英美文学人物作品分析.docVIP

British Literature (comprehensive version) Part I Medieval England Geoffrey Chaucer 1.Why is he the “Father of English Literature”? (reasons& contributions) It usually refers to Geoffrey Chaucer whose masterpiece The Canterbury Tales ranks as one of the greatest poetic works in English literature. Chaucer made a great contribution to English poetry by introducing from France the rhymed stanzas of various types to English to English poetry to replace the Old English alliterative verse. It was he who used for the first time in English the rhymed couplet of iambic pentameter which was later called the “heroic couplet”. Chaucer was the first to write in the current English. Though drawing influence from French, Italian, and Latin models, he did much in making the dialect of London the foundation for modern English language. In his works, Chaucer developed his characterization to a higher artistic level by presenting characters with both typical qualities and individual dispositions. That’d why John Dryden call him the Father of English Literature. What is the significance of Canterbury Tales? In his masterpiece, Chaucer gives us a faithful picture of the society of his time. Taking the standard of the rising bourgeoisie, he affirms men and opposes the dogma of asceticism preached by the Church. As a forerunner of humanism, he praises man’s energy, intellect, quick wit and love of life. His tales exposes and satirize the evils of his time. They attack the degeneration of the noble, the heartlessness of the judge, and the corruption of the Church, etc. Part II Renaissance 1.Renaissance (1)The Renaissance refers to the transitional period from the medieval to the modern world. It first started in Italy in the 14th century, (2)The Renaissance means rebirth or revival. (3)It was stimulated by a series of historical events, such as the rediscovery of ancient Roman abd Greek classics, the new discoveries in geography and astrology, the religious reformation, and the economic e