Lectures on English Literature
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Lectures on English Literature Chelyabinsk 2016 Lectures on English Literature = Лекции по английской литературе: Учебно- методическое пособие / авт. - сост. Е. В. Челпанова. Челябинск, 2016. – 137c. В данном учебно-методическом пособии рассматриваются основные этапы развития литературы на английском языке, начиная с древнейших времён до наших дней. Пособие подразделяется на лекции, которые отражают предпосылки литературных направлений, исторический контекст творчества писателей, а также жизнеописание и анализ основных произведений авторов. Лекции предназначены для студентов факультета иностранных языков, а также для всех учащихся, интересующихся литературой на английском языке. Рецензенты: Н.Е. Кунина, зав. кафедрой английского языка и МОАЯ ФГБОУ ВПО «ЧГПУ», кандидат филологических наук, доцент; Е.В. Калугина, доцент кафедры иностранных языков ФГБОУ ВПО «ЧГПУ», кандидат педагогических наук. 2 Contents Introduction……………………..…………………………………………….…..6 Lecture 1. The Development of the English Language on the British Isles. Beowulf ……………………………………………………………………………7 The Ancient Britons and Their Language…………………………………………….…7 The Celt's Culture…………………………………………………………………….…….7 Mythology……………………………………………………………………...….…………8 Purpose of Myths…….…………………………….……………………….………………9 The Roman Conquest……………………………………………………………….………9 The Invasion of Britain by Germanic Tribes…………………...………….…..…..….10 “Beowulf”………………………………………………………...……………………..…10 The Norman Conquest…….………………………………………..……….…..............12 The Danish Influence upon the Language of the Anglo-Saxons…………………….12 Lecture 2. Pre-Renaissance England in the 14th century. Geoffrey Chaucer.15 Historical Background………………………………………………………………..….15 The Life of Chaucer…………………………………………………..........................…15 The Three Periods of Chaucer's Writings……………………………………..…….…16 Canterbury Tales………………………………………………………...…………….….16 Chaucer's Role in English Literature……………………………………………….….17 Lecture 3. The Literature of the 15th century. Robin Hood Ballads..…….….19 Historical Background............................................................................................19 Different Kinds of Folklore…………………………………..……………………...…..19 The Classification of Ballads………………………………………….………..……….20 Unique Features of the Medieval English and Scottish ..Ballads...........................20 Robin Hood Ballads………………………………………………………………..……..21 Lecture 4. The Literature of the 16th century. The Renaissance. William Shakespeare…………..……………………………………………………….….23 Historical background. The Renaissance……………….........…………….……...…23 English Renaissance: 1500–1660…………………………..…………………...….…..24 William Shakespeare. Three periods of Shakespeare’s work…….……………….…26 Sonnets……………………………………………………………………………...………27 Major themes of Shakespeare’s works. Quotations from Shakespeare …….…..…28 William Shakespeare’s Life. Traditional version………….……………………..…...29 Other writers of the Elizabethan Era……………………………..…………………….30 3 Lecture 5. The Enlightenment. The 17th – 18th century literature...……..…32 Historical background……………………......………………………………………….32 Daniel Defoe………………………………………………………………….…………...33 Robinson Crusoe……………………………………………………………….………….34 Jonathan Swift……………………………………………………………………….…….35 A Tale of a Tub……………………………………………………………….……………36 Gulliver's Travels……………………………………………..…………………..……....36 Robert Burns…………………………………………………………………………..…..37 Lecture 6. The 19th century literature. Romanticism…………….…..……....40 Historical background and roots……………………………………………………..…40 Romanticism (1798–1837)………………………………….……………………………40 Lake poets…………………………………………………………………………………..41 Lord Byron and other writers of his epoch…………………...………………………..41 Lecture 7. The 19th century literature. Realism...............................................46 The Victorian novel (1837–1901). Realism……………………...…………………… 46 Charles Dickens…………………………………………...………………………………46 William Makepeace Thackeray and his “Vanity Fair”………………………………49 The Brontë sisters....................................................................................................50 Genre fiction…………………………….....................................................................54 Lecture 8. English and American literature since 1901. Realism……...........59 The 20th century realists………………………………...…………………..…………. 59 John Galsworthy……………………………………………………………………..……60 Rudyard Kipling………………………………………………………………...…………62 American Literature in the 20th century…………………………..………...…………62 Theodore Dreiser…………..……………………………………..……………….……...63 Ernest Hemingway……………………………………..................................……….…64 F. Scott Fitzgerald………………………………………………………………….....…..65 Lecture 9. Modernism………………………………………..……...….……....67 Modernism and its main features……………………………………..