhichtheyalternate(/×/×/×,etc.).Itiscommon,though,forpoetsusingtrochaicmetertobeginandendthelineonastressedsyllable,asinBlake’sline“Tiger,tiger,burningbright.”
ThetriplemetersarefarlesscommoninEnglish,althoughsometimesfound.Inthedactylicmeter,namedafterthedactyl(/××),thestressedsyllablesarefelttoprecedetheinterveningpairsofunstressedsyllables“Cannoninfrontofthem.”Intheanapaesticmeter,namedaftertheanapaest(××/),thepatternisreversed:
“Ofyourpainting,dispiritedrace.”Dactylicandanapaesticverseisnotusuallycomposedpurelyofdactylsandanapaests:
otherfeetoradditionalsyllablesarefrequentlycombinedwithorsubstitutedforthem.
Rhyme:
Rhymemeanstheidentityofsoundbetweensyllablesorpairedgroupsofsyllables,usuallyattheendsofverselines.Normallythelaststressedvowelinthelineandallsoundsfollowingitmakeuptherhymingelement:
thismaybeamonosyllable(love/above----knownas“masculinerhyme”),ortwosyllables(whether/together----knownas“femininerhyme”ordoublerhyme),oreventhreesyllables(glamorous/amorous,knownas“triplerhyme”).Theserhymesareallexamplesof“fullrhyme”(or“truerhyme”).Departuresfromthisnormtakethreeforms:
(i)rimerhyme,inwhichtheconsonantsprecedingtherhymingelementsarealsoidenticalevenifthespellingsandmeaningsofthewordsdiffer(made/maid);(ii)eyerhyme,inwhichthespellingsoftherhyming
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