1、英国文学选读教学课件1/12Unit1 Geoffrey Chaucer (I343-1400)The Canterbury Tales 2/12Geoffrey Chaucer(1343-1400)Geoffrey Chaucer,considered by many to be both the father of modern English poetry and the father of the modern English novel,also distinguished himself in his lifetime as a civil servant(文员)and diplo
2、mat under three kings of England.When he was taken prisoner by the French,the King himself contributed to his ransom.When,in later years,the King wished to reward Chaucer for his services to the crown,he was granted-among other favors-the right to demand a daily jug of wine from the pantry(食 品 储 备 室
3、)of the royal butler(大管家).Toward the end of his career,he became a knight of the shire(郡)for Kent(肯特州、郡).3/12The early history of EnglandThe Roman Conquest (55B.C.-410A.D.)Before the middle of the first century B.C.the original Celtic(凯 尔 特)tribes lived in what is now Britain.In 55 B.C.Roman troops
4、led by Julius Caesar invaded the island.Then in 43 A.D.,Claudius conquered it.In 78 A.D.,Britain was completely subjected to the Roman Empire and it became a Roman province.And the Celts(凯 尔 特 人)became either slaves or cultivators of the land.The Roman occupation also brought Christianity to Britain
5、.Nearly 400 years of Roman rule in Britain ended in 410 A.D.4/12The English conquest or the Anglo-Saxon Period(410-1066)After the withdrawal of the Roman troops,a tribe of Teuton(修 顿 人),called Jutes,landed on the land.Following them came the other two Teutonic tribes,the Angles(央格鲁)and the Saxsons(撒
6、克逊).The occupied different parts of Britain,enslaving some of the native inhabitant.They established small kingdoms and wars broke out among them.Gradually the Angles spread over the east midland and flourished.They built the kingdom of the East Angles.Small kingdoms were combined to form a single l
7、arger kingdom:England,and people were called English.The Anglo-Saxon dialect is what we now call Old English.5/12The Danes(丹麦人丹麦人)InvasionFor more than 100 years beginning in the late 8th century,the Danes invaded and occupied large area of north-eastern England.In the late 9th century,King Alfred t
8、he Great of a kingdom in the south led the English people in the fight against the invading Danes.The invaders were driven back.The Danes invaded England again in the early of the 11th century.They conquered and ruled throughout parts of England for about a quarter of a century.Then following the ex
9、pulsion(驱逐)of the Danes,the Norman(诺 曼 人)invaded England in 1066.It marked the end of the Anglo-Saxon Period and the beginning of the Norman Conquest.6/12The Norman Conquest(1066-1350)The Normans invaded England in 1066.They defeated the English troops and William,the Duke of Normandy(诺曼底),was crown
10、ed as King of England.The Norman Conquest of the Anglo-Saxon England accelerated the development of the feudalism in England.Only after the conquest did England truly become feudalist society,there were distinct class distinctions.The ruling class consisted of the king and his feudal noblemen,barons
11、(男爵),knights,bishops(主教),who held the most land,great wealth and supreme power.The peasants were exploited cruelly,but they dared not to say anything and do anything.Since 1330s with the breaking out of the war between England and France,a disease called Black Death which swept over the country and
12、caused the a third of death and the passing of laws by parliament which supported the ruling class and oppressed the people of lower class there came great revolts.Since then English feudalism were declining.7/12The Language thenFollowing the Norman conquest saw the introduction of medieval French c
13、ulture,including modes of customs,manners,literature,and especially the Norman-French language into England on a large scale.For almost 200 years after 1066 three languages-native English,Norman-French and Latin,existed side by side in England.The native English language,which descended from Anglo-S
14、axon or Old English was the common speech of the ordinary people.While the Norman lords(封建社会上层阶级)used French.Latin was used among the scholars in churches and courts.English language gradually underwent profound and extensive changes.Not only were thousands of words borrowed but many old forms of na
15、tive English words disappeared and the formal grammar was considerable simplified.The language in this transitional stage from Old English to modern English,is generally known as Middle English.8/12Early English literature-old English poetry and Beowulf(裴裴欧欧沃沃夫夫)The earliest forms of English literat
16、ure,which are still preserved as the relics(遗址)of the Anglo-Saxons,are poems originating from the collective efforts of the people.These poems or songs are partly historical stories and partly legendary stories passed around orally from generation to generation.Among these poems Beowulf(贝奥武甫)has gen
17、erally been considered the monumental work in the English poetry of the Anglo-Saxon period,or the national epic(民族史诗)of the English people.The poem probably existed in its oral form as early as the 6th century.It was written in the 7th century.Beowulf the hero and his adventures are placed in Denmar
18、k and southern Sweden,from which the Anglo-Saxon came.Beowulf,in its remote ideas,allusive(引用典故)style and story-telling form,towers(超越、胜过)above all other literary works written in Anglo-Saxon,chiefly because it is a powerful poem about a peoples grand hero who is eager to help others in distress(危难、
19、痛苦),is faithful to his people,and is ready to sacrifice his own life for their welfare.9/12Geoffrey Chaucer,the father of the English poetry was born in about 1340,of a rich family.His father was a wine merchant.He is said to have studied at Oxford and Cambridge.In 1357 he began life as a court page
20、(随从).Two years later he accompanied the English army to France,and was taken prisoner.After his release he returned to England in 1360.He got married.In he was sent by King Edward III to the European Continent on several diplomatic missions.In 1373 he was elected member of Parliament for Kent.But in
21、 the same year he was dismissed from the office because of some plot of his enemies.He was gradually in poor financial conditions especially after the death of his wife in 1387.He died in 1400 and was buried in Westminster Abbey.Middle English literature and the Canterbury TalesDuring the Middle Age
22、s,the most prevailing kind of literature was romantic verse(诗 歌)and prose.They usually told the adventures of some hero of chivalry(骑 士 团).The heroes were knights,usually of noble birth,who were described as the skilled men in the use of weapon,riding forth to seek adventures.Most English romances d
23、eal with three major themes:the matter of Britain,the matter of France and the matter of Rome.10/12Because of Chaucers broad and intimate acquaintance with persons high and low in all walks of life,and because of his wide reading and studying of literary works he acquired an abundant knowledge of th
24、e world,which had profound influence upon his writing.The Canterbury Tales was written chiefly in the years 1387-1400.It is a collection of 24 stories.It opened with a general prologue and stories.In the prologue the poet explained the occasion for the narration of the tales and gives a description
25、of a company of some 9 and 20 pilgrims,who gathered at Tabard Inn in Southwark,a suburb of London,on a spring day.There were 30 pilgrims including the poet himself.And the keeper of the Tabard Inn offered to serve as a guide for the pilgrims to Canterbury,suggesting that they each tell two stories o
26、n the way to their destination and two on their way back in order to idle away the time.So Chaucer meant to write 124 stories,but unfortunately he completed only 20 with 4 unfinished,because of his death.The pilgrims are the people from various parts of feudal England.They are the representatives of
27、 various walks of life and social groups with various interests and tastes.It conjures up(唤起)a picture of the life in the feudal English society.Chaucer is known as the father of poetry,a forerunner(先驱，始祖)of humanism and a great master(大师，教授)of the English language,for he was the first writer who used London dialect to write,and he made a great contribution to the development of the English language.11/12Thank you for learning12/12
