【正文】 Shakespeare’ s writing career may be roughly divided into four stages: ① .The early years were years of his apprenticeship,dating from 1592 to 1594 During this period his works were early history plays or histories and a group of edies.King Henry VIRichard IIITwo Gentlemen of VeronaLove’s Labour Lost This is a period of is marked by imitation of existing plays,by the spirit of youthfulness and rich imagination,by exaggerated language and by the frequent use of rhymed couplets. ② .The second period is a period of rapid growth and development,dating from 1595 to :Midsummer Night’s DreamRomeo and JulietHenry IVHenry VAs You Like ItJulius Caesar. They show more careful and artistic work,better plot,and a marked increase in the knowledge of human natuer. ③ .The third period is a period of gloom and depression,from 1601 to 1608..HamletOthelloKing LearMacbeth It is period of his tragedies ④ .The fourth period is a period of his restored serenity,from 1608 to 1612.The Winter’s TaleThe Tempest It is a period of calm after strom. Achievement: represented the trend of history in giving voice to the desires and aspirations of the people. ’s humanism:He in his plays reflects the spirit of his age. ’s characterization:his character are “round”amp。 while The shepherd’s calendar marked the budding of the Renaissance. 2. Spenser was the first master to make the modern English the natural music of his poetic expression. Spenser held his position as a model of poetical art among the Renaissance English poets, and his influence can be traced in the works of Milton, Shelley and Keats. 馬婁 Christopher Marlowe english dramaistamp。 the importance of the present life Best representatives: Thomas More, Christopher Marlowe, William Shakespeare The Elizabethan drama: the real mainstream of English Renaissance Most famous dramatists: Christopher Marlowe, William Shakespeare, Ben Jonson (2) The development of the age gave a new direction to literature. 斯賓塞 Edmund Spenser the poets39。 astrology(占星學(xué) ) 3. the religious reformation amp。 4th. Characteristics of ballad: ? The beginning is often abrupt: without any introduction of the characters and the background of the tale ? There are strong dramatic elements: single episode, climax, intensity and immediacy ? The story is often told through dialogue and action ? The theme is often tragic, though there are a umber of ic ballads ? The ballad meter is used: fourline stanzas Early English plays: ? 9th and 10th century allowed only for religious services 14th century developed into 2 kinds ? Mystery plays are chiefly based on stories form the Bible ? Miracle plays are on the lives of Christian saints 文藝復(fù)興時期 The Renaissance Period : 14th – mid 17th started in Italy A series of historical events: 1. rediscovery of ancient Roman amp。 3) separate prologues to each tale with links, ments, quarrels, etc. in between. Prologue:Prologue provides a framework for the tales. It creates a galley of vivid characters from all walks of life, except the highest (the king and the top nobility) and the lowest (the very poor labouring folk（民間的） ), then assigns to each of them appropriate tales that shed light on the respective narrator’s distinctive personality. Social significance Chaucer takes the stand of the rising bourgeoisie, because he affirms men and women’s right to pursue their happiness and opposes the dogma of asceticism. As a forerunner of Humanism, he praises man’s energy, quick wit and love of life. At the same time, his tales expose and satire the social evils at his time. Weakness Living in a transitional period, Chaucer is not entirely devoid of medieval prejudices. There is nothing revolutionary in his writing, though he lived in a period of peasant uprising, so sometimes , he cracks a rough joke. The significance of The Canterbury Tales It gives a prehensive picture of Chaucer’s time the dramatic structure of the poem has been highly mended by are cleverly woven together by links between the are related to the personalities of the tellers Chaucer’s humour:Chaucer “the smyler with the knyf under the cloke” Chaucer’s contribution to the English language:He wrote in the London dialect to prove that English language is a beautiful language and can be handled to express different increased the prestige of eh English language. Chaucer’s Contributions: 1. Chaucer greatly contributes to the founding of the English literary language. His language now is called Middle English 2. Chaucer introduced heroic couplet from France to English poetry, instead of alliterative verse Couplets（對偶句） : couplets are two lines of verse, usually connected by a rhyme. Poets in the 18thC,in particular used couplets frequently. Heroic couplet: couplets in iambic pentameter （抑揚(yáng)格五音步） THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY(14001550) Medieval literature (continued): Ballad: An anonymous narrative poem preserved by oral transmission. Usually in quatrains with a distinctive and memorable rhyme, the ballad uses iambic tetrameter for the 1st amp。（英雄式對偶句） Structer: The Canterbury Tales is made up of three parts: 1) The General Prologue（序言） 。Iambic Tetrameter Medieval English： 1066 middle 14th century Romance(騎士傳奇 )： it was prevailing form of literature in the Middle was a long position,sometimes in verse,sometimes in prose,describing the life and adventures of a noble hero. Its essential features are: 1. it lacks general resemblance to truth and reality. 2. it exaggerates the vices of hunman nature and idealizes the virtues. 3. it contains perilous adventures more or less remote from the ordinary life. 4. it lays emphasis on supereme devotion to a fair lady 5. the central character of the romance is the knight, （騎士） a man of noble,birth skilled in the is monly