英国文学选读讲座课件

英国文学选读讲座课件牟利璘Cellphone:13408292015QuestionsHowmuchdoyouknowaboutBritishliterature?CanyougivethenamesofsomeBritishwritersaswellastheirmainworks?YourAssignmentThefollowingtwobooksyouarerequiredtoreadinthissemester.1.PrideandPrejudice---JaneAusten2.SonsandLovers---D·H·LawrenceYoucanenjoytwoorthreeofthefollowingmoviesduringthiscourse.1.RomeoandJuliet---WilliamShakespeare2.RobinsonCrusoe---DanielDefoe3.PrideandPrejudice---JaneAustenWhatisLiterature?—Literatureas‘creative’or‘imaginative’writinginthesenseoffiction(writingwhichisnotliterallytrue).—Literatureasuseoflanguageinpeculiarways,i.e.a‘special’kindoflanguageincontrasttothe‘ordinary’language.—Literatureasakindofself-referentiallanguage.—Literatureasahighlyvaluedkindofwriting.(Eagleton2004:2-10)TheFirstDefinitionPros:Alotoftheso-calledliteratureisfictional.Cons:Someworksareclassifiedasliterature,buttheyarefactual.e.g.theessaysofFrancisBacon,thesermonsofJohnDonne,thephilosophyofDescartesandPascal,etc.Someworksarefictionalbutnotgenerallyregardedasliterature.e.g.SupermanComic.Someworksofliteratureisnowreadas‘fact’bysomeand‘fiction’byothers.e.g.GenesisIfliteratureisimaginativewriting,doesitimplythathistory,philosophyandnaturalscienceareuncreativeandunimaginative?TheSecondDefinition“Thouunravishedbrideofsilence”RussianFormalists:estranging,defamiliarizingAccordingtotheRussiancriticRomanJakobson,literatureisakindofwritingwhichrepresentsan‘organizedviolencecommittedonordinaryspeech’.Cons:1)Notalllinguisticdeviationsarepoetic.e.g.slang,jokes,newspaperheadlinesandadvertisements.2)Sometimesitisdifficulttodistinguish‘literary’languagefrom‘non-literary’language.e.g.Tobe,ornottobe—thatisthequestion.TheThirdDefinitionLiteratureasakindofself-referentiallanguage,alanguagewhichfocusesonthewayoftalking,ratherthanontherealityofwhatistalkedabout.e.g.MyLuve’slikeared,redrose.—RobertBurnsCons:Howabouttheimportanceofthecontent?Iftreatingdiscourse‘non-pragmatically’ispartofwhatismeantby‘literature’,thenitfollowsfromthisdefinitionthatliteraturecannotinfactbe‘objectively’defined.Itleavesthedefinitionofliteratureuptohowsomebodydecidestoread,nottothenatureofwhatiswritten.Anybitofwritingmayberead‘non-pragmatically’,ifthatiswhatisreadingatextasliteraturemeans,justasanywritingmayberead‘poetically’.TheFourthDefinitionLiteratureasahighlyvaluedkindofwriting.Cons:Howabouttheobjectivityofliterature?Literarycanon?Literatureceasestobeastableandobjectiveentity.TheFunctionsofLiteratureToexpresslifeTostudyhumannatureTopreservehumanvaluesTogiveinstructions&pleasureTowiden&deepenexperiencesGeneralDevelopmentofBritishLiteratureGod→greatman→commonpeoplephysical→mental(psychological)Renaissance→Neo-classicism→Romanticism→Realism→ModernismTheMainSourcesofBritishLiterature1)TheGreek&RomanLiterature:mythology,poetry,drama2)TheJudeo-ChristianCulturea.originalsinb.suffering&salvationc.divineoverhumanChapter1OldEnglishLiterature-----Anglo-SaxonPeriod(5thcentury—1066)HistoricalBackgroundCelts(aboriginal)RomansTheAnglo-Saxons(GermanicTribes)ThelanguageoftheAnglo-SaxonsisgenerallycalledAnglo-SaxonorSaxonwhichisnowcalledOldEnglish.Religion:heathenChristianizedA.D.5971stcenturyB.C.mid-5thcenturyGeneralCharacteristicsofLiteratureMixtureofheathenconceptsofnatureandthesupernaturalandChristianideasExistedinoraltraditionBecausefewofthemhavebeenhandeddowninwrittenform,“Beowulf”ispossiblytheonlyimportantsinglepoemofthiskindpreservedtothisday.Beowulf:thenationalepicOfOldEnglishliterature,onlyonelongpoemwhichrunsabout3000linesreallycallsourattention.Itis“Beowulf”,thenationalepicoftheAnglo-SaxonandEnglishpeople.Thedefinitionofepic:Itis,originally,anoralnarrativepoem,majesticbothinthemeandstyle.Epicsdealwithlegendaryorhistoricaleventsofnationaloruniversalsignificance,involvingactionofbroadsweepandgrandeur.Nationalepicreferstotheepicwritteninvernacularlanguages.PlottribekingmonsterTheDanesHrothgarGrendelandhismotherTheGeatsHygelacfiredragonBeowulfWiglafnephewStory:SetinDenmarkorSweden,thepoemcentersonthenarrationoftheexploitsoftheheroicfigureBeowulf.Theme:fight,revenge,loyalty,mixtureofChristian&paganelementsArtisticFeaturesa.Alliteration:itistheuseofwordsbeginningwiththesamelettertoachieveapoeticeffect.Therecurrencesofthesameletterareusuallyaccentedwhichproducesastrongsenseofmusic.Alliterationmakesforverycatchyphrasesandisfrequentlyusedinmodernnewsheadlines,corporatenames,literarytitles,advertising.e.g.tongue-twisters:PeterPiperpickedapeckofpickledpeppers.b.Eachlineofversegenerallyhas4stresses,withapausebetweenthesecondandthethirdstresses,thusbreakingthelineintotwoparts.c.Kennings:useofcompoundwordstoserveasindirectmetaphorse.g.swan-road/whale-path—seawave-traveler—shipshield-bearer/battle-hero—soldierBibliographyChenJia.AHistoryofEnglishLiterature(5vols).Beijing:TheCommercialPress,2003.Eagleton,Terry.LiteraryTheory:AnIntroduction(2nded.).Beijing:ForeignLanguageTeachingandResearchPress,2004.王守仁主编，英国文学选读(第二版)，北京：高等教育出版社，2005。王佐良、祝珏等主编，欧洲文化入门，北京：外语教学与研究出版社，2003。Thankyou!