【正文】 described as riding forth to seek adventures,taking part in tournaments,or fighting for his lord in is devoted to the church and the king. THE AGE OF CHAUCER(13501400) History background： 1. The Hundred Years’ War between England and France (1337 1453) cause: for the French throne result: awakening of national consciousness in England French language gradually replaced by the native tongue peasant uprising of 1381 cause: the exploitation and oppression of the peasants by the feudal lords leader: spiritual leader: John Ball Ⅰ .John Wycliff (1324? – 1384): father of English prose 1. First figure to demanded to reform the church to do away with the corruption and rottenness the Bible into standard English great contribution to English literature and English language a national standard for English instead of dialects Ⅱ .William Langland (1330? – 1400) : The Vision of Piers Plowman : allegory（寓言） is a story or description in which the characters and events symbolize some deeper underlying meaning, and serve to spread moral teaching. Double meaning: Abstract qualities or ideas are personified as characters in the story Ⅲ .喬叟 Geoffrey Chaucer the father of English poetry (wisdom, humor, humanity) His place in British literature: 1“father of English poetry” and one of the greatest narrative poets of England 2Forerunner of humanism 3The first realistic writer 4Master of the English language 5The first to be buried in the Poet’s Corner of Westminster Abbey The Canterbury Tales first time to use 39。The AngloSaxon period(4501066) 1. The Historical Background: 1) 400 ., the Celts from west of France 2) 43 AD, Romans conquest 3) 449, AngloSaxon conquest 4) 1066, Normans conquest England is not much affected by the Roman conquest. The AngloSaxon brought Britain Germanic language and culture. Normans brought the Mediterranean civilization, . Greek culture, Roman law and Christian religion. THE POCESS OF THE ENGLAND CONQUERED Celtic tribes were original inhabitants lived in Britain before the ing of AngloSaxon. In 55 ., Roman invaded Britain in the leading of Julius Caesar, then Claudius conquered it in . 43 and Britain bee a Roman province In mid5th C, Angles, Saxons and Jutes migrated to England from European Continent. (western Denmark and the northwest coast of Germany ) They were in the late stage of tribalism. In the 7th C, 7 kingdoms coexisted. In the 8th C, Wessex became a military and political center. From the late 8th C, Danes came to harass the eastern coast of Britain. Lasting for more than a century, in thelate 9th C, King Alfred of Wessex succeed in the war against Danes. All the kingdoms were united together to one and ruled England for a quarter of a century. (A. D. 10171042) 1066, Normans invaded England by the leading of William, the Duke of Normandy. It was Norman Conquest that ended the history of the Old England. Ⅱ Northunbrian School and Wessex literaturetwo highlights of the AngloSaxon literature Northumbrian School（諾森伯蘭學派） : ★ Ceadom:the first AngloSaxon poet Work:Paraphrase（注釋，釋義） — turned the stories of the Bible into verse form ★ Vernerable Bede:the father of English history Work:The Ecclesiastical(傳教士的，教會的 ) History of the English People Wessex literature（西撒克遜文學） : ★ King Alfred:the father of English navy 海軍之父 Contributions to English literature: of latin books of educative value were translated into West Saxon chronicled a history book—the AngloSaxon created a style of AngloSaxon prose. Some informations about the AngloSaxon period ① The earliest settlers of the British Ilses—the . ② The Brythons—a branch of the Celts()from whom the name Britain came. Civilization:The Roman Empire()—Julius Ceasar the general Little influence on the cultural life of the Celts Built walled towns :London was founded and then built roads No intermarrige and language influence is little ③ The Angles,Saxons and Jutes()—the ancestors of the present English people. Heptarchy:7kingdoms(七國政治 /七國聯(lián)盟 ) Legendary figure King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table（亞瑟王和他的圓桌騎士） Epic:（史詩） also called heroic poetry ,epics are long narrative poems that record the adventures of the hero whose exploits are important to the history of a chronicle the origins of a civilization and embody its central beliefs and style of the epic is grand,formal,plex and serious. Beowulf the national epic of the AngloSaons Writing features of the poem: 1. it is not a chritain but a pagan poem,despite the christian flavor given to it by the monostery scribe. 2. the use of strong stress and the predominance of consonants are very notable in this poem. 3. the use of the alliteration is another notable feature. lot of metaphors and understatements are used in this poem. Alliteration:（押頭韻） Alliteration is the repetition of similar sounds, usually consonants or consonant clusters, at the beginnings of a group of words. Understatements： （淡化低調(diào)說法 )A statement which lessens or minimizes the importance of what is meant. The opposite is hyperbole Syllable:the basic syllable structer vowel(元音 ) consonant（輔音） SUM UP: Alliteration:C V C/ C V C great/gram Assonance :C V C/C V C great/make Consonance :C V C/C V C great/let Reverse Ryhme:C V C/ C V C great/gray Pararyhme :C V C/C V C great/groat Ryhme:two words have the same final vowel and consonant sound(two final sounds in a syllable are identical) (1).End ryhme 尾韻 （ 2） .Internal ryhme 內(nèi)韻（ in the middle of the line） (3).Masculine ryhme 陽韻： one syllable ryhmes(in final vowel/consonant) (4).Feminine ryhme 陰韻： two syllable ryhmes ( Candy is dandy) (5).Polysyllabic ryhme 多韻 tenderly/slenderly Scansion 音律分析（ Metrical