王江 英国文学史及选读(Lecture 1)(2)

英国文学

871-899: Reign of King Alfred. 1066: Norman Conquest. Ca. 1200: Beginning of Middle English literature. 1360-1400: The summit of Middle English literature: Geoffrey Chaucer; Piers Plowman(William Langland ); Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. 1485: William Caxton’s printing of Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte Darthur, Middle French for

"the death of Arthur", one of the first books printed in England. Literature of the Anglo-Saxon period: 1. Caedmon, the first Anglo-Saxon poet, lived in the 7th century and his works are all concerned with religious themes. He translated the stories of the Bible into a verse work, called Paraphrase. Caedmon is considered the father of Old English poetry. 2. Venerable Bede (673-735), wrote in Latin The Ecclesiastical History of the English People, which earned for him the title of “Father of English History”. 3. King Alfred , whose reign was 871-899 , began The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. It began with the story of Caesar’s conquest and annually recorded important events until 1154.

英国文学

4. Beowulf: an Anglo-Saxon or England’s national epic of 3182 lines. An epic (叙事诗 )is a long narrative poem in elevated or dignified language, typically one derived from ancient oral tradition, narrating and celebrating the deeds and adventures of heroic or legendary figures or the past history of a nation. A summary of the epic story in Beowulf: Beowulf, It tells of two major events in the life of the Geatish hero Beowulf: the first when, in his youth, he fights and kills first Grendel, a monster who has been attacking Heorot, the hall of the Danish king Hrothgar, and then Grendel's mother who comes the next night to avenge her son; the second, 50 years later, when Beowulf, who has for a long time been king of the Geats(基特族人), fights a dragon who has attacked his people, in a combat in which both Beowulf and the dragon are mortally wounded. The historical period of the poem's events can be dated in the 6th cent, from a reference to Beowulf's King Hygelac by the historian Gregory of Tours; but much of the material of the poem is legendary and paralleled in other Germanic historical-mythological literature in Norse, Old English, and German.

英国文学

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight It was New Year at the court of King Arthur. The King, Queen and all the knights of the Round Table were celebrating. Suddenly the door opened and everybody turned round. A knight rode into the room on a magnificent horse. The knight and his horse were completely green! The strange green knight got off his horse and spoke. "I know that King Arthur and his knights are famous for their bravery. I have come to test their bravery with a little game. Here is my axe. One of your brave knights must try to cut off my head. But, next year, on the same day, I will try to do the same to that knight." A brave and honest knight, Sir Gawain, stood up and said: "1 will do it." With no hesitation, he took the axe and cut off the Green Knight's head. Then the strangest thing happened. The Green Knight picked up his head, got on his horse and left the room! Ten months later, Sir Gawain went off to find the Green Knight. He came to a magnificent castle. The lord of the castle invited him to stay for the New Year. Sir Gawain and the lord made an agreement. They agreed to give each other a

nything they received. The next day, the lord of the castle went outhunting. Sir Gawain stayed in bed. Suddenly, the lady of the castle, the lord's wife, came into his room. She was beautiful. She kissed sir Gawain and then left. When the lord of the castle returned, he gave Sir Gawain a deer he had caught. Sir Gawain gave the lord a kiss. The next day the same thing happened. On the third day, the lady of the castle kissed Sir Gawain and then gave him a special belt. She said it would save his life. Sir Gawain did not give the belt to the lord of the castle because he thought it might be useful when he went to see the Green Knight. On New Year's day, Sir Gawain went to meet the Green Knight. As they had agreed, the Green Knight took the axe. He was going to cut off Sir Gawain's head, when suddenly he stopped. He tried a second time, but again stopped. The third time, he cut Sir Gawain's neck a little, but didn't hurt him. Sir Gawain was angry. He said: "Why did you try three times? We agreed only once!" The Green Knight told him that he was, in fact, the lord of the castle. "I didn't cut you the first two times because you were honest for two days! But on the third day, you didn't tell me about the belt. So I had to cut you!" Sir Gawain returned to King Arthur's court. He was sad because he had not been honest. He decided to wear the belt around his neck for the rest of his life. He told King Arthur: "When I become arrogant, I can look at the belt and remember that lam not a perfect knight."

英国文学

高文爵士是亚瑟王的外甥。在英国传说里，他一般被描绘成一个勇敢、忠实可靠的 勇敢、 勇敢 骑士。 骑士 据说，在亚瑟王和圆桌骑士在卡米洛举行的新年宴会上，一位身着绿衣、骑着绿马 的高大骑士走进大厅，手里拿着一把巨斧。他向骑士们提出挑战，问他们当中有谁敢 于用斧头将他的头砍下。但谁要砍他的头，就须答应一年后在脖子上同样挨一斧。众 骑士中只有高文 高文接受了这一挑战，一斧砍下绿衣骑士的头。骑士把头捡起来，骑马走 高文 了。 不久以后，高文爵士 高文爵士便出发寻找绿衣骑士 绿衣骑士，去接受那许下的一斧。他历尽千辛万 高文爵士 绿衣骑士 苦，终于在圣诞节来到一座漂亮的城堡，受到城堡主人 城堡主人的款待。高文答应多住几日， 城堡主人 直到元旦，因为城堡主人告诉他绿衣骑士就住在附近。城堡主人与高文商定，他每天 去打猎，高文留在城堡里，每天晚上交换当天各自得到的东西。 城堡主人连续三天去打猎，早出晚归，而高文在城堡里却要抵御漂亮女主人 漂亮女主人的诱 漂亮女主人 惑。女主人头一天给他一个吻，第二天给他两个吻，第三天给他三个吻，外加一条有 魔力的腰带，系上它可刀枪不入。每天晚上高文用得来的吻交换主人猎

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