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In alliterative verse, certain accented words in a line began with the same consonant sound. There are generally four accents in a line, three of which show alliteration.
e.g.
Of men he was the mildest and most beloved, To his kin the kindest, keenest to praise. Beowulf towers above all other Anglo-Saxon literature, not only because it is a powerful poem about people?s hero written in true epic style, but also because it tells in artistic form the tale in a leisurely way, full of elaborations in legendary details, and the verse rises at places to heights of poetic grandeur. The significance of Beowulf
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c. The epic gives the vivid portrayal of a great national hero, strong and courageous people and his kinfolk族人.
b. The epic reflects the situations the epoch(时代) of pagan tribalism and of the era of the Christianized feudal society.
a. This glorious epic presents us a vivid picture of the life of Anglo-Saxon people and highly praises the brave and courageous spirit of the fighting against the elemental forces.
True or false The epic poem Beowulf describes the most heroic man of the Anglo-Saxon times. It is a Denmark story which used alliteration, metaphors and understatements.
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Part II The Anglo-Norman Period(1066—1485)
Feudalism, landlord & peasant began with the Norman, language greatly changed and enriched.
1. historical background
? Norman Conquest of Anglo-Saxon England, under William, Duke of Normandy after the
battle of Hastings in 1066, accelerated the development of feudalism in England.
? Note: battle of Hastings: the decisive battle in which William the Conqueror (duke of
Normandy) defeated the Saxons under Harold II (1066) and thus left England open for the Norman Conquest 黑斯廷斯战役，1066年10月14日，哈罗德国王(Harold II)的盎格鲁—撒克逊军队和诺曼底公爵威廉一世(William of Normandy [,n?:m?n?di] )的军队在黑斯廷斯(英国东萨塞克斯郡濒临加来海峡的城市)地域进行的一场交战。 ? French culture and language are dominant this period ? 文化和语言 The three chief effects of the conquest were:
? 1). three chief effects of the Conquest.
? a. the bringing of Roman civilization to England; ? b. the growth of nationality;
? c. the new language and literature, which were proclaimed in Chaucer. ? 2). Four kinds.
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? a. Geoffrey?s history: a source book of literature ? b. the work of the French Writers: Arthurian legends ? c. Riming/rhythmic chronicles: history in doggerel verse 打油诗
? d. metrical韵律的romances, or tales in verse. 2 Development of Literature
Genre of Literature------Romance(浪漫传奇)
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The literature which Normans brought to England is remarkable for its bright, romantic tales of love and adventure, in marked contrast with the strength and somberness of Anglo-Saxon poetry.
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? If the epic reflects a heroic age,
the romance reflects a chivalric one [?iv?lrik]骑士的.
* Definitions: Medieval Romance
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Romance: derived from the Medieval Latin word romanice, “in the Roman language”. The word roman in Old French was applied to the popular courtly stories in verse which dealt with three traditional subjects: the legends about Arthur, Charlemagne and his knight, and stories of classic heroes esp. Alexander. English correspondents, almost always translations, are found from the 13th c. Onwards.
From The Oxford Companion to E. Literature,p.842.
Romance which uses narrative verse or prose to sing knightly adventures or other heroic deeds is a popular literary form in the medieval period.
It has developed the characteristic medieval motifs of the quest, the test, the meeting with the evil giant and the encounter with the beautiful beloved.
The hero is usu. the knight, who set out a journey to accomplish some missions—to protect the church, to attack infidelity (夫妻间的)不忠实, to rescue a maiden, to meet a challenge, or obey a knightly command.
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There is an often a liberal use of the improbable, sometimes even supernatural, things in romance such as mysteries and fantasies. Romance love / courtly love is an important part of the plot in romance.
Three major themes/ Medieval romances or tales in verse, can be divided into three classes:
? a. the matter of France: about Charlemagne [?t?ɑ:l?,mein] and his peers/knights 注：
查理曼大帝(742-814,世称 Charles the Great或Charles I, 768-814为法兰克王,800-814为西罗马帝国皇帝)
? b. the matter of Greece and Rome: about Alexander the great and the Trojan [?tr?ud??
n] War and the fall of Troy [tr?i]
? c. the matter of Britain: king Arthur and his Round Table knights--Adventures of King
Arthur and his Knights of
the Round Table《亚瑟王和他的园桌武士》 Three major poets in 14th-century England
? William Langland ? The Gawain -poet
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? Geoffrey Chaucer
William Langland (1332 - 1400) 威廉.朗格兰
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与乔叟同时代，著有诗歌《农夫皮尔士》（Piers Plowman），第一部分有2567行，第二部分作为第一部分的回顾和扩展，也是最好的一部分，有7277行，第三部分与第二部分长度大概一致。
is the author of the 14th-century English dream-vision Piers Plowman.
全诗描写了一系列的梦境和间断的梦醒，在梦里诗人首先见到了“真理”（Truth）居住的“塔”（Tower）,即“天堂”（Heaven），又见到深深的“地牢”（Dungeon），即“地狱”（Hell），在这二者之间有“充满了平民的场所”（field full of folk），即“人间”（the human world）。通过“圣殿神女”（Lady Holy Church）对基督教义的解释和“赏赞神女”（Lady Meed）对虚伪的展示，我们就会看到“理智”（Reason）传道至“人间”。“救世主”（Christ）最终通过“做好”（Do Welll），“做得更好”（Do Bet），“做得最好”（Do Best）来到“人间”。
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight《高文爵士和绿衣骑士》 Gawain: [?ɡɑ:wein]高文
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Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a late 14th-century Middle English alliterative romance outlining an adventure of Sir Gawain, a knight of King Arthur's Round Table. In the tale, Sir Gawain accepts a challenge from a mysterious warrior who is completely green, from his clothes and hair to his beard and skin. The \anyone to strike him with his axe if the challenger will take a return blow in a year and a day. Gawain accepts, and beheads him in one blow, only to have the Green Knight stand up, pick up his head, and remind Gawain to meet him at the appointed time. The story of Gawain's struggle to meet the appointment and his adventures along the way demonstrate the spirit of chivalry and loyalty.