…….………..…67 English literature modernism. The stream of consciousness…...………………...…68 James Joyce……………………………………………………….………..……………...69 William Golding’s life………………………………………..……….……...........…….70 Golding’s “Lord of the flies”…………………………………...…………..…….……..71 Aldous Huxley’s novel “Brave New World”…………………..…………..…………..72 4 Lecture 10. Postmodernism……….……………………………………….……75 Postmodernism and its main features………………………………….………….……75 Ian McEwan and postmodernism…..……………………………………..……….……76 Kurt Vonnegut’s biography…………………………………….…….………..…….…..77 Postmodernism features in Kurt Vonnegut’s works...….……….…….…….………..78 Appendix 1 Tasks for self control ………………………………………….…….81 Appendix 2 Exam Questions…………………………………………………...…85 Appendix 3 Extracts from the novels and abridged short stories…………….…...88 Sources…………………………………………………………………………..132 5 Introduction English literature is the literature which is written in the English language, as opposed to other languages. English literature includes literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England, but all are considered important writers in the history of English literature (for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Thomas Pynchon is American, V.S. Naipaul was born in Trinidad). In other words, English literature is as diverse as the varieties and dialects of English spoken around the world. Until the early 19th century literature from Britain will mainly be discussed; then America starts to produce major writers and works in literature. In the 20th century America and Ireland produced many of the most significant works of literature in English, and after World War II writers from the former British Empire also began to challenge writers from Britain. 6 Lecture 1. The Development of the English Language on the British Isles. Beowulf 1. The Ancient Britons and Their Language. 2. The Celt's Culture. 3. Mythology. 4. Purpose of Myths. 5. The Roman Conquest. 6. The Invasion of Britain by Germanic Tribes. 7. “Beowulf” 8. The Norman Conquest. 9. The Danish Influence upon the Language of the Anglo-Saxons. 1. The Ancient Britons and Their Language Several significant historical events led to the appearance and development of the language which we now call English. The first mentioning of Britain dates back to the 4th century BC and the people who lived there were called Britons. They belonged to the Celtic race and the language they spoke was Celtic. The Britons were governed by a class of priests, called the druids, who had great power over them. Few traces of the Celtic language are to be found in the English today. For example: Stratford- on - Avon: Avon - river Loch Ness: Loch - lake 2. The Celt's Culture The Celts came to the British Isles from France about 3000 years ago. The language they spoke was Celtic, their culture, that is to say, their way of thinking and their understanding of nature were very primitive. The Celts were strong, tall fighters who learned to mine tin and to carry on trade with their neighbors. They absorbed the early Britons and became the ancestors of the Scotch, Irish and Welsh people. Celtic tribes called the Picts penetrated into the mountains in the North. Some Picts as well as the tribes of Scots settled in the North. The Scots came in such large numbers that in time the name of Scotland was given to the country. Powerful Celtic tribes, the Britons, held most of the country. Celts had no towns and lived in villages. They were acquainted with the use of copper, iron and tin, they kept large herds of cattle and sheep. They also cultivated crops. The Britons were more civilized than other tribes. Their clothing was made of wool, woven in many colors, while other tribes wore skins. Celts worshipped nature and believed in many gods. The Druids, a class of priests, who were skillful in teaching and administration, governed the Britons. They met in dark thick woods called Sacred Groves, wearing white robes. Little 7 is known of their religion for sure, except the fact that the Druids had great power over the Britons. They led religious ceremonies, settled legal disputes, etc., in short, they were lawgivers. They sacrificed not only animals but also human beings to their gods. Victims were placed into baskets and burnt. Another ceremony was the cutting of the mistletoe that grew on oak trees, a custom that English people still remember at Christmas. Like all the ancient peoples the Celts made up many legends about their gods and heroes, they were called Sagas. The heroes of those Sagas and their adventures were imaginary. However, they give us an idea of the Celtic way of life, their occupations, tools, weapons, customs and religion. The greatest hero of such sagas was Cuchulainn ['ku:kulin]. According to the legends he lived in Ireland