【正文】 d. The dialects gradually grew into a single language called AngloSaxon, or Old English. Literature characteristics The literature of this period is divided into pagan literature and Christian literature. ? The former represent poetry and in form of oral sagas. ? The later represents the writings developed under teaching of the monks. ? The poetry was copied by the monks and has the religious coloring. ? Most of works can not find its scribe. ? Caedmon, the father of English song, is the first known religious poet of England. He wrote a poetic Paraphrase of the bible ? Cynewulf produced the didactic poem The Christ ? Alfred the Great (848901) wrote The AngloSaxon Chronicles. This book records the main happenings of the AngloSaxon period. It is the best monument of the Old English prose. Representative achievement of AngloSaxon period—The Song of Beowulf ? The Song of Beowulf is England’ s national epic. It was written by an unknown scribe at the beginning of the 10th century and was discovered in 1705. It reflects events which took place approximately at the beginning of the 6th century. ? The epic consists of 3182 lines and is to be divided into two parts. ? The main plot: Writing Features of the Poem: ? 1) It is not a Christian but a pagan poem. The whole poem presents us an allround picture of the tribal society and Christian culture. ? 2) The use of the strong stress and the predominance of consonants are very notable in this poem. Each line is divided into two halves, and each half has two heavy stresses. ? 3) The use of the alliteration is another notable feature. Three stresses of the whole line are made even more emphatic by the use of alliteration. ? 4) A lot of metaphors and understatements are used in the poem. For example, the sea is called the whaleroad or the swan road。 the soldiers are called shieldmen。 the chieftains are called the treasure keepers。 humanbody is referred to as the bone house” 。 God is called wonderwielder” 。 monster is referred to as souldestroyer. Literary terms: ? Alliteration: a repeated initial consonant to successive words. . his kin the kindest, keenest for praise. a song of southern singer ? Epic : It is, originally, an oral narrative poem, majestic both in theme and style. Epics deal with legendary or historical events of national or universal significance, involving action of broad sweep and grandeur. Typically, an epic includes several features: the introduction of supernatural forces that shape the action。 conflict in the form of battles or other physical forces bat。 and stylistic conventions such as an invocation to the Muse, and set speeches couched in elevated language. They summarize and express the nature or ideals of an entire nation at a significant or crucial period of its history. Eg: Iliad 《伊利亞特》， Odyssey《奧德賽》 Paradise Lost 《失樂(lè)園》， The Divine Comedy《神曲》。 教學(xué)目的 : 1．了解中世紀(jì)英語(yǔ)文學(xué)的發(fā)展?fàn)顩r； 2．掌握這一時(shí)期各種文學(xué)形式及代表人物的特點(diǎn)。 教學(xué)重點(diǎn)： 1．中世紀(jì)英國(guó)文學(xué)的總體特征；傳奇、民謠的特點(diǎn)； 2．《高文爵士和綠衣騎士》的主題、母題分析； 3．羅賓漢民謠分析； 4．威廉?朗格蘭及《農(nóng)夫皮爾斯》介紹； 5．喬叟的《坎特伯雷 故事集》分析，喬叟的文學(xué)貢獻(xiàn)； 6．英語(yǔ)詩(shī)歌知識(shí)介紹。 教學(xué)難點(diǎn)： 1．主題與母題的區(qū)分； 2．《坎特伯雷故事集》中《序曲》的結(jié)構(gòu)特征及其蘊(yùn)含的宗教思想； 3．英語(yǔ)詩(shī)歌的韻律、格律特點(diǎn)； 4．學(xué)生對(duì)詩(shī)歌中古英語(yǔ)詞匯的理解。 教學(xué)方法： 教師講授、學(xué)生報(bào)告和課堂討論相結(jié)合 教授內(nèi)容： ? Medieval period() Historical Background (what is the most important event in this period?) 1. The Norman Conquest In 1066, at the battle of Hastings, William, the energetic Duke of Normandy, defeated the AngloSaxons and became the King of England. 2. The Consequence of the Conquest ? Politically, a feudal system and a centralized government was established in England . ? Religiously, the Romebacked Catholic Church had a much stronger control over the country. ? Great changes took place in languages: the Norman lords spoke French。 mon English spoke old English。 Latin became the principal tongue of church affairs and was used by the clergymen and scholars. ( As a result, many terms employed by the Normans were adopted into English language.) ? Normans brought to England their own literature. Ⅱ . Medieval English Literature ? brief survey: ? The period, from 1066 up to the mid14th century, is almost a barren period in literary creation. In the second half of the 14th century, English literature starts to flourish. In parison with Old English literature, Middle English literature is uttered by more voices, deals with a wider range of subjects and is in a greater diversity of styles, tones and genres. ? Romance is the most prevailing kind of literature. Popular ballad occupies an important position. ? The Middle English literature reflects the principles of the medieval Christian doctrine and emphasizes the humanity of Christ and the imagery of human passion. ? 2. Medieval Romance 1)The features of Romance ? a)The romance was a long position, sometimes in verse, sometimes in prose, describing the life and adventures of a noble hero. ? b)Hero: usually the knight, a man of noble birth, skilled in the use of weapons, who sets out on a journey to acplish some goal to protect the church and the king, to attack infidelity, to rescue a maiden, to meet a challenge, or to obey a knightly mand. ? c)The structure is loose and episodic。 the language and style are simple and straightforward. ? d)It was written for the noble class, so it had nothing to do with the mon people. ? e)It exaggerates the vices of human nature and idealizes the virtues. ? f)It contains perilous adventures more or less remote from ordinary life, even describes supernatural things. 2) Romance Cycles Romances falls into three cycles : 1)“matters of Britain”( adventures of King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table), 2)