The poem by the unknown author, are written in a North West Midland dialect of Middle English, borrowing from earlier \game\stories and highlighting the importance of honour and chivalry in the face of danger. Gawain represented the perfect knight, as a fighter, a lover, and a religious devotee. [,dev??ti:]热爱者
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Knights of Gawain‘s time were tested in their ability to balance the male-oriented chivalric code [??iv?lrik] 骑士风度的with the female-oriented rules of courtly love. b. characteristics and theme
? the bravest of knights
? a test of his virtue and truth
? (one of the best told stories in all the medieval literature of Europe) ? Motif: 1.the tests of faith, courage and purity---- nobility of hero
2. the human weakness for self-preservation-- --- humanness人性
Theme
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Temptation and testing Hunting and seduction
? Nature and chivalry ? Games
? Times and seasons Sum up:
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Romance: the heroic adventure for adventures? sake
Geoffrey Chaucer
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“Father” of English Poetry
If the epic reflects a heroic age, the romance reflects a chivalric one.
Epic (Beowulf): to help the hero?s kinsfolk out of the distress or to protect them from disaster
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1. the founder of English poetry
2. the outstanding English poet before William Shakespeare.
3. Chaucer made a crucial contribution to English literature in writing in English at a time when much court poetry宫廷诗 was still composed in French or Latin. 4. The Canterbury Tales Humanism人文主义
? The heroic couplet ? iambic pentameter
? Chaucer?s English: London dialect 1.his life
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born in a wine merchant family,page to Elizabeth.
he had broad and intimate acquaintance with persons high and low in all walks of life and knew well the whole social life of his time.
He contributed importantly in the second half of the 14th century to the management of public affairs as courtier侍臣, diplomat, and civil servant. In that career he was trusted and aided by three successive kings—Edward III, Richard II, and Henry IV. But it is his avocation业余爱好—the writing of poetry—for which he is remembered.
? He was influenced by French, Italian literature. 2. His literary career
? a. French period (1360-1372) in French “ Romance of the rose”
---French courtly love poetry
? b. Italian period (1372-1385) in Latin / Influenced by Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio “the legend of Good Women”
? c. English period (1386-1400) in English
“ The Canterbury Tales”
---his masterpiece which marks his ultimate achievement.
Other works
? （The Book of the Duchess）《公爵夫人之书》 ? （The House of Fame） 《声誉之堂》 ? （The Parliament of Fowls） 《百鸟议会》 ? （Troilus and Criseyde） [kr??se?d?]
《特罗勒斯与克丽西德》 -------Chaucer?s great achievement.
Some previous literary sources
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Dante 但丁(意大利诗人,1265-1321) The Divine Comedy
Ovid: Roman poet known for his explorations of love, especially the Art of Love (c. 1 b.c. ) and Metamorphoses [met??m?:f??z] (c. a.d. 8). 奥维德：公元前 43年- 公元 17年罗马诗人，以其对爱的研究，尤其是《爱的艺术》（公元前1年 )和《变形记》（公元 8年）而闻名。
The Canterbury tales 1. The plan of the book
29/30 pilgrims in Tabard Inn in spring.
Two stories each on the way out and two on the way back, but only 24 tales finished (including 4 fragmentary incomplete tales) 2. 《坎特伯雷故事集》提要
? 《坎特伯雷故事集》是一部诗体短篇小说集，叙说朝圣者一行30人(包括叙述者实
际上是31人)会聚在泰巴旅店，准备前往坎特伯雷。店主爱热闹，自告奋勇为他们担任向导，并提议在往返圣地的途中每人来回各讲两个故事，以解旅途中的寂寥，并由店主作裁判，选出故事讲得最好的人，回到店后大家合起来请他吃饭。这些朝圣者有骑士、僧尼、商人、匠人、医生、学者、农夫、家庭主妇等当时英国社会各个阶层的人士。
3. Characters (depicted with satire and humor)
Knight, squire, prioress, landed proprietor, wealthy tradesman, drunk cook, humble plowman, doctor, lawyer, monks of different orders, nuns, priests, a summoner, 5 husbands and lovers, a sailor, a miller, a carpenter, a yeoman, an oxford scholar, wife of Bath (most interesting), well-to-do independent, control over man
4. Artistic features:
? heroic couplet： is an iambic pentameter heaving the lines rhyming in pairs./Heroic
Couplet is two lines of rhyming iambic pentameters.(两行相互押韵、每行分五音节的)英雄偶句诗 /是一种英国古典诗体，由乔叟首创。由十音节双韵诗体演化而来，每行五个音步,每个音步有两个音节,第一个是轻音,第二个是重音.句式均衡、整齐、准确、简洁、考究。
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¤Boccaccio [b?u?kɑ:t?i?u]薄伽丘(Giovanni, 1313-1375, 文艺复兴时期意大利作家, Decameron [di?k?m?r?n ]《十日谈》的作者)
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iambic pentameter 抑扬格五音步（就是十个音节按照先轻后重依次排列的，一轻一重组成一个音步，名为抑扬格（iambus），五个音步构成了英语诗歌最常见的格律诗行之一。 ）
musical, elegant, satirical and humorous
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