一、The Anglo-Saxon Period (449-1066)
The literature：Two divisions: pagan and Christian
The Song of Beowulf：the events which took place on the Continent at the beginning of the 6th Century，The poem tells of a hero, a Scandinavian prince named Beowulf, who rids the Danes of the monster Grendel, half man and half fiend, and Grendel's mother, who comes that evening to avenge Grendel's death. Fifty years later Beowulf, now king of his native land, fights a dragon who has devastated his people. Both Beowulf and the dragon are mortally wounded in the fight. The poem ends with Beowulf's funeral. Theme：the primitive people’s struggle against hostile forces of the natural world under a wise and mighty leader.
二、The Anglo-Norman Period(1066-1350)
The Literature：The literature which they brought to England is remarkable for its bright, romantic tales of love and adventure (Romance), in marked contrast with the strength and somberness(朴实无华)of Anglo-Saxon poetry (Epic).
Explanation of Sir Gawain and Green Knight：Two motifs（主题） 1.The test of faith, courage, purity2.The test of human weakness for self-preservation
三、Geoffrey Chaucer(1340?-1400）
Characteristics①His allegories and symbols are already tinged with realistic images②Chaucer’s poem is distinguished for its profound delineation of character and truthful description of human relations.
The Canterbury Tales：The Host (Harry Baily) proposes a storytelling contest to pass the time; each of the 30 pilgrims (including the poet) is to tell four tales on the round trip.
Major Work:1.The Legend of Good Women好女人的故事 2.The House of Fame声誉殿堂 3.The Canterbury Tales 坎特伯雷故事集 4.Troilus and Cressida特洛伊勒斯和克莱西 5.The Parliament of Fowls百鸟会议
四、The Renaissance（16th Century）
Two features：1.A thirsting curiosity for classical literature. 2.The keen interest in life and human activities.
1.William Shakespeare(1564-1616)
Three Periods of his Dramatic Career and its characteristics
(1) the years from 1590 to 1600,are characterized from a degree by formal and rather obvious construction and by stylized verse to highly individualized.
Comedies: 1)The Merchant of Vince, 威尼斯商人 2)A Midsummer Night’s Dream,仲夏夜之
梦 Twelfth Night,第十二夜 3)As You Like It.（皆大欢喜）4)The Comedy of Errors, 5)The Merry Wives of Window, the years from 1601 to 1608,the most profound of his works.
Tragedies:1)Hamlet哈姆雷特 2)King Lear李尔王 3) Macbeth麦克白 4) Othello奥赛罗 5)Romeo and Juliet罗密欧与朱丽叶 6) Timon of Athens.(雅典的泰门） the period from 1609-1612,principal romantic tragicomedies.
The Themes of Hamlet：new themes:1.the impossibility of certainty; 2.the complexity of action;3the mystery of death;4.its exploration into man’s inner world, into human psychology through a series of soliloquy（自言自语，独白） .
Traditional aspects of Themes ：1.Hesitation:2. Inherited Sin and Corruption(人生而有罪和堕落):3. Sons Seeking Revenge 4. Deception: Deception makes up a major motif in Hamlet. 5. Ambition6. Loyalty:7. Madness8.Empty Existence Features of Shakespeare’s Drama ：1). one of the founders of realism in world lit. 2) Skilled in many poetic forms .3). A great master of the English language
Petrarchan sonnet :The octave is eight lines long, and typically follows a rhyme scheme of ABBAABBA, or ABBACDDC.The sestet occupies the remaining six lines of the poem, and typically follows a rhyme scheme of CDCDCD, or CDECDE. Shakespearean sonnet:ABAB CDCD EFEF GG The sonnet 18,16 The Spencerian Sonnet:ABAB BCBC CDCD EE On His Blindness 2.Francis Bacon(1561-1626)
Major works:1)Advancement of Learning学术的进展 2)New Instrument新工具 3)New Atlantis新大西岛; 4)Essays随笔(Of Truth; Of Friendship; Of Studies论学习; Of Wisdom for a Man’s Self)
五、The Period of Revolution & Restoration（17th Century)
Literary characteristics:Confusion; Absence of any fixed standard of literary criticism; 1.John Donne (1572-1631)Metaphysical poets A Valediction: forbidding mourning
Theme:Real, complete love unites not only the bodies of a husband and wife but also their souls. Such spiritual love is transcendent, metaphysical, keeping the lovers together intellectually and spiritually even though the circumstances of everyday life may separate their bodies. Imagery:The circle 1. Marriage ring 2. Path of the planets 3. Path described by a compass
The compass Planetary trepidation Earthquakes The gold Valuable, noble, difficult to destroy Three kinds of poets.Puritan poet(清教徒派诗人), Cavalier poet(保皇派诗人),the Metaphysical poet(玄学派诗人).
Literary term: Metaphysical poetry(玄学派诗歌) 2.John Milton (1608-1674) An English Poet
1)Paradise Lost (masterpiece)《失乐园》 2)Paradise Regained《复乐园》3)Samson Agonistes 《力士参孙》4)Lycidas 《利西达斯》5) Areopagitica 《论出版自由 》6)On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity《基督诞生晨颂》 7)L’Allegro《快乐的人》 8)Of Reformation in England《论英国改革》9)Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce《离婚的戒律与学说》10)Penseroso《幽思的人》 11)Comus 《科玛斯》 Paradise Lost:It is about Satan’s rebellion against God and the expulsion(驱逐) of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden.
Theme :The theme of the poem is a revolt against God’s authority
On His Blindness:theme:God judges humans on whether they labor for Him to the best of their ability.
六、The Age of Enlightenment in England（The 18th Century）
1.Daniel Defoe:The father of the English fiction(英国小说之父）
Major works:1)The Life and Strange Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe 《鲁滨逊漂流记》2)Captain Singleton 《辛格顿船长》3)Moll Flanders 《摩尔·弗兰德斯》4)A Journal of the Plague Year 《大疫年日记》5) Roxana 《罗克萨娜》 THE ADVENTURES OF ROBINSON CRUSOE
Theme:the power of the average man to preserve life and to organize economy in the face of unpromising environment.
2.Jonathan Swift(1667-1745)One of the greatest masters of English prose;十八世纪杰出的政治家和讽刺小说家
Major Works：1)A Tale of a Tub 《一个木桶的故事》2)Battle of the Books 《书籍之战》 3)Journal to Stella 《给斯黛拉的信》4)The Drapier’s Letters《布商的信》5)A Modest Proposal 《一个温和的建议》
Gulliver’s Travels 《格列佛游记》 ：Lilliput 小人国 Brobdingnag 大人国 Flying Island 飞岛国 Houyhnhnm 马岛国
Swift style :simple, clear, vigorous language;direct and precise prose;a master satirist;deadly(非常有效的) irony;powerful satire.
3.Robert Burns(1759-1796):Scottish poet and writer of traditional Scottish folk songs.
1)A Red Red Rose一朵红红的玫瑰 2) Auld Longn Syne 往昔时光3)John Anderson,My Jo约翰爱德生，我的爱人4)A Man’s a Man for A That不管那一套 5) My Heart’s in the Highlands我的心在那高原上
七、The 19th Romantic
History Background:(1).Industrial Revolution and French Revolution had a strong influence in Britain literature.