English-literature-III-文艺复兴英国文学

TheEnglishRenaissance(late15thcentury~early17thcentury)HistoricalBackground1.thenewmonarchy.theReformation3.TheEnglishBible4.TheEnclosureMovement5.TheCommercialExpansion6.TheWarwithSpainHistoricalBackground1.thenewmonarchyAftertheNormanConquest,theNormanlineofkingssatonthethroneforsome90yearsandgaveplacetotheAngevinkingsin1154.KingHenryⅡandhisdescendantsstayedinpowerfor245yearsuntiltheyweresupersededbytheHouseofLancasterin1399.ThentheHouseofYorktookoverbutwasshort-lived,lastingonly24years.ThentheWarofRoses(1455-1483)brokeoutandendedwiththereconciliationofthetworivalhousesofYorkandLancaster.HenryⅦoftheTudorsbecamekingin1485,andwassucceededbyhissonHenryⅧ.theReformationHenryⅧbeganasapromisingyouthoflearningandloveforlearnedmen,butthelongreignturnedhimintoabloodthirstytyrant.Heisbestrememberednowforhavinghadsixwives,oneafteranother,twoofwhomhebeheaded,andtwobedivorced.HisdivorcewithQueenCatherineledtohisbreakwiththeRomanCatholicChurchandinadvertentlypavedthewayfortheinroadsofProtestantism.ThecountrywasthussplitbetweentheCatholicandtheProtestantfaith.HecarriedoutawholesalesuppressionofthemonasteriesandconfiscatedthepropertyoftheChurch,thusenrichingthenewbourgeoisnobility.theReformationThenewreligiousdogmaknownasProtestantismhadbeengaininggroundamongthepopulationandtheProtestantismwasinessenceapoliticalmovementinareligiousguise,apartofthelongstruggleofthebourgeoisclassforpower.ButtheReformationwasfollowedcloselybytheCounter-ReformationduringthereignofQueenMary.AfterHneryⅧhisson,asicklyboywaskingforafewyearsandthendiedsothathissister,Bloody“Mary,adevoutCatholic,becamequeen,andhadtheopportunitytopersecutetheProteatantsasshepleased.Herfive-yearreignthrowthenationintocompletediscordandchaos.HundredsofProtyestants,bothfamouschurchmanandobscurepeasants,wereburnedasheretica.Sheleftnooffspringbehind.Hersuccessor,herhalfsister,QueenElizabethⅠ,wasadifferentindividualaltogether.theReformationShewasshrewdandtactfultoafault.Shemadefriendswiththeopposingsidesofthereligiousconflict—CatholicSpainandProtestantFrance,andathomeshesetaboutunitingthedividedcountry.ShemadetheChurchofEnglandsteerstrictlythemiddleoftheroad,learningtowardneithertheCatholicsnortheProtestants,andeffectivelypracticedreligioustolerancetotherelifeofthepeople.Sheencouragedlearningandadventuresandwasagreatpatronofliterature.Asaresultshewasabletosecurea30-yearperiodofpeaceforthecountrysothatEnglandslowlybutsteadilycrawledtothezenithofwealthandpowerduringherreign.WhenFrancisDrakedefeatedtheSpanishArmadain1588,Englandbecamethefirstseapowerintheworld.ThiswasthepointatwhichtheexpansionoftheBritishEmpirebegan.TheEnglishBibleBeforetheReformation,theLatinBiblewasuniversallyusedbytheCatholicChurches.TheEnglishtranslationoftheBibleemergedasaresultofthestrugglebetweenProtestantismandCatholicism.DuringhundredsofyearsthetranslationoftheBibleintotheEnglishlanguagewascarriedonbyhundredsofhands,notablelybytheProtestants.ThefirstcompleteEnglishBiblewastranslatedbyJohnWycliffe.TheAuthorizedVersionwasmadein1611.TheEnglishBibleAmpartfromitsreligiousinfluence,theAuthorizedVersionhashadagreatinfluenceonEnglishlanguageandliterature.About93percentofthe6,000wordsusedinitarethemainwordsofnativeEnglish.SowiththewidespreadinfluenceoftheEnglishBible,thestandardmodernEnglishhadbeenfixedaqndconfirmed.AgreatnumberofBiblecoinagesandphraseshavepassedintodailyEnglishspeechashouseholdewordsandareoftenusedwithnoknowledgeoftheirorigin.SoEnglishBiblehaswovenitsphrasesandexpressionsintothetextureoftheEnglishlanguage,EnglishliteratureandEnglishlife.TheEnclosureMovementDuringthemiddleages,Englandwasaruralcountrywithalotofwoolforexport.Butfromthe15thcenturyonwardEnglandpasseddefinitelyfrombeingamereproducerofwooltobeingamanufacturerofcloth.Thelarge-scalemanufactureofclothnecessarilyputtheclothingindustryonacapitalistline.Andtheincreaseintheexportofclothstimulatedthegreedofthemoneyedclassedtoseizemoreandmorelandoutofthelandsofthepeasantsinordertoturnthearablelandintopasture.SotheEnclosureMovementwascarriedonheartlesslyinEngland.Thehelpless,despossessedpeasants,beingcompelledtoworkatalowwage,becamehiredlaborersforthemerchants.DuringthecenturyandhalfafterthedeathofChaucer,Englandexperiencedgreatchanges:1.TheestablishmentofTudorDynasty(1485~1603)2.ReligiousReformation,theestablishmentofProtestantism3.Commercialexpansionabroad4.TheWarwithSpainetc.Bythesemeans,Englishbourgeoisiefoughtforexistenceandfoughtforpower.RenaissanceEnglishliterature(late15thcentury~early17thcentury)Theriseofbourgeoisiesoonshoweditsinfluenceinthesphereofculturallife.AnintellectualmovementknownastheRenaissancefirstbeganinItalyinthe14thcenturyandgraduallyspreadalloverEurope.Renaissanceisalsocalledtherebirthofletters,thatis,theclassicalliteraturebyGreek,RomanandLatinauthors.Thethoughtofhumanismaroseatthattimeandthatisthekeytotherenaissance.ThegreatesthumanistisThomasMore(Utopia).RenaissanceEnglishliterature(late15thcentury~early17thcentury)Fromthefirsthalfofthe16thcentury,theEnglishRenaissancebegantodevelopintoaflowering